Hmm... Where do I get this from? Easy. Opa was an officer in the Heer in
WW2, and came over here as an, *ahem*, "guest" (Yeah! That's it!) in
1946, and 4 of my uncles were/are currently officers in the Bundeswehr
and Marineflieger in both the FRG and post-unification Germany, and had
family on both sides of the Inter-German Border in the Bad Old Days. I
am quite aware of the role of the military and militarism in German
culture because not only my family's heritage (10 generations of
Prussian/German officers), but also in my research in Naval History,
particularly on thinking behind Adm. von Tirpitz's role in the
Anglo-German Naval Race. The disdain for the military (and things
resembling the military) in modern German society is not an overt
opposition, but rather a sublime looking-down of things which may appear
related to it, and this is the "conventional wisdom" among historians
when discussing the topic. (The looks I received from some natives about
a von Tirpitz T-shirt I wore when I was at my uncle's home in
Wilhelmshaven 2 years ago said more "Why are you wearing a T-shirt that
has von Tirpitz on it!?!" than anything else. Considering I was staying
in the former home of the Hochseeflotte, I thought it would be a bit
pleasing historically-speaking for me to wear it for that reason. Whoops!)
Any conversation I have had with Germans regarding their military and
its history are interesting to say the least. Though most like talking
about (not-so-) fond memories of National Service, anything beyond that,
even for enthusiasts tends to become a bit touchy. Discussions I have
had regarding the Eastern Front of WW1 (where my great grandfather died
at the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in 1915) almost universally
led to "Yes, but the East did not matter, as in the West was where
Versailles came about, and we all know where that went..." I find this
strange because for all of the Hohenzollerns' faults, they don't hold a
candle to die Fuerhere (as Opa called him, who didn't think much of
Austrian corporals, or Austrians in general. [Apologies to any Austrian
readers out there!]) the feats of the Army of the Supreme War Lord (as
cool of a name as I could think of) should at least be given
acknowledgment and even faint praise for some if its feats (von
Lettow-Vorbeck in East Africa for one). However, it just isn't there and
any suggestion of it gets the cold shoulder treatment (I can't wait to
hear the deafening silence from the centennial of WW1 form both Berlin
and Vienna, and will laugh when Moscow says anything positive about its
role in the war... :^D) tells you something about a nation's
relationship with its military and its military heritage, which as I
stated previously is at odds with the American tradition, which has
nothing to do with winning or losing. (Where are the German post-war
movies glorifying the sacrifices of the men of Bluecher's cavalry at
Waterloo in the vein of Saving Private Ryan? Or the Opus on
Feldmarschall von Schiefflen like the US' movie about Gen. Patton?)
Heck, if I was you guys I'd be rubbing Waterloo, Leipzig, and 1870-71 in
Chirac and the French's noses anytime you guys get in a scrape in the
EU, but that's just me.
As for the RR uniform, I think it was my mistake to say "picky" as what
I meant was someone posted earlier about the differing philosophies with
regards to uniforms as we here are more concerned with them than
European Rangers generally are. IMO, it's all a matter of cultures,
though there are plenty of wanna-be Gen. Pattons in Rangers out to fill
their uniforms with medals and ribbons, just like I'm sure there's some
Kaiser Wilhelm wanna-bes over in the land of BMWs and Opels. Of course,
this is all my opinion, and you can feel free to disagree, but from this
naval historian-in-training with way too many family members griping
about the SPD and the dearth of the German military's view, it's the way
it looks.
-Loren C. Klein
Louisiana District Webmaster
rangerforums.com Administrator
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Well I don't like to brag but I also have extensive experience with M1
Tank Platoon and Steel Beasts. Plus I once read a book about German
Panzer Aces." - Harold Jones from TankNet Military Forums on his tanking
experience other than his decade serving as an M1/M1A1 Abrams crewman.
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