History Analysis / AllGermansAreNazis

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture. Strangely enough, there is no All Italians Are Fascists trope, even though Mussolini's ''granddaughter'' is a significant figure in current Italian politics (and hers isn't the only ultra-nationalist party), nor is there an All Spaniards Are Falangists trope, even though that regime lasted into the 1970s. There isn't even an All Japanese Are Militarists trope, and they have an even longer history of militarism than the Germans (not in the West, anyway; attitudes towards the Japanese by the Chinese and Koreans remain decidedly negative).

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture. Strangely enough, there is no All Italians Are Fascists trope, even though Mussolini's ''granddaughter'' is a significant figure in current Italian politics (and hers isn't the only ultra-nationalist party), nor an All Spaniards Are Falangists one even though that regime lasted into the 1970s. There isn't even an All Japanese Are Militarists either and they have an even longer history of militarism than the Germans (not in the West, anyway; attitudes towards the Japanese by the Chinese and Koreans remain decidedly negative).

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture. Strangely enough, there is no All Italians Are Fascists trope, even though Mussolini's ''granddaughter'' is a significant figure in current Italian politics (and hers isn't the only ultra-nationalist party), nor an All Spaniards Are Falangists one even though that regime lasted into the 1970s. There isn't even an All Japanese Are Militarists either and they have an even longer history of militarism than the Germans (not in the West, anyway; it probably exists among mainland Chinese and Koreans, though). This is probably due to the fact that following World War II, the population basically revealed that Not All Japanese Are Ultra-Nationalists, quickly embracing Western morality and philosophy and making a 180 degree turn into the hyper-peaceful, cute-loving nekophiles we know today.

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture. Strangely enough, there is no All Italians Are Fascists trope, even though Mussolini's ''granddaughter'' is a significant figure in national politics (and hers isn't the only ultra-nationalist party), nor an All Spaniards Are Falangists one even though that regime lasted into the 1970s. There isn't even an All Japanese Are Militarists either and they have an even longer history of militarism than the Germans (not in the West, anyway; it probably exists among mainland Chinese and Koreans, though). This is probably due to the fact that following World War II, the population basically revealed that Not All Japanese Are Ultra-Nationalists, quickly embracing Western morality and philosophy and making a 180 degree turn into the hyper-peaceful, cute-loving nekophiles we know today.

After UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, [[DeaderThanDisco Germany went through a long process of Denazification]]. Schools taught anti-Nazi curriculum and by the 60s, laws were enacted making it illegal to even jokingly goosestep and nonsense like that.

This may have to do with the Nazis being so much more infamous than any other Fascists — mainly because of all the countries they invaded (Spain was neutral in [=WWII=], and Italy ''tried'' a bunch of invasions, but [[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia wasn't very good at it]]) and, of course, being responsible for UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust — Israel, Poland, Romania, Russia, and other such countries have ''[[FinalSolution very]]'' [[FinalSolution good reason]] to not let Germany live down its actions in [=WWII=]. This may also have to do with the fact that Germany was the main threat in [=WWII=], despite not killing a whole lot more people than Japan. Or perhaps because, unlike other Axis nations, where only the leadership were tried for war crimes following the war, the official policy of the Allies was to assign [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification#Responsibility_and_collective_guilt collective guilt]] to the German people for [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Nazi atrocities]]. This has, incidentally, worked ''very'' well, and the German educational system is seen as an excellent example of how to get a country to recognize and come to terms with the nastier parts of its history (it is compulsory for all Germans to learn about [=WWII=] and the Holocaust), something Japan has been pretty bad at. Accordingly, this Trope is generally a BerserkButton for modern Germans.

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture. Strangely enough, there is no All Italians Are Fascists trope, even though Mussolini's ''granddaughter'' is a significant figure in national politics (and hers isn't the only ultra-nationalist party), nor an All Spaniards Are Falangists one even though that regime lasted into the 1970s. There isn't even an All Japanese Are Militarists either and they have an even longer history of militarism than the Germans (not in the West, anyway; it probably exists among mainland Chinese and Koreans though). This is probably due to the fact that following World War II the population basically revealed that Not All Japanese Are Ultra-Nationalists, quickly embracing Western morality and philosophy and making a 180 degree turn into the hyper-peaceful, cute-loving nekophiles we know today.

This may have to do with the Nazis being so much more infamous than any other Fascists — mainly because of all the countries they invaded (Spain was neutral in [=WWII=], and Italy ''tried'' a bunch of invasions, but [[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia wasn't very good at it]]). This may also have to do with the fact that Germany was the main threat in [=WWII=], despite not killing a whole lot more people than Japan. Or perhaps because, unlike other Axis nations, where only the leadership were tried for war crimes following the war, the official policy of the Allies was to assign [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification#Responsibility_and_collective_guilt collective guilt]] to the German people for Nazi atrocities. This has, incidentally, worked ''very'' well, and the German educational system is seen as an excellent example of how to get a country to recognize and come to terms with the nastier parts of its history (it is compulsory for all Germans to learn about [=WWII=] and the Holocaust), something Japan has been pretty bad at. Accordingly this Trope is generally a BerserkButton for modern Germans.

There is also the fact that the 30s and 40s were the first decades of mass-media. An era of sound newsreels, widespread radio broadcasts and information, and the decades of sound cinema. This corresponded with the 12 years of the mercifully-cut-short 1000 year reich. Related to this is that the Nazis were highly media savvy and they quickly embraced the emerging mass media spectacles. The general public of the Western world exposed to newsreels were highly familiar with images from Nazi {{Book Burning}}s, rallies, the Berlin Olympics. Even before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Hitler and the Nazis were highly visible figures. As such, the Nazis both before and after the war disseminated the most widely seen visual images of German culture for the movie-going audience. More refined members of the public knew of German philosophy and high culture, they may also have been familiar with the Weimar avant-garde of the 20s (many of whose key representatives became exiles who worked in America), but these were far less widely seen and experienced than the images of Nazi Germany. World War II merely magnified that and set in stone. The rise of sound cinema also played a key role in the development of English and especially American English as the global language; that, coupled with the hegemony of Hollywood, further aided in solidifying this trope in the common perception of what Germany was and is.

Much like how the AmericaSavesTheDay trope is still played straight at times in current media, the existence of such an easy and irredeemable villain in the normally [[GreyAndGrayMorality Grey or]] [[EvilvsEvil Black]] business that is war means that this trope got and still gets a lot of mileage.

This may have to do with the Nazis being so much more infamous than any other Fascists -- mainly because of all the countries they invaded (Spain was neutral in [=WWII=], and Italy ''tried'' a bunch of invasions, but [[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia wasn't very good at it]]). This may also have to do with the fact that Germany was the main threat in [=WWII=], despite not killing a whole lot more people than Japan. Or perhaps because, unlike other Axis nations, where only the leadership were tried for war crimes following the war, the official policy of the Allies was to assign [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification#Responsibility_and_collective_guilt collective guilt]] to the German people for Nazi atrocities. This has, incidentally worked ''very'' well, and the German educational system is seen as an excellent example of how to get a country to recognize and come to terms with the nastier parts of its history (it is compulsory for all Germans to learn about [=WWII=] and the Holocaust), something Japan has been pretty bad at. Accordingly this Trope is generally a BerserkButton for modern Germans.

Some (particularly American military theorists, Eastern European leaders, and occasionally [[{{Irony}} the French]]) say it worked ''too'' well, as it's given Germany a war-phobia that has occasionally threatened UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} missions (not to mention their own nation's freedom of speech) and Western unity in general. The German "No" vote -- as opposed to the expected abstention -- on the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations resolution authorizing intervention in Libya was seen as particularly damaging; Nicolas Sarkozy in particular essentially told Merkel "[[WhatWereYouThinking what the hell were you thinking]]?" in response.[[note]]The German response was, "Hey, that was the Foreign Minister, acting against the advice of his underlings. The guy wanted to keep his party from losing the next election; what can we say." Didn't work, by the way; the FM's party, the Free Democrats, have continued to lose seats in state elections and were wiped out completely in the next federal elections.[[/note]]

There is also the fact that the 30s and 40s were the first decades of mass-media. An era of sound newsreels, widespread radio broadcasts and information, and the decades of sound cinema. This corresponded with the 12 years of the mercifully-cut-short 1000 year reich. Related to this is that the Nazis were highly media savvy and they quickly embraced the emerging mass media spectacles. The general public of the Western world exposed to newsreels were highly familiar with images from Nazi {{BookBurning}}s, rallies, the Berlin Olympics. Even before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Hitler and the Nazis were highly visible figures. As such the Nazis both before and after the war disseminated the most widely seen visual images of German culture for the movie-going audience. More refined members of the public knew of German philosophy and high culture, they may also have been familiar with the Weimar avant-garde of the 20s (many of whose key representatives became exiles who worked in America) but these were far less widely seen and experienced than the images of Nazi Germany. World War II merely magnified that and set in stone. The rise of sound cinema also played a key role in the development of English and especially American English as the global language, coupled that with the hegemony of Hollywood further aided in solidifying this trope in the common perception of what Germany was and is.

Much like the AmericaSavesTheDay trope is still played straight at times in current media, the existence of such an easy and irredeemable villain in the normally [[GreyAndGrayMorality Grey or]] [[EvilvsEvil Black]] business that is war means that this trope got and still gets a lot of mileage.

Finally, there is the fact that, out of the many other conflicts in history, Nazi Germany was the closest to a RealLife CompleteMonster due the many atrocities it committed, and much like the AmericaSavesTheDay trope is still played straight at times in current media, the existence of such an easy and irredeemable villain in the normally [[GreyAndGrayMorality Grey or]] [[EvilvsEvil Black]] business that is war means that this trope got and still gets a lot of mileage.

There is also the fact that the 30s and 40s were the first decades of mass-media. An era of sound newsreels, widespread radio broadcasts and information, and the decades of sound cinema. This corresponded with the 12 years of the mercifully-cut-short 1000 year reich. Related to this is that the Nazis were highly media savvy and they quickly embraced the emerging mass media spectacles. The general public of the western world exposed to newsreels were highly familiar with images from Nazi BookBurning, nazi rallies, the Berlin Olympics. Even before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Hitler and the Nazis were highly visible figures. As such the Nazis both before and after the war disseminated the most widely seen visual images of German culture for the moviegoing audience. More refined members of the public knew of German philosophy and high culture, they may also have been familiar with the Weimar avant-garde of the 20s (many of whose key representatives became exiles who worked in America) but these were far less widely seen and experienced than the images of Nazi Germany. World War II merely magnified that and set in stone. The rise of sound cinema also played a key role in the development of English and especially American English as the global language, coupled that with the hegemony of Hollywood further aided in solidifying this trope in the common perception of what Germany was and is.

Finally, there is the fact that, out of the many other conflicts in history, Nazi Germany was the closest to a RealLife CompleteMonster due the many atrocities it commited, and much like the AmericaSavesTheDay trope is still played straight at times in current media, the existence of such an easy and irredeemable villian in the normally [[GreyAndGrayMorality Grey or]] [[EvilvsEvil Black]] business that is war means that this trope got and still gets a lot of mileage.

This may have to do with the Nazis being so much more infamous than any other Fascists -- mainly because of all the countries they invaded (Spain was neutral in [=WWII=], and Italy ''tried'' a bunch of invasions, but [[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia wasn't very good at it]]). This may also have to do with the fact that Germany was the main threat in [=WWII=], despite not killing a whole lot more people than Japan (the Soviet Union killed more people than both, for example). Or perhaps because, unlike other Axis nations, where only the leadership were tried for war crimes following the war, the official policy of the Allies was to assign [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification#Responsibility_and_collective_guilt collective guilt]] to the German people for Nazi atrocities. This has, incidentally worked ''very'' well, and the German educational system is seen as an excellent example of how to get a country to recognize and come to terms with the nastier parts of its history (it is compulsory for all Germans to learn about [=WWII=] and the Holocaust), something Japan has been pretty bad at. Accordingly this Trope is generally a BerserkButton for modern Germans.

This may have to do with the Nazis being so much more infamous than any other Fascists -- mainly because of all the countries they invaded (Spain was neutral in [=WWII=], and Italy ''tried'' a bunch of invasions, but [[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia wasn't very good at it]]). This may also have to do with the fact that Germany was the main threat in [=WWII=], despite not killing a whole lot more people than Japan. Or perhaps because, unlike other Axis nations, where only the leadership were tried for war crimes following the war, the official policy of the Allies was to assign [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification#Responsibility_and_collective_guilt collective guilt]] to the German people for Nazi atrocities. This has, incidentally worked ''very'' well, and the German educational system is seen as an excellent example of how to get a country to recognize and come to terms with the nastier parts of its history (it is compulsory for all Germans to learn about [=WWII=] and the Holocaust), something Japan has been pretty bad at. Accordingly this Trope is generally a BerserkButton for modern Germans.

Finally, there is the fact that, out of the many other conflicts in history, Nazi Germany was the closest to a RealLife CompleteMonster due the many atrocities it commited, and much like the AmericaSavesTheDay trope is still played straight at times in current media, the existence of such an easy and irredeemable villian in the normally [[GreyAndGrayMorality Grey or]][[EvilvsEvil Black]] business that is war means that this trope got and still gets a lot of mileage.

There is also the fact that the 30s and 40s were the first decades of mass-media. An era of sound newsreels, widespread radio broadcasts and information, and the decades of sound cinema. This corresponded with the 12 years of the mercifully-cut-short 1000 year reich. Related to this is that the Nazis were highly media savvy and they quickly embraced the emerging mass media spectacles. The general public of the western world exposed to newsreels were highly familiar with images from Nazi BookBurning, nazi rallies, the Berlin Olympics. Even before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Hitler and the Nazis were highly visible figures. As such the Nazis both before and after the war disseminated the most widely seen visual images of German culture for the moviegoing audience. More refined members of the public knew of German philosophy and high culture, they may also have been familiar with the Weimar avant-garde of the 20s (many of whose key representatives became exiles who worked in America) but these were far less widely seen and experienced than the images of Nazi Germany. World War II merely magnified that and set in stone. The rise of sound cinema also played a key role in the development of English and especially American English as the global language, couple that with the hegemony of Hollywood, and the general perception of US intervention in the war as "just" and the Nazis as evil, and this trope got a lot of mileage.

This may have to do with the Nazis being so much more infamous than any other Fascists -- mainly because of all the countries they invaded (Spain was neutral in [=WWII=], and Italy ''tried'' a bunch of invasions, but [[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia wasn't very good at it]]). This may also have to do with the fact that Germany was the main threat in [=WWII=], despite not killing a whole lot more people than Japan. Or perhaps because, unlike other Axis nations, where only the leadership were tried for war crimes following the war, the official policy of the Allies was to assign [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification#Collective_guilt_campaign collective guilt]] to the German people for Nazi atrocities. This has, incidentally worked ''very'' well, and the German educational system is seen as an excellent example of how to get a country to recognize and come to terms with the nastier parts of its history (it is compulsory for all Germans to learn about [=WWII=] and the Holocaust), something Japan has been pretty bad at. Accordingly this Trope is generally a BerserkButton for modern Germans.

Some (particularly American military theorists, Eastern European leaders, and occasionally [[{{Irony}} the French]]) say it worked ''too'' well, as it's given Germany a war-phobia that has occasionally threatened UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} missions (not to mention their own nation's freedom of speech) and Western unity in general. The German "No" vote -- as opposed to the expected abstention -- on the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations resolution authorizing intervention in Libya was seen as particularly damaging; Nicolas Sarkozy in particular essentially told Merkel "[[WhatWereYouThinking what the hell were you thinking]]?" in response.[[note]]The German response was, "Hey, that was the Foreign Minister, acting against the advice of his underlings. The guy wanted to keep his party from losing the next election; what can we say." Didn't work, by the way; the FM's party, the Free Democrats, have continued to lose seats in state elections and were wiped out completely in the next federal elections.[[/note]]

Some (particularly American military theorists, Eastern European leaders, and occasionally [[{{Irony}} the French]]) say it worked ''too'' well, as it's given Germany a war-phobia that has occasionally threatened UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} missions (not to mention their own nation's freedom of speech) and Western unity in general. The German "No" vote -- as opposed to the expected abstention -- on the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations resolution authorizing intervention in Libya was seen as particularly damaging; Nicolas Sarkozy in particular essentially told Merkel "[[WhatWereYouThinking what the hell were you thinking]]?" in response.[[note]]The German response was, "Hey, that was the Foreign Minister, acting against the advice of his underlings. The guy wanted to keep his party from losing the next election; what can we say." Didn't work, by the way; the FM's party, the Free Democrats, have continued to lose seats in state elections and were wiped out completely in the next federal elections.[[/note]]

Some (particularly American military theorists, Eastern European leaders, and occasionally [[{{Irony}} the French]]) say it worked ''too'' well, as it's given Germany a war-phobia that has occasionally threatened {{NATO}} missions (not to mention their own nation's freedom of speech) and Western unity in general. The German "No" vote -- as opposed to the expected abstention -- on the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations resolution authorizing intervention in Libya was seen as particularly damaging; Nicolas Sarkozy in particular essentially told Merkel "[[WhatWereYouThinking what the hell were you thinking]]?" in response.[[note]]The German response was, "Hey, that was the Foreign Minister, acting against the advice of his underlings. The guy wanted to keep his party from losing the next election; what can we say." Didn't work, by the way; the FM's party, the Free Democrats, have continued to lose seats in state elections and were wiped out completely in the next federal elections.[[/note]]

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture. Strangely enough, there is no All Italians Are Fascists trope, even though Mussolini's ''granddaughter'' is a significant figure in national politics (and hers isn't the only ultra-nationalist party), nor an All Spaniards Are Falangists one even though that regime lasted into the 1970s. There isn't even an All Japanese Are Militarists either and they have an even longer history of militarism than the Germans (not in the West, anyway; it probably exists among Chinese and Koreans though). This is probably due to the fact that following World War II the population basically revealed that Not All Japanese Are Ultra-Nationalists, quickly embracing Western morality and philosophy and making a 180 degree turn into the hyper-peaceful, cute-loving nekophiles we know today.

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture. Strangely enough, there is no All Italians Are Fascists trope, even though Mussolini's ''granddaughter'' is a significant figure in national politics (and hers isn't the only ultra-nationalist party), nor an All Spaniards Are Falangists one even though that regime lasted into the 1970s. There isn't even an All Japanese Are Militarists either and they have an even longer history of militarism than the Germans (it probably exists among Chinese and Koreans though). This is probably due to the fact that following World War II the population basically revealed that Not All Japanese Are Ultra-Nationalists, quickly embracing Western morality and philosophy and making a 180 degree turn into the hyper-peaceful, cute-loving nekophiles we know today.

Some (particularly American military theorists, Eastern European leaders, and occasionally [[{{Irony}} the French]]) say it worked ''too'' well, as it's given Germany a war-phobia that has occasionally threatened {{NATO}} missions (not to mention their own nation's freedom of speech) and Western unity in general. The German "No" vote -- as opposed to the expected abstention -- on the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations resolution authorizing intervention in Libya was seen as particularly damaging; Nicolas Sarkozy in particular essentially told Merkel "[[WhatWereYouThinking what the hell were you thinking]]?" in response.[[note]]The German response was, "Hey, that was the Foreign Minister, acting against the advice of his underlings. The guy wanted to keep his party from losing the next election; what can we say."[[/note]]

After WorldWarII, [[DeaderThanDisco Germany went through a long process of Denazification]]. Schools taught anti-Nazi curriculum and by the 60s, laws were enacted making it illegal to even jokingly goosestep and nonsense like that.

Looking into American popular culture, works taking place in Germany made in the United States being set in or around World War II such as ''Series/HogansHeroes'', about every WorldWarII FPS out there, the failed sitcom HeilHoneyImHome and every war movie ever made seem to be the only instance Germany is ever seen in pop culture in America. Never have we had tales of modern Germany; a whole grand drama could be made about East and West Germany.

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture. Strangely enough, there is no All Italians Are Fascists trope, even though Mussolini's ''granddaughter'' is a significant figure in national politics (and hers isn't the only ultra-nationalist party), nor an All Spaniards Are Falangists one even though that regime lasted into the 1970s. There isn't even an All Japanese Are Militarists either and they have an even longer history of militarism than the Germans (it probably exists among Chinese and Koreans though). This is probably due to the fact that following UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo the population basically revealed that Not All Japanese Are Ultra-Nationalists, quickly embracing Western morality and philosophy and making a 180 degree turn into the hyper-peaceful, cute-loving nekophiles we know today.

This may have to do with the Nazis being so much more infamous than any other Fascists -- mainly because of all the countries they invaded (Spain was neutral in UsefulNotes/WW2, and Italy ''tried'' a bunch of invasions, but [[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia wasn't very good at it]]). This may also have to do with the fact that Germany was the main threat in UsefulNotes/WorldWar2, despite not killing a whole lot more people than Japan. Or perhaps because, unlike other Axis nations, where only the leadership were tried for war crimes following the war, the official policy of the Allies was to assign [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification#Collective_guilt_campaign collective guilt]] to the German people for Nazi atrocities. This has, incidentally worked ''very'' well, and the German educational system is seen as an excellent example of how to get a country to recognize and come to terms with the nastier parts of its history (it is compulsory for all Germans to learn about UsefulNotes/WW2 and the Holocaust), something Japan has been pretty bad at. Accordingly this Trope is generally a BerserkButton for modern Germans.

Looking into American popular culture, works taking place in Germany made in the United States being set in or around World War II such as HogansHeroes, about every WorldWarII FPS out there, the failed sitcom HeilHoneyImHome and every war movie ever made seem to be the only instance Germany is ever seen in pop culture in America. Never have we had tales of modern Germany; a whole grand drama could be made about East and West Germany.

After WorldWarII, Germany went thru a long process of Denazification. Schools taught anti-Nazi curriculum and by the 60s, laws were enacted making it illegal to even jokingly goosestep and nonsense like that.

Some (particularly American military theorists, Eastern European leaders, and occasionally [[{{Irony}} the French]]) say it worked ''too'' well, as it's given Germany a war-phobia that has occasionally threatened {{NATO}} missions (not to mention their own nation's freedom of speech) and Western unity in general. The German "No" vote -- as opposed to the expected abstention -- on the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations resolution authorizing intervention in Libya was seen as particularly damaging; Nicolas Sarkozy in particular essentially told Merkel "[[WhatWereYouThinking what the hell were you thinking]]?" in response.[[note]]The German response was, "Hey, that was the Foreign Minister, acting against the advice of his underlings. The guy wanted to keep his party from losing the next election; what can we say."[[/note]]

-{{TheContributors/SmytheOrdo}}

Being one-third German with a grandfather who was in the Wehrmacht, I myself have faced a lot of discrimination at the hands of people who are non-German. Both me and my mother frequently get Nazi jokes and slurs thrown at us.

Why is this?

Looking further into American popular culture, I can chalk this up to one part Eagleland Type 2 and another to the frequency of things taking place in Germany made in the United States being set in or around World War II. Stuff such as HogansHeroes, about every WorldWarII FPS out there, the failed sitcom HeilHoneyImHome and every war movie ever made seem to be the only instance Germany is ever seen in pop culture in America. Never have we had tales of modern Germany, heck, I think a whole grand drama could be made about East and West Germany.

But by nature, World War II is by far where the German people are most exposed to modern culture.

-{{Contributors/SmytheOrdo}}