Recent migrant crisis and German reactions on this crisis made me wonder If Germans are the people who naturally tend towards extremism and simply it is not in their national character to take moderate stance in any situation.
Lets look back into history.
Germanic barbarians after becoming christian started converting by force other tribes into chritianity, giving no other choice to their victrims but only babtise or die. They started mass killing in the name of God first the other Germanic tribes (for example what Franks did with Saxons) and next after there was no more Germans they did it with western Slavs and Balts.
After few hundrieds years a fellow German named Luther invented new extreme ideology - protestantism. Because of this new extremism hundrieds thousands of people if not millions died in Germany during the next century. From paesant insurgents till the end of 30 Years War, people are being murdered, tortured, killed in fight, women are being ....., cities are being razed... all this because Martin Luther has written few books with his ideas.
Next comes German nationalism which also goes up to extreme stance, making Germans ubermensch while members of all other nations inferior. Nationalistic ideas were present in many countries all over the world in the same time but only in Germany they were developed to such a extreme point.
When nationalism was feeling well there comes other Germans who invent "communism" and develop their ideas into complex theory, written in many books by Marx and Engels. Like in everything before, German communism is also extreme.
In response to German communism comes German national socialism, an eclectic ideology coming from mixture of German nationalism, racism and communism. In the name of this ideology Germans again kill the people, this time in numbers even greater than before.
Next after 50 years from a war, Germans goes from one extremism to the other. It is the part of the same axis but on the other end of it.
Racial Purity -------------------------------------------------- Multiculturalism
From one extremism straight the the other - the same one but of opposite value.
Because of this extremist stance which the Germans always take, they consider all the moderate thinking people to be inferior and stupid. From their extreme positions the world looks simple - it is black and white. Whoever shares German extreme attitude is good, whoever got different opinion or is too moderate - is bad.
Because of their bad experiences with their own extreme nationalism and extreme racism they started to think that internationalism and multiculturalism is the best cure for their old problems while they want to replace again one extremism with other. Thats from come their idea of European Federation or United States of Europe.
Two months ago all the Germans were so enthusiastic about all the "refugees" and wanted to help them all, doesnt matter where from they came and who they are. German media and auto-censorship were so fast to call a nazist and racist anyone who had doubts about rationality of German policy.... thousands of Germans was waiting at railways stations to greet the immigrants.
Now after last incidents from new years night we can observe Germans changing their attitude, most likely to opposite extreme, from loving all the refugess to hate all the immigrants.
Somtimes I start to think that as Umberto Eco did write, there is simply too much geist in German national character.
Lets look back into history.
Germanic barbarians after becoming christian started converting by force other tribes into chritianity, giving no other choice to their victrims but only babtise or die. They started mass killing in the name of God first the other Germanic tribes (for example what Franks did with Saxons) and next after there was no more Germans they did it with western Slavs and Balts.
After few hundrieds years a fellow German named Luther invented new extreme ideology - protestantism. Because of this new extremism hundrieds thousands of people if not millions died in Germany during the next century. From paesant insurgents till the end of 30 Years War, people are being murdered, tortured, killed in fight, women are being ....., cities are being razed... all this because Martin Luther has written few books with his ideas.
Next comes German nationalism which also goes up to extreme stance, making Germans ubermensch while members of all other nations inferior. Nationalistic ideas were present in many countries all over the world in the same time but only in Germany they were developed to such a extreme point.
When nationalism was feeling well there comes other Germans who invent "communism" and develop their ideas into complex theory, written in many books by Marx and Engels. Like in everything before, German communism is also extreme.
In response to German communism comes German national socialism, an eclectic ideology coming from mixture of German nationalism, racism and communism. In the name of this ideology Germans again kill the people, this time in numbers even greater than before.
Next after 50 years from a war, Germans goes from one extremism to the other. It is the part of the same axis but on the other end of it.
Racial Purity -------------------------------------------------- Multiculturalism
From one extremism straight the the other - the same one but of opposite value.
Because of this extremist stance which the Germans always take, they consider all the moderate thinking people to be inferior and stupid. From their extreme positions the world looks simple - it is black and white. Whoever shares German extreme attitude is good, whoever got different opinion or is too moderate - is bad.
Because of their bad experiences with their own extreme nationalism and extreme racism they started to think that internationalism and multiculturalism is the best cure for their old problems while they want to replace again one extremism with other. Thats from come their idea of European Federation or United States of Europe.
Two months ago all the Germans were so enthusiastic about all the "refugees" and wanted to help them all, doesnt matter where from they came and who they are. German media and auto-censorship were so fast to call a nazist and racist anyone who had doubts about rationality of German policy.... thousands of Germans was waiting at railways stations to greet the immigrants.
Now after last incidents from new years night we can observe Germans changing their attitude, most likely to opposite extreme, from loving all the refugess to hate all the immigrants.
Somtimes I start to think that as Umberto Eco did write, there is simply too much geist in German national character.
And they hate nationalists so much that will beat all of them, even if they are not German, or are a mother with children on patriotic march.
