Hitler, Nazis And World War II_ How Germany Deals With Its Dark Past _ Meet the Germans

Don't mention the war. That's a very well-known catchphrase from the British comedy series Fawlty Towers. The idea behind it is when you meet a German, the very first thing you think about will be the war. But you absolutely mustn't mention it. So anyway, imagine my surprise when I was channel hopping on one of my first trips to Germany, and the war was everywhere. It felt like every day the television schedule was peppered with heavy Hitler documentaries and World War II films. That's how I came to appreciate for the first time that Germany as a whole doesn't ignore its dark past. But this wasn't always the case. For many years after the war, national socialism was mostly a taboo topic among families. Parents and grandparents weren't asked uncomfortable questions about their involvement. Some films and books, like Gunter Grass's The Tin Drum, began exploring the topic, but it was a spate of anti-Semitic vandalism in West Germany starting in 1959, which proved to be a wake-up call. A new focus was put on education, and by the time Germans of my generation were in school, the Holocaust and national socialism were a firm feature on the curriculum. Many also began to ask questions about their own family's involvement. Of course, it's hard or even impossible to compare the atrocities of the Holocaust with any other event. But I, for one, heard very little about my own country's darkest chapters during history lessons or in public discussion. So for an outsider, it can be quite remarkable to see this painful history raked over so often and so publicly in Germany. An important motivation is fear of history repeating itself. Recent years have seen the re-entry of a far-right political party into parliament and several horrific murders by right-wing extremists. Permanent police presence at many of Germany's synagogues is reminder enough that the shadow of anti-Semitism remains. So how relevant is Germany's history today, and how much responsibility do Germans still carry for it? Just because it's been so long and no one has personal guilt anymore, I don't think you can just say, there was no one. We can't do anything about it. Our children can't. Our grandchildren can't. So at some point, there has to be an end. 70, 80 years later, to say we are to blame for it, I think that's far too much. But I think we carry a responsibility, to prevent something like this from happening again. Is there enough, too little or too much talk about it in Germany? Oh, you can't talk about it enough. Sometimes you think it's too much of the good, again and again, again and again. I think it's always a totally taboo topic in Germany. I think a lot is being said, but the attention span is getting smaller and smaller to prove what's being said. Especially when you came home from school, for example, and learned something like that, you of course also asked your parents or grandparents. The parents who still came from that time, they wanted to distance themselves in a certain way, even if they had nothing to do with it. What amazes me again and again is that this generation supposedly did not know what happened back then. Are you sometimes afraid that something like this could happen again? Yes, I am. It can happen again at any time. We are now neither smarter than the people back then, nor anything else. No, no fear. Here in Europe, we have learned enough. First in the Second World War. I don't think that's going to happen again. Hosting Meet the Germans has made me realise that the consequences of the Nazi era can be felt all over the place in Germany. Some things are obvious, like you don't come across very many adults these days. But then the war and the Nazis also came up when I was researching episodes on things like hiking, films, fashion, all sorts of seemingly unrelated topics. This has had an unmistakable effect on national pride. You rarely see the German flag flying here, unless the World Cup is on. And there's no visible pride in the armed forces either. In fact, it seems the country's military is more often ridiculed than celebrated. That's not to say that most Germans are not proud of their country. Many are, but their patriotism is usually quiet and practical rather than loud and emotional. Germans are also among the most pro-EU Europeans. One of the organisation's founding purposes was, after all, to promote peace in Europe. Some reminders of the war are visible when walking around the streets too. Take this building, the Haus der Kunst, or House of Art in Munich. It's a prominent example of Nazi architecture. So what do you do with something like this? Is it enough to take something tainted and do something good with it? Or does it need to be removed? After years of discussion about various buildings like this one, the jury's still out. What about memorials to the victims of the Nazis? They can be found all over the place in Germany, often organised and financed by the local community. It wasn't until 2005 that the German government unveiled its first official memorial to Europe's murdered Jews. The haunting Holocaust Memorial in central Berlin has become one of the capital's most visited landmarks. Three years later came the state's first memorial dedicated to homosexual victims, and in 2012, one for Roma and Sinti victims. One subtle yet striking part of the memorial culture in Germany are the Stolpersteine, or stumbling stones. These small brass squares are inscribed with the names of victims of the Nazi regime and set into the pavement outside their last known address. The project was started in the 90s by German artist Gunther Demlich, and today there are more than 75,000 stumbling stones across Germany and other countries. But even this is not without controversy. The city of Munich has actually banned the stones from being installed on public ground after some people, including a prominent Jewish community leader, argued that it was disrespectful to commemorate victims with something on the ground that you can walk over. The city has instead opted for wall plaques like this one. But I want to bring it back to where we started. Comedy. Hitler and the Nazis have been satirised many times over. British silent movie star Charlie Chaplin kicked things off way back in 1940 with The Great Dictator. In 2019, New Zealand director Taika Waititi confidently poked fun at the Führer in Jojo Rabbit. But what about in Germany? Could you, for example, write a book imagining Hitler waking up in modern-day Berlin? How he might react to Angela Merkel and multiculturalism? How he might rise to fame, but this time as a TV star? Well, that's exactly what German author Timo Wermesch did. His 2012 book Er ist wieder da, or in English Look Who's Back, topped the bestsellers lists in Germany and was later made into a film. Did some people say that you went too far? Yes, but they couldn't really justify it. They often came across not much more than a trained taboo that wasn't undermined. The reader's reactions were very different. Some found it disturbing how long you could keep it in your head. And the head hasn't been changed. That's very, very original Hitler. And others said, Hey, super how Merkel gives you that. He says what needs to be said. After a very short time, they also have forgotten who's talking to them. The reader is alone with the book. He has the opportunity to say, Ah, that's too much, not like that. Let's stop there. But he doesn't do it because it's so nice and funny. Now it's time for you to have your say. What do you think about how Germany deals with its past? And have you got any other questions? Let me know in the comments.