Germans to Greeks: You need to live the German way!
Are the fiscal woes of nations surrounding Germany beginning to rekindle the sentiments of superiority that so many Germans subscribed to before and during World War ii?
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is seeking assistance from European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, to help Greece conquer its mounting debt.
Last Thursday, German politicians told their Greek counterparts that Athens should sell off some of its islands and other assets before accepting international aid from the European Union.
Now, Germany’s Bild magazine has put forth another suggestion. In an open letter to Mr. Papandreou, the publication called on Greek citizens to adopt a more Germanic—and superior—work ethic to solve their problems.
Here is the letter:
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
If you read this print, you’ve entered a country completely different from yours. You’re in Germany. Here, people work until they are 67. There is no longer a 14-month salary for civil servants. Here, nobody needs to pay a €1,000 bribe to get a hospital bed in time. And we don’t pay pensions for the general’s daughters who sadly can’t find husbands. In this country, the petrol stations have cash registers, the taxi drivers give receipts and farmers don’t swindle EU subsidies with millions of olive trees that don’t exist. Germany also has high debts—but we can meet them. That’s because we get up reasonably early and work all day. Because in good times we always spare a thought for the bad times. Because we have good firms whose products are in demand around the world. Dear Mr. Prime Minister, today you are in the country that sends umpteen-thousand of tourists and money aplenty to Greece. We want to be friends with the Greeks. That’s why since joining the euro, Germany has given your country €50 billion. For this reason, we are writing to you, Yours, Bild Editorial P.S. In case you want to write back, we have enclosed a stamped addressed envelope. Of course, we want to help you to save ….
This German publication’s message is blunt and clear: The German way of life is the superior one, and to rescue your country from shambles, you need to adopt it. This is evidence that the sentiments of superiority subscribed to by so many German citizens before and during World War ii are gaining momentum once again in Deutschland.
In 2006, Trumpet columnist Ron Fraser wrote about the dangers of this mindset:
Wonderfully talented, organized, energetic and cultured the German people certainly are. Major contributors to the progress of modern society they certainly have been. But as long as Germany refuses to face the singular great flaw in its national character, its people risk becoming willing pawns yet again in the hands of any future demagogue who would seek to captivate their fancy. Yet again, Germany could emerge with a sense of superiority over the rest of the world—with disastrous results for all!
As financial trouble beleaguers the nations around Germany, the German sense of superiority will grow stronger. Soon, the German way will be heralded as the solution to the world’s problems. To understand where this is very quickly leading, read our booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.
