this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2024
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Greentext

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[–] [email protected] 95 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Met a guy at a German language meet-up who let me know that I was first person who didn't ask him any questions about / discuss WW2 or nazis.

He actually grew up in East Germany in the 80's— also not great, but no one he talked to even knew that Germany had once split. They only wanted to talk about WW2. It made him very uncomfortable.

We got to discuss a lot about American culture and people's weird obsessions and developed a close relationship. It was fun!

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 month ago (2 children)

If I had a dollar for every American mentioning Germans/WW2 when I told them I'm Dutch, I would be retired now.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You'd rather they ask you about Anne Frank or the wooden shoes?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

I'd rather they ask dumb questions about the correct, yeah.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

as a northern european I'd ask how many dikes do you own

edit: dikes is not a spelling mistake (i think)

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

"dyke" is British English and "dike" is American English for a levee or flood bank. I don't own any of those because they belong to the government.

Both spellings are also slang for butch lesbians, and owning those has been illegal for about 160 years now.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

How about windmills, you must own a couple of those

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

My dad owned part of one of the first wind turbines in the country, does that count?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That's weird. Germans are used to that. In my experience it's especially brits that ask about it.

Every German I know has the answer memorized: yeah, it was terrible but we are a different population now and we are making sure it won't happen again. Do you want a beer?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

Every German I know has the answer memorized: yeah, it was terrible but we are a different population now and we are making sure it won't happen again

And yet the rise and rise of the AfD...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

We're in the US. I just don't think he was used to the amount of extended ignorance, sometimes purposeful.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Americans don't know about the iron curtain? hm

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago

You mean the ability from C&C: Red Alert? What does that have to do with Germany? It's a Russian superweapon, and Einstein removed Hitler from that timeline.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Most would just lough our asses off lol but that depends on how serious it was.

[–] [email protected] 82 points 1 month ago (7 children)

Well I feel like most Germans don't joke about Nazis at all in anyway

[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 month ago

Jokes about nazis are fine, maybe getting a little annoying because I heard them all, but if you do a nazi salute I'll punch you.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 month ago

I can guarantee you that is very wrong. In fact we do it all the time. All the time, really. We even make whole comedy series and films about Hitler. And it is a very popular topic for jokes and e.g. stand-up.

Humor is a good way to process the past.

However what the greentext descibes is just low-effort and simply lazy and unfunny. Put a little effort into your Nazi jokes ffs.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 month ago

What are the odds she's German and not American with a German grand-aunt, though?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

And yet i can tell you, as a German, that i heared more good Hitler jokes than jokes about USA (there are a lot of both)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yes, that probably makes the situation a bit awkward.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We don't really. We also aren't trying to bring fascism back. At least not as hard as some other places.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

We still can take a fucking joke man.