Baby Boomers went from hating WWII vets to calling them “The Greatest Generation”. Real WWII vets weren’t such simpletons. They knew war sucked & they were fighting human beings. The pop culture of their day mocked the bureaucracy of the military and especially “The Brass”. They didn’t strut around like McCain, waiting to be worshipped as “heroes”. There was no obligatory “Thank you for your service!” They did their jobs & came home. They knew most Germans were not NAZIs, they were just guys like Schulz & Klink who didn’t want to be there any more than we did. Today, a lot of us don’t understand that. HOGAN’s HEROES was probably more realistic than the stuff they are making today.
A few years ago, when my kids were still in high school, we hosted some German exchange students in our home. We eventually met one of their families (from Dusseldorf). Very nice people. As you say, most Germans in that war wanted no part of it either.
One experience that sticks out, I had a copy of William Shirer's "Rise And Fall of Adolf Hitler" in my library and on the spine was an image of the Nazi Swastika. I never thought much of it but the German kids were shocked that I had it on display like that. In their country, that image is strictly verboten.
Another episode with the German kids was the education they gave me on beer! They were only around 16 but they were beer experts and told me (in a nice way) that I was drinking crap. So I had the surreal experience of having them in a liquor store with me, telling me what was good and what wasn't. I came back home with some Spaten, Paulaner and Pilsner Urquell.
They also thought we Americans were strange for keeping drinks in refrigerators. They wanted everything room temperature. Even milk!
Interesting observation. I've never noticed this.
That said, we Viet and Viet era Vets were definitely given the cold shoulder, especially those of us who went to college after serving.
That all changed after GWI, and it was nice to be a part of the vets' community thereafter.
Re Hogan's Heroes?
A bit sappy, but fun. Just the thing when decompressing and not needing major conflict and drama.
My old man was a guest of the Wehrmacht from about Dec 20th 1944 until the Canadians liberated him in the Spring of 1945. He was part of the 110th Regiment of the 28th ID, and while they were trying to get back to the lines after they’d been smashed and run over by the initial German attack he woke up one fine day to see a grinning German engineer pointing an MP40 at him, who announced that “For you, the war is over!”
He thought the show was drivel, but he wasn’t insulted by it, he probably figured anybody dumb enough to take it seriously couldn’t be taken seriously.
He did comment, several times, that whoever laid out the camp and sets did some research or was a POW. He also admired Bing Crosby’s ability to make money off of sugar coated misery.
“Baby Boomers went from hating WWII vets to calling them “The Greatest Generation”.
I’m a Baby Boomer born in 1951 and my Dad was a WW II combat vet. I never heard of Baby Boomers hating WW II vets. Never.
“Baby Boomers went from hating WWII vets to calling them “The Greatest Generation”.
Why did you make up that load of crap? Come on, tell me.