Owl, AB, I fully agree with your posts, and so I don´t have to write my answer.
JR.com, you haven´t yet understood my posts on this thread, have you? I´m not denying that Hitler became German Chancellor and later President at the same time(= "Führer"), and that he was able to start the worst war in Europe´s history (I say Europe because actually WW2 started in the Pacifics 1936) because of that position.
But I slammed the comment "From the country that gave the world Hitler". Hitler was an Austrian, he was given to world by this country. So I intended to make this shi++y comment, which has no relation to the actual topic (see the title of the thread), looking foolish. Unfortunately, you don´t understand that. You fail to see that the homecountry is the country that gives the world a person. Einstein was given to the world by Germany, although he emigrated to the US later. Or would you deny that?
By the way, it was once a nice practise to address those who are mentioned in a post, too. You referred to me in your posts to AB and Owl, but I wasn´t addressed. Rethink your behaviour here.
"The child of Nazis [meaning Germans] should be apologetic, not try to rewrite history like they some how saved the world from Germany."
Germans are not nazis as a whole. This is complete BS. Do you think that my jewish compatriots were nazis? Do you think that all those brave Germans who gave their lives for their ethics or their idea of freedom were nazis? Do you think that I am a nazi (Be more than careful what you are saying!)?
You say I'm creating an "orgy of hate", yet I feel like I'm denying Michael the freedom of shifting the sins of the Germans onto the Austrians. No hate intended, but no love either.
The relationship between Austria and Germany is an interesting issue. Therefore you should know that the current dispartment between both countries is a artificial status that was imposed by the Prussians in 1848 for political reasons. It is called "smaller Germany" ("Kleindeutsche Loesung") and has never gotten into the de facto etnical mixture of the population. I am from southern Germany and I can tell you that every Austrian is much closer to me than somebody from -let's say- Berlin. The area I live in was over centuries part of Austria. I.e. the dialects are quite close. When Hitler united both countries most Austrians did not see that as an unfriendly act (of course there were - just like in Germany - many enemies of the nazis). I am convinced that even those who were against the nazis saw the "reunification" of "Greater Germany" ("Anschluss"; "Grossdeutsche Loesung") just as political logic. The Anschluss can be misunderstood as simply a military annexation of an unwilling Austria, but this lends itself to confusion with other German military occupations of European countries. It also tends to conceal the culpability of many Austrians in Nazi crimes, most of all the Holocaust, by perpetuating the myth of Austria as the first victim of Hitler's expansionism. Despite the subversion of Austrian political process by Hitler's sympathisers and associates in Austria, Austrian acceptance of direct government by Hitler's Berlin is a very different phenomenon from the administration of other collaborationist countries. After the war Austria and the Austrians of course used the chance to disburden them from the nazi-guilt in appointing that they were assaulted. This is understandable but is faking the real responsibilities.
More about this issue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anschluss