U.K. Enmity Toward Germany Persists, Despite Efforts at Unity

Wall Street Journal ^ | Wednesday, July 30, 2003 | CECILIE ROHWEDDER

[presidio9]

Stefana Bosse is a German teenager living in London -- and in fear. She never sits on the upper level of the city's red double-decker buses, and carefully scans the other passengers before she gets on. And she never speaks German in public.

[presidio9]

British-German relations have been largely antagonistic in character:

• 1714: Georg of Hanover becomes King George I of England. He speaks no English.

• 1914: World War I breaks out.

• 1917: King George V drops German last name, Coburg, and adopts the name Windsor.

• 1939: Britain declares war on Germany.

• 1940: Churchill calls on Britons to resist Germany's "Blitz" bombing campaign.

• 1960-62: In Hamburg, the Beatles develop what becomes a pop-culture revolution.

• 1966: England beats West Germany in soccer's World Cup final.

• 1989: Berlin Wall falls; Thatcher opposes German unification.

• 1990: British trade minister calls planned euro "racket to take over Europe."

• 1994: BMW buys Rover.

• 1996: Daily Mirror apologizes for its "ACHTUNG! SURRENDER" headline before a Euro '96 soccer match.

• 1999: German parliament moves into Reichstag rebuilt by Britain's Norman Foster.

• 2001: David Beckham leads Britain to a sensational 5-1 victory over Germany in World Cup qualifier.

• 2002: Two German youths are called Nazis and beat up in a London suburb.

• 2003: Daily Mail runs anti-German piece titled "Sour Krauts."

[rrrod]

i think i had read an article not long ago concerning germany trying to under cut the brits economy....any one remember ?

[TheBigB]

A favorite joke making the rounds in Germany:

GERMAN #1: "How many Poles does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

GERMAN #2: "I do not know! Let's invade and find out! Ha!"

[presidio9]

There is a very simple way for the Germans to win the affection of the Brits: Start hating France. It worked for a brief time in the 30's...

[STFrancis]

1966: Last time England wins a football match of any meaning against Germany
1990: Germany beats England in the semi-finals to then go on and win World Cup
1996: England looses to Germany in the semi-final in a penalty shoot-out to Germany who ends up winning it all
2002: England chokes in the World Cup only to see Germany becoming Runner-Up

[presidio9]

2003: England sides with Historic ally The United States of America in the War on Terror.
Germany sides with France and Saddam Hussein.

[Salman]

In his office, Mr. Matussek keeps a stack of pink and blue postcards from a campaign encouraging Britons to learn German. They carry catchwords designed to evoke a positive image of Germany -- including "Autobahn," "Einstein" ...

"Einstein" evokes a positive image of Germany, does it? Didn't Einstein have to leave there in a hurry?

Einstein had such a positive image of Germany that he urged Franklin Roosevelt to develop the atomic bomb.

[MissouriForBush]

Some Germans don´t seem to have a problem with bashing the British. A recent DPA wire-service article (that originated from a "Der Spiegel" magazine story, I think) reported how many Germans are "reviewing" WWII history. (All they are really doing is revising and re-writing wartime history in order to resurrect themselves as PC victims of the Allies!)

In this article, the brave British RAF pilots during WWII are referred to simply as "flying terrorists."

[STFrancis]

I was just commenting on the stupid soccer stuff sprinkled in. England hasn't done squat since 1966 and their win then was rather controversial. But still they highlight the 5-1 win in a "qualifying match"??? Go figure...

[presidio9]

"CECILIE ROHWEDDER" sounds German to me. The article has a decided German bent. Rather than becoming so obsessed with soccer in their relations, I might have mentioned that England kicked Germany's ass in two wars.

[propertius]

"1966: Last time England wins a football match of any meaning against Germany"

Er... the 5-1 victory over Germany in the World Cup qualifier was extremely important. It meant England automatically qualified and Germany had to go through the run-offs.
But true at least the Germans have football to comfort them. Their economy is screwed, they backed the wrong horse in the gulf, and they don't have a great track record in winning wars either.

[Prodigal Son]

i think i had read an article not long ago concerning germany trying to under cut the brits economy

In what sense (undercutting the economy)?

[dfwgator]

A favorite joke making the rounds in Germany: GERMAN #1: "How many Poles does it take to screw in a light bulb?" GERMAN #2: "I do not know! Let's invade and find out! Ha!"

Considering that one-third of what used to be Germany belongs now to Poland, guess who has the last laugh?

[RJL]

The German ambassador… wants to change that. "It is in Britain's own interest to know what is happening on the Continent,"

I think the little dust-up in Iraq showed Britain exactly where they stand. Germany chose Saddam Hussein over Britain.

[FreepOnTheBorderlands]

1994: BMW buys Rover.

2000/2001: BMW makes even bigger mess of Rover, then dumps everything except the one vehicle of value (MINI) causing a massively odd ownership battle. BMW becomes a 4 letter word amongst many british motor enthusiasts.

2003: British race fans go nuts when german owned british marque (Bentley) beats sister company's german marque (Audi) at LeMans.

2003: British race fans go even more nuts when anglo-americian team (Dyson MG/Lola) beats aforementioned german marque (Joest Audi) in ALMS event @ Infenion raceway (sears point)

=)

[DTA]

>>>>>There is a very simple way for the Germans to win the affection of the Brits: Start hating France.<<<

No need for that. After WWII, several thousand Nazis settled legally in Britain.

[ellery]

I've just about had it with hearing Germans whine about stereotypes and "getting past Hitler." It's not about Hitler in a vacuum -- it's about the fact that the Germans elected that monster. It's about Germany starting three wars in Europe within 100 years, two of which engulfed the world.

Sixty years is not a long time by history's standards. There are still Holocaust survivors alive today who experienced unimaginable horrors with the "avert-your-eyes" complicity of the German people. Are they supposed to get past it too? Obscene.

[presidio9]

Hey wait a sec: Anyone born in 1938 is 65 now. The vast, vast majority of Germans alive today had nothing to do with Hitler or the Holocaust. I am not one of those who says "Get over it" to Holocaust victims, and I am the first one to dump on Germany, but, by and large, today's Germans have nothing to apologize about. If you disagree maybe you should start writing your reparations check to Rev. Jackson.

[ellery]

You make a good point -- many of today's Germans have nothing to apologize about. But they should at least be aware and humble enough to realize that they also are not victims for the world to pity.

[anotherGerman]

Your history is a bit weak here:
Einstein did not have to leave, he himself was in no danger.

And he did ONLY urge Roosevelt to make the bomb, because he believed the Nazis would make one. Once he found out they were not capable of doing so, he STRONGLY urged the president never to use it.