Germans embrace communist past

CNN ^ | September 18, 2003 | Donna Werbner

[Tailgunner Joe]

A boy peers over one of the last remaining sections of the Berlin Wall.

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, few would have thought it would be replaced by a 47-kilometer (29-mile) plastic screen.

But that is what arts promoter Christof Blaesius proposes to build for 2006 to coincide with Germany hosting the World Cup.

[cyborg]

I'd rather be free with a crumb of bread than fat and satisfied off the government teat.

[KarlInOhio]

Machine gun the kid on the wall, just for nostalgia's sake.

Ah, the good old days.

[TopQuark]

Isn't it interesting: the world demanded that Germany dealt with its fascist past --- and it did, in contrast to, say, Austria. But one can be nostalgic for an equally deadly, communist regime -- and it's OK. Europeans find it cute.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Politically correct holocaust denial.

[gaspar]

Well, as Churchill said about the Germans, they are either at your throat or at your feet. Either way, they make neither good allies nor dinner companions.

[gaspar]

Well, as Churchill said about the Germans, they are either at your throat or at your feet. Either way, they make neither good allies nor dinner companions.

[Prodigal Son]

But one can be nostalgic for an equally deadly, communist regime -- and it's OK.

Aye, humans are odd like that.

[cyborg]

Winston Churchill was a very observant man wasn't he? Some people find their oppression to be more comfortable since they've been in it so long.

[RobbyS]

The country is run by men who hated to see the overthrow of the Soviet Union , denied the existence of the Gulag, and did what they could to frustrate the United States. Still trying to do that, right?

[Prodigal Son]

I don't think it's fair to say Germany didn't want to see an end to the Soviet Union. I mean, even the Soviets wanted to see it fall at the end of the day. Denying the Holocaust, Gulags and other things isn't nation specific. Noam Chomsky is an American (and prominent in leftist ideology) yet he is one of the biggest apologists for Communism out there, for example. The New York Times and the Gulags- well, I don't even need to elaborate on that. It's easy to paint with a big brush but it's not really the true picture that gets painted when we do so.

[TopQuark]

Aye, humans are odd like that.

Yes, especially the modern leftists: National Socialism -- bad; Soviet Socialism -- good. The latter had more casualties --- does an everage Joe even know about that?

[RobbyS]

I was talking about the Chancellor of Germany and the foreign minister. Both are radical socialists who fought the deployment of the Pershing missles into Germany about 20 years ago. It was their successsful deployment that oersonal Gorbachev that its was the time to deal with the west. On top of it, the foreign minister was a buddy with members the Badder Mainhof gang who were involved in several political assasinations.