U.S. Slams German Minister for Bush-Hitler Comment

Reuters ^ | 09/19/2002

[Pokey78]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush's spokesman on Thursday expressed outrage that Germany's justice minister drew a link between Bush's saber-rattling on Iraq to the tactics used by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Spokesman Ari Fleischer said the United States and Germany have long had a strong relationship, "but this statement by the justice minister is outrageous and is inexplicable."

The regional Schwaebisches Tagblatt newspaper quoted German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's justice minister, Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, as saying "Bush wants to divert attention from his domestic problems. It's a classic tactic. It's one that Hitler used."

The Bush administration has been none too pleased that criticizing the United States over Iraq has been a key campaign plank for Schroeder in his re-election battle but has refrained from publicly commenting on the issue.

[HelgaHawk]

Ugh Lee

[Phillip Augustus]

In what is anticipated to be an election as nip and tuck as Bush and Gore; this gaffe could tilt matters towards Stoiber.

I hope so, because time is running out for Germany. Germany may be Muslim within half a century if liberals stay in power.

[Phillip Augustus]

I did not miss WWII in history class. One thing that I did learn in that class was that WWII began over 60 years ago, and, without even having to go to class, I learned that most people who were adults during that time period are dead in this Year 2002.

Do you believe in generational guilt? Do you believe that Germans are intrinsically evil, based on sins of the Nazis? If so, how do you, claiming German descent, extricate yourself from this collective guilt theory of yours?

[dark_lord]

Humorous, but interesting. It is still comprehensible. It might actually look like this in a couple hundred years. Go back and look at the Declaration of Independence as it was originally written - a bit different than modern American english.

[GHOST WRITER]

Now I know what they mean by "Euro-Trash".

[swarthyguy]

LOL! I'd seen that a few years ago and was actually thinking about it lately!

[Bullish]

Yeah, and we know how smart the women of Germany have been in the past, you know, like the ones that fell for Hitler.

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

THAT DOES IT NO MORE BECK'S ITS' BACK TO MILLER LITE

[syriacus]

I wonder if she exchanges cookie recipes with Hillary. Herta has some of her other favorite recipes on a web page Meine Lieblingsrezepte.

[FreedomFriend]

I'm thinking that the War on Iraq will help solidify a one world government.

[FreedomFriend]

President Bush is beyond criticism, huh? Granted, he did draw up a comparison between one of the most evil individuals the planet has seen.

[Contra]

Doesn't this guy know that only American liberals, blacks and Democrats are supposed to compare Bush to Hitler? But of course Germans would be experts on Hitler.

[A. Pole]

But of course Germans would be experts on Hitler.

You need to put it in the their context. Germans associate Hitler with their former arrogance and with the desire to master the world. They fear return of those passions, try to supress them and tend to react nervously when they see assertive policies in other countries.

[Phillip Augustus]

Ironically, when Germans behave in the manner that you describe, i.e., play the peace card and speak out against they perceive as aggression; amazingly, neo-con Freepers accuse them of Nazi tendencies, when the Germans are exhibiting precisely the opposite!

[roses of sharon]

In my e-mail, I simply reminded them of MUNICH.

[dsutah]

I'm not going to slam them. I know that there must be ordinary Germans in there who don't agree with her. Another reason is simply that my great-grandparents came from there before the turn of the 20th century. My dad, some uncles and cousins and friends went there with the military.

This is the same with France, as perplexing and maddening the French leaders can sometimes be. I can't slam the French as a whole; because some of my relatives came from the southern regions of France. Also, some French helped us in our War for Independence.

[Travis McGee]

I dont disagre.

[Travis McGee]

I was looking through an old paper file and found that clipping on a xeroxed paper.

Remember before the internet when jokes were copied on paper and passed around?

[185JHP]

The more decent Germans may fear the return of "those passions", but after being in Germany, I know there's some serious nastiness being suckled in Germany. Not all of them are evil, but the "ubermensch" idea lives. For cold, aggressive nastiness, look no further. Remember what X42 said to Kohl? "I thought about you last night. I was watching a movie about sumo wrestling." When have the Germans ever done anything for us that cost them anything? I think the Eddie Murphy line is appropo: "We ain't partners. We ain't buddies. And we ain't friends." Deutsche Bank delenda est?

[wingnuts'nbolts]

Moron!!!!