All German citizens were made to pay reparations after WWII (in the form of physical labor and low food rations). Do you believe this was fair? Why or why not?
I am a big believer in positive reinforcement. I don’t think that punishing people by subjecting them to the same treatment they had forced on others would be helpful. I would have thought that inclusivity training would have been better.
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I so agree with you. This was another thing I learned about from this book. I had no idea that German farmers were forced to do physical labor. This shocked. me so much, I had to go online to see if it was true. How could I miss so much history!
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I don’t think so. You could argue that some of what happened could have been prevented, so perhaps as a nation the citizens were responsible. But again drawing a parallel to current events, there are things happening that I vehemently opposed, yet as a citizen I’m powerless to change. And punishment tends to cause resentment, rather than changing the future
The German government was responsible for the atrocities carried out during World War II, not average German citizens. It is true that they did not rise up in protest to prevent the Nazis from carrying out their repugnant agenda, but as Sofie noted, to have done so would have been suicidal. Average German citizens lived in fear for their lives as acts of resistance or rebellion met with swift, often lethal, punishment. To penalize them after the war ended seemed quite wrong to me.
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While understandable as a response to wartime atrocities, the blanket suffering imposed on all Germans, regardless of their actions or beliefs, fails the test of fairness rooted in individual justice. It inflicted suffering on victims alongside perpetrators, suggesting that reparation policies should distinguish carefully between levels of responsibility. Still, in the historical context of postwar devastation and the desire for justice and deterrence, the policies were seen by many as necessary, if deeply imperfect.
Thank you for so beautifully expressing my very complicated feelings on this, Karen.
I agree with what you said.
I am not sure of the question. Were all German citizens living in Germay at the time of the atrocities and were still alive forced to pay? Were the citizens who left Germany and returned after the war forced tp pay? For how many years was this repayment required? Many people supported the Nazis denied it. Many escaped, not too many Jews, and lived comfortably in
South America and in the US. I don’t think I can this question fairly. Someone had to rebuild , but who should bear that cost? I am torn. This book has plagued me ever since finished it. I have recommended it to many people.