Published: 18 Jun 09 16:49 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/20154/20090618/
A local Christian Democratic politician in northern Sweden is in hot water after praising Adolf Hitler for his skill in solving economic crises.
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It is idiotic comments like Välivaara's that compound antisemitism. If one were to give Mr. V the benefit of the doubt, one should send him to Politician's School where they could teach him not to compliment one of the most evil people who ever lived. Or tell him to get a job in the private sector.
PS--Hej Mr. V, I think the oppression culminated when 6 million of their relatives were killed during the war.....................................................
What Mr, Välivaara remembers is that Hitler built roads. What a genius. BTW, he built the roads in order to move the army faster, not to improve the life of Germans. Perhaps Mr. Välivaara shall recall the fact that Hitler also was a painter and that he prepared the best spaghetti. What an idiot. Together with Brugge.
Classical understatement regarding things getting worse for "some people" - like the six million jews, gypsies, gays and political activists who went to the gas chamber.
Yes, it is true that hitler did build the autobahn and did turn around the German economy - but then he promptly led the world into a war that cost thirty million lives.
What the politician said isn't untrue about the roads and economy, it's just politically incorrect to talk about Hitler, even after all this time.
....and Norway buys SAAB.
Why do men want to marry virgins?
They can't stand criticism.
Comme ça?
This is a gross reconstruction of history and an illusion that is perpetrated by those who have been distorting Germany's history for the past 75 years.
The next thing that will come out is that Rommel was really a Palestinian, and that Hitler was not an Austrian but a Somali, and that the Jews really invented modern day rockets and missiles.
The Germans during the period of 1930-1945 did create some of the most important inventions and industries of the twentieth century, and for the lack of them the rest of the world would still be trying to get off the ground, let alone into space.
The politician who praised Hitler was right, and even more so than the Americans who praise the moron gwb for his war on terror that is given credit for preventing "weapons of mass destruction and mushroom clouds," whereas he shredded their Constitution and their Bill of Rights.
And please, explain to the class how Hitler, himself, was personally responsible for all of this wicked-cool inventions you're ratting on about? I'm failing to see how the rest of the world would be rolling around in its own feces without German innovation.
Who in their right mind would identify themselves as "Slut" ?
Your complaints about the United States and Israel show that you only admire Germany for her failures during Hitler's reign and not her accomplishments before and after your preferred epoch. Nothing but thinly veiled and exceptionally tired anti-Semitism in its purest and rawest form.
As I see it, you're better suited to pick up a book and brush up on your history than bothering yourself with what I choose to use as an internet handle. And with that I leave you with the following tidbit to ponder:
Hitler was nothing else but a crazy ass nazi ladies en gentlemen.
Back on topic: to what tune was that politico singing Hitler's praises? Deutcheland Uber Alles?
Oh well at least Hitler was astute enough to support a car company or two that are still in business.
if you're obliquely referring to Germany's 1950's and 1960's economic 'miracle' ... well, present day thinking Germans acknowledge the 'repatriation' (from Switzerland and elsewhere) of looted WW2 wealth used to turbocharge the German economy 5 or 10 years after the end of the war in 1945 ... the focus was on capital intensive industries like engineering, chemicals and automotive where scale and hence capital availability were the key criteria to compete ... no doubt that German industrial families had plenty of hidden capital available!!
many household name German companies had to import their technology ... for example BMW was built on British automotive designs and production machinery
... reference to "space" was presumably concerning the Apollo program which is famously referred to as being made possible by 'German rockets, British brains and American money' ... leaving aside the conspiracy theories ;o) ;o) ... if it actually happened ;o) this was at least as much a British technological triumph as it was German
"superior aircraft" ... scratching my head as to which era this could be referring to? ...
... obviously not WW2 since Germany comprehensively lost the Battle of Britain despite having at least a 3 to 1 numerical advantage in aircraft piloted by veteran (Spanish civil war, Poland, France etc) German combat airmen against little more than a bunch of 'hobby pilots' ... inferior German engines, limited effective range, poor cockpit visibility, and lack of radar were among the many key/fatal technological weaknesses suffered by the German Luftwaffe
the jet engine was developed in Britain but was dismissed as uneconomic to produce ... the Germans put a handful of jet prototypes into production and service just before their defeat but would have been better advised using the scarce materials elsewhere
... the standout 100% german WW2 aircraft innovation was the ejector seat ... which was introduced too late to save more than a handful of their veteran pilots
"superior hand gun weapons" ... the Russian AK-47 is still the 'hand gun' weapon of choice worldwide and based on a WW2 era basic design
... bored now !!! ... can't be bothered with the rest ...
On the original point ... (alarmingly) I've met many admirers of Hitler here in Sweden ... the politician is just voicing the silent opinion of many ...
Hitler elevated blue eyed, blond haired 'nordics' to the very pinnacle of human evolution (based on no scientific or historical evidence whatsoever) ... Swedish immigrants had previously been little more than the butt of jokes in the States and elsewhere ... easy to see why Hitlers ideas appealed to some weak minded locals!
The rulers and armies of ancient Rome would make Hitler look like a boy scout, yet ancient Rome and their military leaders and Emperors are revered.
Sweden matches almost everything that Germany produces, especally military materiel and Special Operations Forces.
I admire the Germans Wehrmacht and Bundeswehr and the German peace-keeping truppen who recently defied Israeli soldiers. The attitudes remain
70 years later.
I have read more history than you will ever see. After having read 52 military histories in one winter, and afterwards in university for five years read even more history--your ideas are pure bunk. I have since read a hundred more history books.
I know where Israel stands, and I know where the United States stands in regard to them.
And after all above mentioned superiority their asses were kicked by drunken and stupid russian muzhiks with caucasian sadist as a leader!
How comes?
The Germans were hampered by their own high level of engineering excellence. The Tiger tank was the most technologically advanced tank of the war, but because they wanted perfection it was difficult and slow to produce. As a result they were only made in a few thousand. The Sherman and T34 were made in their tens of thousands and as a result were far more effective than the Tiger. The allies could afford to lose 5 or 10 tanks to knock out on Tiger.
The Germans independently developed the jet (The British jet designer, Frank Whittle met the German designer after the war and established that the German had no knowledge of his pre war designs). The ME262 was hampered by Hitlers desire to make it a fighter bomber rather than just a straight out fighter. It was an effective weapon but came ito the war too late and in too few numbers.
There are many more stories of high tech weaponry developed by the Germans that were superior to what the allies had, but were hampered by the Germans search for perfection and the leaderships wacked out ideas.
It was probably a good thing that they never assassinated Hitler, because if he was replaced by someone who wanted to continue the war, but took advice from his Generals and scientists, the war may have gone on longer.
The conversation is about a politician giving a personal praise to Hitler! And Hitler, mind you, was not even of German origin.
"an engineer has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away" ... as the famous quote has it!
Nearly all German engineering was easily replicable by the British in WW2 ... indeed much of the technology (eg the jet engine) was available to the British long before the Germans conceived it, let alone put it into production ...
But (to paraphrase RHs eloquent and valid points), it was quantity and simplicity of production (and particularly ease of repair through standardised platforms and parts) that really counted in WW2
It was a conscious allied decision not to produce a small quantity of top-end weaponry for land sea and air, but instead to produce a very large quantity of simplified and standardised weaponry
This was in no way a reflection of 'superior German engineering skills' ... quite the opposite IMHO
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_war_2
What Mr, Välivaara remembers is that Hitler built roads, which were planned before he came to power but took credit for. The surge in the German Economy in the late 30's was due to re-armenent. Hitler had actually run out of money when he entered Prague in 1938.
All Hitler did, was slaughter, massacre, kill, destroy and main. He did nothing else.
For those of you who mention the Romans. Caesar slaughtered and enslaved a third of what is now France, destroying there original language and culture. Trajan exterminated Dacia, which is now called Romania.
It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games. Today people visit it as a place of culture.
but things did get worse for some! what a line from this politician: displays his naivety and arrogance. Swedes with this attitude are really laughable, When the rest of europe burned and was involved in a life and death struggle these people just did business......hence to this day the lack of generational understanding of reality lives on in this society.