Although Germany has the third largest contingent of forces in Afghanistan, passionate anti-war sentiment persists for Germans who are still haunted by the horrors of World War II.
It has become politically risky for German leaders to support President Obama's call for allied countries to send more troops to the war effort. A recent poll shows that nearly 70 percent of Germans want to withdraw soldiers.
German anti-war sentiment stems from the guilt many feel after their role in two World Wars and the Holocaust, according to analyst Constanze Stelzenmuller.
In this video report from Berlin, NewsHour correspondent Margaret Warner speaks to Germans who grapple with their role in the Afghan war while haunted by horrors of the past.
Quotes
"It's the legacy of a profoundly pacifist culture created by the guilt and the knowledge of our guilt in perpetuating two World Wars and a Holocaust. It's that simple." - Constanze Stelzenmuller, senior transatlantic fellow, German Marshall Fund
"Our history just tells us that a war was leading us into a catastrophe, into such a catastrophe that we don't like to be connected again so much to a war." - Martin Ostrowski, Berlin tour guide
"I think it's the past. That's 60 years ago. And, yes, it was terrible and everything. But nowadays are other days. Today, Germany is not the Third Reich anymore. It is a modern democracy, and so it has a responsibility to the world." Matthias Wernicke, advertising copywriter
Warm Up Questions
1. Where is Germany? What do you know about Germany?
2. What happened in World War I and World War II?
3. Why might Germans have a different perspective on war than Americans?
Discussion Questions
1. What did you learn from this video? Did anything surprise you?
2. Do you think that modern Germans should feel guilty about their history? Why or why not?
3. What parts of U.S. history might some Americans feel guilty about? How do you feel about slavery or the Vietnam War? How do those events affect the way American leaders make policy decisions?
Additional Resources
