They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45

Re:They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 by planb on Friday April 15, 2022 @01:53PM (#31043365)

I’ve often thought about this. But, if I would have been raised during the Nazi era, I wouldn’t be me. If you would take back via a time machine now, I definitely wouldn’t become a Nazi. But what if you’d erase my memory and everything I know about history and then transfer me back? I hope that it’s ingrained values and not just knowledge that would let me make the right choices.

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Re:They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 by philosopher1234 on Friday April 15, 2022 @01:58PM (#31043428)

I wonder if nazis had any realistic hope of resisting. In russia today there are a handful of people who will take open action against Putin, and pay for it with years in prison. If you aren't willing to sacrifice yourself on that scale, could you have done much in Nazi germany, either?

Maybe it's like being a part of a bad company. It's too big a machine for you to meaningfully change, and the only way to remain on board is to help it along.

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Re:They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 by karpierz on Friday April 15, 2022 @02:16PM (#31043666)

Of course it was realistic to resist, there are many examples of people that did. Ex: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Schindler

Is it realistic to resist and live comfortably? No, but you have the choice, and the choice you make is a reflection of your character.

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Re:They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 by watwut on Friday April 15, 2022 @02:22PM (#31043761)

People in position and with experience to meaningfully resist were targeted by regime first. There were actually attempts to resist, but simply, they lost.

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