Guide:
Today's article is from one of the chapters of "If Teacher S Teaches History in Germany." Regarding Teacher S's inappropriate remarks, many people ignored her last sentence.
All those who criticize Mr. S selectively ignore the phrase "we should not hate forever, but reflect on how the war came about." It drowned out in the noise. This is not an accident, but an inevitable consequence. In an atmosphere of high emotions, rational and differentiated discussion has become a distant luxury.
Today I would like to introduce you to a small story about Germany and Poland. Although it is a small thing, it is of great reference significance.
"We should not hate forever, but reflect on how war came about" is actually very educational and profound, and it is also the achievement of civilized society.
Since 2006 and 2016, Germany and France, as well as Germany and Poland, have worked together to develop history textbooks. Same content, two different languages.
As the world knows, Defa was once a feud.
Napoleon captured Berlin in 1806, swaggering through the Brandenburg Gate and taking the "Quadriga" from the Brandenburg Gate.
Quadriga
Wilhelm I was crowned Emperor of Germany at the Palais Falsay in 1871. This move is extremely insulting to France. The Germans took back the Quadriga from the basement of Falsei.
The coronation of the Emperor at the Palais de Falsay in 1871. In the middle of the white uniform was Bismarck.
In 1918, the defeated Germany signed the Falsay Pact in France.
An entente that set the stage for World War II
In 1940, Nazi Germany occupied Paris.
Hitler "visited here"
In 1945, after the defeat of Germany, it was "partitioned" and the southwest region of Germany was "taken over" by France.
In the lower left is the French occupation zone, as well as part of Berlin.
The two sides fought back and forth for a total of 139 years (1806 to 1945). The claim of a century-old feud lives up to its name. Both sides have done insulting things to each other. Both sides have reasons and pain points that hate each other.
If neither Germany nor France understood or was unwilling to reflect on history and how the war (tragedy) came about, even if the German-French feud did not continue, there would be no friendship today.
Without German-French reconciliation, there would be no EU today. The current world pattern will be a different scenario.
The new German Chancellor Schoelz visited France the day after taking office and met with Macron. vice versa.
German-French History Textbook: "Europe and the World after 1945"
The Depok history book has been published in its fourth volume in 2020. It goes without saying what kind of tragic experiences Poland (Jews) experienced during World War II. In order to facilitate governance, all Polish intellectuals and elites were massacred or expelled by the Nazis.
Debord History Textbook: "Europe - Our History"
If the Poles (the victims) hated the Germans forever for the crimes against humanity committed in those years, and neither side reflected on how the war came about and how to avoid a repeat of the tragedy, could Germany and The Poles jointly develop a history textbook more than 70 years after World War II?
The German side also responded positively, such as the permanent abandonment of the former East Prussian territory (4+2 agreement), the demarcation of the borders, and the kneeling of former German Chancellor Brandt (who actively promoted the New Orient Policy and eased relations with former Eastern European countries) in front of the Warsaw Jewish Monument.
Brandt was also under pressure from within Germany, including within the SPD. He was denounced as a "traitor" by the conservative opposition CDU.
Brandt, the German "traitor" who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971
According to German media reports, even though the Polish government at that time was more right-wing and often proposed war reparations to Germany, polish officials did not intervene in jointly formulating history textbooks with Germany, requiring the German side to write history textbooks according to the Polish perspective.
People who have seen the original video about Teacher S should know that the students who recorded the video recorded it while sneering, "Haha, think about how the war came about?" It can be seen that the lack of anti-hate education in domestic classrooms and the lack of reflection on history are common phenomena.
It can be sensed from the student's tone that thinking about how the war came about is a big joke in itself.
All kinds of comparisons have their shortcomings. The purpose of the comparison is to play a positive role in learning.
The reason why I use such a small matter as the joint formulation of a history textbook between Germany and France and Germany and Poland as a case is not to compare it, nor to deliberately let Germany and France "win once", but to say that as long as "do not hate each other and reflect on the origins of war", even a century-old feud may turn enemies into friends. German and French are the best proof of this.
If today's French people regard 1871 as the "Day of Shame" of the country, every year they emphasize "not forgetting the national shame" and thinking about how to take revenge on Germany. Will there be friendship between Germany and France?
If Germans today regard 1918 as a national "day of shame" (some extreme right-wingers do think so), every year they preach "do not forget the national shame" and think about how to "wash the shame of france in blood". What will be the relationship between Germany and France? What will Europe look like today?
"Not forgetting national shame" based on hatred will eventually lead to the destruction of life. The last German to take the hate version of "not forgetting national shame" to the extreme was Hitler.
"Not forgetting national shame", which is based on reflection, is more likely to usher in long-term peace and stability.
Fortunately, neither Germany, France nor Poland is on the path of hating each other (even if there are sometimes differences of opinion). Today's Europe is a reflective version of Europe.
A little more reflection will reduce the probability of war. The world will also be a little safer. You tell me?
RECOMMEND