I sometimes get very interesting emails in my inbox and this happened today when I found the email below sent to me by "M". Having read it I immediately contacted "M" to ask for his permission to post it here. I felt that this would be especially important since I posted the "Appeal" of Egor Prosvirnin which some of you interpreted as anti-German and then accused me of also harboring anti-German feelings. As I explained it later, my intention had been to make people aware that there is a growing anger against Germany in Russia and that even though I personally did not feel that anger, I considered that anger legitimate, if not necessarily deserved (I soon realized that the most vociferous and nasty protests against this post did not come from Germans or even Germanophiles, but from the same old crowd of neo-Nazis who strongly feel that defending anything German is part of their ethos). Still, I have to admit that I felt bad about the whole thing (because, believe it or not, I am not only not anti-German, I don't even believe in collective, nevermind inherited, guilt). For one thing, as an anti-Soviet Russian myself, I know the very difficult situation of a person who opposes the regime in power in his country, but still feels that his own people are also victims. There are quite a few countries and nationalities who still are resentful and angry with Russians, especially for things which the Soviet forces did during WWII, and I consider that this resentment and anger is legitimate even if sometimes historically one-sided. It is always tough to be at the receiving end of somebody's anger - whether fully deserved or not - and so when I saw "M" email I decided to share it with you and I am grateful to "M" for giving me his permission.
The Saker
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Seeing the hatred and outright ill will some have towards Germans really brought me down. It makes me wonder how we are ever going to manage to have some kind of stability in Europe and the world...
Here are some of the dynamics in Germany, as I see them. Most likely many will disagree and want to debate them, I don't claim they are how it is, just how I see it. I don't claim to know and understand it all. But it's something I would like people to think about, before they write off the German people as a whole.
Where do I start? Something that should be obvious is that Germany is not a free and sovereign country. From the start, when the Federal Republic was conceived, the Allies had a great influence on shaping the new Germany. Especially the Americans. It is somewhat subtle if you are used to how things are, but once you start observing it becomes clear that the American political circles have great influence on ours. Anyone interested can take a look at how many of our Politicians in the various established parties are members in transatlantic clubs. So guess where their allegiance lies? They are not even ashamed of it, it's normal to them. For decades we've had what you can call US whores. Not long ago I complained about that on a page of young transatlanticists and was quickly accused of being anti-American, they weren't interested in any of my arguments. Being anti-American is hardly possible since I am an American citizen. There is a divide between the common people, many of whom don't have anything against Americans but are not too keen on having them involved in German affairs, and many of our leaders who try to make us all believe that we need the United States as partner, come what may. One fact that should make anyone pause is that there are currently still around 40.000 US troops on German soil and various US bases. It may not sound like much, but in principle should any be here at all? We have US nuclear warheads here, the maintenance of which is also paid for by German tax payers money. If you asked the average German what he thought about that, you can be sure that they would be against that. “Ami go home” is a more and more open sentiment here. “American go home”. But will the Americans go? I doubt it. It seems they do not have the slightest interest in granting Germany full sovereignty and of letting go. So the question begs: how free are German politicians to do what they want? And then, how “natural” is the influence Germany has on the shaping of European affairs?
I can fully understand that many in Europe resent Germany, due to the dominating of EU policies and the problems they cause. What many don't know though is that the current administration and the previous ones have been equally harsh on Germans. German politicians don't just sell Europeans out, but their own people. The climate here has changed drastically in past years. People are having increasingly hard times to make a living and are in fear, fear of loosing their jobs, fear of making ends meet, fear of loosing what they have. Fear is the perfect mechanism of keeping people in check. The contempt and the lack of any shame on the part of our government has never been this drastic before. Careful observers have seen it for years. Why people keep voting for the same parties is beyond me. There are some who say voter fraud could be at play. It would not surprise me. At the very least the media have been extremely pro Merkel for years, even campaigning for her and her party, when they should have been neutral. Every once and a while that has been criticized but nothing changes and many don't even notice. Merkel's policies are always aimed at business elites, not the common people. I remember how years ago she spoke of “market conformed democracy”. There was no outcry, no outrage. No one seemed to care. As in most places, the elites own the media as well. So honest and critical reporting has become a thing of the past, unless one watches carefully and knows where to look. The average person doesn't. So if people are angry with Germans, I wish they would know that Germans are angry with our leaders as well and have been screwed over as well. Why Germans put up with that? Good question. This is a subject of its own. My impression is that Germans have always been people that are good at following and bowing to higher ups. They are terribly long suffering, in a bad way. After the Second World War Germans have been pacified as a people, in my opinion. Imagine having the mindset of being aware of things you dislike and that anger you, but thinking that somehow it'll be alright, that life must go on. You go through the motions. And then add a state of paralysis and helplessness. Perhaps that is what is going on with Germans. Of course those that have the upper hand and benefit from the current status have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are. It is unrealistic to expect Germans to magically snap out of it and overthrow the status quo. And though it is not obvious we do have a police apparatus in place that can quickly stomp out any uprising.
I will not deny that Germans can be arrogant in their views. But there is a constant stream of medial manipulation feeding them that perspective. I know that deep down Germans want peace and have no interest in dominating other Nations and people. Many are actually appalled and shocked because our leaders are calling for more involvement in conflicts and taking on more “responsibility”. People see that as dangerous and hypocritical. The problem is that the (you can only call it) “political cast” is so far gone and so far out of touch with the common people. There is a complete disconnect. I see it on Facebook postings of Steinmeier, Gabriel and many others. They live in their own world, facts and reality do not exist for them. And their personal integrity and values are non existent. Calling them pathetic would still be a compliment. It is not any different with our media. Regularly you get to see statistics that suggest people to be skeptic of Putin and Russia. Every time many speak out and question these. Sometimes there are polls in which readers can take part and they say the opposite, that people see through the lies and are not in favor of sanctions and do not want a conflict with Russia, that they do not want anything to do with the crimes committed in the Ukraine. There's a saying “don't trust any statistic that you haven't forged yourself.” There have been statistics for years, that suggest Merkel having very high support among people.. To me it's a mystery how she has been in power for so long. I guess there still are many idiots who believe in her, but there are also very many who would like to see the worst happen to her.
Many people see that when the wall came down and the two Germanies were reunited, the Soviets/Russians were fair. Just think about how much time has passed, when have the United States and the British made an attempt at the same fairness? I'm afraid the US would rather see Germany in ruins yet again, rather than leaving and giving the Germans freedom. I understand the resentment that many have for Germans, but am also shocked by how much hatred there is. Is it not the same principle in most places, that Governments do not act in accord with and represent the will of the people? And to what degree can we count on the will of the people when they are not given accurate information and facts, but are fed half truths at best and outright manipulation most of the time? Ironically I see a lot of Americans accusing us of cowardice for not taking a more aggressive stance against Russia. The same with the Polish. Merkel's behavior in this crisis makes no sense to me at all. At times she is bullying Russia, like the perfect US poodle, but then there are reports of her reaching out to Putin. Either she is completely soul less without a personal sense of direction, or she is more devious than she appears. No idea what her true aims are. They certainly don't seem to be what they should be. Part of her vow when sworn into office is to avert harm from the German people. She is steadily doing the opposite. She and her cronies along with her.
It seems that we are prisoners of a political apparatus gone insane, both on a German level and a EU level. Then there's NATO on top of that. And lets be realistic, the cards are stacked in favor of the higher ups. That is no excuse for giving up, which I am not suggesting, but haters need to take a close look at reality. Finding solutions is not that easy, is it? So, this is part of what I observe, I bet I forgot a lot. My health is not too well and my strength limited.
Best regards,
"M"
