How do Israelis and other Jews feel about Germans today?

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Lupines supports GEERT WILDERS

Hi. I'm Sephardic origin and wasn't in Europe. I have my own personal perspective with the Vatican, the Inquisition and then how it relates to the Holocaust. As a supporter of our whole group, and in comparison with Vatican and Spain, I believe Germany has come a very long way from its past association with Hitler and that mindset. I set Germany apart and above on a higher realm than the rest. As a Jewish American, I am glad that Germany survived, learned and grew from past mistakes. I believe they're on the right path and I'm happy to have Germany allied with both America and Israel. To me, Germany is a success story where other nations were not, and I support their continued success.

I also think that Israel is still suffering repercussions from the Holocaust, as we currently have extremist Muslims and neo-Nazis still praising Hitler for his efforts. I was personally told this very week that "I wish Hitler would have found you and finished you off." I also answered 3 Holocaust questions just today on YA and none of these questions are pleasant, what can be pleasant about a Holocaust? I also think that some of the survivors of the Holocaust had a wound inflicted on their psyche so deep that it extended into their children, that there are people that suffer direct consequences of living thru the Holocaust. So you see, I cannot absolve Germany and wipe any slate clean completely, and while I don't hold Germany completely responsible for the personal actions of extremist Muslims and neo-Nazis, I do believe they had a part to play in their creation.

I think Germany has a continued responsibility to defend Israel against the residual effects of the Hitler monster that its society created. And I think Germany is in good company with America and Israel, in partnership to help repair this world, as we are all responsible for each other. Thus far, I believe Germany has risen to the occasion and I wish you continued success and to have a great trip.
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Edit to HopelessZ00 No Peace in YA: I believe the lady asked for Jewish/Israeli responses. I'm not particularly fond of someone that doesn't have one kind word to say about Israel, but frequently vocalizes their opinions on this forum, responding as if they were a spokesperson.

tlkr_11

I am a Jew, and I don't have any ill feelings towards Germany or the German people.

I could never forgive and forget what the Nazis did, and to this day I am disgusted that the majority of the German population (and the world) of the day was silent.

That said, I recognize that Germany today is very different. After the Holocaust, a German Government was democratically elected, and since the Holocaust, Germany has done its best to make amends. Even today the Government of Germany is making financial payments to Holocaust survivors, and Germany is a close ally of Israel.

I don't have a bad opinion of Germans today, not at all.

Raoul I

The atrocities executed and sanctioned by the German people will never be forgiven or forgotten. No Jew or nation has the right to forgive on behalf of those murdered.
A German scholar once confided to me 'that it is no coincidence that the Holocaust was perpetrated by Germans.' .....cold, elititist, systematic people.

How would you feel about a Nation that wiped out 1/3 of your people?

Sunnyboy

My whole family was brutally murdered by the German peopleâ€”note that I hold Germans, not Nazis, accountable. Setting foot on German soil for the first time was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do. Over the course of my time there, I was impressed with the friendliness of the people, the relative warmth of their attitudes to me as a Jew and as a duel US-Israeli citizen compared to the hostility which I experienced on both of those accounts elsewhere in Europe. The Germans are also genuine about their guilt. I never made it to Berlin, but the exhibit 'Faszination und Gewalt' at the ReichsparteitagsgelÃ¤nde in Nuremberg was one of the highest quality museums I have ever toured, and as a historian I greatly appreciated its candor and accuracy. Germany is the only country I have ever known which is able to confront the darkness in its own past so honestly. It is a truly unique and highly admirable quality, and one which I very much respect.

All of that is at a societal level. On a personal level, I haven't found the German people as repentant about their history. Almost every German I have ever talked to (and I have talked to a great many) has a similar family story. They were against the Nazis, in no way culpable, in no way responsible. Innocent victims just like everyone else. That is total bs of course, completely contradictory to all of the latest scholarship which demonstrates the overwhelming support and popularity that the Nazis enjoyed amongst the German population. If you want to get along with Israelis and Jews, the best thing that you can do is to condemn your own grandparents for surviving the war, because the way which most of us see it is that if a German survived the war it was because they weren't actively working against the system, and that for failing to do so they are responsible for what was done in their name.

How do most of us feel about the Germans? We don't trust them. It's in our blood. But I wouldn't be worried about us showing you open hostility. Israelis are aware that contemporary Germany is their best friend in Europe. We are well aware of the close cooperation between our governments on many crucial matters and of the generous German security assistance granted to us, even if neither government publicizes it. Enjoy our beautiful country with an open heart. We have a lot of warmth to offer you.

Kimimela-PRO ISRAEL AND PROUD

Im jewish and I lived in Israel. I also lived on Kibbutz with a non jewish german girl.

When I was on the kibbutz I knew some people from germany who had survived the holocaust. Although they could speak German with this girl, for them hearing it brought back a lot of bad memories. It wasnt so much that the girl was german but that for them, the language she spoke was the language of Nazi soldiers and hitler and concentration camp guards.

For me, hearing the German language sends a little shiver down my spine. Although Im not a holocaust survivor, ive suffered because of what my Hungarian family went through in ww2. I think thats what people dont realise.

The war messed my grandmother up, and my mother was more or less abandoned at the age of 4 because my grandmother had a break down. That affected the way my mother was with me... I may not have been in the war but im still feeling its effects.

So for me , the German language has second hand bad memories... it reminds me not only of what my family went through , but what millions of my fellow jews went through too...

Ive had german aquaintences and personally I find them hard to get along with.. but i think thats personality more than anything...

As far as the german people go- I dont blame them for what their grand parents or great grandparents did. 60 years ago was another world, and I personally havent or wouldnt not - not be nice to a non jewish german if i met them in Israel.

As one person said, Germany has come a long way since the war, and while we should never ever forget the holocaust, nothing is gained by seeing this generation in germany as though they were still hitlers soldiers if you get me ?

I personally suspect you may find a better reception from the younger generation in Israel than you will with people in their 60s , 70s and above.

Of course it all depends on where they orignally came from. Those jews from middle eastern countries were far less affected by what went on with Hitler than their european cousins...

The best advice I can give you is just to be sensative and sincere. Be aware that when you see a person with numbers tattood on thier arm, that person was in a concentration camp and survived god only knows what horrors let alone loosing family members, or even entire families......

if their reaction to you is less than friendly dont take it personally... its not that they think you are a nazi or anything... rather the memory of what they survived may still be very painfull even 60 years later... and for them a german accent can bring it all back..

Lastly - I think its good that you want to come to Israel and that you are sensative to the people there... dont worry about it too much... just enjoy your time and if people ask you about where you are from etc just be honest about it ...

enjoy your time in our beautifull country ... shalom :)

devora k

I hold no anger for today's Germans You can not be at fault for what happened so long ago. In fact, I respect your country as I understand in Germany you are not allowed to wear a Nazi emblem etc Bravo for that and welcome to you Yes I am Israeli

Sabrina

I'm Jewish and have a very strong connection with Israel.
I'm not going to lie, but when I hear the word, Germans, I cringe. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you are a very kind person, but it's just becuase of the Holocuast that makes me feel so angry towards the Germans. All of my grandparents are Holocaust survivours that went through the concentration camps and lost everything litterally from their parents, to siblings, to ALL of their belongings. And what did they do to deserve this horrific outcome? NOTHING!
So let me try to put you in my shoes, - when you were a child I am sure you were taught that when you do something wrong, you get punished. Now picture this - your mom sits you down at the age of 5 and explains to you that you will never meet your great-grandparents, or great aunts and uncles, and then you ask: "why?!" and the answer you get is that they were punished and killed! Then you ask: "What did they do deserve such a punishment?" and all you get as an answer is: "Nothing-they were Jews."

Now I ask you, if this happened to you, would you feel comfortable hearing about a country that did this to your family?

That's how I feel!
p.s. Israel is the best place on earth!

Ari

i have nothing against germany or any germans except for the one who where actually in the war and supported Hitler and the Nazis

Tyreeisme!

i hate Nazis and their supporters , I do not hate Germans or any other group because of who they are ethnically

Warren S

The German people of 2009 are completely different from those of 1945.
I lost family in the Holocaust but those that perpetrated that atrocity are for the most part dead. Germany over the past few decades has done its best to make amends and that must be recognized. The Holocaust must never be forgotten but it was not the fault of this generation. Enjoy your trip to Israel.

lemon_lorrain

Jews felt betrayed by Germany which they supported and thought of as the most cultured of nations! You will be most welcome here in Israel; however, for the most part, Jews wouldn't wish to live again in Germany, although we still do respect its culture and people.

bart s

im jewish, but i dont live in israel
i know that a lot of jews still have bad feelings towards germany, but i sport the idea of not blaming the children for what their grandparents did.
some jews i know don't buy german products, cars etc, but my sister has a volkswagen so we don't really go by that

for the jews who still hold grudges towards the germans, i think that it is them who are keeping fellow jews from achieving peace. if the jewish people held grudges every time we were victimised, our "bubble wrapped" communities would only become tighter, more exclusive, and there would be more hatred.

when i meet muslims, i dont hate them. israel has been bad to them, they have been bad to israel, but that doesnt mean that this muslim did anything wrong.

i know that germany tries very hard to teach their youth about what they did in the holocaust, and for this i respect germany further.
an israeli friend of mine recently met a german on the street. the german guy asked if she was israeli, and then apologised for the holocaust, admitting that he had never met a jew before. now they are good friends, and last time i was at her house he was there too.

there are ignorant fundamentalist jews who i disrespect for their unforgiving idiocy

sally dana

I really can't even look at them. when I see them. Its like visioning the the devil in front of me. I can't help it, but as jew i don't trust them. Deep down they are happy what hitler did and also their ancestors. how come they don't suffer like we did.

SouthBrooklynCarl

Its like Ari Gold says on Entourage "Because The Jew has Arrived and He Doesn't Like Germans!"

HopelessZ00

Now, the second generation of Holocaust victims feel they need to be compensated by Germany. Perhaps also the 3rd generation and so on. As long as Germany keeps dishing out the money, they will forever be in the victim role. Who cares if Israeli or some angry Jewish people don't like Germany? Time for all to move on. Cheers!

Lawsuit: Recognize 2nd generation as Shoah victims
Children of survivors plan to file class action against German government, demanding that it recognize traumas caused by childhood in shadow of Holocaust

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3387483,00.html

The sums involved have been enormous. For decades, the German government has paid out billions to Holocaust survivors in an attempt at recompense for the brutal crimes committed by the Nazis.

But even as the World War II generation is rapidly shrinking, a new conflict is looming over who is responsible for the suffering of the next generation. And Germany may soon find itself having to pay millions for the psychological treatment needed by the children of Holocaust survivors.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,480901,00.html

Kevin S

Most Israelis come from Arab countries so I don't think they know much about Germans. Personally, I get a bad feeling when I hear their language, but it doesn't matter. If you are not a Jew hater then I don't care. But the paranoia is still there that you might be a secret jew hater.

John E

I believe my dear that deep down inside the Jews recognize the contribution of the Germans in our modern history
Things from the simple tape recorder to the more sophisticated Jet engine would have not been invented if the German scientists hadn't rolled up their sleeves at work and discover them for the rest of us.
I am not Jewish so I might have a less "emotional" answer to give you.
I believe that without the German race we would be still living in the postindustrial revolution age.
OK, war is bad, but please just look what these Jews have done to those poor souls, the Palestinian people during January 2009.
I respect the Germans and I see them as friends.
Greetings

Moustafa Hussien Obama

a fat cow they milk 6 million times a day

Hamad is T.C. in fooling

they hate germans

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