Many Germans See Positive Aspects to Nazi Rule, Poll Shows

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Despite the horrors of Nazi rule, one in four Germans believes there were at least some positive aspects, according to a new poll.

A horrible, scaring result.

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One in four see positive side of Nazis, poll finds

· Older Germans more accepting of regime
· TV newsreader sacked over comments on family

Kate Connolly in Berlin
Friday October 19, 2007
The Guardian

A quarter of Germans believe aspects of the Nazi era were positive, according to a poll published after a dispute about the Nazis and their attitude towards the family.
Asked whether National Socialism was wholly negative or had some good points, 25% of respondents to the Forsa institute poll said yes, while 70% said no.

The poll was published in Stern magazine to accompany an essay on "Why every fourth German still believes National Socialism had its good sides". It comes after a debate sparked last month by a television presenter who said the Nazis' attitude towards the family had been positive. Eva Herman, 48, was sacked from her role as a newsreader by public broadcaster NDR after her comments prompted an outcry.

Germans were still deeply insecure about how to view their past, according to the magazine. The older the respondents, the higher their acceptance was of the Nazi regime. Of the over 60s, 37% answered positively.

"It would appear that a lot of people think like Eva Herman, but most of them don't say it into a microphone," the magazine wrote.
The poll has drawn sharp criticism from the Central Council of Jews. Its vice president, Dieter Graumann, called it a warning sign and said it was "ugly, disastrous and it makes me sad and angry".

"It shows just what a tall task schools (and) youth workers ... have in front of them," he told German news website Netzeitung.

Volker Beck of the Greens said it was a slap in the face to those who thought Germans were confronted excessively with the Nazi past.

"This poll shows those who repeatedly criticise schools for teaching too much about the Third Reich are wrong," he said. "It is particularly alarming that younger people are increasingly positive about National Socialism."

Herman was quoted as saying that although there was "much that was very bad, for example Adolf Hitler," the Nazi era produced good things, "such as the high regard for the mother". What makes her remarks particularly taboo in German society is that the Nazis awarded mothers who produced large families medals of honour for their contribution to increasing the aryan race.

The magazine said Germans suppressed the extent to which Nazi-era laws and legacies shaped their lives, and its condemnation of Herman was hypocritical. "Hitler still reigns," it wrote, highlighting existing laws governing everything from chimney sweeps to maternity leave, which originated in the Nazi era.

"Hitler left the world much more than Auschwitz and the autobahns, but it's something people gladly forget or suppress," it wrote.

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Germans were still deeply insecure about how to view their past, according to the magazine. The older the respondents, the higher their acceptance was of the Nazi regime. Of the over 60s, 37% answered positively.

If you think about it, the finding that older people had a greater acceptance of the Nazi regime is a perfect example of the phenomenon of "cognitive dissonance".

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In simple terms, it can be the filtering of information that conflicts with what you already believe, in an effort to ignore that information and reinforce your beliefs. In detailed terms, it is the perception of incompatibility between two cognitions, where "cognition" is defined as any element of knowledge, including attitude, emotion, belief, or behavior.

The theory of cognitive dissonance states that contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new thoughts or beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, so as to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

It makes perfect sense. There was much negativity surrounding the Nazi regime. Many of the older people were part of this regime from one extent to another.

This sets up a serious emotional conflict for people. How does one accept the negativity of the regime with the idea that they might have played some part in it? One way to assuage any guilt that they might have is by thinking about any perceived positive aspects of the regime.

Then again, you had those people who actually thought that what the Nazis were doing was positive.

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I think, Phoenix, that your explanation might only be correct for a very few.

We can see the same with those, who lived in the former GDR and now want those times to come back.

In my opinion, it isn't really easy to explain - the one way or the other.
And it isn't THE general explanation for all.
But I think that many can't cope the system chenge(s), and therefor try to look for positives in the good old times.

And these are mostly wrong. Or least only partly true.
(Like re Nazi-period: Hitler didn't "invent" the autobahn: the first autobahn was finished before, and opened in 1932 already, by the late Federal Chancellor Adenauer [then mayor of Cologne]. Or the many jobless: those plans Hitler used were developed under previous Weimar governments ...)

What I find most disturbing is theuse of terms which had been used before only by Nazis, like done be the mentioned tv moderator or by the Cologne cardinal.

If persons which such a great influence think it to be normal ...

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Phoenix32890 wrote:

Quote:
Germans were still deeply insecure about how to view their past, according to the magazine. The older the respondents, the higher their acceptance was of the Nazi regime. Of the over 60s, 37% answered positively.

If you think about it, the finding that older people had a greater acceptance of the Nazi regime is a perfect example of the phenomenon of "cognitive dissonance".

Quote:
In simple terms, it can be the filtering of information that conflicts with what you already believe, in an effort to ignore that information and reinforce your beliefs. In detailed terms, it is the perception of incompatibility between two cognitions, where "cognition" is defined as any element of knowledge, including attitude, emotion, belief, or behavior.

The theory of cognitive dissonance states that contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new thoughts or beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, so as to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

It makes perfect sense. There was much negativity surrounding the Nazi regime. Many of the older people were part of this regime from one extent to another.

This sets up a serious emotional conflict for people. How does one accept the negativity of the regime with the idea that they might have played some part in it? One way to assuage any guilt that they might have is by thinking about any perceived positive aspects of the regime.

Then again, you had those people who actually thought that what the Nazis were doing was positive.

I personally think that subscribing to "cognitive dissonance" as the cause of some Germans seeing good in the Nazi era is being too, too kind to too, too many Germans of that era. Notice there was no cognitive dissonance over going to the Russian Front. That was not usually thought of as an opportunity to gain land for the Fatherland; just a likely death sentence.

From the starvation times of the Weimar Republic, the Germans had food to eat and other assorted "goodies" (documented in a book by a German lady author, the name I forgot, about all the "care packages" that German soldiers were able to send home, after invading a country). In my opinion, there was not much cognitive dissonance for many of the masses of true believers; they liked the Nazi regime. And, since there were a good many true believers, so to speak, many did like the fact that the Nazis made Germany Juden Frei. Let's not blame the brain's "unconscious defense mechanisms" (cognitive dissonance) for the enjoyment the Nazis gave to many admirers.

Many Germans See Positive Aspects to Nazi Rule, Poll Shows

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