answer for Acacia

Is it a means by which an insecure nation can seek reaffirmation by reminiscing on its past glory

obsessed??
I was merely answering a question that was asked

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Is it a means by which an insecure nation can seek reaffirmation by reminiscing on its past glory

I take offense to that

obsessed?? . . .[/quote[]

This thread has primarily english-speaking members (which include a goodly number from Oz, and a Kiwi), and mostly Americans and Canadians. In the entire time i've been here, almost from the beginning, there has never been, for example, a single question or statement about the War of 1812, a very significant event in the history of the three nations which provide the most of the members here. And yet, in a matter of a few months, we have had three Oztralians show up on the topic, and you comin in here on the heels of another who posted first a few days ago. Every time someone responds, the person initiating the thread has reacted as though offended that we don't take for a given that the Rommel quote exists. Not a single one of you have produced an attribution. This is not a terribly formal place, so if someone makes a claim, and others "have no dog in the fight," there'll likely be no challenge. However, if someone feels that they know, and can demonstrate the contrary, the allegation is subject to challenge, and it is neither unusual nor unfair to ask for an attribution.

Quote:

My initial thoughts on this site seem to have been wrong, so unlike McArthur, I shant return, as it seems you all already know all that needs to be known

We've gotten exactly this response in all three cases--as if to say that be we not greatly impressed with claims of Antipodean glory, we aren't worth the time of your day. As for what needs to be known, i would suggest that what wants to be known here, by those of us who have now been fools enough to respond on three occasions, is why the hell should we care?

What's the deal with Australians and their obsession with this Rommel quotation? Is it the answer to a standardized test question? Is it part of a nationwide scavenger hunt? Is it a means by which an insecure nation can seek reaffirmation by reminiscing on its past glory? We "up top" are, I think, somewhat mystified by this surge in Rommel-related trivia-seekers from "down under."

Andrew Denton: I'm going to ask you each for a quick final answer...to a last question. I'll start with you, Paul Kimlin. What does Anzac Day mean to you?

Leut Paul Kimlin: I think it means a celebration of the Australian spirit, recognising that it's been a hard-fought road to get here and we've got a lot to be thankful for.

Andrew Denton: Austin Hanna?

Austin Hanna: I very much think it should be our national day - it made this country a nation. From Anzac Day onwards, this country has become a nation in itself.

Andrew Denton: Rowley Richards?

Rowley Richards: I appreciate the opportunity of marching on Anzac Day...with the object in mind of remembering all... from way back, all wars. And particularly my mates and those who are not any longer with us. It's an opportunity to have a little memorial service.

Andrew Denton: Paul Murphy?

Paul Murphy:The last few years I've had the... I suppose, the honour of actually attending Anzac Day, and Long Tan Day in Vietnam, having lived there for five years. And to actually celebrate those momentous occasions, but actually on a battlefield because we celebrate it at the Battle of Long Tan at the site. So it really brings it home to you just what being an Australian is and being part of this group of men that did so much.

Andrew Denton: Olwyn Green?

Olwyn Green: Well, it's an affirmation - I see now that the Anzac legend's grown into our national myth, our founding myth. And I'd like to just talk about the source of our legend. Out of the sea and the dawn on 25 April, these men charged across the beach and up the hills and they didn't stop, and it was described as reckless valour. And that is what I think is the kind of thing that fires the Anzac spirit - that those men were prepared to do that. That courage. They were volunteers, they were a group. And our Anzac myth is a collective myth. And that's why our heroes tend to be not as so much individuals but we think, when we think about Anzac Day, we think about the Kokoda Track, we think about El Alamein, the Rats of Tobruk, all those heroic actions, and I think about that day in Korea when they, with their bayonets, and the same at Gallipoli, they charged through that apple orchard in the same spirit. That's how I see it.

Andrew Denton: Robbie Robertson?

Ian 'Robbie' Robertson: Yes. On Anzac Day I like to look back on what...our enemies said about the Australians. Rommel said that at Tobruk, when Hitler demanded to know why he allowed a colonial division to fire the might of the German army, and Rommel said, "This isn't a colonial division, it's an Australian division. Give me two Australian divisions and I'll conquer the world for you."
Andrew Denton: Pretty good tribute. Thank you, Robbie. I'd also particularly like to thank the Australian War Memorial for their help and generosity in preparing this evening. Robbie, Olwyn, Paul, Rowley, Austin and Paul also, thank you very much.

Yeah - Joe was over-generalizing by speaking as though Rommel's quote is a national obsession - but there you go.

The sudden Rommel "thing" is odd, I think.

I think we DO have a rather amusing touch of "little country" syndrome, you know.

In the Middle East campaign, the most significant intelligence related event involving the Australian Army was the capture on the 10th July 1942 of the German Afrika Korps' 621 Signal Company. This highly experienced signals intelligence unit was captured by the 2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion, during a brigade raid at Tel el Eisa by the 9th Australian Division. The real significance of this capture and subsequent exploitation of the documentation and prisoners by Allied intelligence is cited by the Germans themselves, who are of the firm belief that the loss of 621 Signal Company was the turning point of the campaign in North Africa. It is recorded that the Commander of the Afrika Korps, General Erwin Rommel on hearing that his signals intelligence company had been captured, had to sit down, and was then heard to murmur 'They have plucked out my eyes and ears'.