Ask a German anything.

[Rev. Rye]

Here's the thing I find very odd about postwar German culture.
It makes sense that after World War II, Germans would be, to say the least, very touchy about the subject of the Third Reich.
It makes sense that a good portion of Germany's art after the war would involve it in some way.

What doesn't make sense to me is that simultaneously, the Nazis are the elephant in the room, and yet, if the literature and films that reach American shores is any indication, it seems like it's the only thing they seem to want to talk about; I mean, it seems like 85% of German cinema these days is about the Nazis, and an additional 10% is about how fucked up East Germany was.


There's got to be some sort of explanation for this, but since you're a German, and a clearly intelligent one, you may have the answer. Of course, this may be just as extreme a national paradox as to why Americans are so squeamish about sex but not violence that nobody can answer it.