Stolen WWII Nazi letters delivered at last

MontyB

All-Blacks Supporter
19 December 2012 Last updated at 07:46 GMT Help Letters written by Nazi soldiers during the occupation of Jersey during World War II are finally being delivered - 70 years later.
They were stolen by a group of local teenagers, who broke into a German army post office as part of their resistance against the occupation.
The letters - many of which were Christmas cards - were handed into the local archive, which began the process of tracing the families in Germany they were intended for.
Robert Hall reports.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20779780



I was reading something when I found the link to this story, delivering the mail seems a rather odd thing to do at this point.
 
I really have a problem with the title of this thread, not all German soldiers were NAZI's, it really gets up my nose that all Germans are tarred with the same brush as Heydrich, Himmler and Goebels. Unless of course NAZI letters are different to ordinary German Army mail. I've met quite a few decent Germans including WW2 vets.
 
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I agree but that is the BBC title and I cut and pasted it as it was.

Now to throw a cat amongst the pigeons isn't it also fair to say that refering to the Japanese as "Japs" and Argentinians as "Argies" just as derogatory given that they are they are diminutives.
 
Every time something like this comes up, somebody always pipes up about Germans and Nazis--like nobody ever heard that at least a million times.

Lesson one-WW 2 Germans =Very bad guys whatever you may call them.
End of lesson.
 
When you listen to many of the men that fought for Germany during the war they had been brought to believe that every that there leaders said was correct and what ever they did was for the greater good of Germany. Now I knew a number of German POW during the war and found that they were nice blokes, but mind you I did not know what they had done before they were captured
 
I really have a problem with the title of this thread, not all German soldiers were NAZI's, it really gets up my nose that all Germans are tarred with the same brush as Heydrich, Himmler and Goebels. Unless of course NAZI letters are different to ordinary German Army mail. I've met quite a few decent Germans including WW2 vets.

I think (hope) they are alluding to the Nazi Regime in power at the time, not the writers or the intended recipients of the letters.
 
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When you listen to many of the men that fought for Germany during the war they had been brought to believe that every that there leaders said was correct and what ever they did was for the greater good of Germany. Now I knew a number of German POW during the war and found that they were nice blokes, but mind you I did not know what they had done before they were captured

But do you honestly believe that the average German soldier was any different to your average Allied soldier I have no doubt that there were good ones and bad ones just as there is in every walk of life.

One of the reasons for my trip to Germany in November last year was to escort the wife's Grandfather out here for the summer he served with 2FJR/3 during the war (1942 replacement so he missed Crete) while here he has a standing invite to the local Returned Serviceman's Association club rooms and an invite to participate in the ANZAC day commemoration should he still be here in April.

I find it hard to believe these things would have been extended to him had there been a belief that he was somehow doing anything more than his duty during WW2.

As far as believing what their leaders told them goes I don't think there is anything unusual in this after all here we are 70 years later and I am prepared to bet that a sizable chunk of the American population still believe Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 and had nuclear and biological ambitions.

I think (hope) they are alluding to the Nazi Regime in power at the time, not the writers or the intended recipients of the letters.

I don't think they are refering to them in that context as he specifically says..."Letters written by Nazi soldiers during the occupation of Jersey" to me he is clearly using Nazi to replace German, had written something like "Letters written during the Nazi occupation of Jersey" I would perhaps agree.
 
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Every time something like this comes up, somebody always pipes up about Germans and Nazis--like nobody ever heard that at least a million times.

Lesson one-WW 2 Germans =Very bad guys whatever you may call them.
End of lesson.

You are talking absolute bollocks. I have personally met a number of German WW2 vets and everyone of them was decent, on top of that they were bloody good soldiers.
 
I agree but that is the BBC title and I cut and pasted it as it was.

Now to throw a cat amongst the pigeons isn't it also fair to say that refering to the Japanese as "Japs" and Argentinians as "Argies" just as derogatory given that they are they are diminutives.

Obviously Jap or Japs is a shortened version of the word Japanese, while Argies is a shortened version of the world Argentinians, NAZI doesn't appear to be short for Germans, perhaps Germs would be better suited?

The term NAZI to my mind describes a nasty piece of work like Heydrich and his ilk, while I would suggest that most Germans were very decent people
 
Monty B,,,,,,,When you listen to interviews on some of these History Channel's you will find many Germans admitting that they did things at the time as they had been brought up to believe what they were doing was right
 
Monty B,,,,,,,When you listen to interviews on some of these History Channel's you will find many Germans admitting that they did things at the time as they had been brought up to believe what they were doing was right

I don't deny this and I don't need the history channel to confirm it as I have met a number of former German soldiers (both Wehrmacht and SS) who will tell you the same thing but I am prepared to bet bet that if you could talk to the people of any time in human history they will tell you the same thing.

I am also prepared to bet that had any of us been put in the same environment we would have done the same things.

The natural human response is to obey authority this has been proven over and over and documented by the likes of Stanley Milgram even though it may violating their own moral beliefs.

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

This does not excuse the actions of those who perpetrate these crimes but it does explain how they happen.
 
MontyB.......I have often given serious thought what I would have done had I been born in Germany at that time and I agree with you that I would have been just the same as they were. You were then brought up at every turn to be a Nazi and there was no let up at any time in your life.
 
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