21/12/2000 00:00
TW
0

Dear Sir, Ray Fleming's ”Looking
Around” of Saturday last, in particular regarding the Sunday Times reference to a similar euphoria to successful bombing raids in WWII, to a recent cricket test victory by England's team has for me, and no doubt many, many others, hit the nail right on the head.

I am of German nationality, married to an Englishman, with two children born and raised in Majorca.
Whilst I was born after the war, I and many of my age group have been made aware of our country's misdeeds, to almost give us a complex about it, when of course we were born out of this time.

Despite our own loathing for that total regime, we have to continue to bear the brunt of bias, bigotry and even hatred.
I can recall on the many visits I made to the UK over the years, the incredible number of “war programmes” on TV, from the “World at war” and ”holocaust” series to the ridiculous such as “Dad's Army” and “Allo, Allo”.

I also have tried to put my finger on why this ill feeling is continuously promoted, and I wonder if some of it is designed for a purpose - to explain: Britain's power and success since the war has declined, whereas Germany has become the industrial and financial powerhouse of Europe. Strikes were nicknamed elsewhere “the English sickness” and no doubt a nation who were hitherto rightfully proud of their place amongst leaders, must have wondered how this all came about.

So easy to blame someone else for one's own mistakes/problems, and so the story continued, passed on from parent to child, to keep the myth alive.
The years are passing, and the possible guilt we feel for something we had nothing to do with, my generation is giving way to another in Germany -a generation which is not interested or involved in politics, at least less than ever before.

Possibly we should treat this attitude to Germany as something to be pitied rather than become annoyed about.
Whether or if it will go away, who knows, but as it is only practiced or promoted by a section of society which is envious, inadequate, or a failure in some way, should we really care?

Elke Phillips-Pensold
Palma

PS: I recall some years past, during Mrs Thatcher's time, a top French politician when making an official visit to London, was taken to the Houses of Parliament to see/hear proceedings, and the ”special place” he was given, was directly beneath a huge oil painting of the Battle of Waterloo...so maybe Germans are not totally selected for this special treatment!