That’s such a German discussion.

There was also an official game to commemorate d-day: Memoire 44 or in English Memoir ‘44.

i think anything that keeps the memory alive and fresh is good, germans like to shun everything based on how bad it was and not being comfortable talking about it or doing anything. I actually find it repulsive how little is done I. Germany to remember d-day. France still has to deal with the resting places, bunkers, ammunition, mines and so on on it’s beaches.

We still have a few veterans left but not for long and  I find it shamefully little is done in Germany to keep the memories alive.

Well, a lot must have changed if d-day is remembered in Germany nowadays since I left 7 years ago, and I don’t think I have seen any other country being ashamed or shunning discussions about their imperialistic colonial past. On the contrary, it is still celebrated and done. Granted in former colonies some repair processes towards indigen cultures have started but it is very very little.

Playing Waffen SS holds no issues with me if playing myself or someone else playing them.  It is a representation of the past not a reality of now.  Yes, I understand atrocities were committed by members of the said military unit, but isn’t it a case that atrocities have been committed by many ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ over the course of history.

Does anyone question anyone playing those armies?

Seems silly not to remember D-day. Germany might have ended being totally under Soviet control without it.

The hobby is controversial enough but if you decided to take it up it shouldn’t make any difference what scenario you can play.

If i understand correctly @sundancer‘s peception of the contrast of non-German forum discussions about playing D-Day games to commerate D-Day on the 75th anniversary of D-Day versus German forum discussions about the same, they being ‘remember and celebrate’ versus ‘inappropriate and anathema’ respectively, they seem to me, in what i admit is my, still likely significant ignorance on such matters, part of general trend in attitude to WW2 in both spheres. I would like to suggest listening to this discussion that i came across today by way of an antidote to both responses: https://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pgx7Ljqge6?play=true .

I’ll add my two penniths worth.

my parents at this moment live in jersey – the only part of the british isles to be invaded. And they have a similar mentality around the war, they dislike churchill because he left them to starve and also can’t quite give the same distance as most of britain of US and THEM, as they saw the ‘enemy’ up close. Infact part of one of their museum pieces is an interactive german soldier and it asks “What would you do” the german soldier is trying to speak broken english and being pleasant offering food etc. They find ww2 weird because it wasn’t the faceless enemy they saw the people as well, which makes looking at any bad time harder.

They celebrate the day they were liberated however there’s a small amount of annoyance there as during D-Day they were bypassed and the germans ‘starved’ out – meaning they weren’t liberated for quite some time (MAY 1945)..

further more their museums (which is a massive underground field hospital and bunkers around the island) are FULL of stories of locals AND germans, because ultimately there is a human side they have to tell. Having lived in close proximity to the ‘enemy’ (Even though many of the germans stationed there came back because of how well they reminisced about the island (to put in perspective you could be stationed there or the eastern front)

I think it is nice that the museums walk a very good line about the atrocities (many spanish and russian slaves were used there) mixed with the human side (stories of the germans in the bunkers they lived in / stories of locals in talking to or resisting the germans), even some from the channel islands were sent to concentration camps and never came back.

There is a fine line to walk to discuss these issues but not annoy anyone, but in truth dialogue has to be the ultimate winner here no matter if people have their toes trodden on.

For example:
My nan (oma) grew up during the war – was part of child groups and sports teams which are probably deemed ‘evil’ now but were an equivalent of scouts and such groups (with a propaganda element). And talked about stories which happened during her time there – even a story where during kristallnacht where these children groups were used to rouse up some of the rioting (brain washing children anyone?), she took some cloth (as a child going along with the crowd) and took it to her mother, horrified her mother made her take it back. Now my family didn’t know about this story because nobody wanted to talk about it.

She didn’t seem too fussed discussing such details with me however i think there was a sitgma with my aunts, as when she moved to england (during the cold war – lots of stories of escape in her past too eg: shot at by russian soldiers escaping across train tracks) she stopped talking in german as people gave her angry looks and my aunts STILL hate discussing the war (As I think in their mind it degrades their ‘family’ image) – which i think maybe some germans also feel

However she told me because i had knowledge of the war and i think this is a small concise story which shows that nothing in history is ever black or white and infact both sides had evil (allied warcrimes anyone?) and humanity.

Many stories in the german bunkers show german soldiers – many 20-ish years old, feeling sorry for the slaves on the island and also telling of their lives. Which i think really brings home living in a totalitarian state: 1) its a brave person to get in its way – much braver than we think and 100x braver to act upon it 2) if the train has left the station its very hard to stop it to get off.

However in all of this dialogue is key, no matter how horrible it may seem, to look and understand what happened is better than turning a blind eye – for all parties.

From what I’ve seen, a lot of German Veterans would love to talk about their Wartime experience, and indeed feel angry whenever people tell them to keep quiet. However, there are those that feel ashamed, which always make me sad.

There also exists an atmosphere of mutual respect among Soldiers of that era. A prime example was Maleme Cemetery a few years ago.

After the German Ambassador and dignitaries had finished there, they played the Fallschirmjäger’s famous “Rot Scheint die Sonne” march. The Ambassador told the band to stop just before they played the third verse, but when the band stopped, their came a collective voice from the back of the visitors.

It was the voice of a group of British veterans who had come to pay their respects, and before anyone knew what was going on, both the British and German veterans broke into song and finished it. Friend of mine was there, and he said he’d never heard a group (of what essentially were pensioners!) belt out something like that with such pride and volume.

After they finished the Ambassador was leaving, but before he did, he wanted to get the ol’ “Oh look at me doing the good job shaking hands with the people”/PR job etc. He shook one of the Fallschirmjäger’s hand but as he tried to let go, the veteran tightened his grip and said:

“The last time a politician ordered us to do something, our friends went Home in boxes.”

Nuff said.

Then the Vets went down the Local and got drunk together.

It’s also worth reminding yourself sometimes that while Europe was occupied, (enslaved some might say) the German people were held under the same Gun too. Information was Power to the Nazis, and they scrutinised their own people in much the same manner as they did the rest of the Nation’s under their influence.