burlemarx comments on This entire country has collective amnesia

[–] burlemarx@lemmygrad.ml 51 points 2 days ago* (10 children)

Japan never paid for what they did to the Chinese, Koreans and other peoples during WW2, like the Germans did. My impression is that the West only cares about the Nazis because they did whatever they used to do in European territory against Europeans. If they did the same against Africans or Asians, there wouldn't be Holocaust museums spread everywhere.

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[–] knfrmity@lemmygrad.ml 23 points 2 days ago (4 children)

The Germans didn't really suffer consequences either, beyond a couple show trials.

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[–] demeritum@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 day ago

It lost a decent chunk of territory and about 14 million germans were expelled. It was not nothing. And yes East Germany paid reparations, which weakened the the eastern block as a whole, since the west quickly “forgave” west germany and restored its military capabilities.

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[–] REEEEvolution@lemmygrad.ml 25 points 2 days ago* (2 children)

The GDR did tho. Paid much higher reperations (about 120 times as much per capita). was very big into rebuilding the DPRK post armstice (third largest contributor behind the USSR and PRC) and many other cool things. Only to end up colonized and looted by west germany.

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[–] knfrmity@lemmygrad.ml 14 points 1 day ago (1 child)

A lot of the economic and developmental gap between the West and the East can be explained with the reparations as well. The DDR had to figure out how to pay it all (and get the USD to do so, and fund their own recovery), while the US had learned from its interwar foreign monetary policy mistakes and gave the GDR the USD required to pay off the reparations (Marshall Plan), which doubled as a recovery fund.

I hate that we have to celebrate annexation day here.

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[–] REEEEvolution@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Jup, also helpful to remember how the western allies helped capitalists from the soviet zone move their capital(money, machinery and so on) to the other three zones), further depleting the future GDRs wealth and increasing the FDRs.

Also an interesting tidbit is how reperation demands to the FDR were often unilaterally dropped, by the western allies and the FDR declaring them to be settled. The affected countries weren't asked. Greece got nothing, all of eastern europe did not see a cent. This also lifted a huge fincancial burden of the FDR.

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[–] T34MediumTank@lemmygrad.ml 25 points 2 days ago (1 child)

If they did the same against Africans or Asians, there wouldn’t be Holocaust museums spread everywhere

They actually did do the same in China. Heck, the Americans did even worse to Koreans and Vietnamese. Fuck me they are doing it right now in Palestine.

Holocaust is seen as a unique travesty whereas it is just one of many other mass killings in world history. It is special only because it was white Europeans who died in it

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[–] REEEEvolution@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 2 days ago

It is special only because it was white Europeans who died in it

Then they'd give a shit about the other victims too. The Holocaust is singled out because it happened to a useful minority. Had the colonization of the Levante not been so focused by the brits and later the yanks , the Holocaust would've ended up as pure historical tidbit like the massacres during the mongol conquests. Pure politcal expediency.

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