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Should the Queen say sorry to the Germans for Dresden?
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
Germany wants British apology for indiscriminate bombing raids
My first question would be, have the Germans said sorry for their indiscriminate bombing of British cities (Coventry, the Blitz in London, etc)?
If they have, I think it would be a nice touch if the Queen said sorry for what can only be described as a pointless and barbaric atrocity (Dresden).
Though I'm sure most people here will disagree...
My first question would be, have the Germans said sorry for their indiscriminate bombing of British cities (Coventry, the Blitz in London, etc)?
If they have, I think it would be a nice touch if the Queen said sorry for what can only be described as a pointless and barbaric atrocity (Dresden).
Though I'm sure most people here will disagree...
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
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if they both say sorry to each other, the people of Dresden weren't hardline Nazi's anyway.
shut up, sentiments run on, how would you like it if a load of your relations were wiped out in coventry during the war, pretty mad i'd say.
i mean germans say sorry for their blitz, brits say sorry for theirs.
And an apology will bring them back from the dead? An apology will make everything alright, will it?
I was refering to the Queen being, erm, half German isnt it.
oh rite, lol, isn't the royal family not just an inbred mixture of every ruling monarch in europe.
Something like that, well they arent really the Winsors at all, they were called something German before the war, though in gods name I cant remember it.
Saxe Coburg Gotha.
Yes it was right that Hitler was removed but that does not mean that everything done on our side was legitimate yet most people still have a completely black and white view of the two sides in the war........
PS Could Simon Heffer be more of a twat if he tried?
Possibly. He works at the Daily Mail, so it's an open verdict.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,2763,1280561,00.html
the question is should the queen say sorry now answer it,
And before you think of going down the predictable and simplistic route of "but the Nazis were worse" remember that we're talking about an attack on a city with no military, strategic or logistic targets of any significance whatsoever.
The attack was in fact designed to kill as many civilians as possible for the sole purpose of petty revenge and demoralisation.
It is possible to be the 'good guys' and still engage in the odd atrocious act you know...
Glad this won't be a surprise then.
No she shouldn't and I'd be interested to know why anyone thinks that she should. Why should the current monarch apologise for an act of war which too place under another monarch and helped to free the German nation (and a large part of Europe) from the tyranny of Nazi rule?
Perhaps is unfair on the Queen... perhaps it should be Tony Blair or someone else... but if the Germans have apologised for all the atrocities they committed, and if there has not been an apology yet from Britain regarding Dresden then now would be a good time.
But if an apology was to come it'd have to be from the Queen or the Prime Minister, since they are head of state & government respectively. Who else would it be?
Difference is between aggressor and defender and I don't even think that the Germans should apologise for the war. Not anymore, nor should they apologise for any of the act because previous Govt did that.
The Japanese on the other hand...
Anyway there comes a point when we have to accept that what has passes is past. We should not apply today's morals to events in the past - partly because of the cause an effect principle.
I don't think that it should happen at all, so IMHO this question doesn't even arise.
Either everyone does it or nobody does it. Churchill's government claimed that the original bombing of civilian areas in Berlin was an accident but we don't know whether this is true or not. Therefore we can not be sure whether Hitler had a motive or not. If it really was an accident, then the Germans owe "us" an apology for the Blitz, but if it wasn't, then "we" owe "them" an apology for any civilian bombing.
However, I think apologising is a waste of time. It doesn't acheive anything. Off the football pitch, there is no major resentment felt, so why bring it up all over again?
As for the Namibians wanting compensation from the Germans, it reminds me of that group of African Americans who sued the company who insured the boats that some African slaves, who may not have even been their ancestors, had been sent to America on. How does it effect the current people in anyway?
War is messy, innocent people die. But I must agree with MoK that the Queen is not required to apologise for acts of war that took place under a previous monarch, under an entirely different social circumstance.
Dresden was a legitimate target for the allies. It was a major source of tank production and other war industries. It was also the main railway hub for transporting troops to the East to fight the Russians. Therefore, the attack actually greatly contributed to the war effort by hindering the Germans ability to produce and move its forces.
Therefore, your notion that it was designed to kill as many civilians as possible is false.
Do you even know anything about this subject Aladdin? You seem to do this a lot - make sweeping generalisations - where do you get them from?
No, Arthur Harris (chief of Bomber Command) said 'If we destroy their tanks they can build new ones in a day. But if we kill their workers it will take them 20 years to get new ones'.
Total war, no apology.
Saying sorry isn't about bringing the dead back to life you idiot. Whe I apologise for something I don't do it because I expect it top magically right the wrong I apologise out of courtesy. If you think the Queen is apologising in some paranormal attempt to rewrite history then its you that needs to be doing the learning.
however though - its be nice if us the british and the german government both publically expressed theirs and our sympathies for those who died, and that we both regret that it ever had to happen - shouldnt be a petty feud
one question, why arent they asking the americans though? theyre the ones with the bombing planes that done it mianly (to my knowledge)
actually some people i know went to japan on holiday, and when some of the elder japs found out their grandparents died in the war, they were extremely sorry for what happened.
thats why i think both sides should just publically express their deepest regrets for all the atrocities that happened
It impressed me the way the Pope apologised for the sacking of constantinople, and that was 4/500 years ago. Here it's different, the Germans are just as responsible, if not more responsible for the war.
Are you seriously suggesting that in order to destroy whatever piss-poor factories and train lines Dresden had- and let's make no mistake about this: Dresden was rather secondary in military importance- the Allies had no option but to destroy 85% of the city?
Yeah right... :rolleyes:
Research. You should try it one day.
You have a very idealised view of the world Aladdin.