"Luftwaffe" removed from president's planes

uk.news.yahoo.com...


BERLIN (Reuters) - The name "Luftwaffe" is being replaced on two official German government planes more than half a century after the Nazi air force terrorised Europe's skies.


President Johannes Rau's office said on Tuesday the head of state wanted to replace the German word for air force to avoid stirring up painful memories for people in many of the countries he and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder use the planes to visit.

- About 60 years late, wouldn't you say?

why is this a concern now, do you suppose???

I think most who would be offended are probably almost dead though..... I mean, we're talking ancient history here......

Originally posted by Gazrok
why is this a concern now, do you suppose???

I think maybe people would like to see the Germans showing some regret and remorse for their past. It was a long time ago though, and the actions of the Nazis shouldn't be taken out on today's generation of Germans. The country suffered enough in the closing stages of the war, and afterwards, anyway.

Originally posted by Gazrok
why is this a concern now, do you suppose???

I think most who would be offended are probably almost dead though..... I mean, we're talking ancient history here......

It was take off, so it can be put on another prresidential plane.........Its already there, you just cant see it........

I agree that modern Germans should not be blamed for the sins of their forefathers.

I don't agree with this. Of course the things the Nazi's crimes were terrible but you can't change history. Changing the name of the airforce is not going to bring 11 million people back. It's a good attempt at making amends, but it's too late.

Well I can't speak for any German of course, but I talked with a few about if they ever thought they'd fall into another "dictatorship" again.

And of course the answer was no.

Reason being because (unlike here in America), anything short of center is pretty much banned. And so to us what's "old news" is probably still very much on their tongues as they take field trips to auschwitz when they're 8 and Neo-Nazis and Communists beat eachother up in the streets, then the police come in and arrest them all.

(Not that there's many fights in the streets but each side roughly gets together 80 times a year and usually the other side likes to drop by and crack a few heads.)

So the government there plays an ever important roll in preventing extremism from rising again.