Readers React: Germany does not owe is current pacifism completely to Allied de-Nazification efforts
To the editor: Germany’s rejection of militarism and war is not so simple as implied in the article “Broken fighter jets, grounded helicopters and idled tanks: Germany’s military is ailing.”
Political scientist Josef Braml is quoted as saying that the Germans “were completely indoctrinated with pacifism, thanks to American reeducation programs after World War II.” Things were not that linear. Historians have shown that de-Nazification and reeducation programs largely failed to achieve their lofty aims.
Many former Nazis avoided accountability for their actions during the war and returned to prominent careers in postwar Germany. German militarism survived long after the Third Reich collapsed and was still popular within the ranks of policemen, soldiers and the foreign service for decades after the war.
Germans deserve more credit for rejecting militarism and adopting democracy than this article suggests. They did not suddenly turn from dictatorship to pacifism overnight just because of Allied reeducation and de-Nazification programs.
David Livingstone, Simi Valley
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
A cure for the common opinion
Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
