October 20, 2004
BUT WE STILL DO A MEAN POLKA WHEN WE TORCH A FEW TURKS
Goosestepping Germans a British myth (Reuters, October 20th, 2004)
No one in Germany knows the goosestep any more, but German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer says anyone wanting lessons in the military march used by the Nazis could get them from Britain.Fischer, born three years after World War Two ended, said in an interview with BBC radio on Wednesday that he was amazed at the lingering portrayal of Germany in the British media as a nation of Nazis and said the image of Germany was half a century out of date.
"My children are 20 and 25, and when they watch Germany in some of the British media, they think this is a picture they have never seen in their whole lifetimes," said Fischer, 56.
"Germany has changed in a democratic, positive way," he added. "Today this is a democracy. Two or three generations have grown up as real democrats.
"If you want to learn how the traditional Prussian goosestep works, you have to watch British TV because in Germany in the younger generation, even my generation, nobody knows how to perform it," Fischer said.
Okay, okay. Germany has made great strides in confronting its difficult past--blah, blah, blah. It has undergone the wrenching transition from an autocratic to a democratic state--blah, blah, blah. It is now a member in good standing of the community of tolerant, civilized nations--blah, blah. But what long term hope is there for any people congenitally incapable of appreciating John Cleese?
Posted by Peter Burnet at October 20, 2004 7:14 PMYou mean that nice Mr. Hilter? And his friend Mr. Bimmler?
Posted by: HT at October 20, 2004 7:16 PMBasil!
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at October 20, 2004 7:28 PM"Cool it Fuhrer Cat".
Posted by: Jeff at October 20, 2004 7:34 PMAh, yes. Cleese and The Ministry of Silly Walks. Excruciatingly funny even after a dozen viewings.
Posted by: John Resnick at October 20, 2004 7:38 PMActually, the Russian army still uses the goose step as a formal parade march.
I think it has something to do with the classic German and Russian high dress boots. When I've worn riding boots, I noticed how they restricted my knee movements a bit and changed the weight distribution of my legs. After wearing them for a while, it was easy to understand how armies that used them would also use the goose-step.
Posted by: Ken at October 20, 2004 8:14 PMFischer needs to talk to some former East Germans. Their army was goosestepping right up to the fall of the Wall. I don't mean figuratively, either. North Koreans still do it, too.
Posted by: PapayaSF at October 20, 2004 8:50 PMFischer was hanging around with radical leftists in the 1970s, and those sorts in any country tend to have no sense of humor whatsoever. Who knows what Joschka and his pals would have done back then if they showed up in some English hotel dining room and the manager started goosestepping around the tables...
Posted by: John at October 20, 2004 10:13 PMFischer may not goosestep, but I believe there is a disabled former policeman in Germany who's acquainted with his abilities as a Brownshirt.
Posted by: Brooks at October 20, 2004 10:23 PMBut what long term hope is there for any people congenitally incapable of appreciating John Cleese?
To get back to the original question---and it is certainly an apt one---things are not looking good for Germany (and quite possibly, the rest of Europe). Not at all.
One might look at Germany's dismal economic or political performance or ethnic difficulties or "problematic" birth rates as phases: temporary, if lingering, difficulties that will eventually be overcome.
But this seemingly congenital absence of humor can only be fatal.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at October 21, 2004 3:04 AMThe good news about the trends in Germany is that by they time they remilitarize and set about conquering the French, there won't be enough of them left (thanks to declining birth rates) to be a real threat to the rest of us.
Back to the goosestep. The Poles do it better than anyone. Watch a clip of a Polish honor guard greeting the Pope or somebody.
The real Parade March step is extremely difficult. There a lot more to it than just holding your leg a bit straight because you're wearing high boots. A Gunnery Sergeant whose father had been a Werhmacht veteran taught me the step once--you would be hard put to do it for more than a short distance.
Posted by: Lou Gots at October 21, 2004 10:41 AMAnd a short distance was all they did. They would go into it just before the reviewing stand. Probably less than 100 meters. A small flag was positioned along the march route to indicate where the step would begin.
Posted by: George at October 21, 2004 5:30 PMThomas Mann said it best: A German joke is no laughing matter.
Posted by: bernard at October 22, 2004 12:19 AM