Salute

[halfadaily]

I see the german authorities are going to come down hard on anyone showing the nazi salute or goose stepping during the world cup. does anyone else get the feeling that they're 70 years too late !

as Basil Fawlty would say "don't mention the war"

[Loosehead]

Well I mentioned it earlier but I think I got away with it!

[mushroom25]

if the germans beat england in the football & get all smug because they beat us at our national game, they don't like it when we remind them we beat them at their national game twice in the 20th century......

[Booldawg]

I do find it unfair that the Germans had always had to live with the Nazi slur. Very unfair on the last 2 generations of Germans that weren't involved. That goes way beyond harmless banter.

[shaneystar2]

The Germans are still paying for the world wars and living with the Nazi slur.Unfortunately some people who were not even alive during the war will go to Germany for the football and find it funny to do the Sieg Heil and take the juice.Germany still has a problem with Neo Nazism as it is without adding fuel to the fire. Football is a game and politics shouldn"t really come into it but they do .Mr. S. And my sons who are Germans ,one lives here and one in Germany will shortly be singing Deutschland uber alles !! No goosestepping allowed and we don"t mention the war ! I have a foot in both camps but as I don't like football shall leave them to enjoy the game.

[ll_billym]

Oh dear, I think Prince Harry is going to some of the matches.

Seriously though I can see why they would do it as the Germans probably find it pretty offensive and it may lead to violence between supporters and nobody wants that.

That said it is historical fact that the Germans acted like that and started WW2 resulting in the deaths of millions so they can't really be surprised if a few people don't like them very much, 70 years isn't a long time. Give it 500 years and the Germans will probably be able to dress up as Nazis at football matches, the Danes can dress up as Vikings and nobody is offended any more.

[whiffey]

Some England football fans are misbehaving in Germany.

Some have been goose-stepping, shock horror.
Some are singing Second World War songs, and wearing suggestively-shaped helmets (no Nazi insignia though) which they may have bought from here:

www.worldcuphats.co.uk/

Armchair and TV for me this evening. England 0 : Trinidad 1 (Jason Scotland, 89th minute)

(German and Polish fans have pre-arranged fights to which they take their own doctors!)

[Grunty]

One of my favourite quotes in "The past is a different country". The Nazis and the present Germany have nothing to do with each other. A study of the way the Nazis achieved their successes in the 1930s and what went wrong, makes one very worrying point: it could easily happen here one day.

[halfadaily]

Thanks all for your views, I hope this can be a trouble free world cup and that it lives up to the name of the peoples game.

[Pootle]

The Nazis were essentially a political party. It was the Nazis who perpetrated the renowed crimes not the Germans. Yes, there were Germans involved, some voluntary, some involuntary. Many millions of Germans, both civilians, and men and women in the armed forces died for a cause they did not believe in i.e Nazism. At a very basic level, to suggest that all Germans were Nazis (which let's face it, this type of 'banter' does) is like suggesting that all Britons are Labour, which I personally would find extremely offensive. If I were German, I would be horiffied at this ignorance, especially 60 years on; many people would benefit from reading a few history books.

[chijiki]

I think that we are forgetting that under German law, it is illegal to make the Nazi salute or display Nazi symbols.
It is an arrestable offence.

That's normal everyday German law, not just something aimed at brain-dead English football supporters.

[maxximus]

as they should, any idiot that doesn't have the common sense and courtesy to understand that as a guest in their country behaviour like that is offensive and unacceptable deserves to get shown the door! i didn't know that it was a german law though. but again, as it should be.