Critical Thinking: Should Germans Feel Guilty For What Happened In The Past?

After the first and second world war, Germany had to pay back a lot of money in reparations. According to some accounts, this money has now been paid off, but there are other voices out there who claim that more money still needs to be paid.

Along with the price that Germany has had to pay financially, there is also the price that individual Germans have paid emotionally. And, even though most of the Germans alive today played absolutely no part in what took place all those years ago, it doesn’t mean that their conscience is clear.

A Mixed Response

Naturally, there are going to be a fair amount of Germans who don’t feel responsible for what happened. As a result of this, they are not going to be weighed done by something that took place before they were born.

When it comes to other Germans, though, what took place before they were born is going to weigh heavily on their shoulders. Still, this doesn’t mean that every moment of their waking-life is spent feeling guilty.

A Tight Grip

For someone like this, they could have moments in their life when they think about the damage that their country did in the past. When this takes place, they could end up feeling really low.

Their attention could then go somewhere else and they could soon forget about what happened in the past. When their attention does return to this time in their country’s history, it could be due to a number of reasons.

The Trigger

They could hear about something on TV or online and, instantly, their mind could reflect on the past. Not only will this guilt make them feel bad, it might also encourage them to make a difference in some way.

For example, they may believe that it is their countries duty to take in an endless amount of people from other countries, with this being a way for their country to pay back its debt to the world. They might not even think about the effect that this will have on their country as time goes by.

One Priority

In this case, their main need is going to be to assuage their own guilt, not to actually do the right thing. If they were to look at the big picture, they may see that letting in an endless amount of people is simply going to cause havoc as the years go by.

What this emphasises is how hard it can be for someone to think rationally when their emotions are out of control. Said another way, when their behaviour is being driven by their need to assuage their own guilt, it is going to be a lot harder for them to think clearly.

Power in Numbers

If just one person in Germany was influenced by guilt in this way it wouldn’t do much, but when millions of Germans are influenced by their guilt in this way, it is going to be a very different story. How much of what has taken place in Germany over the years, then, has been a way for so many Germans to manage their own guilt?

Furthermore, if it wasn’t for this guilt, how different would Germany be at this moment in time? What is perfectly clear is that guilt can do more harm than good when it is out of control and not balanced out with consequential thinking.

A Waste of Energy

However, although a German can feel guilty about what took place in the past, it doesn’t mean that there is any reason for them to experience life in this way. Even if one of their ancestors caused a lot of harm, it doesn’t mean that they are responsible for their behaviour.

Ultimately, they are an individual who is only responsible for how they behave, not how their ancestors behaved. What good does it do for someone to live like a sinner for something that they themselves played no part in?

An Important Point

It is highly likely that everyone on this planet has ancestors who did both good and bad things. Taking this into account, should everyone on this earth feel bad about themselves and behave in ways that will cause even more harm?

Now, this is not to say that someone like this shouldn’t do what they can do live in the right way and to make a positive difference in the world. Yet, this is radically different to simply doing things to avoid feeling guilty and not seeing the big picture.

A Hidden Agenda

While the toxic guilt that a lot of Germans experience has done a lot of harm to Germany over the years, it has made it a lot easier for certain people to take advantage of this country. These people, with their own nefarious interests, realise how easy it is to manipulate so many of the German people.

To make sure that each generation falls in line, they will be programmed from a very young age to see their history in a certain way. This will condition them to experience toxic guilt, which will weaken them from the inside.

An Easy Target

If someone is broken on the inside, there will be no need for anyone on the outside to control them; they will control themselves. A self-loathing human being is likely to be a passive human being - someone who won’t be a threat to the system.

It might seem strange as to why anyone would want to damage a country, but this is no different to why anyone would want to damage another person. Someone like this is unlikely to be mentally sound.

If someone struggles with toxic guilt, and they want to change their life, they may need to reach out for assistance. This is something that can be provided by the assistance of a therapist or a healer.

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Oliver JR Cooper
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