Don't Mention The War

Now I know this is a contraversial topic but after the events of the last few days I just have to post on it.

Since time immemorial, or rather the last 65 years, the English have been harping on about The War. In case you are puzzled about which war this might be, it is the Second World War, 1939-1945. When I was little in the 1960's, kids and youths (those grown-ups of today) would sing "Two World Wars and One World Cup! doo-dah, doo-dah" at any opportunity. They were referring to the infamous 1966 Wembley Goal against Germany in the World Cup which gave England the game. Did I say when I was little? Last time I checked, they were still singing it.

One truly hopes that last night in the England/Germany game, this Wembley Goal was finally put to bed. In fact, everyone is already calling the non-allowed England goal of this match (which was clearly a goal, recognized by everyone's grandmother but not the referee) "Wembley II".

The English have an automatic aversion to everything German because over here we are all Nazis (poor political science education on behalf of the English school system) have no sense of humor (but I think that is because they do not understand the German humor!) and survive solely on a diet of sausage and kraut - which I beg to differ is possibly the preferred choice of meal in England rather than Germany - at least the sausage part!

Although I do everything conceivable to avoid the island, I am constantly coming up against the English, both in work and social situations. So it was that last summer I encountered a group of elderly Englishmen at our market festival - it was their first excursion to Germany, indeed they had never left the island at all. After their surprise that I "spoke the lingo" (well I have only been living here for 27 years!) they informed me that they were in fact being very enterprising - most English people would never dream of visiting Germany!

In my innocence I asked why? Because of The War of course!

It wasn't just the elderly Englishmen who were of this opinion. A couple of months earlier an old schoolfriend (so someone of my age) who had never left England visited me and shared with me that she was very surprised how normal everything was here, which she had not expected. I think she had truly believed that the Stormtroopers would be marching through every street and we would still be rationing food.

There have been photomontages in the Internet showing the SS logo over the German football team's logo, footballers appearing in steel helmets and a wealth of Nazi propaganda against the Germans. I hasten to add, not posted by Germans but apparently by the English.

Thank goodness this is only a one-sided rivalry and that, in the meantime, the Germans simply find it amusing.