Thank you very much.
I really have no idea at all about soldiers and their training. As for the differences, it's very difficult to say, because here in the north we had little to do with the Americans, but rather with the British. All in all, I would say that Germans have the image of being eternally complaining. In general, I would think that the peoples of Europe, especially the more northerly they are, have a certain seriousness in common and some have to go down to the cellar to laugh. My country, historically speaking, has a string of never-ending conflicts.
Fraternising with the soldiers was therefore certainly so appealing to both sides because of the differences. I was a little enamoured of a Tommie myself, and the way these young men moved around the dance floors was also interesting. Our German boys never danced in that way.
I got to know the Americans later, having been to the USA myself many times, for longer periods of time. I was fascinated by being approached by complete strangers just like that in the queue at the supermarket checkout, their spontaneous cordiality, their interest in light conversation, their fast pace. But then there were also the stark contrasts I experienced there. From easy cheerfulness the quick change to obedient citizens. As young people, we were never so afraid of the police and there were no security guards anywhere for a very, very long time.
I am attached to this international friendship, just as I am attached to the Russian one, a completely different but equally valuable relationship. It couldn't be any other way, given my family history.
I look at the current events with concern. Until a while ago, my son proudly claimed to be half Russian (which is not true, lol), I think he would refrain from such jokes now. It's a shame when you start denying your origins, experiences and friendships all too quickly as soon as the wind blows from a certain direction.
Is there a particular country for you that you have personal ties to outside of Canada?
I know a bit about WW2 from my own reading, which is biased in many respects but factual in others. That's how I learned about my favorite chocolate in the world:
It is fascinating to me how cultures in Northern Europe are more serious in character than the southern Countries. Countries in mid-Northern latitudes seems to be a balance between the two. What are the odds? A more serious approach to life has led to highly developed and wealthy societies in the north, but one has to wonder at what cost?
There must be some differences in courtship between the two cultures. Fascinating!
Some places are uptight in the USA and Canada, but others are more easy going. We have a lot of cultures and counter-cultures with different ideas on how to live. We have reached a happy medium that requires following a few rules so we don't have to resort to guns to settle our differences, but sometimes we do just that because there's no other way to persuade somebody to mind their "gawdamn" business. 🤠
I wonder the extent to which post-War Germany has been careful not to appear too 'militaristic' or like a police state. Perhaps the freedom that you experienced as a young girl was a consequence of this effort by German culture to distance itself from that tumultuous past. In Nazi Germany, the police state controlled society to a T, very efficiently, and very ruthlessly. They even appointed block wardens to ensure everyone was following the rules such as flying the flag. Many aspects of life were controlled, even leisure time, art, and entertainment. Everyone had to play along or else. So, after the war, it seems that Germany tried to distance itself from that past by banning certain symbols and 'right-wing' attitudes such as overt expressions of nationalism. You adopted a more 'liberal' world-view. Even military style board games were banned, especially those involving conquest of territory. Now that Germany is increasing its military budget in response to a perceived Russian threat, it looks like the pendulum is about to swing the other way. German society may be about to ask itself some hard questions about freedom vs security.
I was raised in the woods. By wolves. 😉
HaHa, nice, chocolate with caffein :D never knew this brand myself.
Indeed, one wonders.
We overdid it in terms of controlling the peoples bodies and minds and payed the price. Then, we also overdid it with banning our own sense of nationality and mistook it for having cleansed the past. Even though I mentioned that the elders did not accept English as a language, the younger ones felt ashamed of their tongue and til the 80s you could not find German modern music on the hitparades.
I was around 14 years young when the "Neue Deutsche Welle" entered the music charts and Nena became famous in the world, singing in German. Singing in ones mother tongue was long considered as "the language of the criminals". Until today you cannot call yourself a patriot, for you will be quickly labeled as a Nazi (not, that I find it neccesarry calling myself a patriot). These times seem to have a comeback.
Yeah, the differences in courtship were clearly there and they were welcomed :) One can look at it this way: Once the fact is there, that a nation lost war, it doesn't help wanting to defeat foreign influences in terms of everyday peoples encounters. Befriending the strangers is, in my opinion, a good way to get along. There is no way to control all the people and turn them around mentally. They even will stick to their convictions the more you try.
Also, what often is called the "conflict of generations", is a result of having gone through war and hard ridden times. I wouldn't want to estimate how often my mom shook her head about us children inwardly but did not break it loose.
I think that was something we got careful about. No military parades walking the streets ever since, I guess.
I really am not sure, if I adopted liberality as primarily an active effort to overcome those strict times and it was more the effects of "non effort", if you know what I mean. The great silence by the elders, who had experienced war first hand, that often is mentioned, may also have contributed to this form of growing up unbothered. I myself can consider myself lucky to have grown up in a time window between 70s and 90s in a non political household. Also, I might have felt liberty because I myself was a liberal young person, LOL :-D
Since then I often asked myself, if visitors from other countries experience our boarding controls in the same way like I did, when I first came to the US. I felt like a criminal under those suspicious eyes and checkups at the emigration points.
HaHa! I like this attitude of "mind your own business"
Please greet your wolfish relatives from me. I bet they still eat meat ;-)