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Who is wearing a poppy??
#1
Every year, around this time, anyone with a few dollars and some compassion starts wearing a red poppy... It's our way of remembering the soldiers that have died, either keeping Canada safe, or one of our allies. Or even a country that the UN deems requires a peacekeeping mission. November 11th is 'Remembrance Day' in Canada, which is usually the day we all stop for a few moments, and think about all the Canadians who died in WW I and WW II, to help liberate Europe from Hitler, and so on.

Do they do this in your country, I wonder??

[Image: 220px-Poppy_vector.svg.png]

In Canada, we often also have a special coin that is released in remembrance of our soldiers.

This year, we had a $2 coin remembering 'D-Day' of WW II, which was on June 6th.

It depicts the Canadians coming ashore in their amphibious landing craft, with the helmets of some soldiers visible at the front, eagerly awaiting their craft getting to the shore. This is what the coin looks like:

[Image: circ.png.pagespeed.ce.jqqw0AVqme.png]

I also wrote a more detailed thread about D-Day here: D-Day thread

Here's hoping that you will join in remembering that democracy and world peace comes at a cost, and to remember those who gave their lives, so that we can continue to enjoy it.

Lest We Forget
Fight the Good Fight
(Listen with lyrics here!)
Make it worth the price we pay!
All your life you've been waiting for your chance,
Pray you'll fit into the Plan.
But you're the master of your own destiny,
So give and take the best that you can!
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#2
No, not surprising.

I can only recount from my own German parent, and the tales she had about WW II, where parents would secretly listen to the Western radio broadcasts, and had to take special care that their kids did not know they were doing it, because they themselves were afraid of Hitler. Hitler had encouraged young people to rat on their parents.

Most Germans went along with what they were instructed to do, during the wars, for they didn't want to be punished... but many believed the war was wrong, and they were internationally embarrassed by Hitler.

You no doubt would also have a sense of whether this is right or not? I just believed what my mom told me. (She was a teenager during WW II, so actually went through it.)

I did some reading on the poppy, and apparently a few Germans have worn a poppy -- there was a UK-Germany football (soccer, you naughty 'Mericans, lol) match that I believe was held in the UK around this time of year, and all the players on both sides had armbands with a black poppy.
Fight the Good Fight
(Listen with lyrics here!)
Make it worth the price we pay!
All your life you've been waiting for your chance,
Pray you'll fit into the Plan.
But you're the master of your own destiny,
So give and take the best that you can!
Reply
#3
(11-01-2019, 01:56 PM)samira Wrote: Uhm I am not sure if I got this right: Are you asking  me for a statement about the Germans during the Nazi regency? I don’t think this forums are the right place to discuss this. Tongue

It's the "random talks" area of the Forums, so it's okay... But you dont have to if you don't want to!

That is part of the democratic freedoms that we cherish, and will fight to protect!

It's just nice to remember that it is not so for evberyone in the world. Sad

(And to remember the dead, that they were the price of the freedom that we love!)
Fight the Good Fight
(Listen with lyrics here!)
Make it worth the price we pay!
All your life you've been waiting for your chance,
Pray you'll fit into the Plan.
But you're the master of your own destiny,
So give and take the best that you can!
Reply
#4
(11-01-2019, 10:36 PM)samira Wrote: My knowledge is mostly basedup on films, documentaries, books and well school (in Germany this is a big topic in school).

However, my ancestor also told me about it.

So one of my grandmas was a teenager back then, she was not involved in anything but sent away to the countryside to be save. I think at the end she got into it a little but not that much. But I don't remember too muich of that...

My grandpa was opponent to the Nazis and he had to personally suffer because of this. He could not get the Job he wanted because it de facto required him to enter the Nazi party (NSDAP), which he refused to. He was member in one of the democratic parties. He was forced to be a solider in the army (Wehrmacht) but from what I know it was right before the end of the war, so he did not really have to fight. (Later his resistance against the Nazis allowed him a career in the party he was a member in as a politican, and he worked sometimes together with Konrad Adenauer, the first German chancellor after the war.)

My ancestor never supported the Nazis in any way, right the opposite, and this is why I am so angry that this Nazi "NO DOGS NO IGGERS" is allowed to use this name and to play Agma at all. Giving up in front of the evil was wrong back in 1933 and is wrong in 2019. One cannot appease the fanatic haters.

My mom was also a teenager during that... I'm very glad your grandma was out of harms way, otherwise I guess you and I never meet. And the threat was very real.

My mom told me she was enrolled/living in a cooking school/residence, I guess in Berlin, and she went out of the city for a weekend, was on a farm... and when she came back, she said the only thing left was mangled pipes for kitchen areas and washrooms.

And so it seems your grandpa took some very real risks to his own safety, by refusing to join the party. I'm glad that translated into benefits afterwards, and that he survived until it was over.

My mom had an older brother... he was forced to join the Navy, and I guess he was on one of the many destroyers they had, hunting for subs. He refused to sleep in his bunk -- he always slept on the deck up top... and that likely saved his life, as sure enough, the destroyer was torpedoed and sunk.

These are only two accounts, yours and mine, but I'd dare say there were thousands of similar stories... and many of the people who did sign up, likely didn't want to, but weren't strong in their convictions, as your granddad was, or just didn't have the stones to not do as they were told, knowing the number of people who had said no, and were just executed themselves.

But thanks for sharing something that would touch nerves with any family.

I wanted to repost the quote I'd heard, but researched it first so I get it right.

Neville Chamberlain was the British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940, and said this, "In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers."
Fight the Good Fight
(Listen with lyrics here!)
Make it worth the price we pay!
All your life you've been waiting for your chance,
Pray you'll fit into the Plan.
But you're the master of your own destiny,
So give and take the best that you can!
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#5
(11-02-2019, 09:32 PM)samira Wrote: About that quote: Hmm yes I get the point. But if no one had stopped Hitler, what would have happened? Have you seen that TV series „The man in the high castle“? In this scenario Japan and Nazi-Germany won the war. Definitely not good for the world which is ruled by these two countries. War should be avoided even if the price to pay is high, but sometimes is necessary to defend against the evil. So I think defeating Hitler was not a loss, even though the victor came at a terrible price. But not defeating him would have been even more horrible.

You make an excellent point, but I think what CHamberlain was saying is that there is a grievous loss of life on both sidess, and for that reason, everyone feels like a loser -- because you're more likely to remember the people that didn't come home again, than remind yourself that thankfully the crackpot who was trying to take over the world failed.

We take things for granted way too easily. Sad
Fight the Good Fight
(Listen with lyrics here!)
Make it worth the price we pay!
All your life you've been waiting for your chance,
Pray you'll fit into the Plan.
But you're the master of your own destiny,
So give and take the best that you can!
Reply


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