My friends, I write to you today because of an upsetting trend I have been seeing lately. Riots in the streets, anger, hatred, finger-pointing and name-calling…never did I believe that Germany would stoop so low. Never did I believe that the proud Germans I call my friends, my family, and my countrymen, NEVER did I believe they would resort to such petty bickering! The Weimar government is making the best of a nearly impossible situation. The Great War…so many are upset about us “losing” the war, but do they not see how much worse it would have been? We could not stop them from wresting our holdings in France and Belgium from our grasp, what would have stopped them from taking everything else we hold dear? The government should be praised for their foresight and willing to do the unpopular thing to protect those they serve. Instead, they are attacked on all sides, to the point of an uprising! What nonsense! And as for the land that was lost...truly it was a small price to pay for our freedom! Had we disagreed we would have been enslaved by others in Europe, those who wished to see us fight back so that they could utterly destroy us. Land has been lost, but it is simply land. Land can be gained back at an opportune time, let us wait for others to trust us, perhaps, then wrest it back. We should focus on the land we do have, though I may covet my neighbor’s rich orchard it will do little to fill my own belly! Instead, I should look to my fields and see what may be done there. So too should Germany do. Do not look to the fields of France, or any of the new nations founded. Instead look to our own, while plotting of how to take the other fields. We will find an opportunity to strike eventually, but for now patience is key! Another major issue, the Americans. For one who fought so hard against us, they certainly are willing to help us. We should use this to our advantage. Let us thrust aside our foolish pride, pride that I needn’t remind you, my fellow citizens, that got us in this mess in the first place! No, let us thrust it aside and accept their aid with open arms, and use it so that we may improve our lands, pay off our debt, and begin to rebuild. Once the time is ripe, then we can strike again, and the Americans seem content to help us in this endeavor, wittingly or not! Long live Germany!
- Fred "Rich" E.
Fellow citizen,
ReplyDeleteI agree whole-heartedly with your claims about our sacred country. We simply cannot blame the Weimar government for all of this. Conditions could be much worse then they are now. Your stance on our loss of land is a great point. Land is land, it is not the biggest deal. And we will have another opportunity to take it back. We are lucky that we have any land at all. If we had not agreed to the Treaty of Versailles we would probably have no land at all. Also in response to your idea about America. I agree to take there help with open arms. We need the most help that we can get.
I definitely disagree with a lot of your points. The Weimar Government is to blame, though I will admit that they are put in a very difficult situation. But you say the consequences would be worse if we stayed in the war? How is this possible when he have lost so much land, ordered to pay outrageous repriations, and have practically no military left? No, we do not know how many more Germany casualities there would have been if we remained in the war, but Germany is now reduced to nothing thanks to a treaty that was suppose to bring "peace." OUr economy is at an all-time low. And how canyou say land is only land? That land was our major industry that kept our economy up and running. Without it, we are worthless. And suggesting that we gain other countries' trust and then turn around and stab them in the back to regain the regions we have lost is horrifying. That would most likely create another great war.
ReplyDeleteFellow German citizen, I have to strongly disagree with your views of the Weimar government. The “proud Germans” you speak of would have been proud to defend our country, as we were. The Weimar government was simply bringing us to shame and making our sons, husbands, and fathers’ deaths in vain. And “simply land”?? Please!! This land would have been our key to freedom and our key to paying off our acquired debt. The debt the people who took away our lands are making us pay for. And was it not this waiting for the opportune time to take land that got us into this mess in the very beginning with taking Alsace-Lorraine?? So you are saying we can just take our lands back eventually and start this whole mess over again?? Just with a smaller, restricted army next time and no money to fight a war with. At the beginning of your story, you praise Germans being proud of their nation, now at the end, you criticize it. So what do you really feel about pride?? You contradict yourself. And in the end, it was the Weimar government who printed more money that put us into an inflationary economy so that we can no longer buy the essential goods we need for our families to survive. If it were not for the Weimar, we would not need to stoop down and accept the Americans’ help. We would have had a much easier time paying off our debts if the Weimar would have let us be and not caused such inflations. Our money is better used for a fire now than for purchasing items!! So aside from losing our lands, allowing the Allies to put full guilt of the war on us, and causing so much inflation in our money that we cannot buy goods for ourselves, much less pay off our debts, what good has the Weimar government done for Germany??
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