“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States Of America and..” That is how every student starts his/her day in America. But in Germany nobody would dare to show patriotism in public, except at a soccer game where some people take out the German flag and sing the national anthem, cheer for their team and have black, red, and golden stripes, the colors of the flag, on their cheeks. But displaying a German flag in front of your house is not typical.
It is not prohibited to show nationalism but as early as elementary school, kids are raised with an awareness of the violence in Germany’s past.
In the 1940s, 1930s, and even a little bit before that, the Nazis, under the guidance of Adolf Hitler started to rise in the German Empire and created hate, chaos, and disaster among the people. The fascist point of view and opinion of Hitler and his supporters, to kill, threaten and harass social minorities, such as Jews, immigrants and many more lead to one of the worst genocides in the history of mankind; the Holocaust. He also promised people he would lower the unemployment rate and structure a “new, strong Germany”, but instead he started a war that was lost and put many people on the streets with no home or food.
I do not have to continue listing all the things that made Hitler a horrible man for Germany and the rest of the world. The memories of the horrid Holocaust serve as a reminder that nothing of the sort, including prejudice, racism, etc should ever happen again. Millions died due to hatred and ignorance.
In America the flag is a sign of respect and an important symbol for the whole nation. However, the flag in Germany is just identification for political buildings, international soccer games, or the Olympic games. You would never find it in a classroom in school or college.
Nobody wants to repeat the things that happened during the Holocaust. Germany wants to avoid falling victim to propaganda plans of national socialists who express their loyalty to their country in ways that could be destructive, therefore, nationalism and patriotism are not really respected and acknowledged in Germany.
So it might be shocking for foreigners to see a country such as the United States Of America publicly demonstrating their patriotism and pledging to the flag every morning.
History might be taught differently in other countries, but one thing is certain all over the world: We must never repeat the horrendous mistakes of the 1930s and 1940s!