tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post7791657960034629380..comments2024-03-17T20:04:18.872-05:00Comments on Indomitable | The online home of Chauncey DeVega: Why do Germans Choose to Reenact the American Civil War by Playing the Confederacy?Lady Zora, Chauncey DeVega, and Gordon Gartrellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09138154899923808806noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-84919080105600225802011-06-16T15:40:10.918-05:002011-06-16T15:40:10.918-05:00Aside from the obvious (GWTW is a romanticized acc...Aside from the obvious (GWTW is a romanticized account of The Great South b/c by no means was anything great about the time nor the tale) the film, specifically, is a form of entertainment. It was never presented or marketed as an accurate portayal of pre-war southern living anymore than Star Wars is an accurate portrayal of space travel.<br /><br />Everyone has something they romanticize about America, we're the winners, remember? We win battles, we win wars, we win democracy for those who deserve it. The Civil War, amongst others, is proof of how resilient we are b/c we fight each other for the greater good and come out stronger for the effort. <br /><br />Our cousins in foreign deserts haven't been so lucky. I wager, Germans are sick with jealousy. No matter how challenged Blacks may be, we continue to herald our cause in the face of our enemy. For a renagede country with no history, we pack alot of resistence to BS and hundreds of years later our worst enemies have gained no headway other than lessen themselves in an attempt to make Us look bad ; )Vesuvian Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062107777688049616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-89108727193283821062011-06-16T11:43:54.676-05:002011-06-16T11:43:54.676-05:00It's definitely an exciting time to be a civil...It's definitely an exciting time to be a civil war historian and as we see from this article, we are still feeling the effects of the war 150 years after it "ended." In reality, it never did end in the minds of many Southerners ( I happen to live in Florida so I know this first hand), and now that they have captured the hearts and minds of the Republican party, we are starting to see a return to some of the same divisive racial and economic issues that led to the Civil War. <br /><br />If you don't think it could happen again you definitely need to educate yourself. Most of the Civil War literature gives a lightweight treatment of the armies and the various battles, a la Shelby Foote, without ever touching on the politics and sectional issues that boiled over in 1860 after Lincoln was elected without a single Southern electoral vote. Instead of Foote, people wuld be much better served to read Uncle Tom's Cabin, the Dred Scott decision and the Lincoln-Douglas debates. However, that might challenge people's assumptions about what the war as really about, so I'm not holding my breath. It also assumes that people have an attention span that is long enough to read a book and then critically interpret it on their own, which is becoming a lost skill in the 21st century. <br /><br />As for the Germans, it is indeed ironic to see how they have adopted the "Lost Cause" view of the civil war, even though few if any Germans fought for the South. As the article states, the Germans were perhaps the most virulent, hard-core, free-labor,anti-slavery ethnic group in the country at the time, and they almost single handedly waged a civil war in Missouri (with virtually no support from the federal government) that kept that state from going with the South. <br /><br />You would think they might want to emphasize this proud history in light of their Holocaust shame and self-loathing, but instead they pretend to be the same people that they hated and fought so hard against 150 years ago. I guess it's a good example of what happens when people don't learn from history, or just don't bother to read it. Unfortunately, it seems that our country is moving in the same direction on this <br />150th anniversary of the Civil War, and despite this fantastic opportunity to learn from (and not repeat) the past, most people will get their "history lesson" from the likes of Ken Burns, Shelby Foote and Gone with the Wind, with all of its happy subservient slaves. For those of us who do know something about the real cause of the war, it's a good time to make our voices heard.Christopher Sharpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-46072672126404811272011-06-16T09:24:23.554-05:002011-06-16T09:24:23.554-05:00Wolfgang Hochbruck, a Professor of American Studie...Wolfgang Hochbruck, a Professor of American Studies at the University of Freiburg and a Union reenactor, "I think some of the Confederate reenactors in Germany are acting out Nazi fantasies of racial superiority," "They are obsessed with your war because they cannot celebrate their own vanquished racists."Plane Ideas https://www.blogger.com/profile/13838821721942426785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-71026207363917597012011-06-16T08:59:10.764-05:002011-06-16T08:59:10.764-05:00I cannot quarrel with Werner's analysis except...I cannot quarrel with Werner's analysis except it does provide much more details and reasons for German's love of the CSA that I would articulate..<br /><br />From my perspective it is a simple equation Germans like the majority of whites will always relate to themes of white privledge in any venue from America civil wars to South Africa's wars ....Plane Ideas https://www.blogger.com/profile/13838821721942426785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-79500074001926363482011-06-16T06:50:30.934-05:002011-06-16T06:50:30.934-05:00CDV, do you ever read the "Unrepentant Marxis...CDV, do you ever read the "Unrepentant Marxist" blog? I know that's not where you're coming from but check out this post, it's relevant and interesting:<br /><br />http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/was-the-civil-war-a-mistake/<br /><br />THEN, check out the comments. It was descended upon by a pack of "Southern Nationalists." It's a parallel universe freak fest.ishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02750800388443950585noreply@blogger.com