I don’t self-identify as Jewish, but my paternal great-grandparents were killed at Maly Trostenets, and my paternal grandfather spent some time in a concentration camp before being released (he was US born but grew up in Vienna).
That said, I don’t have a personal grudge against Germans. I drive an Audi and have no compunction about talking to Germans or buying German products. I guess I don’t see the point of holding a country or people accountable for something they had no part in.
My mother tells the story of my grandfather, who was mad enough to spit when he found out that a cousin of his had used the “compensation” money to buy a TV. He said it was “blood money,” and gave it to charity.
My grandmother certainly didn’t like Germans, or anything german really. She lost relatives in the camps, so its understandable.
My mother is anti-german in the abstract knee-jerk sense, although when challenged, she’ll freely admit that it isn’t based on anything other than what her mother told her, and will admit that its ridiculous.
Out of all the European countries I’ve visited (and I’ve visited lots), Germany is my favorite. I frankly LOVE germany. Its a great place. Friendly people, beautiful countryside, the BEER; I’ve abstractly occasionally thought about moving there. And I love german products, very high quality.
To answer the OP, I think its generational. The older the jew, the more likely they are to dislike Germany/Germans.
My German buddy Chris’ father [who was Hitler Youth] joked about my WW2 vintage slog-through-Germany father[13th Armored] that he promised not to shoot him if they meet if my father would promise not to shoot at him
My mother, uncle and grandparents were Japanese POW’s for pretty much the entire war. They were in Indonesia at the time & my grandfather was in the Dutch army there. He was captured in action & spent the war working on the Thai-Burma Railway and then helped with the graves registraton teams recovering/identifying bodies, so he had little love for the Japanese.
My mother, uncle & grandmother were in a civilian camp on Java and had it pretty bad as well. We have one family heirloom from then, a lace Christening gown that my grandmother was able to hide from the guards for the duration. My oldest son was baptised in it a few years ago. They don’t have a lot of time for the Japanese either.
They held different kinds of grudges. My grandfather hated the soldiers who were guarding them but was OK with the rest of Japan, while my mother had more of a general dislike of the Japanese from the wartime generation and was somewhat biased people born after the war, she has moved past that in the last 15 years. She wouldn’t travel to Japan with my father a few years ago when she had the chance though.
After the war they returned to Holland and eventually came to Australia because they didn’t like the place after the Nazi’s had gotten through with it. Which is why my grandparents really hated the Nazi’s even thought they never encountered them.
I know she does get compensation money of some sort from the German government. I’m not sure why, though I do know she was in a camp. I’m also not sure what will happen with it when she dies.
My grandfather fought in the Pacific. He died in 1990, and I don’t think he liked the Japanese very much until the day he died. I’m kind of surprised he doesn’t haunt me now for driving a Honda Civic. It’s greatly to his credit that he was able to make an exception in the case of my aunt and cousins (one of his sons was in the military, was stationed in Japan, and married a Japanese woman). From what I heard from the family, this was a very difficult adjustment for him to make. But make it he did.
I don’t know what you’re on about, Farmer Janet, but the people I’m talking about identify as Jews – I know they’re probably white or whatever, but that’s their family and their culture. What’s the problem? Me, I’m not culturally Jewish but I still have the idea. What are you on about, man?
Well, I’m a plain ol’ white-ass Gentile-American, and I kind of hold a grudge against Germany. Hearing German spoken gives me the shivers. I think every German alive today should thank their lucky stars that their country isn’t a steaming crater.
So I guess some people are just grudge holders, is what I’m saying.