Lest they forget

[oompah]

Theodoros Pangalos, deputy prime minister, said Germany had no right to reproach Greece for anything after it devastated the country under the Nazi occupation, which left 300,000 dead. "They took away the gold that was in the Bank of Greece, and they never gave it back. They shouldn't complain so much about stealing and not being very specific about economic dealings," he told the BBC.

Twisting the knife further, he said the current crop of EU leaders were of "very poor quality" and had botched this month's crisis summit in Brussels. "The people who are managing the fortunes of Europe were not up to the task," he said.

One banker said the situation was surreal. "How can they call the Germans incompetent Nazis and still expect a bail-out?"

This was reported today after the rioting on the streets of Athens,have they a point though.Just imagine the furore if our deputy pm(who is it?)had made a statement like this.

 

[Blasphemous]

"The people who are managing the fortunes of Europe were not up to the task," he said.... perhaps they should get some advice from the Greek government? I mean they've done a great job haven't they?

 

[dextrous]

One banker said the situation was surreal. "How can they call the Germans incompetent Nazis and still expect a bail-out?"

I take it the banker was talking about himself then!

 

[Donkmeister]

The Greek people in general are still very wary of Germany and Germans.

My limited experiences of this led me to believe it's purely down to the German actions of WW2, as I never heard anything akin to racism or other hateful speech.

Whilst the majority of the perpetrators and direct victims of those actions are no longer with us, I can see their point...

Whilst I understand the key reasons why we didn't reap the spoils of war from Germany, it still feels wrong that we rescued France and defeated Germany, yet they never repaid the debt... a direct result of this is that our industries and economy are weaker for it whilst their's grew stronger.

It appears that any country who acts in a global fashion to improve the bigger picture never starts a trend, and simply loses out to anyone who can fill the void.

 

[dextrous]

The Greek people in general are still very wary of Germany and Germans.

My limited experiences of this led me to believe it's purely down to the German actions of WW2, as I never heard anything akin to racism or other hateful speech.

Whilst the majority of the perpetrators and direct victims of those actions are no longer with us, I can see their point...

Whilst I understand the key reasons why we didn't reap the spoils of war from Germany, it still feels wrong that we rescued France and defeated Germany, yet they never repaid the debt... a direct result of this is that our industries and economy are weaker for it whilst their's grew stronger.

It appears that any country who acts in a global fashion to improve the bigger picture never starts a trend, and simply loses out to anyone who can fill the void.

Seems a pretty reasonable appraisal of the situation to be honest.

 

[wotan]

Yes thats the same parallel thats drawn between the victim being treated worse than the offender.

Wotan

 

[Nige F]

You are so right Donk meister- perhaps we should stop buying German and Japanese cars And give back the Elgin marbles - now where are mine

 

[Infidel]

Well somebody oughta pay them back for Nana Mouskouri and Demis Roussos.
Whilst on the subject of the war did you know we finally paid off our last second world war debt in 2006 part of the lease lend agreement.

The final payment of $83.3 million (£42.5 million), due on 31 December 2006 (repayment having been deferred on several occasions), was made on 29 December 2006 (the last working day of the year).

Makes you think eh 61 years on.