Why the Kaiserreich built so many Monuments

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No other country at the time had such an addiction to building monuments and memorials like Germany. Hundreds, if not thousands of statues, towers and other monuments were built in order to glorify the German Empire and its rulers. But where did this frenzy come from? Who had anything to gain from that? This episode answers those questions and gives an overview over four of the most interesting national monuments.
Sources:
- Alings, Reinhard: Monument und Nation. Das Bild vom Nationalstaat im Medium Denkmal zum Verhältnis von Nation und Staat im deutschen Kaiserreich 1871-1918, Berlin 1996.
- Arndt, Monika: Das Kyffhäuser-Denkmal - Ein Beitrag zur Politischen Ikonographie Des Zweiten Kaiserreiches, in: Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, Nr. 40 (1978), pp. 75-127.
- Barmeyer, Heide: Denkmalbau und Nationalbewegung. Das Beispiel des Hermannsdenkmals, in: Baltrusch, Ernst et al. (Ed.): 2000 Jahre Varusschlacht. Geschichte - Archäologie - Legenden, Berlin 2012, pp. 287-314.
- Hutter, Peter: Zur Baugeschichte des Völkerschlachtdenkmals in Leipzig, in: Keller, Katrin (Ed.): Vom Kult zur Kulisse: das Völkerschlachtdenkmal als Gegenstand der Geschichtskultur, Leipzig 1995, pp. 42-61.
- Poser, Steffen: Zur Rezeptionsgeschichte des Völkerschlachtdenkmals zwischen 1914 und 1989, in: Keller, Katrin (Ed.): Vom Kult zur Kulisse: das Völkerschlachtdenkmal als Gegenstand der Geschichtskultur, Leipzig 1995, pp. 78-104.
- Austilat, Geschichte der Berliner Siegessäule: Gehört der umstrittene Engel zum europäischen Kulturerbe?, in: Tagesspiegel, 18.06.2018 (accessed on 03.09.2023).
- Bernhard, Henry: Barbarossa als Touristenmagnet und Mythos der extremen Rechten, in: Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 03.09.2019 (accessed on 04.09.2023).
- Von Lüpke, Pyramide des Patrioten, in: Der Spiegel, 18.10.2013 (accessed on 05.09.2023).
- Schmitter, Wo die Legionen blieben, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 16.11.2022 (accessed on 04.09.2023).
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:25 The Kaiserreich and its Monuments
2:59 Victory Column, Berlin
5:50 Hermann Monument, Detmold
8:33 Kyffhäuser Monument, Thuringia
12:23 Monument to the Battle of the Nations, Leipzig
15:46 Outro

[@andreascovano7742]

9:27 Ironically enough, in the middle ages, it wasnt barbarossa who was supposed to be sleeping in the mountain, but his grandson, Frederick II. This is partly because he was the last of the staufer emperors and also the last emperor before the great interregnum, meaning people disparaging of the state of the empire had him as a reference of rule (barbarossa makes very little sense, since he was succeded by his very capable son Henry VI, his nephew otto and his aforementioned grandson Freddy II). The reason why the legend first arose was because the papacy was getting increasingly unhinged in its war with frederick and claimed a bunch of time that he was dead whilst in fact he was still alive, so when he obviously showed up fine, people started doubting reports of his death. And so when he did actually die, you had a bunch of fake Fredericks running around for a century longer, and when those went away, the legend of the sleeping emperor was formed. The reason why we associated barbarossa with the legend is because for german intelectuals in the 17th-19th century, frederick II was considered more italian than german, whilst his grandfather better fit the german conception of emperor.

[@Medvelelet]

The german folk song, "Der alte Barbarossa" is beautiful tho. I reccomend it.

[@davidelabarile1634]

meglio federico ii era piu pugliese che crucco.....o forse pure piu pugliese che italiano perche era l unico che ci ha pensato davvero a noi e noi pugliesi lo amiamo ancora oggi

[@andreascovano7742]

@@davidelabarile1634 I siciliani pensano che fosse siciliano e i napoletani pensano che fosse napoletano

[@davidelabarile1634]

@@andreascovano7742 uee... guarda che castel del monte e la maggior parte dei castelli fatti da luisono in puglia e i festival a lui dedicati oggi sono fatti per quasi la totalita da noi pugliesi (o lucani...perche anche li...) e su questo non ce dubbio

[@Carloshache]

The German Empire was the successor state to the North German Confederation, so they just continued using the same flag. It was thus official before 1892, but the constitution was modified that year.

[@mariocisneros911]

The U.S. has a monument mania too.. especially in Washington D.C. I think it is too much propaganda sort of a brainwashing..

[@ZillyWhale]

There's a Hermann statue in Minnesota, it's called Hermann the German.

[@SirManateee]

That's hilarious and I love it haha

[@Nonamearisto]

Funny how they forget that the Romans avenged Varus' defeat, crushed Arminius twice, and after Arminius fled to his relatives to escape Rome's armies, said relatives beheaded him and gave his head to the Romans to curry favor with them. All of the stolen legionary eagles were recovered, and parts of Germany remained under Roman rule for centuries.

[@onurbschrednei4569]

@@Nonamearisto That's definitely not forgotten, and its part of the tragic hero myth of Arminius. Still, without Arminius, pretty much all of Germany, or at least to the Elbe, would've stayed in Roman hands. They actually just recently found an entire Roman town far east of the Rhine with a huge Roman statue, which shows that the Romans were already in the middle of colonising Germany east of the Rhine. And then suddenly after their defeat by Arminius they completely abandon that area.

[@Nonamearisto]

@@onurbschrednei4569 The Romans conquered more of Germany later, but abandoned it a second time during the year of the four emperors, due to the legions stationed there going to fight for control of the empire.

[@JebediahSchlattus]

@@onurbschrednei4569 It is pretty well known that the romans were east of the Rhine. The border did not always follow the rhine exactly, but also sometimes smaller tributary rivers that posed geographical barriers as well. The romans also had trading posts in "Germania" and were not always at war with them. I coincidentally live near a river east of the Rhine for which that is the case, where a roman statue was found aswell, you are not talking about my home, are you? :D

[@WelcomeToDERPLAND]

Learning about these monuments and the history behind them was thoroughly enjoyable, I would love to see more videos like this.

[@SirManateee]

Yes, there are a few more left ;)

[@LucasBenderChannel]

Same here! I'd really like a sequel! 🤗

[@onurbschrednei4569]

Really interesting video and topic. I don't agree however how you present the building of megalomaniac monuments as unique to Germany. It was pretty much a worldwide trend in the 19th century, and there are great examples in all other Western countries, often even more megalomaniac than in Germany. Of the top of my head I can think of: Victor Emmanuel Monument in Rome, the Albert Memorial in London, Arc de Triomphe in Paris or half of Washington DC. Another thing that I found interesting is that many of those huge monuments were designed by the same guy: Bruno Schmitz. (You briefly mentioned him). He built the Kyffhäuser Monument, the Monument to the battle of the Nations in Leipzig, the "Deutsches Eck" in Koblenz, the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument in Porta Westfalica, etc. He had a very distinct style that is still recognisable today. Interestingly, he also built the huge Sailors and Soldiers Monument in Indianapolis.

[@namenamename390]

The monument to the battle of the nations is enormous. I find that it doesn't look that tall on camera, probably because it's both really tall and really wide. I've seen images of it, but was overwhelmed by its size when I saw it in person. It's so gigantic. Amusingly, it's now partially a monument to itself. Because it's so big and was such a feat of engineering, a significant part of it now tells the story of how it was built.

[@YD39222]

Omg, you posted the upload just after school finished :D

[@williamboisdenghien2849]

In one of the Asterix comics (the laurels of Caesar?), a Goth participates at a the Roman triumph as a captives and applauds while saying Kolossal! in gothic letters. Your introduction oozed that feeling. And you probably know what I mean because you referenced the papierschif A38 in a previous video, which is often used as a representation of German bureaucracy, despite being a parody of French bureaucracy.

[@etiennemourez3059]

It was in Astérix in Spain. Now you made me curious about how the next joke was translated. "Cesar affranchit le Rubicon"

[@williamboisdenghien2849]

@@etiennemourez3059 Good question, from what I got from reading Asterix and Cleopatra in Dutch, a lot of puns were just lost in translation.

[@Munchausenification]

It was a pretty common thing back then and further back as well, to have a tale or story about a former great leader like Barbarossa, to eventually wake from slumber in a time of need. The French have it with Charlemagne, Danes with Ogier (Holger) the Dane and English with King Arthur and his knights. But I only looked it up now because of this video since I already knew about Ogier the Dane

[@Artur_M.]

For example, in Poland, there are some unspecified knights supposedly sleeping under the Giewont massive in the Tatra Mountains. Some retellings of the legend put one of the Polish kings among them, as their leader. Usually, Bolesław I the Brave.

[@backisgabbeYT]

In Greece the last Emperor of the Roman Empire is said to have been turned into marble and still sleep under the gate st. Romanos in Istanbul. His reawakening will start the Greek reconquest and lead to a golden age for the greeks.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

I heard Slovakia has something similar. A bunch of knights sleep in a mountain and every few years one wakes up, walks out, and yells out. If no one answers he goes back to sleep

[@jackyex]

In Portugal there's the same legend with King Sebastian, one day he will wake up from his sleep in the moorish lands and will return to Portugal in its times of need.

[@hedgehog3180]

Olger isn't actually a leader, he was just a champion mentioned in the Frankish Chronicles. Also there's a TV series where a running joke is Olger waking up because of something completely trivial that is immediately solved.

[@ErikVomMars]

Sieht nach sehr viel Arbeit aus! Schönes Video

[@SirManateee]

Danke :)

[@unholyscum]

Great Video! Please more of that

[@druff30]

Great video bro every topic you cover is just so interesting and hits my historic interests perfectly

[@Nonamearisto]

0:06 Very few of those were "megalomaniac." Try the Victor Emmanuel II monument in Rome or the Cinquantenaire Arch in Brussels for those. Maybe that Independence Arch in Mexico City.

[@_TkiT_]

I didn't know about the one in Belgium. I guess Congolese slave labour had to pay for something grand.

[@t.wcharles2171]

​@@_TkiT_the Congolése lent a hand.

[@holygooff]

@@_TkiT_ Wealth partially came from the colony. That wasn't unusaual for Western-Europe though (France, UK, Spain, NL...). I don't know why it is always emphasized more with Belgium. For a long time it even wasn't a Belgian, but a private colony of the king. Apart from that Belgium was just an industrial powerhouse in the 19th century, long before the Berlin conference of 1884 and even longer before the 1890s rubber boom made it actually profitable. Belgium was most industrially advanced country apart from the UK

[@_TkiT_]

@@holygooff I didn't say it was unusual, but the brutality in Congo was unusual even by colonial standards which is why Belgium is being always called out even if it was mostly because of the Belgian King not the government (which did some bad things too).

[@dingaling487]

14:10 you can still see bullet holes in the monument from when the SS used it as a fortress during the American occupation of Leipzig

[@RK-cj4oc]

Liberation*

[@superfranky8054]

​@@RK-cj4ocfrom whom?

[@VictoireOuMort]

@@RK-cj4oc * Occupation.

[@BlueTyphoon2017]

@@superfranky8054the Nazi government, who else?😑

[@skurt9109]

Another upload by the great💪 i will watch this after work😁

[@SirManateee]

Thank you my friend :)

[@JesusMorales-gc4yo]

This video made morning coffee a blast, very neat video 🎉

[@haisheauspforte1632]

I live in Kiel, in neighbouring Laboe there is also a very interesting monument: the Marine Ehrenmal Laboe. It is a very tall tower and a cave essentially, and it was opened by Hitler himself to commemorate German "WW1 heros". After WW2 it got turned into an international Monument to commemorate killed seafarers of all nations. The "cave" has many separate monuments to killed ship crews, it is a very interesting place. And the tower has perfect views over the Kieler Förde and the baltic sea

[@Todesbananez]

11:53 your brain on state media approved humor

[@robs257]

the best thing about the arminus monument is the rumor that the ticket sellers in the 19th hundreds played poker in the head in their break. :D

[@akramgimmini8165]

6:57 Every German knows: Bielefeld doesn't exist

[@alexandregarden6260]

So the two and a half years I spent living and working there was just an extended dream?!!!

[@akramgimmini8165]

Exactly@@alexandregarden6260

[@phelsuma3037]

Schönes, interessantes Video👍

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

I think one of the main reasons the Kulturkampf went over without much opposition is because despite Baden and Württemberg having mostly Catholic populations, their ruling families were Protestant (the Catholic branch of the House of Württemberg didn’t become head until after the fall of the monarchy, in 1922, and the Badens didn’t go Catholic until the 1960s) while Saxony had a ruling family that was Catholic, but a mostly Lutheran population. The only state that had both was Bavaria, but they’d been distracted by the “untimely death” (I will believe to my dying day that he was murdered) of King Ludwig II and Prince Luitpold’s regency. It explains why the Kulturkampf went on for so long, since Catholic representation at any level was always hampered by some factor and unable to act to uphold religious tolerance within the empire.

[@saladcat8305]

Hey! Great video. Are you thinking about making a video about Austrian structures and monuments any time soon? It would really interest me on the reasoning of the numerous buildings made in the 19th century.

[@SirManateee]

Good idea, that might make for a fascinating video.

[@dandyl1on]

​@@SirManateee The Viennese Ringstraße alone has some interesting history to it.

[@pluieuwu]

okay can i just say that i love the music selection for each of these monuments LMAO Thüringer Bratwürste esse ich so gern~

[@piantgenis6080]

I love your music choice. My favourite pieces of classical music.

[@thelusogerman3021]

As a half german myself I gotta say I get chills when i visit monuments like the victory column. The germans know damn well how to look imposing af

[@potatosalad9085]

portuguese or brazilian?

[@thelusogerman3021]

@@potatosalad9085 Portuguese caralho

[@pegasustargaryen]

You could have also mentioned the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal in Porta Westfalica. It is also a large statue of Wilhelm I standing under an even larger roof overlooking the surrounding area from a (for the region) very tall hill/mountain

[@noaoah3662]

Hey, sort of unrelated, but what are the pieces of background music being played?

[@grandcommander1140]

Could you please make an in-depth video about the plans for Welthauptstadt Germania? It would be really intresting in my opinion since i can't really find any other videos on the subject that goes deeper than just sureface-level. Thank you, and love your vids by the way ❤

[@SirManateee]

I agree that it would be interesting, but I don't really want to focus on National Socialism too much on this channel. But hey, who knows ;)

[@BigScreamingBaby]

Sure those monuments are cool but theres not one statue of Kaiser Wilhelm smoking a blunt while wearing sunglasses and showing the middle finger so they're not as cool as they could be

[@calebfields5800]

I love the Pirate Olaf pic

[@smallcat848]

i didn't expect an alaz aztec song in this video lol

[@petardragicevic1486]

Couldn’t help but notice you used “CE”

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

There's one Bismarck Tower in Szczecin (former Stettin). It was kinda a victim of Polish goverment trying to degermanize the city. It got a new name - Gocław Tower - but nobody uses it. It's probably one of the most German things we have so no local accepted the name change As a side note Szczecin has a very complicated relationship with its germanness. In the past the goverment wanted to have nothing to do with it. Nowadays people are more open and interested in the history. I've seen it in many places. Efforts to reclaim the German-ish identity of the city. That being said I think that Świnoujście (a seaside resort) is still more German. There're so many German tourists there and most of advertisements are written in two languages. You could easily assume that they're a sizable minority of the city

[@user-kr5iz9jr2u]

great vid man! way to go! remember me when you're famous!

[@JuliusP98]

I liked the music choice

[@Max_Huntley]

I have the feeling I shouldn’t be here lol

[@SirManateee]

well, i don't know how that happened xD

[@Emel_unlegit]

HUh?

[@thevichox07]

lolwut

[@andrewv018]

my Lock Screen background is the view of Berlin from the Siegessäule

[@Frd2004]

Bernd 😂 Ich mag deinen Content, du erzählst über Themen, über die selbst ich als Deutscher mit Verhältnismäßig viel Geschichtswissen was neues lerne.

[@YD39222]

12:28 send song pls!

[@cahdoge]

is listed in the bottom left

[@vihanuyyuru6]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYC7fIaEgLNjm6c

[@Shantari]

I'll keep this video in mind next time I plan a vacation in Germany.

[@hannovonbahrenfeld5986]

What kind of question is that? Every country I visited had many monuments.

[@MrMoritz74]

Hi, thank you for your video. You have forgotten the "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal" in Porta Westfalica. This is the second highest monument in Germany! The monument is in the mountain of the Wesergebirge obove the Weser-river. Greetings from the Porta Westfalica (Germany)!

[@hedgehog3180]

The irony of some of these monuments is kinda funny. One the one hand you have a victory statue using a Roman god, on the other you have a statue where the Romans are apparently the enemy. Then you also have a monument that's supposed to commemorate a battle from 1813 yet only medieval knights are depicted, a type of warrior that guns had made obsolete about 400 years before the battle was even fought. Like surely this is the one where you should put all of those captured guns?

[@maximilianbeyer5642]

To add, the original three layers of the victory monument in Berlin were for the unification wars, but the fourth was added by the Nazis to commemorate the Endsieg. That aged quite poorly

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

@@maximilianbeyer5642 a bit like the ancient egyptians who always made victory obelisks before they went out to battle lmao I guess its a way of simply gaslighting the historians of the future, who cares if you actually won the war when everyone already thinks you won the war?

[@hedgehog3180]

@@maximilianbeyer5642 Thematically appropriate though, since it did the opposite of the unification wars.

[@gnometruther5551]

14:29 Scholz gibt ein Auge als Pfand gegen einen Schluck aus Mimirs Brunnen, um seherische Kräfte zu bekommen

[@pete9320]

And Barbarossa would never ever really have liked to be in the Kyffhäuser, nor Frederick the II, who obviously would have preferred to be in his castles in Apulia.

[@westphalianstallion4293]

Damn, I forgot how Warhammer 40k the people's batlle monument in Leipzig was.

[@mememachine6022]

Hindenburg lying in the dirt and nobody carrying about him is peak retribution

[@annakobuk3618]

Not the first and not the last ones to do so.

[@Wn9618]

Manatee brilliant video as always. What’s the deal with the Bernd/Björn thing, is Bernd a German slur or something? My grasp of the language is nonexistent haha

[@SirManateee]

Bernd is just a normal name. It's just become a running gag to purposefully call him by the wrong name because he just can't help but get upset over it. At this point, even serious news outlets accidentally use Bernd sometimes.

[@chesthoIe]

The revolution and early American government was funded by lottery as well. The Articles of Confederation didn't let the government tax, but it let them be a casino.

[@kendalson7100]

They look more interesting than the Statue of Liberty anyway.

[@MrChopstsicks]

Bismarck always have a plan

[@davidelabarile1634]

beautifiul monuments expect for the arminius one not because i dont like the design but because sorry every team i hear of teutoburg the music of when you loose in rome 1 comes out in my mind along with the... varo!!! rendimi le mie legioniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!(translated:varo give me back my legions!!) phrase...

[@SirManateee]

Very understandable

[@LucasBenderChannel]

👏👏👏

[@grassnothing1631]

beans

[@SirManateee]

On toast

[@grassnothing1631]

@@SirManateee being eaten by

[@SirManateee]

@@grassnothing1631 me

[@grassnothing1631]

@@SirManateee while siting on a

[@tanker00v25]

​@@grassnothing1631 gaming chair

[@kleinweichkleinweich]

yes that is his name

[@cgt3704]

2:59 too bad you didnt use the raid ww2 version. It 'd be funnier

[@dandyl1on]

How is your dialect so nicely sounding when you're living in Germany? You must certainly be an fellow Austrian, or at least spent significant time south of the Weißwurstäquator.

[@Luxnutz1]

ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING!!!!! I statues that lined the area of Berlin removed by the East German Government are an Interesting topic as well as Valhalla on the Danube. The Tannenberg Monument and Grave being removed should've been preserved. It would've been proof of history deletion that is common today. Sir Manatee your channel keeps me riveted and look forward to the next one!!! Thank You!!!!!!

[@flopunkt3665]

Bavaria only built monuments to their own monarchs during that time.

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

To Mr Twain I counter with "at the very least it was not built on stolen native lands, with money and from the KKK, whos chief architect was a deep believer, also, there was a large nr of black people "employed" in janitorial duty there" that being said he is right in that regard,

[@XIXCentury]

Muh fascism

[@1293ST]

Vier deutsche Kadrinaltugenden? Also, ich kenne nur drei: Infanterie, Artillerie, und Kavallerie.

[@konradvonschnitzeldorf6506]

Luftwaffe

[@vulpes7079]

Völkermord

[@Storm-1.]

Wow eine sprechende seekuh.

[@Natpad_027]

"It also became a ralling plot for right winger"

[@clem714]

underrated KZbinr

[@maniak1768]

On a side-note: The Hermann monument might be pretty dumb, but the town of Detmold is actually really pretty and has a mostly historic town center that I can recommend visiting.

[@Arminius1901]

Why is it dumb?

[@5nhyfiery]

Real

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

Neat enough set of rants.

[@ostwestfalischehochmoorlei4705]

Many big monuments... cause of its many little... 🎉 Its the same thing with the Helm mit Spitze 🎉 For Arminius we should go Kalkriese 😊. You can hear interesing new things about this roman disaster even every year. Im lucky life near this village.

[@Mrbird-pw2mg]

BERND Höcke 😂😂😂😂😂

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

3:13 is it weird that I only recognize that because it’s come up in a few mark Felton videos about how it was used as an emergency airstrip in the battle of Berlin? Oh no…am I a wehraboo?

[@charmyzard]

Maybe culture was still a thing?

[@bladdnun3016]

The monument to the Battle of Nations feels impressively brutal, crass and stupid in person. Well worth a visit!

[@Arminius1901]

How about you stop making jokes about our monuments. Funny how everyone has their own ultranationalist monuments in their countries, or EVEN IN OUR OWN COUNTRY like the soviet memorials with solderis with literal guns and tanks besides them. But when we germans built monuments after having been disunited for centuries and having to accept how the frenchm, danish etc. stole our territories like Elsaß and Lothringen, we were the evil aggressive nationalists? How about the next time you show the ultranationalist memorial of the killed german eagle murdered by a french sword at the place were the Armistice of 1918 was signed. Funny how, again for so many times, the french were agressive against us and stole Elsaß-Lothringen again and even built that anti german monument after having "won" the war only with british, russian, american, and italian support.

[@leninsmustache5937]

Thank you so much for calling Bernd by his proper name!

[@SirManateee]

At your service, Lenin's moustache

[@iamwEZZ]

You just keep delivering outstandingly researched videos! I have but a small remark: Höcke's first name is "Björn" not Bernd, in case anyone was wondering.

[@bladdnun3016]

You're not fooling anyone! Bernd is correct.

[@nicolasberky145]

I have to disagree with victory column as an "monument of agression" since prussia would only start the austro prussian war

[@EnSayne987]

Though Bismarck did also engineer purposefully the French declaration of war and was very much a result of Prussian aggression. I don't know if I would agree with it either but there's more evidence than you think

[@nicolasberky145]

@@EnSayne987 the only thing he literaly did was insult the french ambasador that is not a reason for france to start a war

[@hedgehog3180]

Bismarck was literally the one who sent the declaration of war that started the war of 1864 do you live under a rock?

[@ogerpinata1703]

These monuments stand tall and strong against certain political and interest groups who would like to see our country destroyed and dismantled. Only when all danger to our nation from within and without has been dealt with, can they finally be pulled down.

[@bladdnun3016]

Pfff.

[@therealnalo9890]

We could use more of them, there's never enough! Also those modern style ones really just suck :/

[@hkmorhsi]

Megalomaniac

[@Dimensional3123]

i love you for saying "bernd höcke" truly a man of culture

[@user-cq7yn6cm7q]

The use of BCE and CE is a sign of historical dishonesty.

[@acu4461]

Why dear Sir are you using all the sudden plenty of modern german politc memes - grüße Bernd Scholz

[@SirManateee]

The best answer I can give you is that I just wanted to try out something new. Now in retrospect, I'm not so sure if that was a good idea or if it even made much sense in the first place haha

[@acu4461]

@@SirManateee for me as a fellow German it was funny and entertaining - but I agree that maybe for a broader audience it was "hard" to follow - even though you explained awesomely When not understanding the political jokes - the video was still great - keep it up - looking forward for more content of you :)

[@hedgehog3180]

@@acu4461 I think a lot of German memes will be at least somewhat familiar to other Europeans so it's not an issue, I at least got the jokes and I'm Danish.

[@gssalternatehistory]

11:48 except the ableist and pro russian part this guy seems cool

[@mjde9532]

As far as I remember the Ableist Part of his Ideas amounts to "lets not try to push everyone out of the Special-Ed Schools"

[@amadiohastruck4331]

Oikophobe!

[@SirManateee]

ok

[@amadiohastruck4331]

@@SirManateee Ha! He admits I love content anyway, but you guys should give yourself a break.

[@1293ST]

11:27 *Bernd* Höcke, ja, der Mann heißt Bernd.

[@oellappen269]

The German Empire was arguably the peak of Germany as a whole. Though far from perfect, it was a prospouros nation and celebrated it's history, heritage and different cultures properly. Many flaws, yes, many things done horribly wrong (colonialism), yes, but most things can be attributed to the time period the Empire existed. As a bavarian, of course I have to add that Bavarias cultural rise happened before the unification with Germany. 😂

[@hedgehog3180]

That is some odd logic there, the German Empire was the peak of Germany if you just ignore all of the bad things. And apparently those bad things weren't even the fault of the empire either because it was a product of the times even though the empire actively embraced and choose to pursue those policies and thereby created the culture of the time. If you just choose to ignore all the bad things then you can call anything the peak of any nation. Like what exactly differentiates you from a Nazi-apologist at this point? The exact same argument could be made for Nazi Germany.

[@oellappen269]

@@hedgehog3180 not really, since Nazi-Germany was built on a foundation of hatred, evilness and an preset ideology. The german empire naturally evolved. Also, I agree that my point is shallow "let's just ignore the bad things and then it's good". Yet I still believe what I said, that everything has a bad side, but that doesn't devalue the greatness and the achievments of the nation.

[@thatrocksong]

Ah yes, Bernd Höcke, who is definitely called Bernd as every German knows :)

[@solidariush]

Great video, and thanks for discussing contemporary fascist usage of those monuments. History content about Imperial (and Nazi) Germany sadly attracts reactionary people, so you need to be careful about the audience and community you cultivate. I love this channel, but I dread the comment sections.

[@SirManateee]

Yeah you're sadly very correct. It's sad to see that my comment sections have become such an absolute mess in the past few months but on the other hand, I don't want to stop talking about things that interest me. We'll see if things improve ...

[@mithrandil420]

@@SirManateee Tell me is Christian Schmidt a good CDU democrat for you? And who is he to write history books and programs in Bosnia. I find this a very interesting topic.

[@MyPrideFlag]

What do you mean by reactionary people?

[@IndianaJonesTDH]

Whats wrong with being a monarchist and enjoying architecture lmao and what do you mean reactionary... but also what about the revolutionary or do you have double standards

[@igeljaeger]

Den part über Höcke hättst dir echt sparen können

[@MrTheLollooo]

Nö. Wieso?

[@SirMilone]

spätestens bei Bernd Höcke hätte ich bemerkt das du Deutsch bist 😂.

[@DolanTrump2137]

Great and informative video but with too much political cringe

[@user-xh6ij4xs7k]

Better to stop repeating actual political nonsense and personal partisan positions. It degrades the video quality.

[@mr.coolmug3181]

Whenever a video is made about German culture or architecture, or monuments or art, it inevitably devolves into a discussion about racism and whether or not this beautiful civilization should be torn down or not. It's amazing to me how indoctrinated the German people are. Constantly referring to their past with shame, and not thinking about the present and all of the good things they've inherited from the past. It becomes so tiresome.

[@ventedbus4917]

I mean one of their former governments did kill over 6 million Jewish, gay, disabled, Roma (Gypsy), Polish people (And some other groups I might have forgotten) and said government loved to lean into the made up mythological background for Germany they literally just made up and loved to use pre existing German culture and mythology as a rallying point for their views

[@franzjoseph1837]

I mean they conducted two very well documented genocides in Africa and Europe in the span of like 60 years and within recent memory. The people who built these monuments literally had a hand in either of these mass murdering rampages fueled by racial hatred and greed. Sorry it's tiresome for you but Germans actually like reflecting on their history both good and bad.

[@MrMakabar]

Nobody in Germany is going to argue to destroy all works of Goethe or Schiller, nor burn the paintings of Casper David Friedrich, Dürer, Marc, Cranach or Rubens, Beethoven and Bachs music i not exactly controversial, nobody plans to tear down the city hall of Bremen or Lübeck or the many historic churches in the country. Why? Because they are unlike these monuments not calling for war or monarchy. These monuments are not pretty for the sake of being pretty, but to convey a message and that message can be argued about. That is also true for other art. In many cases it is not a problem, but in many of these cases it is argueing for monarchy and wars of agression. You find these in many places as well. The Baltic countries and Poland are currently tearing down Communist era monuments, as is Ukraine. Not because they are necessarily ugly, but because they convey a political message, which is no longer part of the country.

[@zeisselgaertner3212]

Thank you ! I call it "bewusst herbeigeführte Autoimmunstörung" (deliberately induced autoimmune disorder).

[@hedgehog3180]

Indoctrination now apparently means "critically examining nationalist propaganda and striving to have an accurate understanding of history". In other news war is peace.

[@britfox7766]

Imagine a Monument Mythos set in Germany...

[@MK-rw1on]

would be even darker because german history is far darker than the american

[@vulpes7079]

Imagine showering and going outside

[@mjde9532]

@@MK-rw1on there is no such thing as American History

[@Grafkoks2]

Why do you make videos about Germany if you hate it anyway?

[@yanniiick]

wannabe goebbels hahahha, thats actually so accurate

[@mithrandil420]

Christian Schmidt?

[@yanniiick]

Bernd Höcke

[@mithrandil420]

@@yanniiick He is not on any official post unlike colonial governor of Bosnia Christian Schmidt. But he is a CDU so he is a great democrat.

[@yanniiick]

@@mithrandil420 he was the leader of the far right faction "der flügel" within the afd until it was supposedly dissolved in 2020

[@mithrandil420]

@@yanniiick That is post in political party not in goverment. He "was" and Schmidt is still in position. So before you make fun of AFD you should start to pay attetion how you "democratic" leaders act towards other people and other nations.

[@thomasrengel5577]

I take it you're a Social Democrat and very favorable to the Communists/Soviets/Russians, maybe even a KGB asset as most German Leftists and Greens I suspect are. Next time I get to Germany (last there in 2005) I want to spend time at some of those monuments. The Berlin Victory Column is the only one I've seen in the flesh. My German ancestors were from the Pfalz and the Baden-Wuttemburg area so were well aware of French depredations over the centuries---in your upbringing as a Leftist (I can tell) you're probably unaware of the period or raised to be pro-French. In June-July 1991 I spent 15 days in the [former] East to ride and photograph trams and narrow-gauge steam trains. This was only 8 months after The Turning; the place reminded me of the US in the 1950's and '60's when it was under the domination of the Democrats. But the day I visited Leipzig I rode a long tram line that turned out to go through the area of The Battle of the Nations. As in passing the memorial to the Stand of the Wurttemburger Militia and a big Memorial Church. That was a massive and historically important battle I knew about from history--but here I am riding through where it actually happened! But the most moving moment in my travels was over a week earlier at the end of a long car- (OK, tram)-line from Brandenburg where the streetcar terminated at a circle around a simple WW1 monument. Incredibly deeply moving---I know how WW1 started and it's NOT the Allied lies that Americans have been fed for over 100 years. That operationally significant Brandenburger car line has been cut back since---yes, I've looked at Google Earth. In the future I might advise a little less Leftist propaganda and more attention to what is actually there in your videos. But thanks for the explanation of how there came to be so many. Here in America in most smaller cities and towns the Civil War (1861-5) Memorial is almost always the biggest one; it is in the large cities and in places controlled by Democrats (our answer to the SPD, etc.) that the WW2 monuments and War Memorial Auditoriums are to be found. No one else will write about that fact that WW! & 2 are the Democrats' War--but it's out there in plain sight!

[@666rsrs]

"My ancestors are..." didn't bother reading past that, there's nothing more pathetic than am*ricans larping about their 1/64 german ancestry, brother just stop it every german looks at you with disgust

[@malis9045]

dumbass american comment. Go eat a burger