headcanon rantings.
[his current political situation]
I usually take Germany from the year 1942; during the Second World War. I play him from this time period because I enjoy and know it well, and I find his character and mindset at this point interesting. However I mainly take him from this time because there really isn't much detail given on what happened to him or his relations with other countries after the war. The comic has yet to touch on the end of the war and there is a gap between then and the modern day strips that I'm uneasy filling with my headcanon. Due to Hetalia's nature, the end of the war and the aftermath may be portrayed very differently from fanon and my headcanon, so I would prefer to play him from when the main story is roughly based to avoid any contradictions with other people's headcanons and such.
At this time, Hitler and the Nazi party were in power. They were responsible for the genocide of certain groups of people (ethnic minorities, Jews, homosexuals, disabled people, etc). Although Germany was ruled by a Nazi government at this time this does not mean he only embodies the Nazi ideals. Not all Germans were Nazis at the time of World War II, and Germany has always represented his people as a whole, not one political group. He is the personification of Germany, not Nazi-tan.
Germany represents the oppressed and innocent Germans as much as he represents those who believed in the Nazi government. In canon, he wishes on a star for a change in government and while talking to Finland he complains about his boss and expresses concern that his boss would lock him up if he opposed him, but in harsh reality that's putting it lightly. Germany frequently questions Hitler's actions, but he still has that fear and oppression lingering in his mind do to the influence of many of his people.
On the subject of the holocaust; personally, he doesn't really have much against the minorities Hitler hated with a passion. A lot of his own people were killed for being "a risk to the German norm", but they are still his people, part of him. The holocaust is causing him a lot of physical pain, since parts of him are basically dying. Now, being at war, it's never pleasant to feel your soldiers dying on the battlefield, but Germany must also deal with his innocents also being killed in their thousands, as ordered by his own leader. Since countries are so intimately connected to their people, Germany often has terrible night terrors regarding what's happening in the concentration camps.
This is another reason Germany fears to speak out against Hitler: he could quite easily threaten his own nation. It may not seem logical, given the amount of deaths that are already happening, but Germany is basically stuck between a rock and a hard place. Hitler ruled with something best described as "the carrot and stick" method. He promised the German people many great things, but he also used fear and intimidation to force them to obey him without question. When people spoke out against Hitler, bad things generally happened to them. Germany feels he is is no exception to this.
Fear aside, there is also what he was promising to do for Germany. Germany is young compared to most nations (he at least has little recollection of a time before the German states unified, and even then he was phsyically a child, which basically means he aged very quickly), and like all young countries he is proud and wants to make a mark on the world. Hitler promised Germany greatness and had managed to pull Germany out of the slump he was in after the First World War so, like most of his people, Germany had been caught up in Hitler's impressive speeches at first but, he grew to regret it after the madman gained far too much power.
Going back to his young age: after going from being fifty states to a powerful nation in such a short space of time, it's no wonder he rushed into things, it could be argued this has something to with him rushing into two wars in such a short space of time. He's said himself that as far back as he can remember, he has only known war. It's something that defines and heavily influences him at this time. It could be claimed his conflicts have been immature, narrow-minded mistakes with consequences he wasn't expecting. He also idolizes the Roman Empire, who ruled most of Europe, and it is likely he was the Holy Roman Empire (who wanted to recreate the original Roman Empire with Italy) before becoming Germany but has lost his memories of that time. As the war progresses he realizes too late just how ridiculous his boss and aspirations really are.
Basically, the way I play Germany and interpret his character is that he, personally, is not a Nazi. He is just currently ruled by a Nazi government. He wants his country to be powerful, but disagrees with a lot of what they're doing. He will not hunt down your Jewish character for shits and giggles and he has no desire to gas your homosexual one either (in fact, to quote Wikipedia, "In the 1920s, homosexual people in Germany, particularly in Berlin, enjoyed a higher level of freedom and acceptance than anywhere else in the world"). If you are a German citizen or have German blood, he will care for you. Disabled, gay, religious or not, he loves his people and will do his best to ensure their well-being. He may seem awkward, dismissive or guilty around these sorts of people, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care.
[random trivia/headcanon]
current wip.
He can play the piano and the cello with great skill.
His favourite foods are sausage and potato. His favourite drink is beer.
He bakes, though he likes to keep this hobby to himself.
Although their existence seems illogical to him, he's apparently terrified at the idea of ghosts.
This is a constant WIP, and if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, feel free to comment. ♥
I usually take Germany from the year 1942; during the Second World War. I play him from this time period because I enjoy and know it well, and I find his character and mindset at this point interesting. However I mainly take him from this time because there really isn't much detail given on what happened to him or his relations with other countries after the war. The comic has yet to touch on the end of the war and there is a gap between then and the modern day strips that I'm uneasy filling with my headcanon. Due to Hetalia's nature, the end of the war and the aftermath may be portrayed very differently from fanon and my headcanon, so I would prefer to play him from when the main story is roughly based to avoid any contradictions with other people's headcanons and such.
At this time, Hitler and the Nazi party were in power. They were responsible for the genocide of certain groups of people (ethnic minorities, Jews, homosexuals, disabled people, etc). Although Germany was ruled by a Nazi government at this time this does not mean he only embodies the Nazi ideals. Not all Germans were Nazis at the time of World War II, and Germany has always represented his people as a whole, not one political group. He is the personification of Germany, not Nazi-tan.
Germany represents the oppressed and innocent Germans as much as he represents those who believed in the Nazi government. In canon, he wishes on a star for a change in government and while talking to Finland he complains about his boss and expresses concern that his boss would lock him up if he opposed him, but in harsh reality that's putting it lightly. Germany frequently questions Hitler's actions, but he still has that fear and oppression lingering in his mind do to the influence of many of his people.
On the subject of the holocaust; personally, he doesn't really have much against the minorities Hitler hated with a passion. A lot of his own people were killed for being "a risk to the German norm", but they are still his people, part of him. The holocaust is causing him a lot of physical pain, since parts of him are basically dying. Now, being at war, it's never pleasant to feel your soldiers dying on the battlefield, but Germany must also deal with his innocents also being killed in their thousands, as ordered by his own leader. Since countries are so intimately connected to their people, Germany often has terrible night terrors regarding what's happening in the concentration camps.
This is another reason Germany fears to speak out against Hitler: he could quite easily threaten his own nation. It may not seem logical, given the amount of deaths that are already happening, but Germany is basically stuck between a rock and a hard place. Hitler ruled with something best described as "the carrot and stick" method. He promised the German people many great things, but he also used fear and intimidation to force them to obey him without question. When people spoke out against Hitler, bad things generally happened to them. Germany feels he is is no exception to this.
Fear aside, there is also what he was promising to do for Germany. Germany is young compared to most nations (he at least has little recollection of a time before the German states unified, and even then he was phsyically a child, which basically means he aged very quickly), and like all young countries he is proud and wants to make a mark on the world. Hitler promised Germany greatness and had managed to pull Germany out of the slump he was in after the First World War so, like most of his people, Germany had been caught up in Hitler's impressive speeches at first but, he grew to regret it after the madman gained far too much power.
Going back to his young age: after going from being fifty states to a powerful nation in such a short space of time, it's no wonder he rushed into things, it could be argued this has something to with him rushing into two wars in such a short space of time. He's said himself that as far back as he can remember, he has only known war. It's something that defines and heavily influences him at this time. It could be claimed his conflicts have been immature, narrow-minded mistakes with consequences he wasn't expecting. He also idolizes the Roman Empire, who ruled most of Europe, and it is likely he was the Holy Roman Empire (who wanted to recreate the original Roman Empire with Italy) before becoming Germany but has lost his memories of that time. As the war progresses he realizes too late just how ridiculous his boss and aspirations really are.
Basically, the way I play Germany and interpret his character is that he, personally, is not a Nazi. He is just currently ruled by a Nazi government. He wants his country to be powerful, but disagrees with a lot of what they're doing. He will not hunt down your Jewish character for shits and giggles and he has no desire to gas your homosexual one either (in fact, to quote Wikipedia, "In the 1920s, homosexual people in Germany, particularly in Berlin, enjoyed a higher level of freedom and acceptance than anywhere else in the world"). If you are a German citizen or have German blood, he will care for you. Disabled, gay, religious or not, he loves his people and will do his best to ensure their well-being. He may seem awkward, dismissive or guilty around these sorts of people, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care.
[random trivia/headcanon]
current wip.
This is a constant WIP, and if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, feel free to comment. ♥