How football changed Germany
This entry has been coming a long, long time -- basically since 2oo6, to be honest -- and since I feel all sentimental and teary-eyed anyway, this seems like the right time to post it.
Disclaimer: These are my personal, subjective thoughts. I don't claim to be perfectly right, nor do I claim to know all there is to know about patriotism, nationalism, ... you get the drift. These are my memories, my experiences, so please take that into account.
First of all, a bit on history and national identity.
By now, you all should know I'm german. I was born way, way after WWII, but being a German means you are raised with the ever-present reminder of the crimes the Nazis commited. The Third Reich is much repeated topic in all kinds of subject in school, not to mention in books, newspaper, movies, documentaries ... you name it, we have it covering the Third Reich. Which is a good thing, because although I'm personally not responsible for anything that happened in these dark days, I'm responsible for keeping it from happening again.
I spent one memorable Easter weekend with my family in Berlin visiting the Jewish museum, the Holocaust Memorial, and the House of the Wannsee Conference. Not a good idea to put it all in one weekend. I couldn't go through the whole exhibition in the house because I felt so sick to my stomach, and so guilty I had to sit in the garden outside to take a deep breath.
Having this dark history hanging over our heads also means that you can't just say "I'm proud to be german", because it invokes really bad connotations. My first visit to the United States in 'o5 was a real culture shock, because I saw flags in front of people's houses, and people had no qualms to proudly exclaim that they're Americans or sing the national anthem or swear allegiance to the flag.
This might seem silly to some of you, but to me it was a new experience. I'd never seen any German but one (he lives in my old neighbouhood, and to this day I'm not sure what to make of it) hoisting up a flag if it wasn't in front of a government building. The only time in recent history that had happend was '89/'9o during the German reunification, and I'm too young to remember that.
So, basically, Germans have a -- understandably -- tense relationship with their own country, let alone wearing or displaying any insignia identifying with it.
The Football World Cup of 'o6
I wasn't a football fan prior to this event. I'd never understood the suffering chornix went through all the years before (I do now, hon. You're a very brave soul.). It was the time of my final exams before leaving school for good, and in my memory the sun shone all the time. It was a brilliant summer. My friends asked me if I wanted to come along for a public viewing (watching football on a huge screen with loads of other people, usually in the open) in Leipzig, and I said yes. I bought a little flag on the way to the train station, and that might seem insignificant, but that was a really surreal experience -- to be able to by a german flag in a supermarket. I didn't have to seek out some specialised store or anything, no, a plain old supermarket sold flags.
So we watched the first game of the World Cup with thousands of other people, all wearing our national colors, singing the anthem, waving flags, having fun cheering on our team.
And it was okay.
And that's really the crux of the matter. Suddenly, it was okay to walk around with a flag, to sing the national anthem, to have fun. Germans usually aren't famous for throwing good parties, but I think something shifted during that summer. We discovered that we are good hosts, that we can throw good parties, that it's okay to be okay with oneself and one's country.
I like to call it the relaxed patriotism we found that summer. It doesn't mean that we're better than other countries (although I do wish we'd finally beat Italy and Spain in football *le sigh*), it doesn't mean that we forget about our past. It just means that it's okay to have fun.
I can't describe how liberating that feeling was.
So yeah, maybe our national feelings only come to the surface every two years, maybe flags only show up on cars and balconies during the World Cup and the Euro, and cynics will be adamant it's a cheap trick, nothing of worth because it's only connected to football, and we're all raging nationalists during that time (seriously, the youth organization of The Greens printed buttons saying "Say no to patriotism" ... ), but it doesn't change the fact that I now own a flag and that I don't feel weird for waving it.
Disclaimer: These are my personal, subjective thoughts. I don't claim to be perfectly right, nor do I claim to know all there is to know about patriotism, nationalism, ... you get the drift. These are my memories, my experiences, so please take that into account.
First of all, a bit on history and national identity.
By now, you all should know I'm german. I was born way, way after WWII, but being a German means you are raised with the ever-present reminder of the crimes the Nazis commited. The Third Reich is much repeated topic in all kinds of subject in school, not to mention in books, newspaper, movies, documentaries ... you name it, we have it covering the Third Reich. Which is a good thing, because although I'm personally not responsible for anything that happened in these dark days, I'm responsible for keeping it from happening again.
I spent one memorable Easter weekend with my family in Berlin visiting the Jewish museum, the Holocaust Memorial, and the House of the Wannsee Conference. Not a good idea to put it all in one weekend. I couldn't go through the whole exhibition in the house because I felt so sick to my stomach, and so guilty I had to sit in the garden outside to take a deep breath.
Having this dark history hanging over our heads also means that you can't just say "I'm proud to be german", because it invokes really bad connotations. My first visit to the United States in 'o5 was a real culture shock, because I saw flags in front of people's houses, and people had no qualms to proudly exclaim that they're Americans or sing the national anthem or swear allegiance to the flag.
This might seem silly to some of you, but to me it was a new experience. I'd never seen any German but one (he lives in my old neighbouhood, and to this day I'm not sure what to make of it) hoisting up a flag if it wasn't in front of a government building. The only time in recent history that had happend was '89/'9o during the German reunification, and I'm too young to remember that.
So, basically, Germans have a -- understandably -- tense relationship with their own country, let alone wearing or displaying any insignia identifying with it.
The Football World Cup of 'o6
I wasn't a football fan prior to this event. I'd never understood the suffering chornix went through all the years before (I do now, hon. You're a very brave soul.). It was the time of my final exams before leaving school for good, and in my memory the sun shone all the time. It was a brilliant summer. My friends asked me if I wanted to come along for a public viewing (watching football on a huge screen with loads of other people, usually in the open) in Leipzig, and I said yes. I bought a little flag on the way to the train station, and that might seem insignificant, but that was a really surreal experience -- to be able to by a german flag in a supermarket. I didn't have to seek out some specialised store or anything, no, a plain old supermarket sold flags.
So we watched the first game of the World Cup with thousands of other people, all wearing our national colors, singing the anthem, waving flags, having fun cheering on our team.
And it was okay.
And that's really the crux of the matter. Suddenly, it was okay to walk around with a flag, to sing the national anthem, to have fun. Germans usually aren't famous for throwing good parties, but I think something shifted during that summer. We discovered that we are good hosts, that we can throw good parties, that it's okay to be okay with oneself and one's country.
I like to call it the relaxed patriotism we found that summer. It doesn't mean that we're better than other countries (although I do wish we'd finally beat Italy and Spain in football *le sigh*), it doesn't mean that we forget about our past. It just means that it's okay to have fun.
I can't describe how liberating that feeling was.
So yeah, maybe our national feelings only come to the surface every two years, maybe flags only show up on cars and balconies during the World Cup and the Euro, and cynics will be adamant it's a cheap trick, nothing of worth because it's only connected to football, and we're all raging nationalists during that time (seriously, the youth organization of The Greens printed buttons saying "Say no to patriotism" ... ), but it doesn't change the fact that I now own a flag and that I don't feel weird for waving it.