Bomber boys - bbc one

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by Bewolf

Now just imagine Germany would start celebrating Sperrle and start building statues to his honor. Throw in some medals for the brave men that brought the war to the enemy.
That would be a bit closer to the issue at hand.

Possibly. But then Sperrle and his brave men were fighting a war on behalf of, and for the perpetuation of, Nazi political doctrines - as opposed to a war against them, were they not?

The issue isn't one of celebrating the killing of civilians, it's an issue of comemmorating the defeat of Nazism and the individuals who contributed towards this end.

As Bongo pointed out, the British don't 'celebrate' Harris, but there is a statue of him, along with one of Dowding and lots of Churchill.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Dutch

Possibly. But then Sperrle and his brave men were fighting a war on behalf of, and for the perpetuation of, Nazi political doctrines - as opposed to a war against them, were they not?

The issue isn't one of celebrating the killing of civilians, it's an issue of commemorating the defeat of Nazism and the individuals who contributed towards this end.

As Bongo pointed out, the British don't 'celebrate' Harris, but there is a statue of him, along with one of Dowding and lots of Churchill.

Surely I don't have to literally repeat myself?

You yourself have used the phrase 'Let's not forget' in a singularly 'patronising' statement. Memorials are placed expressly for this purpose.

What you think of the individual is quite up to you, but it is important to remember, don't you think? Children point and ask questions, also a good thing.

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Dutch

Surely I don't have to literally repeat myself?

You yourself have used the phrase 'Let's not forget' in a singularly 'patronising' statement. Memorials are placed expressly for this purpose.

Exactly. So the message that one conveys should be: "Let's not forget that this man caused the unnecessary death of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides", right?

What you think of the individual is quite up to you, but it is important to remember, don't you think? Children point and ask questions, also a good thing.

I agree, but there are different methods of remembering, I'm sure that kids can wait to get a bit older before they learn about the endeavours of Harris.
The darkest chapter of the RAF surely doesn't deserve a statue of his mastermind.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

Exactly. So the message that one conveys should be: "Let's not forget that this man caused the unnecessary death of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides", right?

The darkest chapter of the RAF surely doesn't deserve a statue of his mastermind.

But you don't mind statues of Churchill?

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Dutch

But you don't mind statues of Churchill?

Apart for my personal judgement on Churchill's role in the whole affair (which again is not pretty clear, since the pressure for the "go" on the area bombing was coming from different fronts, he never was particularly fond of it, as it emerged in several private letters that came out), I normally think that one should avoid erecting statues of political leaders (let alone military ones!), especially if they were involved in controversial decisions.