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In reply to the discussion: My great-grandmother was a Nazi. [View all]Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)8. Historical Context
You're right about the sins of the father, etc, but people shouldn't be ripped from their historical and cultural context to be judged against modern standards in any case. It's something that annoys me when people today call someone like Darwin or Lincoln - who were enlightened by the standards of their day - racists or homophobic. Historical fiction often suffers from having their good guys having to reject the common prejudices of their day and that makes them less believable.
Someone born in 1880's Germany being a Nazi is very different from someone born in post-war Germany being a Nazi considering the times they lived through.
Sorry, probably not the point you were trying to make, but a personal bugaboo of mine.
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Great story but I think it sounds like your grandmother was very much a product of her upbringing.
jwirr
Feb 2012
#9
I was raised with a German grandmother who was very like that also. We referred to her as determined
jwirr
Feb 2012
#18
I believe upbring does influence a person, but the world experience really impacts the person.
Behind the Aegis
Feb 2012
#13
the thing perhaps to remember is that the nazis were not alien being from another planet
dembotoz
Feb 2012
#20