Study: 15 percent of Germans claim superiority

[rich]

interesting
as Borat proved, the USA has its own prejudices, too

wonder if the sampling was equal b/w west and east parts of germany

I was in Dresden earlier this year; the film shown in the local museum about
the city before the war (1930s) was distinctly propaganda--not a nazi in
sight

despite the devastation, it's still very beautiful

fwiw, I do think the British and Americans terror bombing was a borderline
war crime. enough of that to go around by every participant for sure

rich

On 11/9/06, KWP59 at aol.com <KWP59 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>  Study: 15 percent of Germans claim superiority
>
> http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3325896,00.html
>
> New study reveals that extreme right-wing ideology, anti-Semitism popular
> among current German population; 14 percent believe Jews cheat in
> business;
> 35 percent express blatant xenophobia; 28 percent believe Germany should
> regain world status with force
> Gil Yaron
> Published:     11.09.06, 01:12
> A new study conducted for the German Friedrich Ebert Fund reveals that the
> anti-Semitic views, sense of superiority, the yearning for a strong
> government and the hatred of foreigners are still very strong among the
> German population. The researchers revealed that about 15 percent of those
> polled believe that the Germans have a natural superiority in comparison
> to
> other peoples.
>
> The study was conducted by two professors from the University of Leipzig
> who
> questioned 5,000 Germans in an attempt to study their level of agreement
> to
> opinions held by the extreme right. Twenty eight percent of the
> participants
> longed for Germany to return to be a major player in the world scene and
> think they must use force in order to Œreach the position they deserve.¹
> About eight percent are convinced that the crimes of the Nazis are grossly
> exaggerated.
>
>
> What is mostly concerning is the longing the Germans have for darker days:
> Nine percent support turning Germany into a dictatorship, 15 percent are
> convinced that "a tyrant is better than a democracy," and 26 percent of
> them
> hope for a system of government which a single popular party will
> represent
> the entire nation.
>
> The study also found that 27 percent of those surveyed reflect positions
> of
> hatred towards foreigners. As an example, 35 percent agree with the
> statement that "foreigners come to Germany only to exploit it." In eastern
> Germany, the poorer part of the country controlled by the communists for
> 50
> years, 44 percent answered positively to that question.
>
> Education doesn't cure anti-Semitism
> As to anti-Semitism, the findings are extremely worrying: Ironically, the
> highest anti-Semitic
>
> sentiment was found in the more developed western part of Germany, where
> various education systems were implemented in order to combat the problem.
> It seems that anti-Semitism is most prevalent in the richest provinces
> such
> as Bavaria and Nordrhein-Westfalia, where 10 percent of the participants
> expressed anti-Semitic sentiments, whereas in the eastern parts only four
> percent supported anti-Jewish statements.
>
>
> According to the study, 18 percent of Germans believe that the Jews, who
> today only number 120,000 in Germany, have too much influence, 14 percent
> believe that Jews are more inclined to cheat in business, and 14 percent
> think they are simply different and are not fit to live in Germany.
>
> Two groups dominated the anti-Semitic views: The elderly and the
> unemployed.
> In addition, the study also found that a feeling of political
> powerlessness
> was more important to the development of right-winged positions than
> economic strife. The anti-Semitism is less prevalent as the level of
> education goes up, and among women.
>
> However, the researchers indicate that education alone does not give
> immunity from the false magic of extreme right-wing ideology. In addition,
> affiliation to specific political parties or a particular church did not
> prevent people from holding extreme right wing ideologies.
>
> For these reasons, the researchers are convinced that it is not enough to
> employ intelligence and legislative programs, but also widespread actions
> in
> order to eradicate the right-wing phenomena in Germany.
>
> kwp
>
>
>
>
>
>
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