Tonight Germany plays Spain for the Euro 2008 football championships. And all around town, German flags have been flying from cars, buildings, and even painted on faces. I am told that public displays of German pride are a new phenomenon in Germany. 60 years of history since WWII is simply a blink of the eye in Europe, and the public shame about German war crimes run very deep, especially here in Munich where Hitler came to power. But Football brings the world together, and all of that changed during the Germany hosted World Cup two years ago. Not only did Germany push a more opened “brand” out to the rest of the world, but it sounds like it did some convincing inside the country as well. It’s going to take more than a few sports tournaments (yes, even football) to change the view from German neighbors, but for this short time it’s nice to see this civic pride swell up in Munich.Sunday, June 29, 2008
Flag Wavin in Germany
Tonight Germany plays Spain for the Euro 2008 football championships. And all around town, German flags have been flying from cars, buildings, and even painted on faces. I am told that public displays of German pride are a new phenomenon in Germany. 60 years of history since WWII is simply a blink of the eye in Europe, and the public shame about German war crimes run very deep, especially here in Munich where Hitler came to power. But Football brings the world together, and all of that changed during the Germany hosted World Cup two years ago. Not only did Germany push a more opened “brand” out to the rest of the world, but it sounds like it did some convincing inside the country as well. It’s going to take more than a few sports tournaments (yes, even football) to change the view from German neighbors, but for this short time it’s nice to see this civic pride swell up in Munich.
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2 comments:
Spanish was too strong this evening
It was a great game, although I believe the officiating was perhaps questionable. Sorry Germany didn't win. Spain knocked out Italy, who was my favorite.
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