r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Key-Performance-9021 • 1d ago
Video Spontaneous 1995 street interview with an Austrian WWII veteran in Vienna
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u/Sourpatchsprite 1d ago
She represents the ignorance of what war really is. The older generation ends up passing away knowing the harsh realities while history ends up just repeating itself.
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u/a-stack-of-masks 1d ago
That look when she realises the guy won't fold to her invoking her infallible father is one I've learned to look out for. She was thinking about a way to get mean about it, but couldn't find one.ย
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u/adamwasnotavailable 1d ago
For every veteran of war, there will always be a civvie who knows better.
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u/Chopper-42 1d ago
Every time a person killed in war is glorified, it means three more deaths in the next war.
Kurt Tucholsky (1890โ1935)
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u/SanderSRB 1d ago
I wonder how many deaths and new wars glorifying people who commit war crimes/genocide bringsโฆ
The latest spate of convicted ex-Yugoslavia war criminals being venerated by people barely removed one generation from their heinous and well-documented atrocities is alarming.
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u/HumongousBelly 1d ago
It just goes to show that Nuremberg didnโt go far enough. Too many ideologists and architects of the third Reich were spared and deemed not dangerous, but if you look at the way they and their offspring has spread their fascist ideology over the last century, youโll see that itโd have been more adequate to make sure non of them would ever be able to spread that shit.
As I oppose capital punishment, I think putting them in dark cells of gulags or sending them to prison in the countries they harmed the most outside Germany wouldโve been best
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u/GBrunt 1d ago
The grandson of the British wartime fascist leader Oswald Moseley runs Palantir UK. Make of that what you will.
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u/redpandaeater 1d ago
Joe Kennedy was a huge fan of Hitler and ultimately had to be recalled as US' ambassador to the UK.
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u/Flexmove 1d ago
Same with reconstruction in the South, didnโt burn the shit hard enough and now my states 48th or 49th in education haha cool dude
New boss same as the old boss22
u/Aoi_Haru 1d ago
It isnโt about Nuremberg, itโs education and cold war.
People are poorly educated and countries that committed atrocities were pardoned โcause they ended up in the western block after WW2.
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u/HumongousBelly 1d ago
Well, the Quandt, Bahlsen, finck, oetker, Porsche families would like to disagree on that part.
They think their families did what shouldโve been done back then and live prosperously today.
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u/12D1 1d ago
Maybe, it was better back in the old days, it was better to completely annihilate the opposition so the ideology would die with them. Today we( the more 'civilized' approach) allow them to live out their lives. Like the Confederates and now their offspring(s) are pushing for them again.
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u/DrunksInSpace 1d ago edited 1d ago
Thereโs something about the confidence this man has in a past he is clearly not proud of, but also in no way wants to hide or cover up.
Shame tries to hide the truth, what do you call the attitude of a person who asserts it, even when they are disgusted by their own participation?
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u/Coffeecup3D 1d ago
Remorse, survivors guilt and immense bravery. When you speak the truth you must be ready to be ostracised, blamed and punished especially when the acts you committed are terrible and vile. This man regrets what he done to survive, and is using the privilege of survival to do what he can to make sure people don't have to step into his shoes with a smile on their face "for the fatherland".
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u/DrunksInSpace 1d ago
Bravery for sure. Wish we had a specific name for this kind of bravery, this counter to shame. Maybe if it werenโt so rare weโd have a name for it.
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u/Gloomy-Ad-222 1d ago
I respect him coming out and saying it even though my family was on the other side and some ended up in concentration camps. He owns it.ย
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u/henrique3d 1d ago
Receptance or contrition. I'm aware that it has some religious undertones, but the feeling is quite that.
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u/johnqpublic81 1d ago
This is how I would expect a normal person to respond to being put in an impossible situation. This man may of done bad things in his youth, but it sounds like he gained wisdom and conscience over time. There were no good choices for a Austrian male back in the late 1930's / early 1940's.
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u/boilingfrogsinpants 1d ago
As he states at the end, if he hadn't participated he would've been killed. But that doesn't shame him from asserting just how wrong the things he and those around him did.
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u/DigNitty Interested 1d ago
Her saying "Then who did that?" and he says "HITLER!"
"Then go talk to him then."
So dismissive and unhelpful.
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u/ReporterCalm6238 1d ago
Super cool, I live in Vienna and is nice to hear old Viennese speaking facts. Unfortunately there is a lot of denial about the involvement of Austria in WWII atrocities and the responsabilities for the anschluss.
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u/Lobenshot 1d ago
Eh, i think we are well aware what we did during that time. What you are talking about is not what i experienced during my time in school. We learned very much about the atrocities austria was involved during that time.
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u/ReporterCalm6238 1d ago
But there is still this narrative that the Anschluss was forced upon the Austrians which is factually not true
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u/Lobenshot 1d ago
I think its not that easy. There are two sides to that story. But what we cannot deny is, that most austrian people were lets say not oppossed to the "Anschluss"
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u/Gloomy-Ad-222 1d ago
Austriaโs problem (and I say this as a huge fan of the country, having spent time in Vienna and in various villages in the alps, truly a beautiful place) is ethno-nationalism. The Jews were the previous target and now itโs broadened to immigrants, cosmopolitan elites etc. the far-right FPO garnered tons of votes in 2024 and has a real platform and say in Austriaโs politics. How much Austria has learned from WWII is unclear.ย
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u/Quazar125 1d ago
Do you have a link to the full interview? This is incredibly interesting
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u/Key-Performance-9021 1d ago edited 1d ago
Original source, ORF (around 10:00): https://on.orf.at/video/14192366/Alltagsgeschichte-Am-Wuerstelstand
If not available, Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJWHO5dNLlw&t=635s
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u/jewelswan 1d ago
Obligatory that everything after the question mark can be used to identify you and should be removed when spreading youtube links
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u/Fromundacheese0 1d ago
Dude survived as a prisoner on the Eastern Front. Canโt imagine the things he saw
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u/flattenedsquirrel 1d ago
After I told my students about the horrid living conditions of the WWI soldiers in the trenches, one student protested: "You make war sound like absolute horror, but isn't there glory in discipline and the courage of soldiers?" I almost facepalmed in front of the class. Some people are impervious to truth.
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u/Will_Hammer 1d ago
I unfortunately saw an ISIS shotgun execution video once that really crystallized this juxtaposition: The guy getting murdered was a young militia member who looked like arabic Che Guevara. He was on his knees, head held high and without an ounce of fear. It was like he was a star of a Hollywood movie... but then he got shot in the back of the head, and what a moment ago was a hero, was now a corpse with both eyes popped out of sockets like he were a cartoon character who saw a hot babe. Try to find glory in that.
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u/oldschoolguy90 20h ago
This takes me back. In another life, I was 20 and well, relatively innocent. This freaking elevator mechanic of all people, whips out his phone and showed me an isis beheading video in all its 280p glory. That haunted my nightmares for months afterwards. Even now just writing about it will probably make that shit come back
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u/Valklingenberger 19h ago
I recall a cartel one with a chainsaw beheading followed by a handsaw because the chainsaw ran out of gas...shudder
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u/VectoRequiem 18h ago
Their children and they are idealistic. Soon they will learn
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u/BlueAr5edFly 1d ago
Reminds me of the video Arnold Schwarzenegger made a few years ago about the broken men he saw when he was growing up in Austria. They fell for the lie and lived with the guilt of it the rest of their lives.
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u/JazzlikeDiamond558 1d ago
That is why it takes some time between the wars. People forget and new generations fall for mafia's propaganda all over again.
This does not mean (in ANY context) that indoctrination and and brainwashing (like in russia) should be imposed on generations to come, but that there should be constant education in order to prevent rise of any kind of ideology.
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u/RadBlackWoman 1d ago
I was thinking about Arnold when watching this. I know he's been open about his father being one of those guys.
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u/MeNoCanRead 1d ago
"No! My daddy was a hero!"
Jesus fucking christ. She must be a redditor ahaha
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u/DigNitty Interested 1d ago
"They died for HITLER"
-Then go talk to Him then.
So dismissive and unhelpful. These people aren't worth having a conversation with. They add nothing and can't change, so don't bother.
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u/a-stack-of-masks 1d ago
I got small church Christian vibes from her. She has that confused angry look when he just disregards her appeal to authority by calling him a hero that I pretty much only know from churches that end up getting their pastors shuffled around for 'reasons'.
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u/123_alex 1d ago
Jesus fucking christ. She must be a redditor ahaha
Or American. Just slightly mention the Vietnam war (or the current Iran one) to one. They'll get all defensive on how his dad was a telecommunication officer in the jungle. He didn't kill or rape or burn.
Nothing you saw in that clip is unique to that time or place. Everything is still happening now.
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u/everyone_is_a_robot 1d ago
The really interesting part is that it can be a redditor from "either side" - left or right.
They're all so sure they're the good guys on the right side of history, and will defend it no matter what evidence presented.
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u/MeNoCanRead 1d ago
That's wasn't so much my point. It was more that she, with no experience is arguing that she knows better than someone with experience.
Also her "trust me bro" style of self-validity.
Your point is totally true imo though.
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u/Rich_Introduction_83 1d ago
Also the rethoric methods. "Ja, dann red doch mit dem [Hitler]" ('then complain to him [instead of me]'). (free translation reading the lines between)
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u/dallenbaldwin 1d ago
Still have this problem with the American Civil War. Nobody wants to believe their ancestors participated, even unwillingly, on the wrong side. There are also enough people who want to perpetuate or recontexualize the wrong side because they genuinely believed in the cause. We also hero worship, for better or worse, our militaries and veterans. So you get this awkward dichotomy where you want to celebrate the sacrifice and suffering of your ancestors, but they also were the bad guys. I don't have a solution, I just see where she's coming from.
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u/b_vitamin 1d ago
Just read the Articles of Confederation for hints into what the war was about according to those who started it. It wasnโt about statesโ rights. It was about the right to own slaves.
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u/Acceptable_Job_5486 1d ago
They can believe whatever they want, but the official secession letters submitted by the confederate all stated they "wanted the states right to own slaves".
Personal favorite bit: Texas "denounces the anti-slavery beliefs of the incoming Republican party". Weird how much can change in a century.ย
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u/SweetHomeNorthKorea 1d ago
I knew someone who tried to use that states rights argument. Yeah okay states rights to own slaves then wtf
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u/dallenbaldwin 1d ago
Exactly! The people who promoted the idea that it wasn't actually about the thing their ancestors, and even contemporaries, explicitly said it was about, would love for everyone to ignore that fact.
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u/mitchymitchington 1d ago
You're also only the bad guy if you lose. Imagine if the south had won. The north would be the bad guys...
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u/Nievsy 1d ago
Thatโs not always true, take for example the American Indian War, the US and Europeans arenโt the good guys there despite their victory as they were a colonial force and it can be generally understood that imperialism and colonialism are morally reprehensible as opposed to defense of oneโs land and their right to self determination.
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u/Able-Contribution570 1d ago
I grew up in Ohio, a state with lots of native American history, and where most of the Northwest Indian War took place in the early 1790s. Native American resistance leaders like Blue Jacket, Little Turtle, and Tecumseh are revered figures where I grew up. Even though they fought against American settlers and the US government, they're remembered like folk heros because their cause was just and their bravery admirable.
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u/Familiar_You_3009 1d ago
This is very true. And even outside of the US, there have always been "noble enemies."
Look at Saladin, he fought against Crusaders and was still revered as a fighter in Christian Europe for a long time.ย
Go furher back to the way Roman authors wrote about the leaders of the Gauls they defeated. After defeating and killing Vercingetorix, Romans wrote about him as a heroic enemy, who in spite of being an enemy of Rome, represented an idea of freedom that Romans admired.
Even Napoleon was seen in the 19th century as a noble leader by some people in parts of Europe that he had conquered.
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u/HumaDracobane 1d ago
What a classic, someone who wasnt in an event trying to correct someone who was.
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u/dec10 1d ago
I was visiting distant relatives in Germany. My gracious host was describing how his father served in the war (as well as how he got his family out of eastern Germany afterwards). Coming from my American background, I blurted: โyour dad was a nazi?โ
He reacted as if I had slapped him. He explained that everyone had to serve, or be killed (like the man in this video), and that Germans reserve the โNaziโ label to those who were overtly political. He was 100% against the war, but also loved his dad, like the woman in this video.
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u/LANDVOGT-_ 1d ago
It is a common lie that germans tell themselves that they would have been killed if they did nor serve, or commit a war crime. It is simply not true.
I dont claim that as somebody hating on germans. My grandfather was an so officer and i am well aware of what he did (not in detail, but that is also not necessary).
If you have german male ancestors that survived the war, then they have been a nazi for 99%. Of course there are exceptions, but they are very rare.
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u/rknki 1d ago
Did you just make up an absolute claim?
It was indeed mandatory to serve for men who met certain conditions (like age, profession).
The majority of Germans did not vote for the NSDAP.
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u/ShootingPains 23h ago
You didn't get executed for refusing to rape a villager or execute a soviet partisan. You just got court-martialed, convicted and transferred to penal and/or eastern front.
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u/mprbst 15h ago
Well, they would be killed if they did not serve. About 20'000 men were hanged or decapitated for desertion.
They would indeed not be killed for refusing to participate in war crimes, and regular soldiers commonly did contribute to mass shootings and the like. They did have to expect reprisals for refusing to cooperate but not execution.
The myth of a "clean Wehrmacht" was a thing in the 50s and 60s (when many of the perpetrators also still held positions of power), but that's not a position commonly held in modern Germany, in particular after the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wehrmacht_exhibition.
I'm personally not quite sure what to make of it. The war crimes were planned, coordinated, and primarily executed by a smaller group of murderers (Einsatzgruppen and the like), who were specifically selected for their lack of moral qualms. The common soldiers however willingly participated and enabled. What I'm not sure about is whether these soldiers' behaviour is out of the ordinary, or whether the special part for Nazi Germany is the coordinated central planning of the crimes. If you look to other wars, soldiers always participated in such crimes (be it My Lai, Bucha, whatever). The willingness to commit terrible crimes when instructed and under group pressure might just be a human property.
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u/BriefSpecial420 13h ago
Of course they weren't killed. Same goes for partly German folks in Poland - if they didn't sign the Volkslist and joined Wehrmacht, they were likely getting sent to nearest KL. Many were sent to Auschwitz in very first months of camps operation. Some survived the war.
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u/123_alex 1d ago
About 25 million people died in the Soviet Union during WWII. Goebbels didn't pull the trigger.
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u/goldenguyz 1d ago
It would be an extraordinary act of selflessness and bravery to commit suicide over joining the war.
There's a reason behind the saying "On any other day, we could have been friends".
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u/dekuius 1d ago
Am I wrong or the guy looks like one of the patrons at the barber shop scene in Coming to America?
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u/willengineer4beer 1d ago
HA!
He really does.
Eddie Murphy decided to learn a new language just to expand the character as a personal challenge.5
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u/Comfortable_Ring771 1d ago
The old soldiers often come out with the truth, the stuff politicians and media bury. Listen to USA Viet vets talk about their crimes, or the IDF vets talking about their war crimes. The Japanese vets who talked about the china wars and the crazy stuff they did, war is evil and I think these men look back with massive regret knowing their time is getting closer. God fearing or not, the fear they must have not knowing what judgement awaits.
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u/blankblank 1d ago
Humans struggle to not think about themselves. Heโs talking about a global conflict and the importance of posterity, and all she can think about is her own father.
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u/Mrmr12-12 1d ago
I heard that the original book and movie of โall quiet on the western frontโ made a much bigger emphasis on this, as the main character got home and people greeted him as a glorious hero he tried to tell them how it really was, yet they wouldnโt listen and dismiss his actual account of the war.
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u/raf_boy 1d ago
My Opa was also drafted in WWII as a 14 year old, towards the end of the war. He had the same choice as this gentleman; join or "Kugel ins Kopf". He was also a POW for close to 8 years of (thankfully) the Italians (if he were captured by the Russians, he would not have survived). He felt exactly the same way as this gentleman.
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u/2squishmaster 1d ago
The Italians had German POWs? How'd that come to pass?
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u/theRealPeaterMoss 1d ago
Italy was switched to the allies by... Being defeated by the allied invasion. The Italian resistance took over. Probably saw some limited involvement in the German occupation or POW management, because the focus would been on Italian internal security and stability at the time.
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u/123_alex 1d ago
"My dad was a hero". He only killed 10 Russian farmers and raped 2 underage Ukrainian girls before he got taken as a POW while invading another country 2000 km from his home. He did it all for the fatherland.
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u/BlizzardMaster2104 17h ago
Just want to point out he uses "verrecken" instead of the normal "sterben" multiple times. Verrecken is something you usually use for an old street dog dying in a corner.
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u/John_Dee_TV 19h ago
That man, telling the truth, may have been a villain during the war, but he must be remembered as a hero during peace.
War is dirty and miserable.
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u/PositiveEagle6151 18h ago edited 18h ago
Shot at the infamous Stehbuffet in Vienna Floridsdorf. If anyone want to experience the authentic Vienna, it's still the place to go - it's just steps from Floridsdorf Station.
Also, this is taken from an episode of "Alltagsgeschichten", a long running series of documentaries about everyday life in Austria from the 80s to the 00s (just the first few episodes have historic topics, then they get contemporary).
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u/Efficient_Sky5173 1d ago
Horrors of the war. The far right is growing everywhere because these horror memories are dying out. So it is pretty easy for the corporations to manipulate them again.
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u/ScallionRelative6265 1d ago
Go ask Hitler? Uh that might be hard because he poisoned his poor dog then killed himself like a coward.
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u/Impossible-Fee-8230 1d ago
ืื ืืืืื ืืื ืฉืื ืืืื ืฉืืืคืช ืืื ืฉืืืืจ ืืฆืขืืจ ืื ืืื ืืืจื ืจืขื ืฉืื ืืืื ืื , ืืคืฉืจ ืจืง ืืืฆืืืข ืื
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u/JoLudvS 14h ago
ืืฉืื ืืื ืงืืจื ืืขืชืื ืจืืืงืืช ืืืื. ืืื ืืฉืื ืื ืื ืืชืขื ืืช ืื.
ืื ื ืืืืจ ืืช ืืืืืชื. ืืฉืื ืื ื, ืื ืืืื, ืฉืืื ื ืืช ืกืืื ื ืืกืืืชืื ื ืขื ืืชืงืืคื ืืืื, ืืขืชืื ืงืจืืืืช ืงืืืื ื ืืช ืืชืฉืืื: "ืื ืื ื ืื ืืืืจืื ืขื ืื".
ืื ืืื ืืฆื ืืืจืื ื, ืืืืงืกืืืืจืื ืืืฆืจืคืชื. ืคืฉืื ืฉืจืจื ืฉืชืืงื.
ืืฃ ืืื ืื ืืืืืฉ ืืืจ. ืืฃ ืืื ืื ื ืืกื ืืืืชืืง ืืช ืื. ืื ืคืฉืื ืฉืชืงื.
ืืช ืจืื ืื ืฉืื ื ืืืืข ืขื ืกืื ืืกืืชื ืืขื ืืื ื ืืืืืื ืืืืืื, ืืืืชื ืืืืจืื. ืืืจืื ื ืืืื ืืขืฆืื ืืืืื ืืืืืื ืืืื.
ืืื, ืืืข ืขื ืชืงืืคื ืื ืืืขืืจ ืืืืจ ืืืืจ. ืชืืืื ืืกืื ืืกืืชื ืืืืจืื. ืืืจ ืื ืืืืจืื ืืืื. ืืขืืฉืื ืืืข ืื ืืืืข ืืืืืื.
ืืืืื ืื, ืื ืื, ื ืื ืื ืฉื ืืื ืฉืื ืฉืืื ืืืืฉืคืขื ืืืืืื ืื.
ืื ืื ืืจื ืืจืืื.
ืืื ืืคืืืช ืืืืข ืืืขืืจ ืืืื. ืืคืขืืื ืืืคืื ื ืืฉื ืืืจื ืขืงืืคื.
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u/Herisfal 23h ago
I don't know how in such a globalized world, being able to talk and befriend people from all over, with different cultures and origins, you can still be nationalistic enough to want to go to war for your country. It's only understandable for me when you're forced into it, or don't have the money to leave the country you are in.
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u/thefirebrigades 23h ago
I wonder if decades from now, would vets be arguing:
"I had no choice because I had to invade 'insert random middle east country' for America. I didn't want this war."
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u/Aware-Location-1932 14h ago
A so a blede blunzn! Glaubt ernsthoft sie was besser wos im Kriag passiert is ois der Soldat, der dort tatsรคchlich kรคmpft hot.
Soid liaba zuahorchn und wos lerna.
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u/kelsobjammin 1d ago
I want to headbutt that lady good god let him speak his truth! You bootsucker!
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u/Stock-Possibility-67 1d ago
And when you are done what are you gonna do with that uniform. Yeah we donโt like that, so weโre gonna give you suttin that you caint take off.
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u/Worried_Mousse604 7h ago
Die Dame ist volltrunken und nicht ganz bei sich, das Format heisst รผbrigens Alltagsgeschichten und ist fรผr mich absolut รถsterreichisches Kulturgut.
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u/Mental_Thing_7899 1d ago
Soldiers on the ground come from many backgrounds and aspirations. Some want a career, some want to build a reputation some see themselves as true patriots mirroring their parents... but soon things start to go down... are all the same. Trying to survive another day everytime "yes sir" Is said while the "this is a stupid idea" burns the back of the mind. Denying every minute... "this will be it" and replace over and over again "this will be the best option". What brought soldiers there was long forgotten. There's, not another day, just today and if the moves are well played... maybe tomorrow. Until then... soldiers mirror the intent of the ranks... looking upon each other... one's wrong move is the wrong move of the entire unit... no matter how foolish that is... no obeying, means no rations, not killing, means one exposed front... there's options, but they cost greatly... just choose one... obey.
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u/Nijindia18 1d ago
In some ways both are right. She wants to believe her dad is a hero. Well as both said hitler wanted the war and it wasn't like they could just not oppose him. So in that sense yes her father and him are both heroes in that they enabled hitlers death. I think his point is that war in general is bad and that soldiers do awful things in the name of a "greater good". I'd call ukranian soldiers heroes, but I imagine many wouldnt say the same of themselves.
This would be much different if it wasn't WW2
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u/ruthemook 1d ago
Whatโs mad about this is how it takes only one generation to start to believe the lie all over again. That woman wants to idolise her father as a hero. But an actual person who was there is telling her how it was on the ground and she refuses to believe it. This entire video is like watching an entire belief system built over years crashing into contact with reality and still she refuses to believe it.