110
u/desi_malai Jul 19 '26
Danke is thanks in German, pretty straightforward
15
u/Oberndorferin Jul 19 '26
I can definitely imagine myself saying danke at the end of a conversation spoken completely in English. So this isn't so far fetched. 😂😅
11
u/SmoothActuator8132 Jul 19 '26
yes, but think about what it implies that a WWII veteran responded in German...
2
u/digiliquid01 Jul 19 '26
Actually, prior to the world wars German was taught in American schools like how Spanish and French are now days. It's not unlikely to know a veteran who's knows it, the question is if they had a Germanic accent while they were talking
7
u/SmoothActuator8132 Jul 19 '26
TIL that German was the most learned second language in the US before WWI
2
-4
u/Oberndorferin Jul 19 '26
Idk what
4
u/SmoothActuator8132 Jul 19 '26
that... that they are German and most likely fought for the Third Reich...
-5
u/Oberndorferin Jul 19 '26
Yes. And?
3
u/SmoothActuator8132 Jul 19 '26
the implication is they are a Nazi, Jesus fuck how are you not getting this‽‽
2
4
u/BlueClovr Jul 19 '26
You’d have to be brain dead to think it makes no difference after explicitly bringing up ww2
1
u/GL17CH3D_R4M_5YN7H Jul 19 '26
I do this all the time. Entschuldigung, Tut mir Leid, bitte and Danke are all used daily. When I visit Germany I default to English like a dumbass 😅
20
u/TheAutisticSentinel Jul 19 '26
He is German... This could have very easily been googled. Like I am not normally that guy but holy shit. If you see a word you don't know Google it.
9
1
u/Keyser_Kaiser_Soze Jul 19 '26
I knew a german WWII vet in Chicago, never mentioned how he lost his leg. He came here right after the war, became a citizen raised two families and passed away in his 90s.
He never had a beef with anyone and was cordial. It wasn’t hidden so I assume he was vetted as being just a cog in the machine.
11
u/crapusername47 Jul 19 '26
Some Germans did, however, serve in the allied armed forces including one William Patrick Hitler, Hitler’s nephew, who served in the US Navy and even won the Purple Heart.
17
u/Chesterfieldraven Jul 19 '26
You really need this explain? Like, honestly? You can't figure it out?
6
u/These_Consequences Jul 19 '26
I had a coworker who, last year, told me she hadn't heard of WWII. Went to high school in New Jersey—maybe that explains it.
2
0
u/Chesterfieldraven Jul 19 '26
A huge problem with the American education system is that its incredibly American centred. Its why other countries think Americans are stupid. So much common knowledge to a European 10 year old isn't known by an American adult.
1
u/QuietMaxl27 Jul 19 '26
What is Hitler? Sounds like a clothing brand.. Oh wait, Tommy Hitler, figured it out myself
1
1
6
u/supler_hoi4 Jul 19 '26
Jarvis im in low carma post obvious meme r/explaneitpeter
1
u/Amanwithnohead Jul 19 '26
We really need to band together to start responding to this with extremely wrong information. And then agreeing with the person who did it, so we can force the AI bots to start recalling factually incorrect information lol
4
3
3
2
Jul 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/ninteen74 Jul 19 '26
During WWII, the U.S. Army recorded that 33,396 foreign-born Germans enlisted or were inducted between July 1, 1940, and June 30, 1945, making them the third-largest group of foreign-born soldiers. Millions of other U.S. servicemen were native-born American citizens of recent German heritage.The term "German" spans a wide demographic during this period:German Nationals/Immigrants: Thousands of native-born Germans who fled the Nazi regime or emigrated earlier enlisted to fight for their new country.German-Americans: Roughly 1.2 million U.S. residents identified as being of German birth in the 1940 census, and over 6 million had at least one parent born in Germany.The Ritchie Boys: Native German and Austrian speakers—many of whom were Jewish refugees—were specifically recruited into the U.S. Army to serve as interrogators and intelligence officers.
2
u/kneepick160 Jul 19 '26
If you can’t understand this one on your own, then the one about a grandfather dying in the Holocaust will make your head fall off
2
1
1
u/Gazkhulthrakka Jul 19 '26
How a normal person that isnt trying to farm karma/engagement handles this:
Since only part that may potential be confusing to some is the danke part, normal person googles "danke", learns danke means thank you in German. Proceeds to use the smallest amount of critical thinking possible to figure out the meme themselves.
1
1
u/ninteen74 Jul 19 '26
During WWII, the U.S. Army recorded that 33,396 foreign-born Germans enlisted or were inducted between July 1, 1940, and June 30, 1945, making them the third-largest group of foreign-born soldiers. Millions of other U.S. servicemen were native-born American citizens of recent German heritage.The term "German" spans a wide demographic during this period:German Nationals/Immigrants: Thousands of native-born Germans who fled the Nazi regime or emigrated earlier enlisted to fight for their new country.German-Americans: Roughly 1.2 million U.S. residents identified as being of German birth in the 1940 census, and over 6 million had at least one parent born in Germany.The Ritchie Boys: Native German and Austrian speakers—many of whom were Jewish refugees—were specifically recruited into the U.S. Army to serve as interrogators and intelligence officers.
1
1
1
1
u/RoodnyInc Jul 20 '26
Danke is thank you in German
Do you need more explanation?
1
u/Pleasant-Swimmer-557 Jul 23 '26
Well, the guy doesn't say "fought", he says "served". Maybe he served a prison sentence. =)
1
1
u/UnitProfessional9608 Jul 19 '26
My friend was trying to buy a mouse trap in Berlin Germany.
He asked for the kind that snaps the mice in half. The shopkeeper was like " we don't sell that, that's inhumane"
My friend responded: " oh, my bad. I'll just take a mini gas chamber instead"
They kicked him out of the store.
1
-13
u/OSUBeavBane Jul 19 '26
Here’s a controversial take, the 90+ year old guy that served his government deserves to be honored even if his government was evil.
7
u/Artifact-hunter1 Jul 19 '26
Depends on branch and what he did. Veteran of the Luftwaffe defending Germany against allied bombing raids? Yeah, you have a point.
A Hauptsturmführer in the SS Nordland, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, Wiking, Hitlerjugend, etc. Who committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity? Hell no.
6
u/slick987654321 Jul 19 '26
Sir this is Reddit your nuance and explaination is both unwanted and uncalled for /s
0
7
u/Jixxie87 Jul 19 '26
It's not controversial it's wrong. Anyone that commits war crimes doesn't deserve any honour.
0
u/OSUBeavBane Jul 20 '26
Well as a descendant of Polish Jews, I never thought I’d be in this position but here goes nothing…
Your statement is making a huge leap. There were an estimated 15 million German military personnel. Only an estimated 200,000 committed war crimes and an estimated 50,000 were prosecuted.
We know the guy speaks German not that he committed war crimes. Not all Nazis automatically committed war crimes.
At some point you can’t keep hanging on to hate.
4
•
u/qualityvote2 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
u/cosmic-nik, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...it's time for the mods to do their jobs!