But Lenin wasn´t a Jew. Stalin wasn´t a Jew. And
just by the way: Hitler, Himmler & Co. weren´t
Jewish, either, although I fully expect a
revisionist historian from Munich or Marburg to
argue that they were all secretly manipulated by
the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy and
guided by the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

In Germany today, there´s an utterly repulsive
movement - ranging from such dreary literary
"stars" as Guenter Grass down to Herr Meier behind
the wheel of his Opel - to shift the blame for
World War II atrocities away from Germany and to
insist that the Allies were equally evil.

Tell it to the ghosts of Auschwitz. And Babi Yar.
And Warsaw. And, for that matter, Malmedy.

The German resistance? Almost as big a lie as the
denial of the Holocaust. Count von Stauffenberg
and his fellow aristocrats, whose inept attempt to
kill Hitler with a bomb in 1944 is forever cited
as an example of German courage, never lifted a
finger against the Nazi regime until the Red Army
closed in on their hereditary lands in East
Prussia. They weren´t fighting for high ideals.
They were defending their real estate.

The only thing most Germans regretted was that
they lost.

And now we hear that it´s high time for an end to
German guilt, that the present generation had
nothing to do with the Holocaust, that Germany
paid its dues for its misdeed and, anyway, it was
all a long time ago.

Sorry, Fritz. It wasn´t long ago. Holocaust
survivors just had a reunion in Washington, D.C.
When the wind´s just right, we can still smell the
smoke of the ovens.

And let´s not forget that the Third Reich was
supposed to last a thousand years. There´s no
reason why German guilt shouldn´t last 500. That´s
a 50 percent discount.

Oh, sure, making anti-Semitic remarks is a crime
in today´s Germany. But anti-Israeli remarks are
just fine. You´ve merely got to choose your words
carefully. Don´t say the J-word. Talk about
"Zionists" instead.

The truth is that we´re still so close to the
Holocaust that, despite all the books, films and
debates, we still have not come to grips with just
how much the Germans destroyed. The annihilation
of the great Jewish cultures and populations of
Europe´s heartland may have been the single most
tragic loss in human history.

What is to be done?

For a start, don´t buy German products. The
boycott of French wine sent a strong message, but
if Americans stopped buying Mercedes, BMWs, Audis
and Volkswagens, it would really hurt.

Anyway, German cars of recent vintage have become
a lot like the Germans themselves - grossly
overrated and unreliable. Let Gen. Guenzel buy
one.

Ich spüre eine leichte Verstimmung.