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Germany: 1 || Argentina: 0
Admittedly, I'm not much of a team sports guy, but I was happy to see the land of my family's ancestors (Germany)
win the
World Cup. So, congratulations! As Sgt. Schultz
would say, "Wunderbar!"
As news was breaking about Germany defeating top South American contenders, Argentina and Brazil, I thought about
how those two countries were the prime recipients of
fleeing Nazi party members and collaborators after World War II who sought to avoid prosecution at the
Nuremburg Trials. A lot
of Europe's plundered wealth ended up in South America with them. Nearly 70 years have passed since the era, so most
if not all are dead by now, but their families who benefitted from the ill-gotten wealth still exist there in South
America. I have not heard of any of them volunteering to repatriate artwork, jewelry, precious metals, cash, etc.
Maybe I just missed it.
Germany's modern government, to its great credit, has done much to atone for the atrocities of its errant
Third
Reich madmen. It is a shame that the incredible technical, artistic, medical, and financial talent that has emanated
from Germany over the centuries was tainted by the greed of a generation. A popular phrase has been coined to help
remind people what can happen when a few people in government accrue too much power: "Never Forget!" The current
population of entrepreneurs and creators might be the ones who reestablish Germany as the world's leader
in many of the aforementioned areas.
Posted July 14, 2014
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