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[smjjames]

The Mr. Greece's Wild Ride has reached the next level of happening.

If they just want Greek cultural artifacts that were stolen by the nazis, I would go with that since that actually is stolen property, but other than that, hasn't Germany been punished enough?

[nenjin]

The Mr. Greece's Wild Ride has reached the next level of happening.

If they just want Greek cultural artifacts that were stolen by the nazis, I would go with that since that actually is stolen property, but other than that, hasn't Germany been punished enough?

More than that. They want reparations for destroyed infrastructure, a repayment of the forced loan the Nazis required from occupied Greece, among other things.

[SirQuiamus]

Spoiler: This whole Syriza thing is none of my business, to be honest, but sometimes I just feel like ranting. (click to show/hide)

The thing that bothers me about these "leftists" is that they are taking the path of "generic populism," tending towards nationalism in a manner which is becoming hard to tell apart from right-wing populism. Sure, it's politically necessary to create some kind of frontier between "us" and "them," but the problem is that they are setting up evil Eurogermany as an external straw-man to be burnt in effigy, in order to strengthen a national unity that merely obfuscates the actual roots of the problem (to wit: neoliberal democracy and capitalism endemic to every European society). The better way to employ the populistic mode of action would be to set up an internal frontier between those who initially won at the lottery, and those who never wanted to/had the chance to play -- to create a 21st-century class consciousness, so to speak. But no, radical democracy is not on Syriza's agenda, and I am disappoint.   

[andrea]

I hope they forgot that it was actually Italy who declared war on greece. Germany came later when we were being soundly defeated.

[smjjames]

I was also thinking, 'what about the allies who did bombing in Greece?', though trying to get reparations out of Britian (don't know how much the US was involved in Greece) would look pretty silly,

[Sergarr]

I was also thinking, 'what about the allies who did bombing in Greece?', though trying to get reparations out of Britian (don't know how much the US was involved in Greece) would look pretty silly,

Not more silly than what they're doing right now. It's almost if they try to provoke Germany into doing something extraordinary to them.

[Owlbread]

I think Syriza's failings as a leftist movement and tendency towards right wing populism are just symptomatic of the state of things in Greece. If it wasn't Syriza doing this stuff it'd be the Golden Dawn or something.

[SirQuiamus]

True, true. Societal unrest tends to follow the path of least resistance, and defenceless (ethnic) minorities make the easiest targets (far easier than Germany or the economic aristocracy). The sad thing is that a more-than-nominally-leftist movement could never have gained mass support without the crisis (which sadly holds for other European parties as well), so Syriza was pretty much destined to become the lesser of two (or more) evils amidst the turmoil.

[mainiac]

Not more silly than what they're doing right now.

While Germany dicked a lot of people around during WWII, Greece in addition to the normal had large amounts of currency appropriated from them.  While the issue of wartime damages was considered settled after WWII, the issue of one nation coercing another into one sided transfer of currency was only relevant in two cases.  France obtained compensation through other channels.

Of course people will chose to ignore the subtleties and instead make stupid yuk yuk noises.

[Sergarr]

Not more silly than what they're doing right now.

While Germany dicked a lot of people around during WWII, Greece in addition to the normal had large amounts of currency appropriated from them.  While the issue of wartime damages was considered settled after WWII, the issue of one nation coercing another into one sided transfer of currency was only relevant in two cases.  France obtained compensation through other channels.

Of course people will chose to ignore the subtleties and instead make stupid yuk yuk noises.

Pretty sure the issue is that Germany has (according to itself) already paid for it.

[mainiac]

That's for the courts to decide.  Which is why the Greeks are making a claim.  A claim you are mocking them for.

[Sergarr]

I'm not mocking the claim itself, but seizing property is going a little bit too far.

[Helgoland]

mainiac, that forced loan is an issue entirely separate from the issue at hand, in which the Greeks are making quite blatantly fraudulent claims. Using the atrocities of Nazi Germany for populist brownie points is a low point, though I guess it was t be expected from a government with strong rightist participation.

[mainiac]

The article only had two discussed claims that I can see.  One was the case I described before.  The other was a claim that had already been decided in favor of the greeks and gave them the legal authority to sieze German property which they have not yet chosen to exercise.  Please point me to the third claim which is "blatantly fraudulent claims".

[Helgoland]

That would be the second one you're talking about -they've only won in front of a Greek court, and nations can't be tried in another nation's courts. Also the whole reparations issue was conclusively settled by the 2+4 Agreement; they don't have a leg to stand on.