' Wrote:What does Wehrmacht mean in German, exactly? I was unaware that it was exclusively Nazi related.
I believe it means "Combat Force". So no, the word itself is not exclusively Nazi related. I guess it depends on how do you take it. It can be a simple composed word, or a word used to describe something in particular.
Wehrmacht simply means 'defense force' or literally 'defense might.' The naming itself has no national socialist edge.
According to the Nürnberg trials, the Wehrmacht wasn't outlawed as a nazi criminal organization either, as the NSDAP or the SS was, so officially it should hold no nazi connotations.
Though history debates it, the Wehrmacht wasn't really used to partake in the holocaust either, nor was it used by the nazi party to carry out its more horrific acts (if we discount war crimes, which the Western Allies and the USSR committed just as often). It was simply a regular armed force, just like any other. The allies even used former Wehrmacht soldiers and officers as assets in reestablishing Germany's military after it's defeat, especially in the Nationale Volksarmee, which was the GDR's army formation.
No one really has a reason to be offended by the name 'Wehrmacht', except one based on socialization, telling people to be offended by things they have no real knowledge about.
Why I wouldn't use it is because it makes no sense for it to appear a few thousand years after it was dissolved.
Somewhat like calling a faction the Luftwaffe. Some might suggest it has negative connotations for one reason or another but in all honesty it just wouldn't be appropriate for a group of people flying ships in space.
Except that Germany's air force is Luftwaffe even today, unlike the umbrella term for the military, which is Bundeswehr currently, Wehrmacht back then.
' Wrote:Except that Germany's air force is Luftwaffe even today, unlike the umbrella term for the military, which is Bundeswehr currently, Wehrmacht back then.
Well yeah. I'm just saying that if you threw the Luftwaffe into outer space they would likely want to rename them. Like the ARUGLAOAINRFIE****EINwaffe or however you say space in German.
Edit: I have NO idea what I said in there that was a bad word.
' Wrote:Well yeah. I'm just saying that if you threw the Luftwaffe into outer space they would likely want to rename them. Like the ARUGLAOAINRFIE****EINwaffe or however you say space in German.
Edit: I have NO idea what I said in there that was a bad word.