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Japanese TV Show Asks Austrians If They Know About Hitler

austrian people like to be asked if they know about hitler

A Japanese TV show travels to the Austrian town of Hallstatt to visit a salt mine that was used to hide famous paintings looted by the Nazis during World War II.

They go straight into a shop and ask a woman if she’s heard about how Hitler once hid paintings in the salt mine:

The woman seems uncomfortable when they bring up Hitler. She says that everyone knows about it, but people don’t talk about it much or learn about it in school. For some reason, Austrian people don’t seem to enjoy chatting about Hitler – who would have thought!

Earlier in the program, the host did the same thing at another Austrian gift shop. She was smiling as she brought up the topic of Hitler, and the shopkeeper was smiling too, until the interpreter translated what had been said in Japanese. Of course, that Austrian person had also heard of Mr. Hitler and the theft of paintings from occupied Europe.

why dont austrian people like to chat about hitler

When they visited the salt mines, their guide told them the story of the paintings. He said that Austrian people don’t like to talk about Hitler, but he considers it his duty to help educate people about what happened at the mine. (The embedded clip also includes some actors reenacting the Hitler story.)

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48 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - August 11, 2011 at 1:57 pm

Categories: Japanese TV Tags:

ThatOneGuy

I wonder how it would be received if a Chinese TV Show came to Japan and started asking about Nanking.

Anonymous

Denials, denials everywhere!

Daniel Brown

Are they even educated about the war to know who that is?

Kevin not kevin

*Who* that is?

Comment

Yeah, you know, Nanking-san. He’s that guy, who did all that… stuff.
Comment

Yeah, you know, Nanking-san. He’s that guy, who did all that… stuff.

Kevin not kevin

Awkward…
Fish_Taco

Oh man I can’t wait for the comments on this one.
Anonymous

It’s an interesting story – I’d never heard about it. Mentions Austrian resistance against the Nazi plan to destroy looted artworks. It’s told as a story of screwing with Hitler. No big deal.
Ap

“or learn about it in school.”

That’s not true.
I’m from Austria (western province of Vorarlberg) and we had a whole semester (half a year) just talking about World War II. Sure, I forgot about it already, but saying we don’t learn about it is just wrong.

Of course the normal Austrian guy wouldn’t want to talk about Hitler, because a) we’re not associated with him and b) he was a goddamned dictator that killed millions.

Comment

“Of course the normal Austrian guy wouldn’t want to talk about Hitler, because a) we’re not associated with him”

What? Not associated with him? He was BORN in Austria:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler

Tony D

Because yeah, an Austrian wouldn’t know that and would need a link to wikipedia to find out. You clearly missed the point Ap was trying to make, in a hilariously embarrassing way…

Ap

Indeed… because as we all know, Austrians are inbreed and all related to eachother, amirite ?

Comment

Tony, my point wasn’t weather or not he knew Hitler was Austrian, of course he knows. He stated that the normal Austrian guy wouldn’t want to talk about him, but also states they feel no association with him. These two things seem at odds with one another, and I was trying to coax him into saying more, which he just did.

People who feel like they have no association with something historical generally aren’t reserved about talking about it. As examples, an American who felt he had no association with the atomic bomb wouldn’t have any reservation talking about it. A Japanese who felt no association with Pearl Harbor would have no reservation talking about it. So why then, if the ‘normal Austrian’ truly felt no association with Hitler, would be be reserved about talking about him?

No Ap, Austrians are not inbreed and all related to each other. But if they don’t feel like talking about Hitler, there’s a reason for it.

Ap

Do you feel like talking about some asshole ?

I don’t. It’s as simple as that.

People don’t want to be associated with him in other countries, so I don’t see anything wrong with not wanting to talk about him.

Comment

It is not a matter of *feeling* like talking about him. The question is whether or not someone *avoids* talking about him for some reason. There are a nearly infinite number of topics I don’t normally *feel* like talking about, but if someone breaches the subject, I’ll talk about them anyway to be polite because obviously they feel like talking about it. But there is not one single historical topic I *avoid* talking about, and avoiding the topic is the real issue here. You don’t avoid topics where you feel there is absolutely no connection to you whatsoever.

Ap

Whatever.

Comment

Tony, my point wasn’t weather or not he knew Hitler was Austrian, of course he knows. He stated that the normal Austrian guy wouldn’t want to talk about him, but also states they feel no association with him. These two things seem at odds with one another, and I was trying to coax him into saying more, which he just did.

People who feel like they have no association with something historical generally aren’t reserved about talking about it. As examples, an American who felt he had no association with the atomic bomb wouldn’t have any reservation talking about it. A Japanese who felt no association with Pearl Harbor would have no reservation talking about it. So why then, if the ‘normal Austrian’ truly felt no association with Hitler, would be be reserved about talking about him?

No Ap, Austrians are not inbreed and all related to each other. But if they don’t feel like talking about Hitler, there’s a reason for it.

Ap

Indeed… because as we all know, Austrians are inbreed and all related to eachother, amirite ?
Comment

Oh, internet sarcasm, how could I have POSSIBLY missed that?
Comment

Oh, internet sarcasm, how could I have POSSIBLY missed that?

Tony D

Because yeah, an Austrian wouldn’t know that and would need a link to wikipedia to find out. You clearly missed the point Ap was trying to make, in a hilariously embarrassing way…

Bbq

Every country has war crimes. War is not about making friends.
Personman

man…that’s like the US asking people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki “do you remember us dropping A-bombs on you”

Weirdo

There have been plenty of such interviews.

Personman

wow…didn’t know…that’s low
Personman

wow…didn’t know…that’s low

http://www.facebook.com/people/Allyourbase-Arebelongtous/1265198975 Allyourbase Arebelongtous

Talk about 空気を読めない！
I love seeing Western Europeans reminded of their dark history. I should clarify; there has been a large increase in right-wing (extremist X-ian, anti-immigrant,etc) groups all across Europe and it’s interesting because the holocaust while overblown in the US media and much of Europe, wasn’t that long ago. One would think they would remember what they did before when they became right-wingers…
It’s kind of ironic-this whole situation. Japanese are really good at knowing what is appropriate/inappropriate to talk about (usually) so I find it weird that the reporter would bring up things about Hitler in that way.

Before any weirdos jump me, let me say I lived in Germany for almost five years and went to regular elementary school there. The textbooks do teach what happened in the holocaust, but it’s just something very dark and shameful for Germans/Austrians.

hottomotto

Great point about conservatives being reminded of their dark history. I can’t really speak to everything else you say (although I did do a double-take when you said the Holocaust is “overblown”), but I will say that I think you’re wrong about Japanese people usually being really good at knowing what is appropriate to talk about. Or, rather, at least regarding gaijin. While they obviously have their own intricate set of social rules, I find that when it comes to foreigners, anything goes. Especially on Japanese television. They’ll say the strangest thing with a smile.

Ponta

”I find that when it comes to foreigners, anything goes. Especially on Japanese television. They’ll say the strangest thing with a smile.”

Some people say the strange thing with a smile. But does that happen especially when it comes to foreigners?
Could you give us an example?

http://profiles.google.com/greentingle sean greenskie

DO NOT talk about WW2 to Germans, it’s very rude. ESPECIALLY if they lived through it. It is a great shame.

Piglet

That is not true.
There are MANY debates and shows about WW2 in Germany and other Western European countries. Unfortunately, with the rise of extreme-rightism in Europe, more and more people do not want to hear about this, but it is not trues that you cannot talk about WW2 to Germans (might be different in Austria as the country was not denazified, unlike Germany).

global guy

it cracks me up every time how japanese people can get away with bringing up controversial topics that do not concern them, but when british comedians unintentionally make fun of a guy who survived the atom bombs it sparks a widespread criticism and outrage in japan.

Hiroshima

Nobody makes fun of anybody in this TV show. The show tells us how bravely those Austrian miners saved famous paintings which were looted and almost blown up by the Nazis. The show is actually praising the Austrian miners.　In the last part of the video, an Austrian miner says he is proud of the miner’s bravery and he thinks they miners have responsibility to pass the story on to others, though the Austrians don’t want to talk about Hitler.

Torquemada

White guilt aside, if I were an Austrian asked about Hitler by this girl, I’d ask about how many women her grandfather raped and murdered during the war. It would be awkward and hilarious, and everyone would be upset later on. (Also, do Austrian T.V. shows have those stupid boxes at the to right corner that focus on some dumbass’ reactions too? Or is this purely a Japanese thing?)

Honestly, it’s like a Japanese person asking a southern, white American about the slave trade. Bonus points if the one who responds is a clansman or some really racist hick. (Like those frat boys in Borat.)

Hraesvelgr

The box in the corner showing the reactions of the commentators seems to be a Japanese thing, yeah. At the very least, I haven’t come across it much in media outside of Japan.

What do you mean when you say “white guilt aside”, though?

Ap

http://tinyurl.com/4yegv92

Hraesvelgr

I know what white guilt is, I just don’t know why he used it.

Ap

Then maybe you don’t know why after all…

Hraesvelgr

Considering that’s what I said, I don’t really understand the point of your cryptic responses.
Hraesvelgr

Considering that’s what I said, I don’t really understand the point of your cryptic responses.

Ap

“Also, do Austrian T.V. shows have those stupid boxes at the to right corner that focus on some dumbass’ reactions too? Or is this purely a Japanese thing?”

No. It’s extremely rare here.
hottomotto

Yeah the box in the corner is an EXTREMELY Japanese thing. They do it more often than not, actually. Much of the time the nexus of the show revolves around seeing how *other* people react to the information at hand, rather than just the information itself. Culturally it’s very important for Japanese people to know what the communal consensus is–or should be. It’s so annoying as a foreigner that I can’t even watch TV anymore. You should have seen the farcical coverage of the World Cup win.

Ponta

“ Culturally it’s very important for Japanese people to know what the communal consensus is–or should be”

It is an interesting theory.
As I recall, it is relatively recently that some Japanese TV programs put a box on the screen.
Maybe Japanese mentality has changed?

Putting “audience’s” giggles on the comedy show as a kind of sound effects and presenting audience’s reaction like “Wow”, “oh”…as in TV shopping in the U.S. comes before those on Japanese TV (if i recall correctly)
Perhaps is it very important culturally for American people too to know what the communal consensus is–or should be?

Piglet

American TV is far from a model to be followed for quality TV either… They have their fare share of trash TV, even though the Japanese push the limits lower and lower.

Ponta

The point is whether it is important for American people too to know what the communal consensus is according to hottomot’s logic..

We are not talking about if Japanese and American TV are trashes or not or if Japanese TV is pushing the limit lower and lower.That said, many people would agree that many of J TV programs are trashes.But I guess you can’t give any specific program that pushes the limit lower. You haven’t watched J TV enough to judge but you just want to say it anyway.

Ponta

“if I were an Austrian asked about Hitler by this girl, I’d ask about how many women her grandfather raped and murdered during the war. It would be awkward and hilarious, and everyone would be upset later on.”
Perhaps the person who asked the question will be most embarrassed; It is least likely her grandfather has anything to do with war crimes.
Did the Japanese woman ask how many woman the Austrian woman’s father raped and murdered during the war?

http://twitter.com/onceatraveler Turner Wright

Is this intended to contrast with Japanese who learn next to nothing about their involvement in the Pacific War? Despite what the woman said, most Europeans, especially Germans, do indeed learn about history and the role their countries played.

Japanese TV Show Asks Austrians If They Know About Hitler

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