The Nazi party, which ruled Germany during the 1930s and 40s, was plagued with radicalized thinking about issues of race and German identity. During the Nazi regime, Germany was responsible for killing millions of Jews, blacks, and other minorities based only on their physical appearance and stereotypes associated with each race. However, after the end of War World II and the fall of the Nazi party, Germany entered a time of rebuilding known as the “Stunde Null” period. Scholars initially believed that Germans left their previous racist ideologies and laws in the past and created a democratic anti-racist society. Recently, though, scholars have reexamined historical evidence that demonstrates that Germans never entered this period of Stunde
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In Of German Mothers, Fehrenbach commented that, “despite their legal designation as German citizens, their very presence challenged race-based definitions of national identity” (Fehrenbach 2001). This theme is illustrated in the 1952 film Toxi. In the closing scene of the movie, Toxi, the main character and an occupational child of mixed descent, was finally accepted by her white German guardians after several attempts to return her to the orphanage by other family members; however, when her black American father arrived, the family willingly allowed Toxi to go back to America with a complete stranger. At the time of the film’s release, many Germans saw the ending of Toxi as a happy one; but this suggests that Germans believed that Toxi never belonged in German society in the first place. This example shows a form of subtle racism, where Germans failed to see a mixed race child as a true German citizen due to her appearance alone. Although in the ending of the film, no explicit discrimination and exclusion comes from her adoptive family, the family still attaches to the idea that skin color can trump national identity. The family allowed a little girl who lived in Germany her entire life and was culturally German to be taken away to an unfamiliar country with a stranger. The family essentially denied Toxi’s right to remain in her homeland of Germany by depicting her as …show more content…
First, although the treatment of black GIs was often better than their treatment in America, this changed with the help of white GIs who reintroduced racial discrimination in Germany that induced German men to begin slut-shaming German women who interacted with black GIs. Second, the film Toxi depicted Germans’ views about the status and legitimacy of occupation children; although occupation children were legal German citizens, they were often viewed as illegitimate and non-German. Third, in the book Invisible Woman, Ika described the emotional toll of indirect racism in the orphanages and how it led her to feel out of place in her own country. Finally, attempts to depict occupation children and other blacks in a positive light through stories actually reinforced negative stereotypes. Although some scholars believe Germany escaped its racist Nazi past during “Stunde Null”, the problems associated with racism in the post-war period are very prevalent when examining historical examples. Racist behaviors and tendencies did not disappear with the fall of the Nazi party, but were only hidden from direct
In Of German Mothers, Fehrenbach commented that, “despite their legal designation as German citizens, their very presence challenged race-based definitions of national identity” (Fehrenbach 2001). This theme is illustrated in the 1952 film Toxi. In the closing scene of the movie, Toxi, the main character and an occupational child of mixed descent, was finally accepted by her white German guardians after several attempts to return her to the orphanage by other family members; however, when her black American father arrived, the family willingly allowed Toxi to go back to America with a complete stranger. At the time of the film’s release, many Germans saw the ending of Toxi as a happy one; but this suggests that Germans believed that Toxi never belonged in German society in the first place. This example shows a form of subtle racism, where Germans failed to see a mixed race child as a true German citizen due to her appearance alone. Although in the ending of the film, no explicit discrimination and exclusion comes from her adoptive family, the family still attaches to the idea that skin color can trump national identity. The family allowed a little girl who lived in Germany her entire life and was culturally German to be taken away to an unfamiliar country with a stranger. The family essentially denied Toxi’s right to remain in her homeland of Germany by depicting her as …show more content…
First, although the treatment of black GIs was often better than their treatment in America, this changed with the help of white GIs who reintroduced racial discrimination in Germany that induced German men to begin slut-shaming German women who interacted with black GIs. Second, the film Toxi depicted Germans’ views about the status and legitimacy of occupation children; although occupation children were legal German citizens, they were often viewed as illegitimate and non-German. Third, in the book Invisible Woman, Ika described the emotional toll of indirect racism in the orphanages and how it led her to feel out of place in her own country. Finally, attempts to depict occupation children and other blacks in a positive light through stories actually reinforced negative stereotypes. Although some scholars believe Germany escaped its racist Nazi past during “Stunde Null”, the problems associated with racism in the post-war period are very prevalent when examining historical examples. Racist behaviors and tendencies did not disappear with the fall of the Nazi party, but were only hidden from direct