Post by Germany on Jan 22, 2013 3:28:00 GMT -5
Taking a page from Austria's book, I've decided to do something similar since I get all these headcanons so randomly and if I don't write it down at that time, I'll most likely forget it. Only remembering vague details of what I had been thinking about.
As all thoughts go, they jump from one idea to another therefore if you try and read this, you might get confused to why I switched topics so quickly to refer to something else. I apologize ahead of time and hope to fix these in the future when I've written more.
For now, I'll just write my thoughts on my characterization of Ludwig so I have a better understanding of what goes on in his head during certain events. And also his growth from the day he was unified to today.
As all thoughts go, they jump from one idea to another therefore if you try and read this, you might get confused to why I switched topics so quickly to refer to something else. I apologize ahead of time and hope to fix these in the future when I've written more.
For now, I'll just write my thoughts on my characterization of Ludwig so I have a better understanding of what goes on in his head during certain events. And also his growth from the day he was unified to today.
- Germany comes from a military culture. It's something that has always been a part of his history and certainly something that is clearly portrayed in the nations he's had influence him as well as the amount of wars he's been engaged in.
The military has always been viewed as quite the prestigious type of job, an honor for your family, to serve your nation.
One nation that has greatly influenced Germany was/is Prussia a very military orientated nation. Prussia is known for training military from around the world being that of Japan, The United States and even the declining Ottoman Empire. To have such an influence, such a figure head, certainly has an effect on what is and is not considered a priority in regards to your country and nation.
This also explains why Germany is so obedient to orders. An aspect that plays a large part in explaining the psychology of former Nazi's or even mere citizens during and after the war.
During the Nuremberg Trials it was noted, or rather observed and assumed, that the German character was based largely on obedience. Obeying ones parent, obeying ones teachers, obeying the clergy of the church and above all obeying the state.
I'm, of course, not taking into account the freedom fighters and political adversary that were obviously present in Nazi Germany at the time. Because to say that all Germans are obedient to the point of disregarding things such as ethics and morals would be completely ignorant of me. However, since I'm viewing this as Germany's character being that of the majority (since Hetalia is based off of stereotypes so that would make sense) it can't be helped that sometimes he does follow orders blindly.
Returning to the point concerning military culture which is that other attribute that certainly influenced his obedient nature and lack of outwardly questioning what he is being asked to do which explains why Germany doesn't say or do anything when his Jews are being rounded up in Ghettos and then Camps.
Also, there were rules in the German military that were instituted in 1938 by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keital that touched base on 'defeatism' among the ranks of the military. This legislation was called "Wartime Special Punishment Ordinance" which essentially gave the Nazis power to murder anyone, in the military, that they definied as 'opposition'.
Paragraph 5 stated that the punishment for 'undermining the armed forces' was death. And so if Ludwig did decide to oppose, even though he is a nation, he could still be sent in front of a firing squad for opposing these beliefs.
Does this explain why Ludwig obeyed Hitler without protest. Yes, to an extent it does. Does it mean he agreed with Hitler's points of views? No, it doesn't, it just means he doesn't question what a superior tells him to do even if it goes against his moral compass. However, that, in itself, is one of Ludwig's biggest character flaw because he knows what's happening is wrong. But, he doesn't do anything to try and stop it, letting it slide by him like a rat in the shadows instead of acting upon it because he's so instilled with these teachings. - What he did to cope with such an atrocious acts against humanity was to create a second persona of himself, one that was empathetic to the horror occurring within him and around him. As if he were two people instead of one so that he could step away from the situation and view it more as if he were an outsider than an insider.
- Ludwig, honestly, can't not document things. He has to have everything he's done written down for later use, just in case something were to happen and he would need to bring up some information. It obviously needs to be organized for easy access but it's also an aspect about himself that can be linked back to military culture.
It's very important in the military to write up reports, document events and the such to assess how a situation has been handled to either avoid such an outcome int he future or to expand on such a good outcome.
It also makes him feel better knowing that if he ever wanted to go look up something, he'd be able to find it without a problem. His obsession with documenting almost his every movements, certainly helped during the Nuremberg Trials and has served well in keeping the European Central Bank from capsizing when situations get tight.
Ludwig views documentation as a means of improving and expanding ones knowledge on either every day activities or more business/political orientated activities. It's certainly stopped a second dictatorship from coming to power and has helped re-unite West and East Germany near the end of the Cold War.
If explained simply, it's really just a force of habit that eases his mind. - After both World Wars and especially after the re-uniting of West and Est. Ludwig takes more caution when dealing with others. This is something that developed during his time under allied occupation and if he think he's offended or severely crossed the line, he will come and apologize. It's really more for Ludwig than it is for whoever he has or hasn't offended.
Unfortunately, most of the time, his apologize sound like they are insincere when that is the complete opposite. He's just gotten paranoid since the World Wars and would rather not have suspicion turned on him again.
However, don't take it as if he apologizes for everything. If he truly feels like what he has said is justified, even if it comes out bad or is harsh in nature, he won't bat an eyelid at the statement taking it as something that was needed to be said.