Well no clearly they’re not in the strictest sense; they were almost obliterated in WWII. For which we should all be hugely grateful.
However over at Hardcore Zen, Brad Warner (Sōtō Zen priest, author, blogger, Godzilla enthusiast and punk rock bass guitarist) has an interesting take on Nazi Germany which I’d not previously thought about.
Nazi-ism is the antithesis of Buddhism in a lot of ways. One of the least obvious, though probably the most important is that Nazi-ism was completely goal oriented … They wanted a better world, a world unified and at peace.
The Nazis set their sights on a goal. And they were willing to do all sorts of nasty things to make that goal happen. The goal was important. What needed to be done to achieve it was secondary. But goals are problematic. They never really turn out the way you imagine them.
Ironically many of the goals the Nazis were trying to accomplish have come to pass, though not in the ways they would have envisioned or liked. Europe is unified. There is a single currency throughout most of the continent. There is even a common language spoken by people all over Europe. That the language is English and not German, the currency is the Euro and not the Deutsche Mark and the union is presided over from Brussels rather than Berlin might have made them cringe. But many of their major goals have been achieved. That the Nazis themselves had to be destroyed in order that their goals could be achieved probably didn’t fit Hitler’s master plan. But that’s how goal-oriented practice works.
And he’s right, give or take a few local difficulties and a varying value of “better”. No real wonder then that large numbers in this country are very anti the European Union.
None of which, of course, justifies Hitler’s ways and means. Ever!
I’m sure that we can all guess it means “a situation which is shambolic from every possible angle”. Oh, yes, just like the BBC!
A large early Victorian neo-gothic burr walnut chiming mantel clock, by Daniel Desbois, the signed painted arched dial with strike/silent indicator below the chapter ring, with gilt hands, quarter chiming on eight bells and hour striking and with pull-cord repeat, the back plate signed … the case with outset cluster columns with obelisk finials flanking the arched cresting, 24″ high.