Stereotype Cast

‘IF there was one good thing that came out of World War II (apart, of course, for Dame Vera Lynn), it is that it stopped us Brits banging on about World War I.

‘Anyone here see Fawlty Towers?’

Had Adolf Hitler decided to set up a small architect’s practice in Bavaria instead of invading Poland, we would probably still be making TV sitcoms about the Somme and Passchendaele.

However, in the 60-odd years since the Nazis were defeated, the sum total of British military glory has been kicking a couple of Argies off some God-forsaken islands in the South Atlantic.

And that means we are still droning on ad nauseam about D-Day and VE Day and Doris Day.

The Germans, unsurprisingly, have had enough – and foreign minister Joschka Fischer blames the British media for peddling old stereotypes.

He told the Times that young Germans, including his own children, did not recognise their own country as portrayed on British TV.

‘If you want to learn how the traditional Prussian goosestep works, you have to watch British television because in Germany in the younger generation – even my generation – nobody knows how to perform it.’

That is a shame – and, rather than castigating the Brits, Herr Fischer should be thanking us instead for keeping old German traditions alive.

Rather as we are grateful to the Americans for reminding us how we should drink tea, wear a bowler hat and say, ‘Well, that’s simply smashing, old chap’…’

Posted: 21st, October 2004 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink