I watched a really good presentation on YouTube last night by a young German woman who put together a very informative documentary about how/what she and her peers learned in school about the Nazi era and the Holocaust. (Starting very early, German school children learn in great depth and brutal detail about many of the Holocaust's atrocities. They also take a deep look at social issues and events that helped make the brutality possible.)

She mentioned in passing that some Americans have told her they wish they could have learned about the brutality of American slavery and the brutalization of the indigenous in such detail.

And THAT set off an explosion in the comments section by offended, apparently conservative, Americans. Many of them wanted to deny the brutality of the enslavement system, others wanted to remind everyone that mistreatment of the indigenous was just an ordinary thing at one time and that we shouldn't be too upset about it, or feel guilty about it.

I was pretty surprised by the guilt bit, because this young woman's presentation focused on how German education stresses that feeling personal guilt is not an appropriate response to learning about the Nazi era. Rather, children are taught the real, brutal history with the aim of encouraging them to be on guard that such a thing should never happen again. And to help them understand why ongoing reparations are morally obligatory.

I think that's a lesson we could all stand to learn about from the German people, who overwhelmingly approve of detailed Holocaust education in their schools.