I, as a German, wouldn’t mind receiving the mentioned postcard. I’m on the opinion that it is important to talk about history. It helps to not make certain mistakes again. But it is important to talk in a neutral way and to not blame someone.
When talking about the buildings on my postcards I always mention that they had been destroyed during WW2 and were reconstructed afterwards. Just to make clear that they aren’t as old as they seem to be. But I never mention who destoyed them. Although I know who did it.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana
I’m not really into politics so I don’t, usually I just stick to what people mention on their profiles and because most of the times I only have cards with touristic views, I think I’m on the safe side. But after reading this topic I think it’s nice to consider some things.
When chosing a card I try to keep in mind what country I send something to basing on what I know about the country. This is not just politics. For example if you send a card to Germany you should not send anything military or war related unless someone specifically asks for it. I am sure there are certain no no’s in other countries as well.
I’m pretty careful about what I send where. For example, recently I had a set of stamps commemorating WWI. I was very careful to only use those for countries that were not involved in the war.
I’m also pretty careful about how I phrase things. For example, I have a set of postcards featuring antique cars made by the Willys company. When I send those, I like to give a short history on the company. Something along the lines of “Willys is the same company that created the American military Jeeps used in WWII, but prior to the war they made civilian automobiles like these.” However, if I am sending the card to Germany, for example, I phrase it more like “The Willys company made cars like these until the 1940s.”
OK. Lots of people here seem to me really sensitive about Germans’ reactions to cards about WWI and WWII. I understand, of course, that it would be a bit offensive / insensitive to send a vintage card from England to a German user that said something like “this is what our town looked like until the Germans (you) bombed it,” in the same way I wouldn’t send a vintage card from Germany to an English user that said “This is what our town looked liked until the Allies (you) bombed it.”
But in both cases, what is the problem with saying, “this is how our town looked in 1920?”
I really hate to think that people are mincing words when they are sending postcards to certain countries. If the postcard is difficult to send, I would just pick another, rather than sending the card but then trying to whitewash the history.
Even if someone sent me a card about WW1 or WW2 and pointed their finger at me I couldn’t care less as I don’t believe in inherited guilt. It’s not my fault what happened more than 70 years ago. But it’s my duty to prevent it from happening again.
I never know what to do about war related cards. I’m a pacifist myself. My people (the Finns) were on the wrong side of WW2. My new people (the British) colonised everyone and were in every war, including with the Finns. Anything I do will offend at least myself!
Earlier today I was writing a card to a Russian person interested in royalty. I ended up referring to Nikolai II who was the last monarch Finns will have been under, according to the banana rule. (Alexander I, Nikolai I, Alexander II, Alexander III, Nikolai II = bANAANi). I spent a frantic few minutes trying to find out if it might for some reason be offensive to discuss him!
Also, are tsars royal, and most importantly, how does one spell tsar…
I do not look at the country the other postcrosser is from, only at the profile. If someone shows an interest in history or historical figures, I might send a Churchill card or the like. Other postcrossers will get cute animals, viewcards, lighthouses or whatever they wish for on their profiles.
I personally am not offended easily. I have a collection of presidents/heads of states and honestly enjoy receiving cards of politicians whose politics I don’t agree with. The sender sometimes writes why they like or dislike a certain politician and that is really great to read.
One of my favourite postcards is of a victory day parade in Moscow with fighter jets flying over the red square. It’s beautiful. I don’t mind at all that my country (Germany) were the losers in that war, it’s a historical fact none of us can change.
I had in the past an experience with a postcard to Japan, I sent a lovely reproduction of an old Bullfighting poster (not showing the bullfight, but a torero/bullfighter) and the postcrosser who received it was sad about the card because she didn’t supported animal cruelty. Not that I support it either or like bullfighting, but is a part of the culture in Spain and I sent the card in a very innocent way, and the profile didn’t added anything who make me believe she would dislike the card.
Since then, I try to stick to postcards showing lovely views from Madrid city or El Retiro park, but not showing anything related to bullfights or churches, or any element that could offend the receiver.
