1 in 4 Germans believe Nazi rule was not bad

LONDON: One in four Germans thinks that Nazi rule had some positive aspects, despite its horrors.

Yes, according to a poll commissioned by the 'Stern' magazine, a quarter of Germans believe that the Nazi rule had its good points such as the highway system, low unemployment, low rate of crime and encouragement of the family.

While 25 per cent of those surveyed praised the positive aspects of the Nazi rule under dictator Adolf Hitler, the remaining did not agree.

The poll also suggested that those aged 60 or older had the highest regard for aspects of the Nazi era while those who grew up directly after the Second World War, now aged between 45 and 59, were the least enthusiastic.

The survey was conducted by the Forsa agency after Germany's NDR broadcaster recently fired talk show host Eva Herman for praising the Third Reich and the Nazi's attitude towards motherhood.

"The insecurity about how to deal with Nazism is huge, as is ignorance. Eva Herman has unwittingly kicked off a long-neglected debate," the 'Stern' magazine said in the cover story of its latest edition published in Berlin.

The 48-year-old host had said at a book launch that while there was 'much that was very bad, for example Adolf Hitler', there were good things, 'for example the high regard for the mother' under the Nazis.

However, she had later explained, "What I wanted to express was that values which also existed before the Third Reich, such as family, children and motherhood, which were supported in the Third Reich, were subsequently done away with."