德国人民如何看待第二次世界大战? 为什么即使德国人明知道会战败，但仍然执着地战斗到底呢? 对于德国人的人性和他们变得残暴的原因，牛津大学历史学家尼古拉斯•斯特格(Nicholas Stargardt)通过研究德国普通民众的书信和日记，得出令人意想不到的见解。
The second world war
第二次世界大战
Fate and furies
命运与愤怒
How Germans perceived the second world war
德国人民如何看待第二次世界大战
Sep 26th 2015 | From the print edition
The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939–1945. By Nicholas Stargardt. Bodley Head; 736 pages; £25. To be published in America by Basic Books in October; $35.
《德国战争: 武装的国家，1939-1945》; 尼古拉斯•斯特格(Nicholas Stargardt)著 ; 鲍利海出版社(Bodley Head)出版 ; 736页 ; 售价25英镑。十月将在美国由基本图书出版社(Basic Books)出版 ; 售价35美元。
WHEN Germany invaded Poland in 1939, it started what the world has ever since seen self-evidently as a war of German aggression. But Germans had a very different view, as Nicholas Stargardt, a historian at Oxford University, convincingly shows in this depiction of how ordinary Germans experienced “their” war.
1939年德国入侵波兰，发动了一场举世公认的侵略战争。但德国人民对此的看法截然不同。牛津大学历史学家尼古拉斯•斯特格(Nicholas Stargardt)在书中充分叙述了德国普通民众是如何看待“他们的”战争。
In 1939 there were no rallies or marches in Germany, as there had been in 1914. The atmosphere was instead one of muted worry. The Germans had accepted the Nazi propaganda that “they were caught up in a war of national defence, forced upon them by Allied machinations and Polish aggression.” Their anxiety only turned into euphoria after the surprisingly easy victories in the early phase of the war, first in Poland then in France.
不同于1914年，1939年德国并没有举行集会或游行。然而，无声的忧虑却蔓延了整个国家。德国人民受纳粹的政治宣传影响，认为同盟国的阴谋和波兰的侵略迫使他们必须为保卫国家而战。战争初期，德国出乎意料地先后在波兰和法国大获全胜。他们这才放下焦虑，开始对战争感到亢奋。
Embedded journalists accompanied the army and sent home newsreels depicting heroism and adventure. German boys worried that they were “born too late”; the war would surely be over before they saw action. When the war instead continued, Adolf Hitler again succeeded in persuading the Germans that the responsibility for prolonging it lay with the English “plutocrats and slaveholders”.
战地记者记录了德军的英雄事迹和历险故事，然后将新闻短片送回德国。德国的男孩担心自己出生太晚，在他们还没看见战斗之前，战争就已经结束了。但事实上，战争仍然持续。希特勒(Adolf Hitler)再次成功说服德国人民，这场战争之所以会延长，英国的“财阀和奴隶主”都有责任。
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s devious propaganda chief, exploited the Anglo-American air war on German cities to deepen the German conviction that they were defending themselves. But as the war became more brutal, especially in the east, this sense of German victimhood became mixed up with German guilt. At home, the Germans observed how Jews were being persecuted. Abroad, soldiers witnessed atrocities against Jews, Poles, Ukrainians and others. “Execution tourists” in the army took photos of massacres and sometimes sent them home. Some had grave misgivings. One soldier wrote to his wife in 1941 that “the Jews are being completely exterminated,” and closed with a reminder not to tell their son.
希特勒的宣传部部长约瑟夫•戈培尔(Joseph Goebbels)是一个很有手段的人。二战期间，英美空军对德国城市进行轰炸，他籍此让德国人民更加坚定地认为他们正在打一场保卫战。但随着战争变得越来越残暴(特别在东欧地区)，尽管德国人民认为自己是“受害者”，同时也感到愧疚。在国内，他们看见犹太人是如何受到迫害。在国外，德军亲眼目睹犹太人、波兰人、乌克兰人以及其他国家的人遭到残害。到军营中参观行刑的人拍下了大屠杀的情形，有时候他们会把照片寄回德国。有些德国人对这些暴行感到非常忧虑。1941年，一名军人在给妻子的信中提及 “犹太人快被完全灭绝”，最后还提醒她不要让儿子知道。
Gradually, a new conviction spread: that this genocidal war “must never come home to Germany”. For, just as the Germans gave no mercy, so they could also expect none. Goebbels made sure that no details of the Holocaust were ever reported. Instead, Mr Stargardt argues, the German press “hinted at what people already knew, fostering a sense of collusive semi-secrecy.” The resulting “spiral of silence” led to a sense of quasi-complicity.
“德国人绝对不可能真正了解种族大屠杀的残酷”，这种新的观念渐渐在德国流传开来。因为只要德国人毫无怜悯之心，他们亦不会期望别人对他们仁慈。戈培尔禁止任何关于大屠杀的报导。作者斯特格认为德国传媒对大众已知的事情绝口不提，只作暗示，这做法助长了当时社会共同半隐瞒真相的风气。结果“沉默的螺旋”效应(注1)导致德国人觉得自己像个同谋，共同参与了种族大屠杀。
(注1: 沉默的螺旋(spiral of silence)是一个政治学和大众传播理论。其中的概念包括: 经大众传媒强调提示的意见由于具有公开性和传播的广泛性，容易被当作“多数”或“优势”意见所认知。这种环境认知所带来的压力或安全感，会引起人际接触中的”劣势意见的沉默”和”优势意见的大声疾呼”的螺旋式扩展过程，并导致社会生活中占压倒优势的“多数意见”。)
This is deeply psychological stuff. One of the questions that concerns Mr Stargardt is why the Germans fought on so obstinately to the bitter end, long after it was obvious that victory was impossible. The answer lies in this growing mixture of guilt and victimhood. Goebbels effectively portrayed the fire bombings of German cities as “Jewish terror”, with the implication that the Allies, manipulated by global Jewry, were exacting revenge for German crimes. Even those Germans who had had qualms about German atrocities earlier grew harder as the war worsened, accepting Hitler’s apocalyptic alternative of victory or annihilation.
这个现象跟心理学密切相关。斯特格关心的问题之一是“为什么即使德国人早知道必定会战败，他们仍然执着地战斗到底呢?” 答案在于他们认为自己是”受害者”的同时，对自己的罪行感到愧疚，这两种情绪难以割离。戈培尔成功地把同盟国对德国的空袭塑造成”犹太人的恐怖袭击”，暗示同盟国受到全世界的犹太人操纵，对德国的罪行进行报复。甚至连曾经对德国的暴行感到内疚不安的人民，随着德国在战争中开始处于劣势，他们的态度亦变得强硬起来，认同希特勒所预言的两种可能 — 德国要么获胜，要么被彻底消灭。(注2)
(注2: 出自希特勒于1922年4月12日发表的演讲 “Here, too, there can be no compromise - there are only two possibilities: either victory of the Aryan, or annihilation of the Aryan and the victory of the Jew.”)
Mr Stargardt has come close to writing a ground-breaking book. And yet he falls just short. His method of using letters and diaries of ordinary Germans yields unexpected insights, both into the Germans’ humanity and their turn to barbarism. Much of their daily energy was focused not on the fate of the Jews, but on matters of more immediate concern, such as food and sex. And yet Germany’s Holocaust and self-destruction are always the backdrop, if never quite forming an integral part of Aryan Germans’ experience.
这次斯特格本可以写就一本突破性的书，但还差一点点。对于德国人的人性和他们变得残暴的原因，他通过研究德国普通民众的书信和日记，得出令人意想不到的见解。他们大部份的精力不是用来关心犹太人的命运，而是用于食物和性等日常需求。但纳粹对犹太人的大屠杀和德国人的自毁行为向来只是“背景”，不足以全面了解德国雅利安人的体会。
The author seems to be suggesting that tacit mass collusion in history’s greatest crime turned Germans, through fear of their own looming retaliatory victimisation, into fanatics. But this grand hypothesis emerges only in fragmented form from these individual accounts. To get even this far, readers have to make great efforts to join the dots. Many will be left yearning for more help from the author.
作者认为德国人默许并且集体参与有史以来最严重的罪行，他们对自己带有报复性的恐怖暴行感到恐惧，这让他们彻底陷入疯狂。但如此重要的假设只能拼拼凑凑地从个别例子中得到验证。读者需要花很大的力气把碎片拼凑起来，才能理解到这个程度。还有很多读者盼望作者能为他们指点迷津。
From the print edition: Books and arts
译者: Jacqueline (E-mail: [email protected] )
校对: 黑彪
英文原文链接:
http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21666099-how-germans-perceived-second-world-war-fate-and-furies
更多译文请访问“译者说”经济学人翻译论坛：www.translatorcn.org
1. Propaganda: Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view
例句:
One official dismissed the ceasefire as a mere propaganda exercise.
某位官员只是把停火当作宣传伎俩而不予理睬。
2. Machinations: complicated and secret plans to get power or control or to gain an advantage
例句:
Despite a commitment to more open government, the public are still being kept in the dark about the inner machinations of the Cabinet.
尽管政府承诺提高透明度，但公众对内阁内部的勾心斗角仍一无所知。
3. Euphoria: a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness
例句:
They were in a state of euphoria for days after they won the prize.
获奖之后一连几天他们都处于亢奋状态。
4. Embedded journalists: an embedded journalist or reporter travels with and is protected by a unit of soldiers during a war.
5. Newsreels: a short film of news and current affairs, formerly made for showing as part of the programme in a cinema.
例句:
The movie contains some recently discovered newsreel footage of thewar.
这部电影中包括一些最近发现的战争新闻短片片段。
6. Action: fighting in a war
例句:
Her younger son was killed in action.
她的小儿子在战斗中阵亡。
7. Plutocrats: A person whose power derives from their wealth
例句:
The country has long been run by plutocrats.
该国长期以来一直受财阀统治。
8. Devious: showing a skilful use of underhand tactics to achieve goals
例句:
You have to be a bit devious if you're going to succeed in business.
要想在生意场上取得成功就必须会耍点手腕。
9. Persecute: subject (someone) to hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of their race or political or religious beliefs
例句:
Religious minorities were persecuted and massacred during the ten-year regime.
在长达十年的独裁统治期间，宗教信仰上的少数派遭到了迫害和屠杀。
His latest film is about the experience of being persecuted for beinggay.
他最新的一部影片以同性恋者受迫害的经历为题。
10. Atrocity: an extremely wicked or cruel act, typically one involving physical violence or injury
例句:
They're on trial for committing atrocities against the civilian population.
他们因残害平民的暴行而受到审判。
11. Massacres: An indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of many people
例句:
He ordered the massacre of 2, 000 women and children.
他下令屠杀了2000名妇女和儿童。
12. Grave: seriously bad
例句:
a grave situation
严峻的形势
13. Misgivings: a feeling of doubt or apprehension about the outcome or consequences of something
例句:
Many teachers expressed serious misgivings about the new exams.
许多教师表示对新的考试非常担忧。
My only misgiving is that we might not have enough time to do the job properly.
我唯一担心的是我们可能没有足够的时间把这项工作做好。
14. Exterminate: to destroy completely; annihilate; eliminate
例句:
Once cockroaches get into a building, it's very difficult to exterminate them.
一旦屋里有了蟑螂，就很难彻底消灭。
Millions of Jewish people were exterminated in concentration camps in the Second World War.
二战期间，几百万犹太人在集中营被集体屠杀。
15. Genocidal: relating to or involving the deliberate killing of a large group of people of a particular nation or ethnic group
例句:
A genocidal war/regime
进行种族灭絶的战争／实行种族灭絶政策的政权
16. Come home to: if something comes home to someone, they understand it clearly
例句:
The danger really came home to me when I saw the pictures on TV.
当看到电视上的画面时，我才真正知道有多危险。
17. Holocaust: the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime during the period 1941-5. More than 6 million European Jews, as well as members of other persecuted groups, were murdered at concentration camps such as Auschwitz
18. Foster: to encourage the development or growth of ideas or feelings
例句:
I'm trying to foster an interest in classical music in my children.
我正努力培养我的孩子们对古典音乐的兴趣。
19. Collusive: secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy in order to deceive others
例句:
The report concluded that there was no evidence of collusive behaviourbetween the banks.
报告的结论是：没有证据显示银行之间有私下串通的行为。
20. Complicity: involvement in a crime or some activity that is wrong
例句:
She is suspected of complicity in the fraud.
她涉嫌参与了这宗诈骗案。
21. Obstinately: unreasonably determined, especially to act in a particular way and not to change at all, despite what anyone else says
例句:
Invading troops met with obstinate resistance by guerilla forces.
侵略军遭到游击队的顽强抵抗。
22. To the bitter end: until something is finished
23. Manipulate: control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly or unscrupulously
例句:
Throughout her career she has very successfully manipulated the media.
她在整个职业生涯中非常成功地控制了媒体。
The opposition leader accused government ministers of manipulating the statistics to suit themselves.
反对派领导人指责政府部长篡改统计数据以满足自身利益。
24. Exact: to demand and get something, sometimes using force orthreats, or to make something necessary
例句:
to exact revenge on someone
向某人报复
25. Qualms: an uncomfortable feeling of doubt about whether you are doing the right thing
例句:
She had no qualms about lying to the police.
她向警方说谎但一点也不觉得心虚。
26. Apocalyptic: showing or describing the total destruction and end of the world, or extremely bad future events
例句:
Apocalyptic warnings about our destruction of the environment
对人类破坏环境可能带来毁灭性后果所作的警示
27. Annihilation: to destroy completely so that nothing is left
例句:
A city annihilated by an atomic bomb
被原子弹夷为平地的城市
During the Cold War the threat of nuclear annihilation was always on people's minds.
在冷战期间，核战毁灭世界的威胁总是在人们心头挥之不去。
28. Fall short: to fail to reach an amount or standard that was expected or hoped for, causing disappointment
例句:
August car sales fell short of the industry's expectations.
八月汽车销量未达到业界的期望。
29. Backdrop: the general situation in which particular events happen
例句:
Their love affair began against a backdrop of war.
他们的爱情故事在战争年代开始。
30. Looming: (of something unwanted or unpleasant) happening soon and causing worry
例句:
Here, too, the threat of unemployment has been looming on the horizon.
另外还有失业的威胁在逼近，令人忧虑。
The threat of closure looms over the workforce.
工厂可能关闭，令工人们焦虑不安。
31. Retaliatory: (Of an action) characterized by a desire for revenge
例句:
He urged people not to resort to retaliatory violence.
他力劝人们不要以暴易暴。
32. Victimisation: an act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them unfairly)
例句:
Nixon felt that he was being victimized by the media.
尼克松感到自己正在受到新闻媒体的不公平对待。
He claimed he'd been victimized by the police.
他声称受到了警方的迫害。
33. Fanatic: a person motivated by irrational enthusiasm (as for a cause)
例句:
A fitness/film fanatic.
健身狂／对电影着迷的人
1. 政治宣传(Propaganda)
政治宣传（Propaganda）是一种宣传的方式，其目的是在影响社会大众对某一公众事务的立场或态度，使得特定人士或团体在其中获益。在战时，政治宣传可以成为有用的武器；它能够通过创造虚假形象，将敌方去人性化，增加人们对其的憎恶感。在第二次世界大战后，由于偏向贬义，”政治宣传”一词更多是指政治上或民族主义者对这种技巧的使用。
2. 约瑟夫•戈培尔(Joseph Goebbels)
德国政治家，演说家。其担任纳粹德国时期的国民教育与宣传部部长，擅长讲演，被称为“宣传的天才”。 第二次世界大战中，戈培尔是重要的战争宣传角色之一，不断地对国民展开宣传战。在已经确定德国将要失败的时候，希特勒鲜少进行演说多由戈培尔代替其工作，以收音机广播宣告国民对于联军要进行最后抵抗。在1945年4月苏联军队进逼柏林时，戈培尔也号召柏林市民捍卫首都。戈培尔最有名宣传战是斯大林格勒战役失败之后，在柏林体育宫进行宣传演讲，鼓吹全力一战。
3. 沉默的螺旋(spiral of silence)
沉默的螺旋(spiral of silence)是一个政治学和大众传播理论，由伊丽莎白·诺尔-纽曼(Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann)于1974年在发表于《传播学刊》(Journal of Communication)上的《沉默的螺旋：一种大众观点理论》一文中最早提出。并在1980年出版的The Spiral of Silence : Public Opinion-Our Social Skin一书中完善。主要概念是：如果人们觉得自己的观点是公众中的少数派，他们将不愿意传播自己的看法；而如果他们觉得自己的看法与多数人一致，他们会勇敢的说出来。而且媒体通常会关注多数派的观点，轻视少数派的观点。于是少数派的声音越来越小，多数派的声音越来越大，形成一种螺旋式上升的模式。
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