当我们在谈起德国人战后的反省时,总是想当然地认为这是对纳粹主政后那段历史的反省。事实上,如果德国的反省仅仅局限于纳粹主政的十几年,德国的“认罪态度”可能不会如今天这般为人称道。德国战后在同盟国逼迫下所作出的反省,远比我们知道的远得多、更痛得多。为了在战后获得邻国谅解,德国曾被迫从自己的民族灵魂深处挖掉了一部分,这就是所谓的“普鲁士精神”。最遭恨的字眼如果问二战结束后的反思中,被清算最彻底的字眼是什么,你也许会想起法西斯、纳粹抑或是日本军国主义。其实,真正的答案是一个让不少人十分陌生的字眼——普鲁士。 When we are talking about the Germans’ post-war introspection, they always take for granted that this is an introspection of that period after the Nazi rule. In fact, if Germany’s introspection is confined to more than a decade of Nazi rule, Germany’s “guilty plea” may not be as commendable as it is today. The German post-war reflexes made by the allies are much more painful than we know. In order to gain the understanding of neighboring countries after the war, Germany had been forced to dig a part from the depths of its own national soul. This is what is called the “Prussian Spirit.” If you ask what is the most thorough word of the reflections after the end of World War II, you may recall the fascists, the Nazis or the Japanese militarists. In fact, the real answer is that a lot of people are very strange words - Prussia.