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Supermodel Laments Lack of German Patriotism

DW staff (jam)May 18, 2004

German model Nadja Auermann has weighed in on the issue of national pride, telling a magazine she regrets the fact that Germans lack any sense of patriotism whatsoever.

https://p.dw.com/p/53vc
Nadja Auermann wouldn't mind a little more flag-waving in Germany.Image: dpa

She might be understandably proud of her incredibly long legs, which at 44 inches (111.8 cm) have gotten her in the Guinness Book of World Records, but Nadja Auermann said as a German, she's made to feel she shouldn't be proud of her country.

"I've lived abroad for 12 years and seen that actually every country has patriotism -- except Germany" the 32-year-old Auermann told Stern magazine. In the interview, the supermodel addressed the subject of patriotism in her native country, which is almost a taboo subject because of the horrors committed by the Nazi regime.

"The darkness of our history cannot be forgotten," she said, but added that today's Germans should not feel like they have to apologize whenever they are abroad and say they are German. She herself is tired of apologizing for Nazi crimes committed 60 years ago.

"I wish my generation could be allowed to stand up and show a little more self-confidence," she said.

The 5'11" (180 cm) Berlin native, whose modelling success came after she dyed her hair platinum blonde, said that today's generations shouldn't be burdened forever. A little patriotism, she said, could do Germany good.

"I think it's unhealthy to have none," she said.