Thread: Ww2

**Richie** · 2nd July 2006, 18:30

Isn't the Legion's code "honneur et fidélité"? VERY much similar to another very famous, quite spectacular unit:
Waffen SS/ "honour through fidelity" ?

Squed · 2nd July 2006, 19:53

Believe those words are used and have been used by many and many years before either FFL or Waffen SS was on the board...

Your point

**Rapace** · 2nd July 2006, 19:55

Waffen SS motto : "Mein ehre heisst treue" (not sure of the German spelling) means "my honour IS CALLED faithfulness".
Legion motto : Honneur et Fidélité... (Honour AND faithfulness). There's no link made between the 2.
This said, the Legion was created in 1831 and the SS in the 20s. If someone plagiarised the other, who you think it is ?

Squed · 2nd July 2006, 20:03

Besides that, Waffen SS were never causious copying other old mottos, symbols etc they thought suited them, so guess that question answers itself..

**Richie** · 2nd July 2006, 20:38

Originally Posted by Patrick Hervier

Waffen SS motto : "Mein ehre heisst treue" (not sure of the German spelling) means "my honor IS CALLED faithfulness".
Legion motto : Honneur et Fidélité... (Honour AND faithfulness). There's no link made between the 2.
This said, the Legion was created in 1831 and the SS in the 20s. If someone plagiarised the other, who you think it is ?

Thanks for the reply.
I found that the SS motto from a book i was reading yesterday, and i know I've heard about the Legion motto before. You say that there is no link betwen the two, maybe they aren't.. And i dont mean to imply that the Legion ever stole anything from any other corps, i mean to say the opposite:
it seems alot more true that the SS stole the motto and rewrote it from the Legion.. meaning that they did whatever they could in order to romantize themselves. And of course, i am NOT implying that these two "units" should ever be compared in other means... The SS took part of some of the worst crimes ever, and the Legion have not.

This said: If this is the case, it's not that bad of an impact on the German war machine and on that evil bastard Himmler himself

hannibal · 2nd July 2006, 22:08

Originally Posted by Richie

Thanks for the reply. I found that the SS motto from a book i was reading yesterday, and i know I've heard about the Legion motto before. You say that there is no link betwen the two, maybe they aren't.. And i dont mean to imply that the Legion ever stole anything from any other corps, i mean to say the opposite: it seems alot more true that the SS stole the motto and rewrote it from the Legion.. meaning that they did whatever they could in order to romantize themselves. And of course, i am NOT implying that these two "units" should ever be compared in other means...

No one has stolen anything from anyone. It is simply a credo that the Waffen-SS adopted at the start of their career. The French Foreign Legion was not very popular with the Nazi hierarchy, so I doubt they "stole motto" from them or anyone else.

Originally Posted by Richie

The SS took part of some of the worst crimes ever, and the Legion have not.

Ah, na ja... That's understandable. We have an armada of "books, articles and true and self-proclaimed experts" on Waffen-SS war crimes, and nothing similar for the French Foreign Legion. Lot about the FFL is still based on prejudices and myths.

I believe it was the French president Chirac himself who a couple of years during the Aussaresses affair called for both both sides to be "tolerant". He didn't call for justice, i.d. revealing the truth - just to be tolerant. But that's another story, not only linked with FFL.

Squed · 2nd July 2006, 22:32

Still they stole or adapted whatever you choose a lot of things, like religious symbols who are today linked to them and the usual meaning seem have been forgotten.

**Mise** · 3rd July 2006, 00:05

The Christian church adapted all the pagan festivals to their own use.

**steve** · 3rd July 2006, 00:18

and put thousands to the sword...religeon-they are all as bad as each other...

**joette** · 3rd July 2006, 00:50

Originally Posted by steve

and put thousands to the sword...religeon-they are all as bad as each other...

I have never understood that ..the religion thing? I know that has been the case in many countries for thousands of yrs............

Squed · 3rd July 2006, 01:50

Originally Posted by Mise

The Christian church adapted all the pagan festivals to their own use.

Very true.
And Ansgar was no lazy wit..

**salpphappy1** · 3rd July 2006, 07:15

here's a few simple but well known facts about wars and why they were started
Crusades = religion and still going on to this day although these days it's pretty much down to greed
English civil war = started because of religous belief ended up being about the king and his promiscuity again religious belief on what a king should behave like
World war 1 = inter family feud between the royal families of Europe at the time
World war 2 = A direct result of the way the German people were treated after the armistace was signed and also as we all know a lunatic who behaved in a manner similar to the old roman emperor ie Nero

Korea = idiology and paranioa
Vietnam = as above
Falklands = greed and just greed
the recent activities in the Balkans = religous belief and anti semitisim against their own people
Wars in every case are started by one of either thing religious belief and politicians going right off the deep end ..Now going back to the original ? about the similiarities between the ffl and waffen ss please note that at the tail end of world war 2 there were large scale desertions from the German army. A fair few of which eneded up in the ranks of the ffl. Not sure but i think that there are a couple of chants used by the Legion which have a direct link to that time maybe one of the moderators can confirm this. Other than that you will not be able to find many links between the two. The nazi party did borrow an awful lot of things from various time periods and tried to update them to suit themselves.

Sal

**crazysix0231** · 3rd July 2006, 14:29

Well stated, Religion has always been used as a scapegoat for greed, power and corruption. It is the eastiest way to manipulated large group of diverse people. Catholicism has had a Dark past, just as the Muslims and everyone else. I dont read or believe in the Bible or "church" or any religion. The Bible is the supposed word of God written by man for man there for edited to suit ones need. I mean if you thin about all religions believe in a supreme being but the messengers are just different MEN that are accepted by that populations culture. I hope I didnt upset anyone...just my beliefs.