Ending WAS : Compassionate hero

[hickengruendler]

No: HPFGUIDX 176048

 
> Betsy Hp:
> No.  They couldn't be because the Nazi party is illegal in 
Germany.  
> Just as segragation and slavery is illegal in the USA.  Are there 
> still racists around?  Sure.  But they're not codified by the 
> government.  And that's a big change.  One that occurred quickly, 
> with a stroke of a pen. <eg>
 
Hickengruendler:

As a German, I want to add something to this, because it's not quite 
as simple as that. The NSDAP (National-Sozialistische Deutsche 
Arbeiterpartei), which was the party Hitler was a member of, is 
indeed illegal. However, there are still a few parties, which have 
basically the same ideology (broadly speaking, and considering, that 
we have now 60 years later), but have another name, and they are 
allowed. The German government has tried to make a few of these 
parties illegal as well, but they have some pretty good lawyers on 
their side, and as long as you can't prove them doing anything 
illegal, it's hardly possible to forbid them. But, they are indeed 
not part of the German government. You need to have at least 5% of 
the votes to get into the "Bundestag", and they have far less. They 
are members of one or two "Landtagen" ("Landtage" being the 
represantives of the German Bundesländer, which are a bit similar to 
the different States in the USA), but only in the opposition, not in 
the government. None of the major German parties would even dare to 
co-operate with them.

And to bring this back on-topic:

I tend to agree with Alla, that social changes normally do happen 
slowly. One can break with the old rules and make more laws (for 
example regarding the house-elves), but it is impossible making 
people change their values over night. I find the ending of arry 
Potter regarding that point a bit two-sided. On the one hand, I would 
have liked to see some of the changes made and what happened to the 
House-Elves. On the other hand, I do see what point JKR is trying to 
make, in telling us that Kingsley had been announced temporary 
Minister for Magic. Because what is needed for changes to happen, is 
in most cases the right person in a position of power. And there is 
enough in the books to suggest that Kingsley might very well be that 
person, and JKR's answers in the web chat seem to suggest that as 
well. I still would have loved a few more definitive answers, 
especially considering, that the last chapter did take place two 
decades later, even though I also can see, that it would be 
artistically difficult to fit in.