RE: Blog article series: The Bismarck National Monument Part 4: Germania
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When I was in school long ago, we were taught that nationalism is something to be avoided because it lets people get carried away. Examples of this included the usual suspects: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Imperial Japan, etc. While these examples show what happens when nationalism turns into jingoism-- warped nationalism-- nationalism itself is admirable. Who doesn't want to be proud of their native or adopted nation? It's as true, for example, in the Dominican Republic (Quisqueya) as it is in Germany (Germania).
Knowing how jingoism gave nationalism a bad name, today's nationalism doesn't need to be like the nationalism of yesteryear. On top of that, if we don't like the nationalism expressed by our respective elites and "powers-that-be," we can define our own version of nationalism.
Your post reminded me of how coinage and bullion throughout history, even within the last few centuries, featured the personification of the nation: the nation as represented by one figure. The English/British have Britannia. The United States has Columbia. France has Marianne. Germany has Germania. For examples of Germania, the personification of Germany, I want to share with you images of bullion rounds of what the private mint Germania Mint offers to both collectors and investors annually. The emphasis at Germania Mint seems to be Germania during the time of the Roman Empire, but even the Romans respected Germania enough to incorporate its fighters into their legions later in their history. Just as in the The Bismarck National Monument, Germania is personified by a strong woman.
Your post brought all this to mind. Thank you for taking time to publish your post. #freecompliments