First - it is true that Germans had no choice...initially, while they were split into East Germany (controlled by the USSR) and West Germany (effectively controlled by the US, UK, and France). However, Germany is united today, and if they as a nation decided to raise those statues, they could do so and no one else could stop them. Same for Japan.

On a side note, my wife and I went to Italy, and up on a hill above the hotel was some kind of monument, but there was no apparent road to it, and no signs pointing the way there. So I asked the hotel clerk (who was about my age), and he replied, "It's a monument from Mussolini's time." What got my attention was how ashamed and embarrassed he was to say so. It turns out that while the fascists were in power from 1922 to 1943, they constructed *thousands* of monuments, and getting rid of them bordered on impracticality. Below is an article showing how problematic they are becoming with the current rise of fascism in Europe.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/why-are-so-many-fascist-monuments-still-standing-in-italy

Second - It's good to remember history. That's why we have books, and I try to be an amateur historian myself. But - as my original article showed - the great majority of the Confederate monuments were originally constructed *and* continue to be used to perpetuate racism in American culture.

Y'all wanna build more such monuments (or take the existing ones) and put them on private property, y'all go right on ahead. But the key is this: their existence on public property at taxpayer expense does real and lasting harm to our nation by perpetuating pride in white supremacy (don't say it doesn't - I lived that life once upon a time) and by perpetuating resentment among those who were enslaved.

They can go on private property. Otherwise, they should be destroyed.