In the flashback, Ed mentions he spent time in the hospital because mustard gas permanently damaged his lungs. As Ed is too young to have fought in WW1, and in the actual WW2 toxic gases were never used. So, it transpires that, in the reality of the series, chemical warfare was indeed used. Also, the conversation confirms what Frank told Ed in the previous episode, about Nazis killing people like him (a permanent invalid).
"Banzai" is a traditional Japanese exclamation meaning "ten thousand years" of long life.
The relations between Germany and Japan (German: Deutsch-japanische Beziehungen) were officially established in 1861 with the first ambassadorial visit to Japan from Prussia (which predated the formation of the German Empire in 1866/1870). Japan modernized rapidly after the Meiji Restoration of 1867, often using German models through intense intellectual and cultural exchange. After 1900 Japan aligned itself with Britain, and Germany and Japan were enemies in World War I. Japan declared war on the German Empire in 1914 and seized key German possessions in China and the Pacific.
In the 1930s, both countries adopted aggressive militaristic attitudes toward their respective regions. This led to a rapprochement and, eventually, a political and military alliance that included Italy: the "Axis". During the Second World War, however, the Axis was limited by the great distances between the Axis powers; for the most part, Japan and Germany fought separate wars, and eventually surrendered separately.
After the Second World War, the economies of both nations experienced rapid recoveries; bilateral relations, now focused on economic issues, were soon re-established. Now, Japan and Germany are, respectively, the third and fourth largest economies in the world, and benefit greatly from many kinds of political, cultural, scientific and economic cooperation.
According to a late 2012 Bertelsmann Foundation Poll, the Germans view Japan overwhelmingly positively, and regard that nation as less a competitor and more a partner. The Japanese views of Germany are positive as well, with 97% viewing Germany positively and only 3% viewing Germany negatively.
In the 1930s, both countries adopted aggressive militaristic attitudes toward their respective regions. This led to a rapprochement and, eventually, a political and military alliance that included Italy: the "Axis". During the Second World War, however, the Axis was limited by the great distances between the Axis powers; for the most part, Japan and Germany fought separate wars, and eventually surrendered separately.
After the Second World War, the economies of both nations experienced rapid recoveries; bilateral relations, now focused on economic issues, were soon re-established. Now, Japan and Germany are, respectively, the third and fourth largest economies in the world, and benefit greatly from many kinds of political, cultural, scientific and economic cooperation.
According to a late 2012 Bertelsmann Foundation Poll, the Germans view Japan overwhelmingly positively, and regard that nation as less a competitor and more a partner. The Japanese views of Germany are positive as well, with 97% viewing Germany positively and only 3% viewing Germany negatively.
Sulfur mustard, commonly known as Mustard Gas, is the prototypical substance of the sulfur-based family of cytotoxic and vesicant chemical warfare agents known as the sulfur mustards which have the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin and in the lungs. They have a long history of use as a blister-agent in warfare and along with organoarsenic compounds are the most well-studied of such agents. Sulfur mustard was originally assigned the name LOST, after the scientists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopf, who developed a method of large-scale production for the Imperial German Army in 1916.
The beer seen at (29:22) is named HYOGO. This is a nod to Awaji Beer, based in Hyogo, Japan.