What's our obsession with Nazis?

[Lozzer]

Why is Western culture so obsessed with Nazism? We seem to have this deep rooted love/hate relationship with middle of the 20th century politics, why? From the cinema to literature and to every other part of culture we seem to incorporate the memory of Nazi Germany. We even use Hitler/Nazis in arguments completely irrelevant to the subject of history and yet don't seem to notice the absurdity. It's amazingly persuasive when Hitler is connected with Lindsay Lohan, damn I knew she was evil all along.

Does Nazi Germany really constitute what we believe to be absolute evil? I've always thought there was symmetry between Hitler and the SS and the Christian theological concept of Lucifer and his servants. We seem consider Hitler one of the world's worse villain. He had a commanding personality, rhetoric performed immensely well and an iconic image. He bound uniformity and collectivism through symbolism and mastered all of Germany from behind a podium. He never tread softly but always raged across Europe, and when his army of evil was vanquished and he deposed from his thrown we immortalised his memory forever.

I just characterised Hitler myself, but why do we do it? And why out of all other bad gentleman do we use him as the epitome of evil?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Name a bigger fight.

[devogue]

I think it's the uniforms. It's almost sci-fi - I mean the most evil fuckers in history actually adorned themselves with a skull and crossbones! - they're just so visually fantastic you can't look away. The whole visual aspect and marketing of Nazism was incredible, and I think we still buy it - we are like moths round the flames of our own worst nightmares.

It's like the World Trade Center - what happened was so horrific but so beautiful you can't help but watch it open mouthed. I think some artist got panned at the time for saying as much, but he was right.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I think it's the uniforms. It's almost sci-fi - I mean the most evil fuckers in history actually adorned themselves with a skull and crossbones! - they're just so visually fantastic you can't look away. The whole visual aspect and marketing of Nazism was incredible, and I think we still buy it - we are like moths round the flames of our own worst nightmares.

It's like the World Trade Center - what happened was so horrific but so beautiful you can't help but watch it open mouthed. I think some artist got panned at the time for saying as much, but he was right.

[devogue]

The homo-eroticism...it burns...

[klr]

I think it's the uniforms. It's almost sci-fi - I mean the most evil fuckers in history actually adorned themselves with a skull and crossbones! - they're just so visually fantastic you can't look away. The whole visual aspect and marketing of Nazism was incredible, and I think we still buy it - we are like moths round the flames of our own worst nightmares.

It's like the World Trade Center - what happened was so horrific but so beautiful you can't help but watch it open mouthed. I think some artist got panned at the time for saying as much, but he was right.

"I'm a doctor, dammit, not a gruppenführer!"

If you've read your history then you'll know there are any number of other crackpots and megalomaniacs. Why does Hitler take centre stage in Western conciousness? He was in the right place at the right time, just in all the worst ways.

[Animavore]

[Rum]

Somewhere between 50 and 70 million people died as a result of a war started by the Nazis. The worst ever war in history, started by irrational, bigoted, ignorant, savage and murderous thugs.

Everything since, until just possibly very recently comes from all of that.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Anybody else get mixed signals from this?

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

[Ayaan]

I think it's the uniforms. It's almost sci-fi - I mean the most evil fuckers in history actually adorned themselves with a skull and crossbones! - they're just so visually fantastic you can't look away. The whole visual aspect and marketing of Nazism was incredible, and I think we still buy it - we are like moths round the flames of our own worst nightmares.

I think you are right. They made such excellent use of spectacle and drama, art and music, blending such noble and ignoble impulses, and in the end brought about so much horror and suffering - we can't look away.

It's like the World Trade Center - what happened was so horrific but so beautiful you can't help but watch it open mouthed. I think some artist got panned at the time for saying as much, but he was right.

A dreadful beauty, rather like an atomic mushroom cloud. You know they are both horrific, but there is also something there beyond the horror, a brief moment of beauty before the devastation is revealed.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

It's like the World Trade Center - what happened was so horrific but so beautiful you can't help but watch it open mouthed. I think some artist got panned at the time for saying as much, but he was right.

A dreadful beauty, rather like an atomic mushroom cloud. You know they are both horrific, but there is also something there beyond the horror, a brief moment of beauty before the devastation is revealed.

I was hoping "accident' when the first tower was hit. When the second one hit I turned around and said, "Where were you the day the war started." Most of the people there said we weren't going to get into any war over that. I think some of them are still mad at me.

[devogue]

It's like the World Trade Center - what happened was so horrific but so beautiful you can't help but watch it open mouthed. I think some artist got panned at the time for saying as much, but he was right.

A dreadful beauty, rather like an atomic mushroom cloud. You know they are both horrific, but there is also something there beyond the horror, a brief moment of beauty before the devastation is revealed.

I was hoping "accident' when the first tower was hit. When the second one hit I turned around and said, "Where were you the day the war started." Most of the people there said we weren't going to get into any war over that. I think some of them are still mad at me.

You mean you didn't miss it because you were posting on some primitive forum?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You mean you didn't miss it because you were posting on some primitive forum?

I was at work that day, helping get a new computer system up to speed at Purdue. My office was the only one with a TV (I had it because the former occupant was on an extended trip.)

[AshtonBlack]

Since this is Serious shit thread, shall we split off the WTC derail?

Back to Nazis.

The aspects of their "War Fighting" rather than their genocidal fuckheadedness have some things to be admired. They were very good, initially, at "war". They got swamped by numbers and some major sacrifices by the allies. (thankfully.) It most certainly is worth studying and learning from, as all major superpowers did.

[FedUpWithFaith]

Apparently the Nazis weren't the only ones with an infatuation for skull insignia:



These are only some of all the ones the US has used. They seem to be favored by special and elite forces and were particularly popular during Vietnam. Hmmm...