Who all here on this forum, are nazis???

[C.Evans]

Well, if you have the slightest interest in ww2, you are considered a nazi. If you own anything made in Germany from 1918-1945, you are a nazi. If you have ever read a book on ww2 that mentions germany-you are a nazi If you have ever seen a documentary on tv, you are a nazi If you know any person that is German or of German descent, you are a nazi If you can speak even ONE word in German, you are a nazi See how stupid this can get???????

I would like any opinions on this please--all opinions will be respected.

[Marcus Wendel]

Carl,

I agree with you that today any expressed interest in the Third Reich, that is not completly focused on the Holocaust, will get you labeled as a nazi.
The very idea to express an opinion such as that the ordinary German soldier was no worse than the allies, virtually guarentees you nazi label.

If you create a website on WW2 Germany (the same no doubt goes for those who write books on the subject) and not constantly refer to Germans as "evil nazis" (or something similar) you will be labeled a nazi.

There is however another side to this issue. The real neonazis will also think that you are a nazi if the above applies to you.
So if you try to take an objective look on the Third Reich you will be hated by the nazis for not denying the dark side and by most others for not labeling the Germans as evil.
You basically cannot win.

/Marcus

[Erich]

Guys :

So why even try right ? Dang, we will always have those that will chastize us not matter what when we mention that we are even remotely interested in Germany during WW 2. All I can say is ignore these people and forget them. I've had similiar expereinces dealing with some US vets even at my own Sturmgruppen 1944 missions web-site until they really understand what I am trying to do.........report history as it actually was from both sides, then these guys open their eyes and ask how they can help. Fortuantely it has only happened very few times. people are opinionated, and you can't get away from it, if you are just plain interested, a historian, or a modeller........on it goes !

E.

[Killjoy]

I've never had it get quite so far out of hand as to be labelled a nazi...
I've gotten something more along the lines of...
"You're too fascinated with death & destruction, etc, etc, etc..."
I can see how the 'ignorant masses' out there might see an apparentfascination with onlythe Third Reich as some manner of tacit support of nazi ideas... ...but this is merely attempting to see the case thru the eyes of those ignorant of historical facts - and lots of people are!
As difficult as it may be to rebuke these persons gently, it seems that that is one almost certain method of quieting them down.
I've found that when the yadda-yadda-yadda starts, if you quickly respond with a list of reasons for WW2's significance vis-a-vis securing the blessings of freedom/the sacrifices of the combatants against nazism/technological & cultural influences on life & society/etc, people usually are so awed by the stuff they never knew that they at the very least realize you aren't just some nut who wishes he could have suited up in a uniform and blown people away...
The Knowledge of the Reich is a bit harder to make appear benign in peoples' eyes.
I guess that from the scraps of history most know, they feel there is no reason to so much as wish to recall this 'evil' epoch.
I know of no sure-fire 'defense' of one's interest, but usually point out the flaws in the system of nazi govt, and agree wholeheartedly that they were evil (which I believe). Sometimes I point out that, if history contains incidences of extreme horror as well as charity, heroism or grandeur, then to examine the chronicles of the horrors is merely reminding that human beings are, if they are not vigilant against their darker impulses, merely capable of deeds ranging thru-out the spectrum of possibilities.

[C.Evans]

Thank you all for your remarks, and I am in total agreement with you all.

I recently was in Barnes and Noble bookstore. A red-headed female clerk came up to me and asked why I had an armload of books on Nazis and ww2. Before I could reply, she said: "Your not a Nazi, are you?" I was a bit peeved and embarassed because several patrons overheard what she said and were staring. What I said was: "Yes, I am a card carrying Nazi". I then proceeded to pull out my wallet (everyone was still watching) and I pulled out just any ol business card I had, and showed it to the lady. When everyone saw that it was a business Card to an auto parts store-they all laughed.

That tought that lady a lesson-not to mess with me and my interests. Luckily, since I know so many vets from both sides of the battlelines-who also know the work I am doing, they all applaud me for my interests and my hard work.

Currently I am attempting to get some Medal of Honor Recipients and some Knights Cross Recipients, to be in contact with eachother. I hope it happens-this will be THE first time that this has ever happened between these two groups of great men.

[Gibson]

Hows your work in getting the two groups in contact going Carl? Id really like to hear how it goes, keep us informed!

[Ron]

Hey Carl,
I have a book on all the Medal of Honor recipients. Plus it gives some of their stories. I could let you know the name of the book...or if you like i could give you all the names/info.

[C.Evans]

Dear Gibson and Ron:

As far as getting the Medal of Honor and Knights Cross vets together, will take some doing. I had four letters that I sent to the MoH Society HQ, that were supposed to be forward to MoH Recipients: Walter D. Ehlers, Mitchell Paige (I know, he was in the CBI) Francis Currey, and Desmont T. Doss (CBI also). I am pretty confident that once I am able to establish writing directly to them, that I believe some of them will like the idea. The one who is stopping the direct contatc, it the person in charge at the MoH Societies HQ, not the actual vets.

The OdR (KC vets org) had already tried several times in the past, but--again, the person in charge at the society HQ, is blocking it and that should NOT be his decision to make-it should be the vets decision alone.

I am hoping to get letters from some of them soon, so I can forward these to Herr Heinze (one of three of the KC vets who run the Gemeinschaft) I already know that they are all for it and have their blessings.

For Ron, I really appreciate the offer, but I do have access to the sites with their info, but if you did have some direct contact addresses, definately could use them, it would make it easire to be in tough with them.

I will keep you all posted when I find anything out. This is a very big thing in the works, and will make the news.

[Erich]

Carl :

Are you writing the OdR representative in Deutsch ? You may get a much faster response...... I am in process of writing RK winner from Panzerjäger Abt. 1, Walter Kühn. I'll let you know how that goes. He has at least 7 Russian tanks to his credit.

E

[panzergrenadiere]

I thought I was like the only person in the world who had to deal with people always thinking that I'm a nazi because I always read books, watch shows, or anything else that has to do with world war two. A weird happened to me once, I'm in high school and I had to shave my head for the swim team and a couple of days after that I was reading mein Kampf because my mom got me it for christmas. I looked in a mirror and what I shocked because I looked like a skin head and I had a book Hitler wrote. So I quit bringing books to school because it would be real hard to argue that I'm not a nazi when I looked like a skin head.

[C.Evans]

dear Erich, nah, they sprechen sie English. please let me know how you fare with Kuhn, and as a special flag here. If you want to write to Wolfgang Falck, please do so, as he is well over 90, but is still doing well.

Panzergrenadier: Yep I always got teased. My nicknames were: Sgt Rock, tank Patton and General Rommel

I didnt mind those though.

[Erich]

Carl :

I've written Wolfgang several times concerning our book. He is doing well to a point. Jerry Crandall and Eagle-Editions are doing his biography over the next year.

E

[C.Evans]

Dear Erich, AH, Das ist gute, alle ist gute. I also hear he has a great sense of humor too. [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

Oh, by the way, I just got in 4 nice uft photos today and two of them are Heinrich hoffmann photos. Email me your address if you want a copy, and I would like to send a copy to you, cause I need a bomber identified. This one shows a crew hoisting some schnapps and some dude holding up a sigh spouting something about 1,000 feindflug im Osten. The top says what looks like: Herzlichen Gudewunach? I cant quite make it out.

[Abd al Aziz]

My grandfather was Nazi SS, which has respectively caused me to be labeled as a Nazi. The typecasting people place on modern Germany is pathetic.

I know many Germans, both at home and in Germany, all I know are kind and good people.

Russians on the other hand.....

[Smoke286]

So I'm a nazi? who'd a thunk it, an Irish/Newfoundland/Canadian, thats stretching the old aryan gene a little far methinks

[C.Evans]

Hello Abd al Aziz: Thants fantastic! he was in the SS Arabian Legion. I have a book with several photos of these men in training. Perhaps one was your Opa?

I totally agree with you. I too know and are very close friends with many ww2 German vets. One of my best friends was an Knights Cross Recipient and SS Unterscharfuhrer in SS Sturmbrigade Langemarck--Herrn Remy Schrijnen.

I have a list published on this site in the vets section that lists about 500 addresses of these men if you have an interest in writing to them, just let me know and I will tell you how to access their addresses.

I also have an opinion on the Russians I have met and overall, I did like them. My friend Nika, who I met in Dingelsdorf, was from St. Petersburg, USSR, and she was very nice and talented. While we both were at Frau Lanasches Gasthaus, we often dined together and discussed the war. Nika, is a well-enlighted former Soviet citizen, and was a very bright person open to the facts, and not closed-minded because of any propaganda that was or might have been forced into their learning.

Another Russian I am very fond of was this gal I met in Konstanz (just a few miles down the road from Dingelsdorf) and she was very beautiful. I loved talking with her (among other things) and she was very bright and a level-headed person on world affairs.

Then there was Georg Kessler, ww2 Russian vet from the Ukraine, now long-time resident of CC,Tx. This guy was cool, but was a real character. Unfortunately, he still believed too much in stalin, but was learning to think different.

If you can tell us anything about your opas service in the Waffen SS, we would love to hear it. Either here or in the topic I started called: What did you do in the war? Daddy would be great.

If he is still living, please give him my best regards.

[Madcap7]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Killjoy:
I can see how the 'ignorant masses' out there might see an apparentfascination with onlythe Third Reich as some manner of tacit support of nazi ideas... ...but this is merely attempting to see the case thru the eyes of those ignorant of historical facts - and lots of people are!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think the 'ignorant masses' who have no interest in history/ WWII history/ Third Reich history have only heard about the bad things that occured during that time ie holocaust, concentration camps etc etc and are totally oblivious to the fact that both sides commited atrocities, that both sides had good and bad people etc. What people hear about Germany during the world War II era is all bad so they assume that everyone in Germany was bad etc. It is up to us to educate them, to dispell the false truths about what happened, to open their eyes to the truths, we are the informed and we must inform the un-informed.

[C.Evans]

Great posting and correctamundo.

Case in point: I was at a restaurant about a week ago reading Siegfried Knapps book: "Soldat" when the waitress came up to me and showed her lack of knowledge about Germans and Germany.

She goes: Oh my gosh, your reading a book about the NAZIS.

I said, no maam, im reading the autobio of a man who served in the German army in ww2, and who had a great service record, had been wounded several times, never fired a shot at anyone, served on the General Staff, and was captured and imprisoned by the Russians for 5 years. This man was NOT a nazi.

The waitress said: But he is a German, and arent ALL Germans nazis?

I laughed and said not only no, but heck no. I then asked her if she was a Republican or a Democrat, and she said Democrat. I said, well just because you are an American does that mean you are automatically a Republican?

She laughed and said: I got your point. Then asking: Well just how many Germans were nazis then?

I said, in reality maybe 4 million, and most were civilains. 4 million out of 80 million German population, and few Austrians out of their total population figures, were nazis.

Needless to say, I went back there to eat lunce a few days ago, and I saw that waitress again.

She came up to me, and said she bought a copy of Soldat, and was reading it. I said wellll great, and I dont think she thought I believed her. So she went behind the check out counter and reached in her purse, and lo and behold, she pulled out a copy of: Soldat.

She smiled and said she liked the book and wanted more, so I suggested a few other titles to get her started.

Score one for us eh?

[Stefan]

I see what you all mean, I was known at school as a bit of a history/ww2 nut so most people reguarded me with a little aprehension but due to the large number of jewish friends I have they didnt openly call me a Nazy, until it came out that I did german re-enactment with the Waffen SS. I am not sure how they found out (believe me, I only told my 2 closest mates at school and it wasnt one of them) but on the last day of term this kid came up to me (he was Jewish) and said 'you f****** German Nazi' he then proceeded to insult me and then finaly started insulting my family. I put up with so much but when he insulted my Grandfather (saying something about him being in the Nazi party and having connections with Hitler) I smacked him one in the face (I wont go into details) but then I said 'My grandfather fought for 3 years for dumb ***** like you, my great grandfather was Jewish, DONT CALL ME A NAZI!' and walked off. Aparently he was more than a little shocked.

I suppose I am lucky in that that was the only time I have ever been seriously accused of Nazism. Oh well, 'will ignorant joe public ever learn?' as a mate of mine put it...

[C.Evans]

Good show and great post. Sooner or later, closed-minded folks will start to look at reality.

In truth, had I been in your position, I might have paved the sidewalk with his face too

[Kai-Petri]

Sooner or later, closed-minded folks will start to look at reality

Let´s hope so?! The same persons would call you a communist if you read on Stalin or Che Guevara...It´s the same to many, a communist or a nazi, you are damned anyway...



The good thing is that next weekend there´s the yearly meeting of the Finnish Waffen-SS men and I´m going to be there, too!



Finnish volunteers march past Wiking commander Felix Steiner in Ruhpolding,
23.5.1943, before leaving back for home in Finnland. Both Steiner and the Finnish legion left Wiking in 1943.