Tag: the SS

2,157 words

They never stopped marching, as I like to say. Hardly were German soldiers out of uniform in 1945 than they were marching again — only this time across cinema screens. It certainly cannot be claimed that German post-war film productions did not deal with recent history. The Trümmerfilme, or “rubble films,” a (thankfully!) short-lived genre that I personally admire very much, tell raw stories of their time amidst real ruins and real losses. In 1955 the first of many film adaptations about the July 20 plot, aka the Stauffenberg plot, premiered; at the time it was still a topic of some debate in Germany. (more…)

Yaroslav Hunka at the Canadian House of Commons.

3,465 words

Part 1 of 2 (Part 2 here)

On September 22 of this year, the speaker of the Canadian House of Commons agreed to bring a special guest to the Parliament of Canada. That special guest was a 98-year-old Second World War veteran named Yaroslav Hunka. (more…)

5,476 words

I have been watching 1970s Nazisploitation movies lately. This started when, on a whim, I thought it would be funny to write a review of Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, which is one of those movies that everyone has heard of — because, credit where it’s due, it is one hell of a name — but which very few people have ever actually seen. Nonetheless, you still hear people drop the name as a punchline all the time. If some conservative bimbo offers a milquetoast take that is mildly critical of Black Lives Matter, someone will inevitably say, “Who does she think she is, Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS?” So I thought I’d watch it just to know where the joke came from. (more…)

Jewish refugees leaving the Third Reich.

6,951 words

Heinz Hermann Weichardt was born to a German father and a Jewish mother and spent his young adulthood in the Third Reich. In in his February 1995 memoir Under Two Flags, he gave a concise but very revealing account of his tribulations as a Mischling in the first degree. (more…)

4,403 words

Mark Mazower
Hitler’s Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe
New York: Penguin, 2008

The image of Nazi Germany as a well-oiled, unconquerable machine is hard to forget, but so many books in recent years have given a more honest evaluation of the Third Reich. Mark Mazower’s 2008 book Hitler’s Empire, while not really breaking any new ground, is a strong compendium of the flaws, inner turmoil, and seething disputes among the Nazi hierarchy over how to run and strengthen their empire. (more…)

3,064 words

Part 2 of 2 (Part 1 here)

Then Stoddard describes the Hitler Youth and related organizations. Although there were some positive aspects to them, they also resulted in some regrettable family conflicts over politics stemming from friction with the churches, which didn’t want youths to be diverted into a secular organization. In that regard, making membership in the youth organizations compulsory was an overreach. (On the other hand, if we had an obligatory youth group like that today, then we wouldn’t have a wigger problem.) (more…)

3,713 words

Trans. anonymous

One of the most interesting, significant and perhaps least known creations of the German National Socialist revolution is the so-called SS corps.  (more…)

2,226 words

1944 is the masterpiece of the small Estonian film industry and will most likely remain so for many years to come. Released in February 2015, it is a story of Estonian men who fought in the battles of World War II that became crucial for their country. Based on the authentic accounts of veterans and filmed with the help of military experts, 1944 can be a good starting point for non-Estonians who want to learn more about the history of Estonia — and perhaps all Baltic countries. (more…)

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“So check it out, and next time you go cruising down the street, take a look around. We are Franklin Franklin.” — Jeff Frankas

After reading Jeff Frankas’ excellent review of Small Apartments[1] I did what I usually do in such circumstances–head over to Amazon to see if there are any used copies in the $0.25 range (my current book budget). Once there, I discovered that it has already been made into a movie, a veritable “underground hit” with big stars like . . . Billy Crystal.  (more…)

Illustration: A propaganda double entendre: Thomas Hart Benton’s “The Year of Peril. Again” (1941)

10,279 words

Translated by R. G. Fowler

Chapter 10 of Souvenirs et réflexions d’une Aryenne (Memories and Reflections of an Aryan Woman)

“The fools scorn Me when I take on human form;
My essence, supreme source of beings, escapes them.”  (more…)

4,563 words

Ed. Arjuna, trans. R. G. Fowler

Translator’s Note:

The French writer Saint-Loup (Marc Augier) embodied the rarest of combinations: excellence in action as well as in reflection. He was a warrior, sportsman, adventurer, and political activist—as well as a novelist, essayist, philosopher, initiate, and myth-maker. (more…)

3,908 words

“We aim above the mark, to hit the mark.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature,”
Essays: Second Series (1844)

Nationalism, as well as racial pride and consciousness, are potentially powerful unifying forces. (more…)