Rise of Nazis
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Nazi/Third Reich terminology in popular culture
See main article, Hitler in popular culture.
The multiple atrocities and racist ideology that the Nazis followed have made them notorious in popular discourse as well as history. The term âNaziâ has become a genericised term of abuse. So have other Third Reich terms like âFĂâĂËhrerâ (often spelled âfuhrerâ or less often, but more correctly, âfuehrerâ in English-speaking countries), âFascistâ, âGestapoâ (short for Geheime Staatspolizei, or Secret State Police in English) or âHitlerâ. The terms are used to describe any people or behaviours that are viewed as thuggish, overly authoritarian, or extremist.
The terms are also used to describe anyone or anything seen as strict or doctrinaire. Phrases like âgrammar naziâ, âFeminaziâ, âOpen Source Naziâ, and âparking [enforcement] nazisâ, are examples of those in use in the USA. These uses are offensive to some, as the controversy in the popular press over the Seinfeld âSoup Naziâ episode indicates, but still the terms are used so frequently as to inspire âGodwins Lawâ.
More innocent terms, like âfashion policeâ, also bear some resemblance to Nazi terminology (Gestapo, Secret State Police) as well as references to Police states in general.
Another similar effect can be observed in the usage of typefaces. Some people strongly associate the blackletter typefaces (e.g. fraktur or schwabacher) with Nazi propaganda (although the typeface is much older, and its usage, ironically, was banned by government order in 1941). A less strong association can be observed with the Futura typeface, which today is sometimes described as âgermanicâ and âmuscularâ.
In popular culture such as films like the Indiana Jones series, Nazis are often considered to be ideal villains whom the heroes can battle without mercy.
Dr. Cube from Kaiju Big Battel is depicted as a Nazi plastic surgeon gone mad.
Video game website IGN declared Nazis to be the most memorable video game villains ever [9].
Nazi locations
Nazism, both before and after World War II, was a quasi-religion to its followers, and like many world religions, Nazism had its own venerated locations or sites, as opposed to Holocaust sites. National socialist Savitri Devi visited many of the Nazi sites during a tour of the sites circa 1953: [22]
Berchtesgaden, home of the Berghof;
Braunau am Inn, birthplace of Adolf Hitler (in Austria);
Feldherrnhalle, site of the failed Munich Putsch;
Leonding, where the parents of Adolf Hitler were buried;
Linz, where Hitler went to school;
Landsberg am Lech, where Hitler was imprisoned;
Nuremberg, site of the enormous Nazi rallies;
Wewelsburg, headquarters of the Schutzstaffel (SS); and
Wunsiedel, burial site of Rudolf Hess.
Devi also visited some sites, not directly connected to Nazism, but perceived to be of spiritual or German-national significance: [22]
Externsteine, pre-Christian mountain-pillar formation; and,
Hermannsdenkmal, statue of Germanys national hero Arminius the Cheruscan.
References and notes
^ a b âNazi Party â EncyclopĂâŠdia Britannicaâ (overview), EncyclopĂâŠdia Britannica, 2006, Britannica.com webpage: Britannica-NaziParty.
^ a b c d e f g âFebruary 24, 1920: Nazi Party Establishedâ (history), Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority, 2004, webpage: YV-Party.
^ a b âAustralian Memories Of The Holocaustâ (history), Glossary, definition of âNaziâ (party), N.S.W. Board of Jewish Education, New South Wales, Australia, webpage: HolocaustComAu-Glossary.
^ a b âThe History Place â Hitler Youthâ (history), The History Place, 1999, webpage: HPlace-HitlerYouth.
^ a b c d âKriegsverbrechen der alliierten SiegermĂâ€chteâ (âwar crimes of allied powersâ), Pit Pietersen, ISBN 3-8334-5045-2, 2006, page 151, webpage: GoogleBooks-Pietersen: describes Hitler as âPropagandachefâ and becoming chairman on July 29, 1921.
^ a b c d e âMAGIC REALISM â A book review by William Mainâ (on Nazi occultism), William Main, Fidelity magazine, South Bend, IN, December 1994, EWTN.com webpage: EWTNcom-Nazi-Occult.
^ âTimebase Multimedia Chronography â Timebase 1912â (events list), R.H. Perez, 2001, Humanitas-International.org webpage: web.
^ âUPDATE: The National Review labels Joschka Fischer as Nazi Propaganda Ministerâ (news), Atlantic Review (online), July 2006, AtlanticReview.org