Sunday night I caught a few minutes of the CBS TV movie Hitler: The Rise of Evil, only to turn it off because I'm not big on Hollywood portrayals of real events. And seeing a German dictator scream English to a German audience seemed kinda hokey.
A couple of Texas affiliates refused to air the mini-series, which concludes Tuesday night, because they did not want to provide a venue for Nazism. No word on if they think the History Channel should be taken off the air.
To me, Hitler is the most compelling figure ever. The mere sight of him frightens me. Literally freezes my gaze and I can't believe a man so inhuman existed during the lifetimes of my parents. I can't believe Eva Braun fucked this guy. This greasy, rat-like, Jew-exterminating, rabble-rousing villain. Nice choice of boyfriend, Eva Braun. You dirty skank.
One of the most powerful paragraphs I've ever read is the lead in TIME's 1938 Man of the Year article on Adolf Hitler. The January 2, 1939 article begins as such:
Greatest single news event of 1938 took place on September 29, when four statesmen met at the Fuhrerhaus, in Munich, to redraw the map of Europe. The three visiting statesmen at that historic conference were Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain, Premier Edouard Daladier of France, and Dictator Benito Mussolini of Italy. But by all odds the dominating figure at Munich was the German host, Adolf Hitler.
That was before all hell broke loose. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 and 70 nations would soon be engaged in a war that would claim the lives of tens of millions of people (the equivalent of roughly 20,000 9/11s) in six years. (See deaths by country.)
No one wants any part of the guy. You don't meet many Adolfs these days. Amazingly, there are some Americans named Hitler. (One in Brooklyn!)
The short mustache hasn't come back into fashion. George W. Bush compared Saddam Hussein to Hitler, and Saddam returned the favor.
When Saddam Hussein uses you as a metaphor for evil, you're not likely to win many popularity contests.
Links:
Hitler Bio — From his early years to his rise to power and role in World War II
Hitler Items on eBay — Over 1,200 related items are listed on the world's most popular auction site. Most items are probably bought by World War II buffs. Others, of course, purchased by Nazi sympathizers and white supremacists. And they all come together on this here Internet.
Getting to Know the Hitlers — Catching up with the Fuhrer's relatives on Long Island.
Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler — Read it free here, or buy it for $20 on Amazon.com. One user review on Amazon says, "This book is great!"
TIME 100: Adolf Hitler — Elie Wiesel's profile in TIME's 20th century special. Includes embedded audio of Hitler that scares the living crap out of me every time I visit this page.
Hitler's purported purpose in establishing the Nazi party was noble (i.e. to bring prosperity back to a war-torn and depressed German economy). The people were ripe for a change from free market to socialism. Hitler was the chosen spokesperson and he used his status and his sheer physical dynamic personality to foist upon his party what he considered to be at the root of the state of affairs in Germany in the late '20s, early 30's; the Jews.
He was a mean, evil and twisted man who turned what, by all accounts, was a noble enterprise to rid his country of economic diaster into the most ravaging war of our time, WWII.
He is interesting as an historical figure, but it turns my blood cold as I think of him and others such as Stalin, Mussolini, Saadam, Pol Pott, Idi Amin and countless others.
Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat.
Posted by JC at May 19, 2003 2:21 PM