-Semi-Godwin-
This is one of the - fairly horrible - realizations I've had during the past year: I would've been a good Nazi, given the right circumstances. Those guys had a sufficiently consistent system, they were new and exciting, they had - as horrible as it may soundknowing what they did - a vision they followed... It certainly could've appealed to me, and I would've done terrible things in the name of that ideology.
The same thing goes for Communism and all its associated atrocities: Of course the kulaks must die! They oppress the workers! Of course we must kill the bourgeoisie! It is an inevitable step towards true Socialism!
Realizations like this one are especially chilling when you realize that pre-Nazi Germany was one of the least anti-Semetic countries in Europe, and the relatively large Jewish population was there because it was one of the safest places to be a Jew. The hatred that led to the Final Solution, at least on the part of the masses, was manufactured. These are rather scary things to think about.
If you want a really frightening look into the mindsets on-the-ground (so to speak), there's a
fairly recent book that does the trick nicely. One thing in particular that I remember blowing my mind when I first read it was the interpretation of the arm-raised heil salute being intended to encroach upon and lay claim to physical space in a subtle, everyday way, a microcosmic reflection of broader Nazi policy.
While I'm on the subject of recommendations, if you want something
really fucking depressing to peruse....
Here ya go. Happy reading.
Author
Topic: Things that made you go "WTF?" today o_O (Read 14575426 times)