by Lord Ghidorah » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:10 am
That was a nice post, August. I have to disagree with the blanket statement re: Kriegsmarine und Luftwaffe, though. Some members did join the Nazi party, although many more did not.
Those who are perhaps less experienced/well-read need to keep in mind that it's difficult to make a modern society truly homogenous. There are simply too many people. Why does one think there is need for secret police and terror aparatus? Fear keeps people in line just as effectively as loyalty, in most cases, and fear is easier for some people to generate. Thus, it is quite possible - historically proven, in fact - for there to be a vocal and violent minority in charge of a nation. The average people just want to get their paychecks, have enough to eat, and not have to worry about being killed by either their own jackbooted thugs or the foreign "good guys" dropping incendiaries on their houses.
That said, assuming that a "war" film made in a former Axis country must be sympathetic to the old regime is simply pathetic. For example: German model makers cannot even include swastikas with their decal sheets, yet there are people in the U.S. who assume that Nazi is an actual nationality and is interchangeable with German. I work alongside a woman who refuses to buy a Glock pistol because "I don't want to support a country that's killing Jews."
Does anyone else listen to Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" and think of "Save the Earth?"