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Post by kapitanprien on Nov 16, 2010 15:47:05 GMT -5
I'd like to throw this question out because it apparently means different things to different people.
The definition of a 'Nazi' as used here - what does that mean?
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Post by sweetlunapie on Nov 16, 2010 15:54:52 GMT -5
I feel that it is two things: 1. Someone who has an official title within the Nazi party, like Gestapo, Death's Head, etc. 2. Someone who is an active supporter of the political movement (like a Democrat or Republican).
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Post by kapitanprien on Nov 16, 2010 16:02:39 GMT -5
Ah ok thanks - well I certainly wasn't the first...and I certainly can't say I was an 'active supporter'. I had belonged to the party due to the economic situation - I joined in 1932, and was obliged to revoke the membership once I joined the Navy (which I had no problem in doing).
So I had only belonged for - at most a year, at the least a few months.
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Post by sweetlunapie on Nov 16, 2010 16:08:20 GMT -5
You are welcome! It is really unfair to slap the Nazi label on German military members...from what I know, there were many members who did not buy Hitler's ideas.
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Post by kapitanprien on Nov 16, 2010 16:15:17 GMT -5
Oh yeah - it is really unfair...believe me I've dealt with it. In my U-Boat site I even devoted a page to the subject...because many authors label me as a 'fanatical Nazi'... One man that comes to mind to me is Teddy Suhren (U-Boat commander)...he was notoriously anti-Nazi. ;D
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Post by euskanoravian on Nov 16, 2010 16:30:23 GMT -5
I was a Nazi in my previous life only because I joined the party. Whatever they did, I followed. I was not allowed to express how I really felt as I was not really antisemitic, until I could not take it anymore. When I expressed my disgust towards the Fuhrer, and the fact I held nothing against Jews- I was shot. Therefore, I was only a Nazi to stay alive, for as long as i did.
Blessed Be, Andi
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Post by kapitanprien on Nov 16, 2010 16:34:30 GMT -5
Ah ok - Thanks Andi. I think that's a big 'issue' - that of survival. I joined due to the economic situation (I couldn't get a job despite having a 'captain's ticket')...so 'survival'.
I wonder - taken the 'Survival Factor' into account - how many were 'true' Nazis.
One could have have been a member and not have political leanings with it - or, on the flipside, not be a member but be a 'fanatical Nazi'.
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Post by sweetlunapie on Nov 16, 2010 16:41:19 GMT -5
A "fanatical Nazi?" Whatever...you know what it is you were and that's all that matters.
Survival is a very significant instinct...we would probably do a lot for survival, including joining that party.
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Post by kapitanprien on Nov 16, 2010 16:47:34 GMT -5
SweetLunaPie: you know what it is you were and that's all that matters.
Well said!
I agree - just look at what we have here in the U.S. regarding the economy...now it doesn't take too much of an imagination in a sense to understand why things happened in Germany the way they did...with Hitler coming into power.
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Post by sweetlunapie on Nov 16, 2010 17:09:25 GMT -5
That is an excellent point to outline! I say that this place is like Germany in the 1930s a lot!
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Post by msmir on Nov 16, 2010 17:17:01 GMT -5
That is truly scary when you think about it.. when you are comparing how things are now to Nazi Germany... scary thing is, it's not far off from that
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Post by kapitanprien on Nov 16, 2010 17:26:50 GMT -5
Exactly...I didn't think about it more until more recently. I had read a book a few months ago called, 'Before the Deluge' by Otto Friedrich, and I really recommend it. It's about Weimar Berlin - but it has first hand accounts and talks about the political chaos and the economic instability. It's an easy read - not complicated at all.
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Post by msmir on Nov 16, 2010 17:28:33 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestion!! I will check that out as I am due to get more reading material.... but yeah its a frightening reality right now
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Post by kapitanprien on Nov 16, 2010 17:30:59 GMT -5
Yep - the hyperinflation, rising costs in food, clothing, etc. To help save money - you can do a price comparison at: www.allbookstores.com/
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Post by msmir on Nov 16, 2010 17:34:18 GMT -5
Thanks I will check that out, and yeah the gas prices have been.... like wtf??
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