Hitler’s Birthday

Am I the only one who woke up this morning and thought, “Oh, it’s Adolf Hitler’s 117th birthday!” Well, me and the neo-Nazis who have been looking forward to this day all year. The only thing to celebrate on Hitler’s birthday, of course, is the fact that he’s been dead for 61 of the past 117 years.

I thought when my job ended last month that I’d suddenly have all the time in the world to write in my blog. That hasn’t happened yet and I’ve been watching with some narcissistic alarm as my stats and comments take a nosedive. What better way to bring back my readers than by writing a happy-go-lucky post about everybody’s favorite subject: Adolf Hitler! Oy, stop me. And in some kind of déjà vu scenario, I’m once again sitting on La Brea watching the Chasidic families walk by in large numbers (it's the last day of Passover) while pictures of Hitler are visible on my computer screen. And I wonder why my numbers are down? I’ve always been fascinated by the hoopla surrounding Hitler’s birthday, both the massive celebrations that took place when he was alive and the way the anniversary of his birth has been violently commemorated by right-wing hate groups and other dangerous lunatics (Oklahoma City, Columbine).

Every year at this time, the Anti-Defamation League notes a sharp increase in the activities of white supremacist groups, neo-Nazis, and anti-government extremists (it’s also the anniversary of the Branch Davidian standoff). I admire the work of the ADL but don’t know if I’d have the stomach to expose myself to the vile propaganda constantly being put out by such organizations. Here’s a brief sampling of the activities planned for Adolf’s special day:

—The National Alliance, a West Virginia-based organization that has local units across the country, is encouraging its members and supporters to distribute copies of an anti-Semitic flier with the headline “Support Our Troops.” The flier demands that the United States government bring home all of the troops in Iraq and station them on the Mexican border to keep Third World immigrants out of the country.  The flier blames “powerful Jewish lobbyists and advisors” for creating the war in Iraq as a way of protecting Israel.

—The National Knights of the KKK will celebrate the birthdays of both Hitler and Klan leader Ray Larsen with an event in Osceola, Indiana.

—The Northern Hammerskins will hold its annual hate music concert in Detroit, dubbed the “6th Annual Adolf Hitler Birthday Bash.”

Even taking a tiny dip into this world makes me want to take a shower and erase my computer cache. The saddest part to me is how the people involved in these groups are training their own children to hate, one of the worst forms of child abuse that I can think of.

Okay, I’ve already talked about this more than I planned to. Do I have a blog death wish? Am I trying to drive people away? Oh well, as long as I'm on the subject, did you read Robert Harris’ excellent book “Fatherland” that supposes a world in which Germany did not lose the war? In the book Germany is preparing for the Fuhrer’s 75th birthday gala in 1964 as well as a state visit from U.S. President Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

During Hitler’s actual reign, from 1933 to 1945, the German Ministries issued elaborate guidelines for the April 20th celebrations of Hitler’s birthday. Has there ever been a more organized group than the Nazis? They should have all been wedding planners. Here is a sampling of the strict recommendations:

The room in which the ceremony for the Führer's birthday is held must be carefully prepared. The decorations must be simple, but dignified. If possible, in the center should be a bust of the Führer decorated with flowers and greenery. The size of the bust must correspond to the size of the room.

If no bust of the Führer is available, decorate the room with Swastika flags or through an artistically appropriate eagle  or picture of the Führer. Do not have a lot of symbols!

The spoken texts should be read by selected speakers who are able to read the Führer's affirmations in a dignified and  simple manner, without excessive emotion, genuinely and truly.  No theatrics, but simplicity. If possible, have a good choir or singing group.

If there is a piano and someone who can play it, the music is found and practiced. If there is no instrument, the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls or a school choir rehearse the music. The party leader prepares his speech.

The program is rehearsed several times until everything goes without a hitch.

Even more chilling is a speech I found that was read during one of Hitler’s gala birthday celebrations during the war. I’m NOT calling George W. Bush a Hitler, I’m really not, but I do think it is interesting to read portions of this speech and see how some of the rhetoric fits like a glove with our current administration:

As we celebrate today the birthday of our Führer and bow before the greatness of this man, we have both the right and duty as people who think politically — beyond all cheap outward enthusiasm — to ask what is behind this greatness.

Deceived by liberal superficiality during the bourgeois era, people said that character was molded by the environment. While “well-meaning” bourgeois circles at best were dreaming that one day freedom would once more shine on Germany, the Führer pondered and labored to realize his idea of freedom, which had as its presupposition the mobilization of the German soul. Year in, year out, first unnoticed, then piled high with suspicion, envy, and ridicule, the Führer wandered through Germany and woke the best of the nation, leading them to self-awareness, forcing them under his prophetic will.

History teaches that great revolutionary brilliant ideas always encounter the fierce hatred of the world, and that no one has come to lead a nation who is not threatened with war by all the  old forces.

With enormous determination and clear knowledge of the way things were, the Führer proceeded to rearm Germany and make it strong. The enemy no longer had the freedom to dream of an attack on the German people.

There were some who, seeing the gathering thunderclouds around Germany, nervously asked what fate had in store should war break  out. We National Socialists who saw the Führer as a unique historic personality who took into account all conceivable possibilities were and remain full of confidence. As the enemy forces began the war, the Führer proved that he had the answer to the frequently discussed question of who should have the final say during war, the politician or the general. There was no division between politician and general: the Führer possessed both gifts!

We have not asked how long the war will last nor which tasks lie before us. After each victorious battle we have tightened our helmets and waited for the Führer's next orders.

Do you think Karl Rove read this speech?

Comments

[Elaine Soloway]

Okay. I'm fully awake now. Your post -- which I read with my first morning coffee -- is chilling. But, not to worry Danny, you haven't lost this Chicago fan. It will take more than Hitler, Bush and his buddies, and other disturbing subjects, to shake me from your blog.

[Tamar]

I can't believe that I read this post from beginning to end. Fascinating. And so important to remember. I do wonder about you though, Danny. I mean, who on earth wakes up in the morning remembering that it is Hitler's birthday?

Hm ... actually, come to think of it, I do know someone other than you ...

In fact, I learned a lot from this even though it clearly has affected the taste of my early morning coffee.
Great post, Danny!

[Bob Civin]

Your Hitler-Birthday comments are, by and large, of the high caliber I've come to expect from you.

However, I think your comparison of George W.Bush's hypothetical comments (via Mr. Rove) stretches a point. I'm not even remotely a Dubya fan. Nonetheless, to compare his imagined remarks to Hitler's utterances trivializes the latter.

Bob Civin

[Danny]

Bob, I know I shouldn't have even mentioned Bush in this post since the last thing I want to do is engage in that kind of hysterical comparison which I agree is inappropriate and trivializing. However, when I read that speech I couldn't help but notice that the rhetoric used to describe Hitler's role during the war had some interesting parallels to some of the statements used in reference to Bush's war-time actions and I simply couldn't resist commenting on that. I do realize that no matter what I say, invoking Bush and Rove's names in this post is quite incendiary.

(But, hey, at least I got your attention enough to comment! Are you the Bob Civin who was involved in the Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964?)

[Rurality]

I was too blown away by the vastness of my previous ignorance of the other big meaning of 420 to think about Hitler.

My husband says I'm falling down on my job of keeping up with the youth culture!

[Bob Civin]

Danny, you're one of a handful of bloggers who always have my attention.

You ask if I'm the Bob Civin who participated in the Mississippi Freedom Summer in '64. I sure am. It's one of the few things I've done that I'm proud of.

How in the world do you know? I didn't make any headlines.

Bob Civin

[David]

Sadly, and not coincidentally, 4/20 also is the anniversary of the Columbine massacre, which took place in 1999. There will always be hate-filled individuals who make big grandiose plans for this day.

Great post, Danny.

[Neil]

Danny, Danny... I think you misread my last comment on your previous post. I said after Moses and Jesus, it was a good time to write a post about Buddha...

[rankin' rob]

My first dip into your site. I was acutely aware of April 20, and gave a sigh of relief that nothing truly awful was perpetrated. Though apparently there were some high school kids that planned to shoot up their school this week, but one put the kibosh on by posting their plans on MySpace.

Nazi parallels with current America won't hold. We are too fragmented and self-centered to follow leadership to that degree. I think Ancient Rome is far more apt.

[AMG]

Wait, I'll say it. Bush is Hitler. Wait, no, Rove is Hitler. No, that doesn't make any sense. The current administration is made up of Nazis. There, better.

(kidding, please don't hurt me)

[Vicki Forman]

I agree that the rhetoric is alarmingly similar. Comparisons are justified because they wake people up and create a dialogue.

[stïne]

About the post about Hitlers birthday:

Thank you for some very good reading. I'm studying the subject of genocide at the University in Oslo, Norway, and I must say that I'm very happy for even the slightest interest and awareness of the important subject you're somewhat sketching. Besides that, you write in a good way.

I hope the world never forgets Holocaust.

Best regards,
Stine

[Paul Reinert]

I was born in Cologne/Germany in 1927, grew up in Germany before my family left in 1949 to come to the States. I was forced into the Hitler Youth at age 10 fought and killed inthe final battles in Berlin in 1945 where I lost my right eye and arm at age 17.
There is no comparison between Nazis and our current administration. For all the terrible deeds the Nazis did to the Germans and to many others, including the Holocaust, they did not ever try to destroy their own middleclass and allow only classless, uneducated people with no heritage or culture to enter the land. Only CAPITALISTS of the worst kind try to dumb out the population to better control their consumer habits. The middle class is a threat to a capitalist. This country is loosing its identity not due to Nazis running it, but due to uncontrolled and encouraged capitalism of the worst kind. Individuals mean nothing, culture and education means nothing, lip service to humanitarian projects, healthcare, dignity is practiced religiously. Profit, Profit over everything else. The term CAPITALIST is an insult to any true Nazi. Nationalistic thinking is outdated. The world has moved on. Nazis are irrelevant. Racism is irrelevant. Creating a better world should be all of our endeavors. And that would mean to get Capitalism under control. Oh, I encourage and believe in entrepreneurship and free markets. When it comes to exploiting the nation, posting profits of billions of Dollars in a quarter of a year, when most people have trouble paying for gas, allowing Mexican trucks to do business in the US putting US companies out of business, hiring illegal alien labor to undercut wages, moving corporate headquarters of government contractors into foreign countries for tax saving reasons, checking 'Grandma' at the airport but leaving the border wide open so illegal labor can get in, etc., that is where I draw the line. I thought Bush was a strong President I could believe in. I was wrong. I should have looked at my 80 years of experience with politicians, when they don't kiss babies, they steal their lollipops. Loosers.

[Jay]

Black Power!

[Lonster6]

The Only reference that I have to 4:20 is that it means that its time 2 smoke marijuana. Heh, sorry! Yes, sadly, I am living in Denver, now & am WELL-aware of the implic8ions of Adolf Schikel-
Gruber's (der Fuhrer's REAL name,btw: his Jewish BIRTH name, you see) birthday, because the massacre @ that High School remains fresh in our minds - since the media throw it in our face EVERY spring.
It is also the day that Jerry Garcia, well0-known & celebr8ed guitarist & singer 4 the musical group, 'the Greatful Dead' passed away. Oh well, life goes ON, huh. Shalom

[JJ Cox]

great day 20th april ,its my birthday.