It's been on my mind to make an informative entry, such as this, for a while now.
Would you prefer to be associated with someone enjoying the latest pointless fad, or would you rather be linked to someone taking a keen interest in important history?
I can answer that, I would prefer the latter, if I'm honest. For the simple reason, the afore mentioned has very little, or no meaning. Readers who know me (well), will know where this is going, that said, let's look a brief summary of my interests:
Witchcraft, dressmaking, surfing, music, nature, creation, architecture, beauty, animals and most things related to WWII - and the smaller years either side.
To me, the above seems perfectly acceptable - does it look okay to you, so far? A lot of people take an interest in history, I'm no different - unless I have no interest beneath the Third Reich. I tend not to hide my interest (my fixation, my obsession - call it what you will) much anymore, for the simple reason, I'm not ashamed. And whilst I'm not ashamed, I'm not exactly pleased or proud of myself for feeling in awe of this whole genre, but to me, it is beautiful. I am not revelling in any misery from the past, by any means. I have said before, to anyone who chose to cross my path concerning this particular interest; those who are/have been offended by anything I have said, contact me, let me know. But the fact remains, I am not trying to intimately offend anyone.
A swastika to some, may be a symbol of terror, whilst to others, it's actually a burning desire of wanting to know, feeling the need to understand the men behind them, as it were. If we're going to be thorough about this, it's worth talking more about the lead-up to my fascination with Nazi's as a whole: respect, beliefs, uniforms, fighting and hard men. I was once quite... Let's say, repulsed by Hitler and his henchmen. Having my grandparents so close to home, talking about WWII was a frequent occurrence in both my household, and my grandparents - from an early age. Of course, being young (I'd say around 10) the one thing I had drummed into me was the cold, hard fact - the Nazi's were evil men. That would be most people's instant thought, when Nazi's are mentioned - surely. As I grew older, being around a lot of WWII related material, I become increasingly intrigued, I had everything I needed to learn all about Nazi Germany - right there! So that is what I did, I decided to find out as much as I could about these men. There were times when I felt guilty for wanting to read about the behaviour of these so-called animals - come to think of it, why would anyone want to learn about these "people"? To me, it was completely alien - "how could anyone behave this way?" - that was probably one of the most frequently asked questions in my mind - at the time; to me, it was unnatural for anyone considered human to behave the way they did. As I matured, this soft hatred I held turned into some sort of... Need. Not blatant disgust, but a need to know about these men - they too were capable of feeling loved, and loving - even feeling hurt. Half human, half machine? Possibly. I am turned on by the uniforms, yes. Most people reading this, if they can say at least one positive thing about the Nazi's - it would be their uniforms. The uniforms aren't a necessary part of my adoration for these men, it was their intentions, their beliefs - their power and their mighty intellect. Since when did it become so wrong to stand up for what you believe in? In my books, this isn't wrong, and as far as I am concerned, it never will be wrong. Which is why I will forever adore what these men did: Fought for their beliefs, respected their leader, and tried to make their land a better place, come hell or high water.
I'm not prepared to talk so openly about my desires and flaunt my deeper thoughts about these men, it's not in my interest - especially in the face of a possibly ignorant audience.
The above was a brief look into how I first come to start learning about the Nazi's, partly through my grandparents, and part of me wanting to find out for myself.
In my school years, as you do, I had an opportunity to continue these learning's, my history teacher was only too willing to provide me with the materials I needed - and of course, we (as a year group) had no option but to endure the happenings of history as a general rule. At this point, my interest wasn't considered strange at all - and given my natural affection for this genre via my grandparents, I suppose it was expected of me to take a keen interest anyway, and that I did.
It doesn't take a genius to realise I'm fascinated by Josef Mengele - "the infamous butcher". You may ask why. To begin with, I was curious - was he a monster? How could anyone considered "human" be so filthy? Why was he such a poor excuse for a man? Scientific research shows that Josef Mengele was perfectly sound-in-mind, and I don't think I ever doubted this. He was a very clever man; a researcher and a scientist. If Dr. Mengele himself became a cold-blooded monster at the height of his Nazi career, he certainly learned at the feet of some of Germanys most diabolical minds. As a student, he attended the lectures of Dr. Ernst Rudin, who posited not only that there were some lives not worth living, but that doctors had a responsibility to destroy such life and remove it from the general population.
The two streams of ambition that had come to define Dr. Mengele’s life, becoming a renowned scientist and a genetic purifier, had found unity within the Nazi movement. He became an official Party member in 1937. In May of 1938 he applied for membership with and was accepted into the Schutzstaffel. This was Hitler's elite corps of race guardians, those who demonstrated both the purist Aryan racial background and adherence to Nazi ideology and practices. By the age of 28, Dr. Mengele had climbed to a place of prominence within the Nazi hierarchy and was positioned to wield great power and influence. In May of 1943, it was then, that Dr. Mengele was assigned to his next "challenge": the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland, and it was over this kingdom which Dr. Mengele sought to preside. Dr. Mengele’s stated mission at Auschwitz was to perform research on human genetics, the goal of Dr. Mengele’s work was to unlock the secrets of genetic engineering, and to devise methods for eradicating inferior gene strands from the human population as a means to creating a Germanic super-race. Dr. Mengele set out to immediately distinguish himself from the other SS doctors at Auschwitz. He already stood apart as the only doctor in the camp to have been decorated for his conduct in battle. He made certain to festoon his impeccable SS uniform with the medals he had been awarded. He often made reference to his experiences on the front, and was obviously very proud and protective of his medals.
I find the above information to be the utmost of respect that any one man could show his country; his task was to cleanse the population, and he was under strict order to do so - and I believe he stood by this order well. I do not feel guilty for looking up to this man and seeing nothing but perfection. He demonstrated a carefree, charming side which he used to disarm both colleagues and victims alike. His movie star looks and his confident, authoritative manner made him sexually desirable to the very women that he degraded, tortured and murdered - this is one side I find very beautiful in Dr. Mengele - with a small number of positive personality traits, he was able to win the attention of anyone he so desired, man or woman. Now for something many people will surely feel repulsed by:
He grabbed her by the neck and proceeded to beat her head to a bloody pulp. He hit her, slapped her, boxed her, always her head -- screaming at the top of his voice, "You want to escape, don’t you. You can’t escape now. You are going to burn like the others, you are going to croak, you dirty Jew." As I watched, I saw her two beautiful, intelligent eyes disappear under a layer of blood. And in a few seconds, her straight, pointed nose was a flat, broken, bleeding mass. Half an hour later, Dr. Mengele returned to the hospital. He took a piece of perfumed soap out of his bag and, whistling gaily with a smile of deep satisfaction on his face, he began to wash his hands.
Maybe this is something that should stir up some form of emotional reaction - but it doesn't. No matter how many times people point out the different occasions in which Dr. Mengele has committed such ruthless acts, I feel no shame for myself - still looking on with nothing but admiration for this man. I believe women are delicate creatures, and should be cared for in a respectful manner - but still, the above scenario doesn't cloud my opinion of everything I love about this man. He was brave, charming, handsome, intelligent, confident and respectful to those deserving respect. Even if he happened upon a woman who should agree and abide by his every order, he would still snap her in two - this side is a possible turn-on for me, I feel attracted to this undeniable air of austerity he had. The unpredictable nature of Dr. Mengele’s personality became his most powerful tool for exerting control over both prisoners and prison personnel, for it instilled a deep-seated primal fear into all those with whom he came into contact.
I think he was given too much power, thus creating not a monster, but a god-like human being, drowning in his own power, and I would go as far as to say this power he had, caused him to behave irrationally, which in the end benefited no worthy findings at all.
It doesn't matter how many times you insist that the whole Nazi movement was wrong, I will never agree with you. Part of maturing is learning to agree to disagree, and this is something I will never be swayed on. I'm not in any way ignorant to the suffering which the Nazi's caused much of Europe, but it does not bear any lasting emotional effect - and if you find this "wrong" or "disgusting", then it is your problem.
Yes. I am in awe of these men.
Yes. I enjoy reading about various actions taken out by them.
Yes. I agree with certain areas of the ideology of Nazism.
I am not ashamed.
I can answer that, I would prefer the latter, if I'm honest. For the simple reason, the afore mentioned has very little, or no meaning. Readers who know me (well), will know where this is going, that said, let's look a brief summary of my interests:
Witchcraft, dressmaking, surfing, music, nature, creation, architecture, beauty, animals and most things related to WWII - and the smaller years either side.
To me, the above seems perfectly acceptable - does it look okay to you, so far? A lot of people take an interest in history, I'm no different - unless I have no interest beneath the Third Reich. I tend not to hide my interest (my fixation, my obsession - call it what you will) much anymore, for the simple reason, I'm not ashamed. And whilst I'm not ashamed, I'm not exactly pleased or proud of myself for feeling in awe of this whole genre, but to me, it is beautiful. I am not revelling in any misery from the past, by any means. I have said before, to anyone who chose to cross my path concerning this particular interest; those who are/have been offended by anything I have said, contact me, let me know. But the fact remains, I am not trying to intimately offend anyone.
A swastika to some, may be a symbol of terror, whilst to others, it's actually a burning desire of wanting to know, feeling the need to understand the men behind them, as it were. If we're going to be thorough about this, it's worth talking more about the lead-up to my fascination with Nazi's as a whole: respect, beliefs, uniforms, fighting and hard men. I was once quite... Let's say, repulsed by Hitler and his henchmen. Having my grandparents so close to home, talking about WWII was a frequent occurrence in both my household, and my grandparents - from an early age. Of course, being young (I'd say around 10) the one thing I had drummed into me was the cold, hard fact - the Nazi's were evil men. That would be most people's instant thought, when Nazi's are mentioned - surely. As I grew older, being around a lot of WWII related material, I become increasingly intrigued, I had everything I needed to learn all about Nazi Germany - right there! So that is what I did, I decided to find out as much as I could about these men. There were times when I felt guilty for wanting to read about the behaviour of these so-called animals - come to think of it, why would anyone want to learn about these "people"? To me, it was completely alien - "how could anyone behave this way?" - that was probably one of the most frequently asked questions in my mind - at the time; to me, it was unnatural for anyone considered human to behave the way they did. As I matured, this soft hatred I held turned into some sort of... Need. Not blatant disgust, but a need to know about these men - they too were capable of feeling loved, and loving - even feeling hurt. Half human, half machine? Possibly. I am turned on by the uniforms, yes. Most people reading this, if they can say at least one positive thing about the Nazi's - it would be their uniforms. The uniforms aren't a necessary part of my adoration for these men, it was their intentions, their beliefs - their power and their mighty intellect. Since when did it become so wrong to stand up for what you believe in? In my books, this isn't wrong, and as far as I am concerned, it never will be wrong. Which is why I will forever adore what these men did: Fought for their beliefs, respected their leader, and tried to make their land a better place, come hell or high water.
I'm not prepared to talk so openly about my desires and flaunt my deeper thoughts about these men, it's not in my interest - especially in the face of a possibly ignorant audience.
The above was a brief look into how I first come to start learning about the Nazi's, partly through my grandparents, and part of me wanting to find out for myself.
In my school years, as you do, I had an opportunity to continue these learning's, my history teacher was only too willing to provide me with the materials I needed - and of course, we (as a year group) had no option but to endure the happenings of history as a general rule. At this point, my interest wasn't considered strange at all - and given my natural affection for this genre via my grandparents, I suppose it was expected of me to take a keen interest anyway, and that I did.
It doesn't take a genius to realise I'm fascinated by Josef Mengele - "the infamous butcher". You may ask why. To begin with, I was curious - was he a monster? How could anyone considered "human" be so filthy? Why was he such a poor excuse for a man? Scientific research shows that Josef Mengele was perfectly sound-in-mind, and I don't think I ever doubted this. He was a very clever man; a researcher and a scientist. If Dr. Mengele himself became a cold-blooded monster at the height of his Nazi career, he certainly learned at the feet of some of Germanys most diabolical minds. As a student, he attended the lectures of Dr. Ernst Rudin, who posited not only that there were some lives not worth living, but that doctors had a responsibility to destroy such life and remove it from the general population.
The two streams of ambition that had come to define Dr. Mengele’s life, becoming a renowned scientist and a genetic purifier, had found unity within the Nazi movement. He became an official Party member in 1937. In May of 1938 he applied for membership with and was accepted into the Schutzstaffel. This was Hitler's elite corps of race guardians, those who demonstrated both the purist Aryan racial background and adherence to Nazi ideology and practices. By the age of 28, Dr. Mengele had climbed to a place of prominence within the Nazi hierarchy and was positioned to wield great power and influence. In May of 1943, it was then, that Dr. Mengele was assigned to his next "challenge": the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland, and it was over this kingdom which Dr. Mengele sought to preside. Dr. Mengele’s stated mission at Auschwitz was to perform research on human genetics, the goal of Dr. Mengele’s work was to unlock the secrets of genetic engineering, and to devise methods for eradicating inferior gene strands from the human population as a means to creating a Germanic super-race. Dr. Mengele set out to immediately distinguish himself from the other SS doctors at Auschwitz. He already stood apart as the only doctor in the camp to have been decorated for his conduct in battle. He made certain to festoon his impeccable SS uniform with the medals he had been awarded. He often made reference to his experiences on the front, and was obviously very proud and protective of his medals.
I find the above information to be the utmost of respect that any one man could show his country; his task was to cleanse the population, and he was under strict order to do so - and I believe he stood by this order well. I do not feel guilty for looking up to this man and seeing nothing but perfection. He demonstrated a carefree, charming side which he used to disarm both colleagues and victims alike. His movie star looks and his confident, authoritative manner made him sexually desirable to the very women that he degraded, tortured and murdered - this is one side I find very beautiful in Dr. Mengele - with a small number of positive personality traits, he was able to win the attention of anyone he so desired, man or woman. Now for something many people will surely feel repulsed by:
He grabbed her by the neck and proceeded to beat her head to a bloody pulp. He hit her, slapped her, boxed her, always her head -- screaming at the top of his voice, "You want to escape, don’t you. You can’t escape now. You are going to burn like the others, you are going to croak, you dirty Jew." As I watched, I saw her two beautiful, intelligent eyes disappear under a layer of blood. And in a few seconds, her straight, pointed nose was a flat, broken, bleeding mass. Half an hour later, Dr. Mengele returned to the hospital. He took a piece of perfumed soap out of his bag and, whistling gaily with a smile of deep satisfaction on his face, he began to wash his hands.
Maybe this is something that should stir up some form of emotional reaction - but it doesn't. No matter how many times people point out the different occasions in which Dr. Mengele has committed such ruthless acts, I feel no shame for myself - still looking on with nothing but admiration for this man. I believe women are delicate creatures, and should be cared for in a respectful manner - but still, the above scenario doesn't cloud my opinion of everything I love about this man. He was brave, charming, handsome, intelligent, confident and respectful to those deserving respect. Even if he happened upon a woman who should agree and abide by his every order, he would still snap her in two - this side is a possible turn-on for me, I feel attracted to this undeniable air of austerity he had. The unpredictable nature of Dr. Mengele’s personality became his most powerful tool for exerting control over both prisoners and prison personnel, for it instilled a deep-seated primal fear into all those with whom he came into contact.
I think he was given too much power, thus creating not a monster, but a god-like human being, drowning in his own power, and I would go as far as to say this power he had, caused him to behave irrationally, which in the end benefited no worthy findings at all.
It doesn't matter how many times you insist that the whole Nazi movement was wrong, I will never agree with you. Part of maturing is learning to agree to disagree, and this is something I will never be swayed on. I'm not in any way ignorant to the suffering which the Nazi's caused much of Europe, but it does not bear any lasting emotional effect - and if you find this "wrong" or "disgusting", then it is your problem.
Yes. I am in awe of these men.
Yes. I enjoy reading about various actions taken out by them.
Yes. I agree with certain areas of the ideology of Nazism.
I am not ashamed.