I don't get this joke about Hitler

[Little Nemo]

I was watching To Be Or Not To Be yesterday and they had a joke about Hitler.

If they named a brandy after Napoleon and a herring after Bismarck, what's Hitler going to be?
A piece of cheese.

I don't get it. Is it supposed to be saying Hitler's a rat? Or that he's cheesy?

From the context in the movie, it's clear that the joke is insulting to Hitler.

[RealityChuck]

A rat.

[needscoffee]

I love that movie. Assuming it's the Carole Lombard version.

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by needscoffee

I love that movie. Assuming it's the Carole Lombard version.

That's the one I was watching. But I like the Mel Brooks remake too.

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by RealityChuck

A rat.

If that's all there is to the joke, it's a really weak payoff.

[handsomeharry]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

If that's all there is to the joke, it's a really weak payoff.

Well, back then, it was really boffo!

Best wishes,
hh

[Thudlow Boink]

How about this one then: Where did Hitler keep his armies?

SPOILER:

In his sleevies.

[NoClueBoy]

Hitler's favorite joke:




Man 1: MY DOG HAS NO NOSE!

Man 2: HOW DOES HE SMELL?

Man 1: TERRIBLE!





HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[In Winnipeg]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

If they named a brandy after Napoleon and a herring after Bismarck, what's Hitler going to be?
A piece of cheese.

I don't get it.

Don't overanalyze. What they're basically saying is that if they named anything after Hitler, it would be something unimpressive.

Cheese is no big deal (and is it ever "named after anybody"?), and in most cases, it stinks, more than anything else (think Limburger, Gorgonzola, etc.).

[Simplicio]

As opposed to the sweet smell of herring?

I agree, the joke doesn't make any sense. Cheese seems as fancy as herring, and only a little less so then brandy. And while rats eat cheese, do animals associated with Napoleon drink brandy?

[AClockworkMelon]

Yeah, that joke is lame. Sorry for fans of the film (I haven't seen it, FWIW).

[ministryman]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

I was watching To Be Or Not To Be yesterday and they had a joke about Hitler.

If they named a brandy after Napoleon and a herring after Bismarck, what's Hitler going to be?
A piece of cheese.

I don't get it. Is it supposed to be saying Hitler's a rat? Or that he's cheesy?

From the context in the movie, it's clear that the joke is insulting to Hitler.

Minor hijack: Holy Shee...I finally got the Blazing Saddles line "Is Bismarck a hewwing?"

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

How does Hitler tie his shoesies?







In little Nazis.

[kunilou]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

If that's all there is to the joke, it's a really weak payoff.

Well, it takes place in Nazi-occupied Poland. I'd imagine someone making a joke about Hitler would end up with a knock on the door in the middle of the night. The joke itself might be lame, but even a veiled insult of Hitler would have been the highest order of political defiance.

[Simplicio]

Originally Posted by kunilou

Well, it takes place in Nazi-occupied Poland. I'd imagine someone making a joke about Hitler would end up with a knock on the door in the middle of the night. The joke itself might be lame, but even a veiled insult of Hitler would have been the highest order of political defiance.

Wouldn't, like, trying to kill Hitler be the highest order of political defiance?

But anyhoo, if I'm going to get gassed to death for a joke, I'd try and make sure it was at least a funny one.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

What's in Hitler's nose?


Snatzis!

[Freddy the Pig]

Is the joke a reference to wartime rationing and privation? People were eating cheese where before they had been eating meat.

[NoClueBoy]

Or, they're saying Nappy was a drunk, Bizzy was fat, and Hitzy is a rat fink?

[Simplicio]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

Or, they're saying Nappy was a drunk, Bizzy was fat, and Hitzy is a rat fink?

Bismark got a little plump in his old age, but he wasn't really remarkably fat even then, and I don't know of any story or tradition of Napoleon being a drunk, he was famous for his crazy work-ethic and conquering Europe, which doesn't really seem like something you could do why sloshed.

[Snowboarder Bo]

My favorite Hitler joke: Why didn't Hitler drink whiskey?

SPOILER:

It made him mean.

[NoClueBoy]

Originally Posted by Simplicio

Bismark got a little plump in his old age, but he wasn't really remarkably fat even then, and I don't know of any story or tradition of Napoleon being a drunk, he was famous for his crazy work-ethic and conquering Europe, which doesn't really seem like something you could do why sloshed.

Political humor being what it is, they could be exaggerating or even making it up. It's merely the first thing I could come up with to link the silliness.

Is/was there a cheese with a name similar to Adolph or Hitler?

[Simplicio]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

Political humor being what it is, they could be exaggerating or even making it up. It's merely the first thing I could come up with to link the silliness.

Yea, jokes usually have to play off a well known myth though. Al Gore never said he invented the internet, but its still a staple of Al Gore jokes because its a famous story. A joke about Gore being a drunk wouldn't make any sense then, since drunken Gore isn't really even a popular myth.

Course, the movie came out in the 40's, so maybe drunken Napoleon and fat Bismark were popular tropes that have since faded, though I kinda doubt it, since an alcoholic Napoleon is kinda hard to even make plausible.

[NoClueBoy]

I wonder ...


Is this actually a real joke of the era or is it only from the movie?



If it's just about the movie, then it could be that there is no reason for the joke at all, except to be something silly and lame. Any ref to the joke that isn't the movie?

[C K Dexter Haven]

I've always assumed that there was some sort of pun involved, lost to us now. Lubitsch was certainly capable of making a better joke.

[NoClueBoy]

Maybe the joke is about the parents?

[TWDuke]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

Bismark got a little plump in his old age, but he wasn't really remarkably fat even then, and I don't know of any story or tradition of Napoleon being a drunk, he was famous for his crazy work-ethic and conquering Europe, which doesn't really seem like something you could do why sloshed.
Political humor being what it is, they could be exaggerating or even making it up. It's merely the first thing I could come up with to link the silliness.

Bismarck herring was named after Bismarck as a marketing tool, after it was discovered that he liked the stuff. I'm not sure how Napoleon brandy came to be called that, but as it's meant to convey a sense of prestige, I'm sure it's not an insulting reference to the emperor.

In fact, if anything, the joke would be even lamer if the other two names were derogatory. The twist comes from the fact that the first two items were named after greatly admired leaders as a sort of tribute. If they were also insults, there would be no joke.

[NoClueBoy]

huh



That's the beauty of it. It doesn't MEAN anything.




.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by Simplicio

As opposed to the sweet smell of herring?

I agree, the joke doesn't make any sense. Cheese seems as fancy as herring, and only a little less so then brandy. And while rats eat cheese, do animals associated with Napoleon drink brandy?

I interpreted it as Napoleon liked brandy, Bismark liked herring, and Hitler (since he's a rat) liked cheese. Not that either of the other two guys mentioned were animals.

[olivesmarch4th]

Originally Posted by In Winnipeg

Don't overanalyze. What they're basically saying is that if they named anything after Hitler, it would be something unimpressive.

Cheese is no big deal (and is it ever "named after anybody"?), and in most cases, it stinks, more than anything else (think Limburger, Gorgonzola, etc.).

This joke is insulting to cheese!

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

That's the beauty of it. It doesn't MEAN anything.

But it was clear in the movie that it was an obvious insult. And that it was supposed to be a common joke.

[NoClueBoy]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

But it was clear in the movie that it was an obvious insult. And that it was supposed to be a common joke.

That was a joke. From an older, very hard to find the answer question.

[BrainGlutton]

This review of a review of alternate-history treatments of Hitler is mildly appropriate:

Finally, there is the fate of Hitler himself. In his earliest postwar allohistorical incarnations, he is up to his old tricks: inciting neofascist movements and devising superweapons in jungle exile; in one American television drama he is the colleague of the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu. By the 1970s, he is portrayed as a decrepit old man, almost pitiable. Revenge against such a creature seems irrelevant in comparison to the magnitude of his crimes. In his most recent metamorphosis, though, he meets as strange a fate as any allohistorical scenario: he has become a clown. Increasingly over the last 30 years, der Führer has been appearing in comedy sketches and comic books, where he displays a short temper and a certain talent for explosive epigram.

Hitler’s final state may be that of Mad Baggins, who, as Tolkien tells us, used to vanish with a flash and bang in fireside stories and became a favorite character of legend after all the true events were forgotten.

It may be allohistory, but you can’t make this stuff up.

[Sam A. Robrin]

Perhaps the idea is that if Hitler brought peace, everybody would say, "Chee!" . . .

[Ludovic]

How about this idea: France is not stereotypically known for its brandy nor is Germany known for its herring. Therefore, the food item Hitler will lend his name to will also be something Germany is not known for: cheese.