# Do you know these Nazi terms? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927 "2014-09-30T01:34:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/21 "2014-09-30T13:41:19Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I knew all of them except the 3 Aktionen (I knew the actual history, but not the names), Organisation Todt and Goldfasanen (I can _translate_ it just fine, but the figurative meaning was unknown to me) > > OP, if you ever need a longer list, [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Nazi_Germany) has your back - some of those would have made nice additions here, I think -stuff like \*Kinder, Küche, Kirche \* or _Lebensborn_ That’s where I cribbed most of them from. Children, kitchen, church I omitted as it wasn’t an official slogan and is fair debatable, although I guess I did include other things that were (the Golden Pheasants derision among them, again wanted a nod that not all Germans were a hive mind). _Lebensborn_ was an oversight on my part, maybe for bonus points include which pop group owes its existence to it. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/22 "2014-09-30T14:11:28Z")
I’m one of the few that knows what Operation Todt was. Mainly because [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todt_Battery) is just down the street from my parents’ house. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/23 "2014-09-30T14:24:10Z")
I ticked thirty-four out of the total – limited self to those whose meaning I knew (there were a few others where I’d heard the word or expression, but basically didn’t know what it meant). I rather feel that “Stalag” and “Sitzkrieg” (like “Blitzkrieg”, from which the “Sitz-” word is coined) are not exactly Nazi-specific. They’re from World War II, of course – but could equally have arisen, in an alternative World War II against a Germany which would have been aggressive, but maybe without the thoroughly vile attributes of the “Our Time-Line” version. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/24 "2014-10-01T10:36:59Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > _Lebensborn_ was an oversight on my part, maybe for bonus points include which pop group owes its existence to it. ABBA, the brunette one. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/25 "2014-10-01T10:45:15Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > I rather feel that “Stalag” and “Sitzkrieg” (like “Blitzkrieg”, from which the “Sitz-” word is coined) are not exactly Nazi-specific. They’re from World War II, of course – but could equally have arisen, in an alternative World War II against a Germany which would have been aggressive, but maybe without the thoroughly vile attributes of the “Our Time-Line” version. True, maybe I should have said “World War II terms”. > [@MrDibble](#): > > ABBA, the brunette one. Ding ding, you win 100 internets. It means there is a direct causal line to be drawn from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the song _Fernando._ I love history. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/26 "2014-10-01T13:00:11Z")
I knew a bunch, sort of knew a few more (from knowing a little German) and got some of them wrong from incorrectly remembered history. E.g. I thought Aktion Reinhard was the vengence killing of a Czech village as payback for the death of Reinhard Heydrich. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/27 "2014-10-01T21:51:18Z")
Well, I knew that “sieg Heil” was a greeting, and incorrectly guessed what Judenrat meant, but that’s it… Blitzkrieg was in our history books, and is apparently an English word (as it’s in my English spell check dictionary). The rest seem to all be pure German. BTW, I understand the lack of Kristallnacht, the only other term I know (It’s more Jewish than Nazi). But where is Gestapo? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/28 "2014-10-01T22:09:07Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I knew a bunch, sort of knew a few more (from knowing a little German) and got some of them wrong from incorrectly remembered history. E.g. I thought Aktion Reinhard was the vengence killing of a Czech village as payback for the death of Reinhard Heydrich. Oops. Lidice. You weren’t far off, the Aktion was named in the memory of Heydrich. > [@BigT](#): > > Well, I knew that “sieg Heil” was a greeting, and incorrectly guessed what Judenrat meant, but that’s it… Blitzkrieg was in our history books, and is apparently an English word (as it’s in my English spell check dictionary). The rest seem to all be pure German. > > BTW, I understand the lack of Kristallnacht, the only other term I know (It’s more Jewish than Nazi). But where is Gestapo? C’mon, I said ramp the difficulty _up_! Everyone knows what the Gestapo was, probably more known that what ‘Blitzkrieg’ was. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/29 "2014-10-01T22:44:38Z")
I knew a few, but a couple I could guess at like Die Weiße Rose. Rose is obvious and die means the, so it wasn’t hard to work out that the middle word is white. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/30 "2014-10-02T00:33:34Z")
I was able to identify 13, which frankly surprised me a bit. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/31 "2014-10-03T10:25:52Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I got a big fat 0. I am sad to say that I wouldn’t have made a very good Nazi just because of the communication issues alone. So, what are you saying, exactly? Ich bin der Fuhrer of wit. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/32 "2014-10-03T12:34:54Z")
Well, I’m German, so I knew most of them, aside from what some specific operation names referred to. Incidentally, a few of these words would not be identified as ‘Nazi terms’ by most Germans, I believe—_Abwehr_ really just means _defense_, so that nobody gets confused when you hear a German sports commentator talk about ‘Schwächen in der Abwehr’ (‘weaknesses in defense’), most people would take _Mischling_ probably to mean something like a mongrel dog, _Nacht und Nebel_ is a generic term for any dealings done in secrecy, a _Sonderkommando_ is just a special forces unit, and _Totenkopf_ is just the German word for skull, or rather for the skull used as an emblem (the skull-and-crossbones flag is commonly called ‘Totenkopfflagge’, for instance). So while these things obviously have a quite specific meaning in a Nazi context, it would not be odd to encounter them outside such a context, in perfectly ordinary everyday speech. (Also, ‘Führer’ is sometimes used simply to mean something like tourguide—‘Bergführer’ simply means someone guiding you through the mountains.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/33 "2014-12-23T16:28:34Z")
Just saw this poll. I got 20. I went through a phase in my early teens when I was very interested in WWII generally, and Nazi Germany in particular, and a lot of it stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/34 "2014-12-23T16:51:32Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I understand German, so I likewise understand all the words and phrases. But I only checked the ones I knew to be specifically associated with Nazi policies and government. This as well for me. Also echoing the point that not every one of these is ‘Nazi’. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/35 "2014-12-23T16:57:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Abwehr - Germany’s notoriously shite intelligence service. I thought they didn’t suck as much as (being mostly not gung-ho Nazis) they threw the game. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/36 "2014-12-23T17:11:21Z")
I know enough German words that a couple I could translate, but still didn’t tick off because I don’t what they mean wrt nazis (for example, _totenkopf_, _volksgemeinschaft_). I hope that was the right thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/37 "2014-12-23T17:22:50Z")
Just a few. If I had guessed on some I would have been wrong. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/38 "2014-12-23T19:37:45Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > I thought they didn’t suck as much as (being mostly not gung-ho Nazis) they threw the game. 😕 Right. In fact it seems that Admiral Canaris kept Spain out of WWII by telling his friend Franco that Hitler was a crazed loony. Canaris is a hero, not incompetent. There’s even a move to declare him a righteous gentile for his activities to save Jews. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/39 "2014-12-24T04:47:14Z")
Adm. Canaris was an interesting guy, and there’s a lot that we probably still don’t know about him and his work to undermine the Nazi regime: [Wilhelm Canaris - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927/40 "2014-12-24T15:19:11Z")
I may have not ticked some I actually should have, because I had to try to separate “words I know have Nazi connections” from “words I can understand because I took a year of German in college.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-these-nazi-terms/699927.md?page=3)