# What's the deal with Red Baron pizza? Why is a German who killed people the mascot of a pizza company? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 26, 2021, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789 "2021-02-26T09:34:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/41 "2021-02-26T16:06:31Z")
I remember in the early ‘70s as kid seeing a pair of doghouses in a neighbor’s yard; one red with iron crosses and one white with the RAF bullseye. _Peanuts_ was a huge pop culture phenomenon at the time. [Even NASA got in on it.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_10?wprov=sfti1) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/42 "2021-02-26T16:07:03Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Speaking of which, there’s a certain comedy troupe from a generation ago… Before that there was [Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus](https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Pussy_Galore%27s_Flying_Circus). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/43 "2021-02-26T16:08:16Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > What does “White Castle” have to do with burgers? The name was supposed to suggest cleanliness and safety. Ground beef had a rather bad reputation in the U.S. much in the same way we joke about hot dogs or chicken mcnuggets these days. The original White Castle restaurants tried to allay those fears by building their restaurants with stainless steel interiors and outfitting their employees in clean white uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/44 "2021-02-26T16:11:12Z")
It’s a ponzu scam! 😲 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/45 "2021-02-26T16:12:09Z")
Having some fifth-or-sixth-cousin-level ancestral ties to the von Richtofen family, I would happily offer that I am **not** a fan of that particular brand of pizza. However, if they came out with a [Chuck Yeager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager) ham sammich, or a [Robin Olds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Olds) porterhouse steak, I’d be all over those in a heartbeat. Tripler [Chuck Norris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Norris) coffee slakes your thirst with a roundhouse kick of caffiene to start your day. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/46 "2021-02-26T16:18:59Z")
The most offensive part of Red Baron pizza is the taste. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/47 "2021-02-26T16:23:52Z")
I recall the cheap home-video-quality commercials from back in the '80s, associating it with the “romance of flight.” Something like: _I remember the Red Baron … so dashing in his boots and goggles as he took to the air that last time… I shall never forget him!_ Or words to that effect, all said in a sultry female voice. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/48 "2021-02-26T16:28:03Z")
Hey, I used to buy them all the time. They were better than any other available frozen pizza. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/49 "2021-02-26T16:29:13Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I see 4 different Marco Polo pizza places on the first page of a google search. None of them seem to have any sort of Chinese connection. Pretty weird. I’ve never seen one myself, and I notice that a quick search doesn’t show any in the Boston area (nor do I recall any in other places I’ve lived). I do find plenty of Chinese or Chinese-Italian restaurants with the name “Marco Polo”, though. And there does seem to be a Marco Polo restaurant in the North End, although I can’t find a menu ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/50 "2021-02-26T16:31:22Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > because the red baron was romanticized after WW1 as being one of the last noble warriors sort of a knight in but riding sn airplane when war was seen as a “gentleman’s honorable pursuit” but from what I’ve read and watched about the man was he was a spoiled whiny and extremely petty noble pretty much how he was portrayed in the movie “the blue max” Germany was the enemy in WWI, but they weren’t Nazis. Hitler started WWII as a war of conquest. I think WWI was a giant Charlie-Foxtrot brought about my politics and treaty obligations. Royalty were all related. King George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II were first cousins (so was Tsar Nicholas II). I don’t think anyone really wanted to go to war, but they were too ‘whatever’ to not. Nowadays, people think ‘Germans bad,’ and don’t make a distinction between the Kaiser’s Germany and Hitler’s Germany. During WWI, the Allies respected Richthofen and gave him a full military funeral. > **[Manfred von Richthofen | Burial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen#Burial)** > > In common with most Entente air officers, No. 3 Squadron AFC's commanding officer Major David Blake, who was responsible for Richthofen's body, regarded the Red Baron with great respect, and he organised a full military funeral. > The body was buried in the cemetery at the village of Bertangles, near Amiens, on 22 April 1918. Six of No. 3 Squadron's officers served as pallbearers, and a guard of honour from the squadron's other ranks fired a salute.\[j\] > Entente squadrons stationed nearby presented... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/51 "2021-02-26T16:40:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Germany was the enemy in WWI, but they weren’t Nazis. Right, Germany wasnt the “bad guy” of the Great War, where pretty much all the original contestants were warmongering Imperialistic powers. No war between good and evil then. And pretty much all war heroes killed people. Audie Murphy was a famous movie star- and he killed lots of enemy combatants, so did Jimmy Stewart, Mel Brooks, Christopher Lee, and many others. Many of our Presidents killed enemy combatants, George Bush the senior the likely last. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/52 "2021-02-26T16:51:59Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Hey, I used to buy them all the time. They were better than any other available frozen pizza. I still buy them. They aren’t bad for when you just want something reasonably fast with little work or cost involved. Thin crust Supreme is the way to go for me. Better than just about any other frozen pizza out there, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/53 "2021-02-26T16:53:19Z")
Oddly enough, I actually had one last night. Didn’t feel like cooking much, and it was right there in the freezer. Certainly wasn’t the best meal, but I wasn’t hungry afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/54 "2021-02-26T16:54:35Z")
They had them at Canadian Walmart a few years ago, but I haven’t seen them since. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/55 "2021-02-26T17:26:45Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Hey, Red Baron! What do you want on [your Tombstone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen#/media/File:Familiengrab_von_Richthofen_-_geo.hlipp.de_-_35630.jpg)? Tombstone strikes me as a much, much weirder name for pizza than Red Baron. Would you buy Coffin Pizza or Morgue Pizza? I do understand the implied association with Tombstone, Arizona and the O.K. Corral, etc. That’s only marginally less weird, given the violent shootout that happened there. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/56 "2021-02-26T17:32:02Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Would you buy Coffin Pizza or Morgue Pizza? How about **[Almost Pizza](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLHRjaUBb3o&ab_channel=SaturdayNightLive)**? (Yes! One more time!!) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/57 "2021-02-26T17:32:41Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Tombstone strikes me as a much, much weirder name for pizza than Red Baron. Would you buy Coffin Pizza or Morgue Pizza? Tombstone also had some rather morbid commercials. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/58 "2021-02-26T17:34:31Z")
By the way, I can sorta see Mrco Polo being adopted for either Italian or Chinese food, since he had one foot in each culture, so yto speak. I severely underestimated how much leeway people would give to such a figure. But give me a call when someone opens an **Ivan the Terrible Pizza** Palace. (There isn’t one. I checked.) (And no, that reference isn’t to an Ivan the Terrible Pizza restaurant, even though it has both “Ivan the Terrible” and “pizza” on the website.) ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/59 "2021-02-26T17:44:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Catherine the Great and Marco Polo and Genghis Khan were all famous people, with instant name recognition, but I don’t associate them in any way with Pizza, and wouldn’t put their name on a Pizza. Of course not. They’re better for Italian desserts. Haven’t you ever seen Genghis Khanoli? (_I’ll see myself out_) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789/60 "2021-02-26T17:47:26Z")
If you’re gonna complain about Red Baron pizza, don’t ever let me see you eating a Godfathers. The mafia have killed more poeple and created more misery than the Baron’s entire squadron. I never can understand the romanticism of killers. And Papa John can FOAD as far as I’m concerned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-red-baron-pizza-why-is-a-german-who-killed-people-the-mascot-of-a-pizza-company/933789.md?page=4)