Why is Nazi pageantry still attractive?

[toodlepip]

The flip side here is that when I recently saw wartime film footage from the Nazi invasion of my home town, I had a strong visceral reaction to it.

WW2 ended long before I was born, I never had any personal experience of it, but Nazis marching through the streets of my town was hard to watch - although I’ll admit it was impressive in a negative sense.

It taps into primitive instincts. You’re seeing a show of strength by a large, powerful social group, and becoming a part of it would probably improve your survival chances. Whereas I saw that group threatening MY group, bad news for OUR survival.

[Tim_T-Bonham.net]

@Johnny_L.A

I was at a Mardi Gras parade with a drum corps. It’s a visceral feeling when those base drums are beaten, and the snares are invigorating.

They were probably bass drums, though.

[Argent_Towers]

The Sam Browne belt and the high riding boots are part of why the Nazi uniform looked good. The belt makes the uniform coat look tight around the waist instead of hanging shapelessly, and the boots make the legs look longer. The overall effect is that the wearer looks taller and well-postured. It’s nearly impossible to look bad in this kind of uniform.

Here’s Edward, Prince of Wales wearing a very similar configuration. The British wore this type of outfit before the Nazis did. I have also seen many photos of American police officers dressed this way. It is a very sharp look.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

@Sailboat

Wouldn’t that be the other way around, since Lucas’ Empire came after, and was no doubt partially inspired by, the Nazis?

Well, yeah, but…that’s what I think of when I see old films of Nazis marching, etc. Can’t help it. I saw Star Wars before I learned about the Nazis, I suppose.

[Slithy_Tove]

Nazi chic never did much for me. I like the tougher uniforms, such as their camouflage tunic, or their paratroopers, and their navy tropical tunic, which pioneered wearing just a suit jacket over a bare chest long before it was trendy in the 80’s.

But their dress uniforms, both the SS & wehrmacht, is just too “Ruritarian,” like they were dressed not for war, but for an opera about war.

And then ther was this.

[kombatminipig]

@tschild

This seems to be a pretty common misconception so I take the liberty to digress a bit here. As the original Boss factory is near the town where I live, there have been quite a number of newspaper feature articles on the company’s involvement with the Third Reich.

A few key points:
[ul]
[li]Hugo Boss (1885-1948) was a Nazi by conviction (party member since 1931; heard by witnesses to express pro-Nazi sentiments even after 1945)[/li][li]His company was not a designer brand company (it only became one long after his death) but a common or garden clothing manufacturer, then an uniform manufacturer, after WWII a work clothing manufacturer.[/li][li]During the Third Reich the factory manufactured party/Hitler Youth/SA etc. uniforms, both on contract for the party and for sale to party/Hitler Youth members who had to buy their own uniforms. It was not the designer but a manufacturer to the party-approved patterns. (BTW the design of the original party uniforms was that intended for the Imperial German colonial service - the party got a cheap surplus uniform lot after the German colonies were lost. Hence Brownshirts, from the khaki-ish colour.)[/li][li]The company also got state contracts to manufacture Wehrmacht uniforms (Hugo’s party connections won’t have hurt), and employed forced labour during WW II (a page (German language) from a site on forced labour in Metzingen) [/li][/ul]

Presumably, after the company became a designer brand under Hugo Boss’ successors, management considered the word “Boss” to have more marketing punch than “Holy”, the name of the boss at the time (would ambitious people rather buy a Holy suit than a Boss suit? I think not). The unsavoury history wasnt’a consideration yet.

Thank you, ignorance fought.

I think that the poster who mentioned flowers really captured it in a nutshell though. We’re wired (either biologically or socially) to find certain things terribly impressive. Most of these things will have a military context, because armies have an inherent need to look impressive. In civilian society, our needs are mostly reduced to entertainment.

[astro]

@tschild

Presumably, after the company became a designer brand under Hugo Boss’ successors, management considered the word “Boss” to have more marketing punch than “Holy”, the name of the boss at the time (would ambitious people rather buy a Holy suit than a Boss suit? I think not). The unsavoury history wasnt’a consideration yet.

So who did design those iconic uniforms if not Boss?