Of course, the more popular such an analysis becomes, the more it enters public consciousness. The more it enters public consciousness, the more overused and less credible it becomes. I mean, “just like the Nazis…” is the perfect way to get somebody to laugh at your political argument now, so any analysis of the hows and whys of what caused Nazi Germany is unlikely to persuade anybody into avoiding the mistakes.
It’s very simple. Mankind loves war, indeed, is morbidly fascinated with it, as long as someone else is taking the hard knocks.
When school administrators are called “Nazis” for wanting to establish a dress code in their district, you would be correct.
Would you support legislation where the US Federal government tried to pass a law that all Republicans had to sew a yellow Elephant patch on their clothes?
Way to Godwinize the thread, dude.
Of course I’m not saying that any analysis is suspect, or absolutely any comparison. I’m just saying that above a certain, obvious, surface level the reasons behind the Nazi’s actions become so complex that noting a resemblance to Nazi rhetoric or practice becomes, at best, suspect to anybody except the most well read WWII historian (i.e. not most people).
Wait… if I invoke people who invoke Godwin’s Law, is that Godwinization or, like… Godwinization Once Removed?
Indeed, without gunpowder or explosives or tanks, the most powerful armies ever in existence were probably in World War II. Especially the Russians, who had tens of thousands of freakin’ cavalry (horse infantry in actuality, but still, outnumbering most medieval empire’s entire armies!) The Soviets outnumbered the biggest medieval army by an order of magnitude.
So improved farming, bureaucracy, and transportation are almost as powerful as military weapons as all the guns in the world.
I personally think WWII is a dopey and boring hobby. However, there was a time when boys were pretty much encouraged to obsess over war trivia; it was seen as a sign of health and good spirits. In some classes I’ve been in , half the boys could explain the difference between 5 different types of bayonets and tell you the exact widths of every tank gun barrel used in the North African theater - and that was nothing compared to their fathers. That’s probably why there is a big lingering interest out there.
These days, I get the feeling that stuff is a lot less mainstream among younger people, it’s more for professional military types or crazy loners. Good riddance, I think.
The Nazis were not only evil, but positively revelled in their evilness. How many evil empire warriors had uniforms designed by Hugo Boss? With skulls on them? 
No… no, I didn’t mean that the war wasn’t painful, but that reading about it tends to give a sense of pride and being on the “right” side that say.. Vietnam doesn’t.
One reason is that World War II can be viewed like a giant chess game in which battles made a real difference. Midway, among other battles, could easily have gone the other way with a very profound effect on the course of the war. Compare this with Vietnam or Iraq where military outcomes were just background to political events.
Another reason is the gigantic scope of World War II. There were more than a million Allied soldiers in Normandy July 1944; more than a million Soviet soldiers attacked German-held Stalingrad November 1942; etc.
I think this is a big part of it. And unlike, say, Vietnam there is a huge amount of video available from both sides.
You know who else was really interested in WWII…?
You know how one of the criteria of a great action movie is that it has to have a really good villain? Of all mankind’s wars, WWII is the one with the best Bad Guy.
Oh please. Genghis Khan does a fantastic job. As do the Mongols generally. Cortes in Mexico, Alexander in Persia, Pol Pot in SE Asia, Stalin through out his reign. Hitler is merely the last in a long line of megalomaniacs.
- Adolf Hitler couldn’t have been a more perfect villain if he had been chosen by Central Casting - hysterical, maniacal, shrill, funny-looking, truly evil and certifiably insane. If he had been a good-looking, soft spoken, charismatic leader with a bright smile and a fondness for puppies, kittens and blind orphans - all bets would be off.
- The propaganda during WWII was at its peak - both from the Nazi Party extolling the virtues of their noble efforts simply to make the world a better place by domination, and the Allies for getting their populace to support the war in every way possible back at home. Those propaganda posters are better than anything Hollywood graphic artists could even conceive of today and the messages contained in that propaganda just scream out for books and movies and television series/specials.
- Intrigue, spies, new weapons of mass destruction, secret meetings, plots galore - and even throw in the scary foreign-looking Japanese on suicide bombing missions to add a new level of fear - WWII was chock full of compelling storylines on both sides. This was a war of Shakespearian levels of good versus evil - and it even has a happy ending with the good guys winning and saving the world!
There is no possible way that World War II could not be of interest for generations to follow and be fodder for history buffs, film buffs and screenwriters for generations long after we are gone. There are simply too many stories still left untold; too many stories that can be re-told; too many major and minor characters to flesh out and discover anew. Every time someone opens an old trunk in (great) grandpa’s basement or attic, their will be yet another story to tell after combing through the documents.
Indeed, Alexander the Great has been pitted more recently than Hitler. (Has Hitler ever been pitted?)
While I agree with much of your post, Hitler was indeed famously charismatic (possibly not by 21st-century American standards, however). He definitely loved puppies, too. No idea what he thought of kittens.
Blind orphans, however, he specifically killed.
Because Nazis make the best bad guys. Even Star Wars called them Storm Troopers.
I think we’re overlooking a factor: WW2 is big right now (after a long spell being more-or-less out of the public consciousness) because the WW2 generation is dying off. In a decade or so, they’ll only be a handful of extremely old folks left who fought in it, and anyone with any personal memories will be well up there in age. (If you were a 5-year-old child in 1945, you’re 68 today, and in a decade you’ll be 78.) At this point, WW2 will start to slip into the “not quite ancient history” slot currently occupied by WW1.
That’s definitely the case compared to some African dictators. The English accent in a lot of places in Africa is very mild-mannered and genteel-sounding, so even brutal dictators sound like professors. The overall effect is drollery rather than terror and hatred if you only watch film clips.
You’re off by a 5 years… Someone born in 1940 turns 73 in 2013.
Downton Abbey has awakened my interest in the Great War. Looks to be even more fascinating than WW2. The Austrian archduke and the Romanovs are just a taster.