House of Representatives candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

No, this guy didn't win his race.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/why-is-this-gop-house-candidate-dressed-as-a-nazi/64319/

How do you feel about this? He said he did it for a love of history and war reenacting, and as a father/son bonding thing. He also said he chose a group that fought against the Eastern front (the Communist thread, don't you know), rather than the US and British. He compares it to Civil War reenactments and needing people to play the Confederates, even though they were the "bad guys."



Personally: I think it's horrifying. While I feel bad for the people who were recruited and drafted into the German military to fight on behalf of the Third Reich, I do not think it's appropriate to "honor" the fact that they fought for their "beliefs." I also agree that this guy has a twisted, sanitized view of history. I cannot picture ANY Jewish person or WWII vet voting for this guy. WWII and the German takeover of most of Europe wasn't "incredible" as he claims. It was one of the lowest moments in the history of humanity.

And honestly, I'm also uncomforable with Civil War reenactments in which people dress up as Confederate soldiers, due to the racist motives involved in the original war.

Blueyed228

I also didnt read the article cause my computer just shut down when I tried to open it

laurenclaire1386

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:29237af2-1e3c-4f1d-9245-6b85c22fb4c9">Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't like it. Just seems a bit odd to me. In the article it says "Iott, whose district lies in Northwest Ohio, was involved with a group that calls itself Wiking , whose members are devoted to re-enacting the exploits of an actual Nazi division" I'm not sure if this is going to come out right but <strong>I feel like re-enacting a single unit's behaviors is different than if they just picked certain random/interesting battles to re-enact. Does that sound completely dumb?</strong>  I'll try to think of a way to better clarify.
Posted by anna.oskar[/QUOTE]
I get what you're saying, I think. It's like they're glorifying what one particular group did, rather than just picking one interesting battle to reenact for historical purposes. Is that close to what you're getting at?

reddy123

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:29237af2-1e3c-4f1d-9245-6b85c22fb4c9">Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't like it. Just seems a bit odd to me. In the article it says "Iott, whose district lies in Northwest Ohio, was involved with a group that calls itself Wiking , whose members are devoted to re-enacting the exploits of an actual Nazi division" I'm not sure if this is going to come out right but I feel like <strong>re-enacting a single unit's behaviors</strong> is different than if they just picked certain random/interesting battles to re-enact. Does that sound completely dumb?  I'll try to think of a way to better clarify.
Posted by anna.oskar[/QUOTE]

<div>This sounds really bizarre to me, and like Blue said, for some reason it's okay for me if it was the British during the revolutionary, but the Germans during WWII?! Why would any one want to re-enact that?</div>

K&J64

wow, I agree with you completely Mery on both the WWII reenactment and Civil War. Both make me uncomfortable. I don't know how someone could bring themselves to dress as a Nazi soldier if they didn't buy into their beliefs. I wouldn't be able to do it for "history", it would make me sick. I'm always weary of people with Nazi "memorabilia" who claim they just like history. My good friend dated this guy who had a copy of the Mein Kampf on his night stand and just said it he was reading it for historical purposes... it was there all the time, for years. Either he's a *really* slow reader or... yeah.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:8cd9ecc9-1e13-4e1d-a94e-cfde69bbbe61">Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]I dont think participating an a historical re-enactment is a bad thing.  I also dont think it honors wrong doing.  I think learning about history (the good and the bad) helps remind us of things we do not want repeated.  Historical re-enactments are a way to show this. Then again, in Ma we have re-enactments all the time.  I live a town over from Lexington and Revolutionary War re-enactments are a big deal.  Also, across the street from my house is a small field where an important battle happened.  They do one every year as well. But then again, <strong>you cant really compare the Brittish to the Nazis so......</strong>
Posted by Blueyed228[/QUOTE]

True. :-) and my husband grew up near Concord.

The frightening thing is that they seem to gloss over the really awful stuff the Nazis did or simply don't understand it. It's kind of like people who think slavery wouldn't have been THAT bad, as long as the slaves were treated well. (Yes, I've heard that.)

I kind of understand being interested in collecting things, like weaponry or uniforms. But not <em>pretending to be a Nazi</em>. and not just a soldier, but an SS officer.

KatyRoseM

Reenacting is impressive and can be interesting.  At the same time I wouldn't do this if I were running for office.  Further there is something odd about the fact that the losers usually have more reenacters.  I suppose I don't really have a clear opinion. 

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:5e67d2fc-b8c8-48d1-add0-90339e804b7a">Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]This definitely gives me the supercreeps, just as Confederate reenacting does (especially in the context of certain political individuals who like to call groups of Confederate reenactors "real Americans", implying that somehow I am not). But I could see how someone could get involved in this group and somehow think that they're not doing anything wrong, and not be in sympathy with actual Nazis.<strong> Twisted and stupid and in bad taste, yes, but potentially not evil.</strong>
Posted by sarah0725[/QUOTE]

Oh yes. I'm not calling them all Nazi sympathizers or neo-Nazis. Just completely clueless to how offensive this all is.

laurenclaire1386

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:5e67d2fc-b8c8-48d1-add0-90339e804b7a">Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]This definitely gives me the supercreeps, just as Confederate reenacting does <strong>(especially in the context of certain political individuals who like to call groups of Confederate reenactors "real Americans", implying that somehow I am not)</strong>. But I could see how someone could get involved in this group and somehow think that they're not doing anything wrong, and not be in sympathy with actual Nazis. Twisted and stupid and in bad taste, yes, but potentially not evil.
Posted by sarah0725[/QUOTE]
This reminds me of people who call the Civil War the War of Northern Agression. Those people still exist, sadly. And even more sadly, I know them :/

anna.oskar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:5e67d2fc-b8c8-48d1-add0-90339e804b7a">Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]This definitely gives me the supercreeps, just as Confederate reenacting does (especially in the context of certain political individuals who like to call groups of Confederate reenactors "real Americans", implying that somehow I am not). <strong>But I could see how someone could get involved in this group and somehow think that they're not doing anything wrong, and not be in sympathy with actual Nazis. Twisted and stupid and in bad taste, yes, but potentially not evil.</strong>
Posted by sarah0725[/QUOTE]


I completely agree with these statements.

sarah0725

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:b280581e-d584-4529-bc48-90891d2f0f7b">Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter. : This reminds me of people who call the Civil War the War of Northern Agression. Those people still exist, sadly. And even more sadly, I know them :/
Posted by laurenclaire1386[/QUOTE]

I know some too. It was kinda interesting for me going to grad school in Delaware, because that program attracts people from the north and the south, and I had previously been used to an all-Yankee environment. We try to keep our discussions lighthearted, though. :)

Mery, my thoughts on this may be somewhat colored by the fact that I used to do counter-protesting at neo-Nazi rallies, so my Nazi meter goes to that first. And so, I read this and feel like it's a situation to monitor, but probably not ARA-worthy yet.

reddy123

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:bca2f068-eeaa-4813-a2b4-fe6745d52c1e">Re: House of Representative candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]I haven't read the article yet, so I won't comment on this man in particular, but I noticed that many (most?) of you are against re-enactments of anything Nazi related. I'm wondering, how do you feel about movies related to WWII? Same, or different (because there are actors reenacting moments from WWII-is that the same, <strong>or is that a </strong><strong>paycheque</strong><strong>?)</strong> Do you feel differently if it is a documentary, rather than a hollywood/action type film?
Posted by mrs.jesse[/QUOTE]<div>
<div>This is an interesting point and I guess it makes me a hypocrite, or maybe it proves that I don't understand what reenactments are all about. Maybe paychecks do have something to do with it since I don't want to imagine an American happily volunteering to be on the Nazi side.</div><div>
</div><div>I do bawl like a baby for most WWII movies, and I really liked Band of Brothers, which is a big long reenactment, so maybe I'm a huge hypocrite?</div><div>
</div><div>We don't have a lot of reenactments here, but we have a lot of neo-nazi groups and kkk and that's where I think a lot of my feelings come from. Seeing a person in those clothes is never a 'pretend' situation for me , so I have a gut reaction in person, rather than a movie theater (does that make sense?).</div><div>
</div></div>

Simply Fated

I have never taken issue with war re-enactments before, but I can't, for the life of me, understand why anyone would want to dress up in Nazi uniforms and pretend to be one.
I think that's what it boils down to for me. I totally understand that someone has to play the "bad guys" in war reenactments, but why would anyone want to wear that uniform, if only for a day?

laurenclaire1386

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:8b289a7a-7483-404f-8a7b-185e16400c9b">Re: House of Representatives candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]People get paid to dress up as a Nazi and parade around in movies.  They get paid millions of dollars.  And there is a separation in movies - what they are acting is not what they believe, or what they condone.  It's a job.  When I get a bunch of people together and dress up and go parade around, it's either for fun or because it's Halloween.  I'm not getting paid to do it.  I can assure you that I don't think it would be fun to put a swastika on and run around heiling Hitler.  Not fun at all.  You can pick from a ton of other wars.  Hell, if you love the Germanic army that much why not re-enact some WWI skirmishes and battles?  Why pick the one army that's associated with one of the most massive genocides in modern warfare? I can tell you what, if some dudes decided to start up a KKK "re-enactment" thing by where I live, you would see my ass all up on the news getting ready to jam their giant crosses right up their white-robed behinds.  Just sayin'. 
Posted by NuggetBrain[/QUOTE]
And I would be there, holding your weave. I never get tired of that joke :)

Bubbalub

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_house-of-representative-candidate-whos-nazi-reenacter?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:5c1c72f9-d682-462a-905f-fcb971696893Post:d8724ea3-9c8c-4940-964d-374169528903">Re: House of Representatives candidate who's a Nazi reenacter.</a>:
[QUOTE]I have never taken issue with war re-enactments before, but I can't, for the life of me, understand why anyone would want to dress up in Nazi uniforms and pretend to be one. I think that's what it boils down to for me. I totally understand that someone has to play the "bad guys" in war reenactments, but why would anyone want to wear that uniform, if only for a day?
Posted by Simply Fated[/QUOTE]

I feel the same way. I have participated in historical reenactments as part of a German military group but I would NEVER dress up as a Nazi. Not in a million years for a billion dollars. My former group was from the Renaissance and were a mercenery group that would hire themselves out to the highest bidder and fight for them because they were the best at what they did. It had nothing to do with religion or race or any of the horrible reasons the Nazis fought.

 I totally don't care about Civil War reenactors dressing as Confederates, though. I guess I'm hypocritical.

K Byte

SARCASM FONT ALERT:

I'm SOOOO Glad that guy's from around me!

What really grinds my gears is their website (I don't want to link it here but it's very easy to find ...) It presents a very whitewashed and dare I say Nazi-sympathetic version of history. Super gross.