Do you agree that these Nazis were fighting for a "better tomorrow"? If so, what was that tomorrow?
LOL! I don't like nazis at all. quit trying to make this about me.
(Please give me the origin of this "better tomorrow" quote. thanks)
The political history of germany is obviously a very sensitive subject, so I realize that the sheer weight of what has gone before will prohibit people from looking at this objectivly, and I don't really blame someone for that if they have a big emotional stake in the matter.
This is a fact though: Participation in a historical recreation hobby does not necessarily mean a person endorses a particular political view.
I have a large circle of friends that recreate various historical conlficts from medieval to the vietnam war. I personally know many WWII renactors that are primarily participate as germans. (even as SS troops) I say "primarily" because there is a large amount of crossover. Most guys own uniforms for more than one nation.
None of my friends are nazis! The are
all history nerds.
At these battles, which are usually done as a pubic show, you have to have two sides to make it work. If everyone was an american, it would be a pretty boring affair. You have to have bad guys too. It is quite common for sides to be unevenly represented however. That is not much better. So you will see the larger side lend some guys to the outnumbered arny, at which point those guys switch uniforms and weapons and cheerfully blast away at their former comrades in arms. It's a fun game and a way to indulge your historical curiosity beyond reading books about the subject. It is not a political rally or expression of political views.
Why would someone choose to join an SS recreation group? Well first, they are interested in WWII military history. beyond that, it might be the only group in their area, or it might be they just like the uniforms better. (face it, the germans have awsome uniforms & equipment) It could even be that they had a childish spat with a recreator in the local American group and decided to go play elsewere. One of my friends who happens to be a very nice lady joined a russian unit so that she could dress as a female in combat. She did not want to dress like a man. The russians had female combat troops, so she went russian. Is she a communist? Well, she owns and operates here own business, so no. She is a red-blooded freedom-loving all-American girl that dress in a russian uniform and shoots blanks at her friends on the weekends because it is unbelivably fun.
People get into this hobby because it is fun and the have a love of military history, not because they have a need to express their political views. Those people join militias, or cults or the PTA.
Seriouly though, While there may be the some individuals that join up because they think that the nazis, the confedaracy, the inquisiton or the whiz kids had the right idea, that is far from the norm.
Assuming that a person belongs to an SS recreation group is just that, it is an assumption. That's not good skepticism. I don't know what sort of recreator Mr. Iott is, but labeling him as nazi sympathizer because he belongs to an SS recreation unit is wrong. He might in fact be a nazi sympathizer, but one would need to find another way of proving it.
Regards, Canis
