For some, Nazism is a cult. For a much more detailed example, see a book by Michael Burleigh, "The Third Reich: A New History", Pan Books, 2001.

Germany - Nazi rock group sentenced in Germany

Izv.Info, December 30, 2003

For the first time in Germany, a court recognized a rock group as a criminal grouping. Member of the "Landser" band ("Landser" is a slang word for soldier) were held responsible for a charge of "forming a criminal association with the goal of writing and public performance of songs of a rightwing-radical direction," underground manufacture abroad and sale on FRG territory of compact disks with recordings of their songs, and also "intentional eulogization of the Nazi past" of Germany.

Enjoying the greatest popularity among the youth were the songs, "Reich return," "German rage," "War-Aryans" and others. In their songs, the musicians called for the forceful expulsion of Jews and foreigners from the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany), and they expressed outrage in addressing the Pope in Rome.

The court sentenced the leader of the "Landsers" to three years and four months deprivation of liberty. The other members of the group - a drummer and a bass guitarist - were put on probation, reported ITAR-TASS.

Hitler was zombified

ITAR-TASS 30 Oct. 2003 08:57:05

In the years of the First World War Hitler was zombified. This sensational claim belongs to literary historian David Lewis, and it is shown in his new book, "The Man who Invented Hitler". The author cites earlier unknown facts, according to which a leading psychologist of Germany, professor Edmund Foster [sic] conducted a series of psychological and hypnotic tests on Schicklgruber in November 1918. As a result the corporal developed a superiority complex.

The zombified future Fuehrer was placed in a military hospital, where he appeared in October 1918 in severe psychological state: he got it into his head that he lost his sight as a result of a gas attack. Although his eyes were found to be in good physical order, as the doctors testified, Hitler considered himself completely blind. Doctor Foster [sic] took the problem of the patient and decided to cure him with the aid of hypnosis. He announced to Hitler that he was really blind, however, the future chosen one had vision of himself, he was able by effort of will to restore his vision. The professor succeeded in getting the patient to believe in himself and Hitler "regained his sight." This gave rise to a forceful emotional upheaval so that Hitler would forever believe in his superhuman abilities.

When in the middle of 1933 Edmund Foster [sic] tried to publish abroad the psychological profile of Chancellor Adolf Hitler and reported on the details of his tests on him, the professor was liquidated by the Gestapo.

The man who stayed with Hitler until his final day in 1945 passed away

Izvestia. Ru
October 15, 2003

Hitler's personal adjutant Otto Guensche (24 Sep. 1917 - 2 Oct. 2003) passed away at age 86 in the western German city of Lohmar by Cologne (territory of North Rhein-Westphalia). This was reported to the German mass media by his relatives.

The former SS Hauptsturmbahnfuehrer was one of the few witnesses to the last day of Hitler and Eva Braun and their suicide April 30, 1945 in the cellar of the Reichs Kanzerlei in Berlin. Under the command of Guensche the SS men carried the bodies out of the bunker and cremated them in the courtyard.

After his return from Soviet captivity in 1956, Otto Guensche led a secluded life. The last time he appeared in public was in 1985 in the Hamburg municipal court, where he appeared in the capacity of a witness in a process in the case of the falsified diary of Hitler. That was reported by ITAR-TASS.

Nazi dog appears in Germany

izv.info
October 15, 2003

An investigation into the case of a Berlin man who taught his dog the Nazi salute was completed in Germany. Ronald T. brought the matter to the attention of the police March of last year. He was walking with his dog in the Berlin Tempelhof district when he was stopped for an identification check.

"Adolf, sit!," commanded Ronald, "Greet!" The dog obeyed. It sat, and then it raised up its right paw. The officer saw in this a Hitler salute. The investigation began.

In the end it was decided that the Berliner did not need to be held accountable for training his dog. But they took him to court all the same. It turned out that the Nazi greeting was an abuse not only of the dog, but also of his master. Besides that, he carried a football with a portrait of Hitler and yelled "Sieg heil!". This was reported by NTV with links to Spiegel magazine.

The person who dared to punish Hitler

La Vanguardia, Spain
August 21, 2003
Mark Bassets
Russian translation inosmi.ru 8-22-03

[This text is mostly English taken from Russian taken from Spanish taken from German. The quotes are all indirect.]

The published diary of singer Paul Devrient tells about how the Fuehrer took lessons in recitation

Hitler told his teacher, "I tried with all my might! I can inspire thousands of people!"

In April and May of 1932, the Fuehrer, whose political career was just beginning to take off, took lessons in the art of oratory from German opera singer Paul Devrient. This once little known episode became public knowledge afterwards, as the eminent researcher Werner Maser, who specialized in the history of the Third Reich, published this item. "My Pupil Adolph Hitler" (publisher "Universitas Verlag") - thoroughly described the difficult task of the teacher, the goal of whom was to have the refractory pupil, who prided himself on his oratorical ability, apply his voice and gesticulations.

"Your inherent vocal qualities are not adequate for the gruelling task of an orator, in any case for prolonged performance. Only by means of exercise and methodical study will you be able to sustain protracted appearances in public," the teacher told Hitler at one of his lessons. "Doesn't it seem to you that you're exaggerating somewhat," replied the pupil, who did not want to yield and along with that realized that it was necessary to work above his ability.

Hitler made the decision to take lessons in the art of oratory through counsel of one of his doctors who had notified the Fuehrer that he had already almost completely exhausted his vocal chords and deformed his nasal passages. His voice was greater not up to the task. In 1932 the Nazi leader took part five election campaigns and at times he had occasion to appear up to four times a day in various towns in Germany. The cult of Hitler, which sowed the fruit of Nazi propaganda and was until that moment accessible only to certain fanatics, needed to be sold to a third of the country's population, explained Ian Kershaw in his biography of Hitler on a page dedicated to the decisive period of Hitler's career. It was precisely at that time Devrient was tending to the future dictator.

The lessons took place in a hotels during stops between appearances in the scope of one or another election campaign. Ordinarily Hitler began to get annoyed and argued with the professor regarding his methods of instruction. Sometimes, however, he obediently fulfilled all exercises. Here are some records of dialogue written in the diary of the German tenor.

The Fuehrer's exasperation. I sit here and wait for your, but you worry only if you're late a lot. You made me wait and now I have no desire to work. What gives you the right to deprive me of time? What do you make me do all these exercises for? And why do I need to dedicate all my free time to these lessons? (Hitler)

Deficiencies. Look like you can convince your audience. You've shown me that you can be a great orator. If you manage to purge your language and gestures of some deficiencies, you can achieve this. (Devrient)

Difficulty in instruction. It seems to me that it's practically impossible to dance to several melodies that are played at the same time: each time to remember about the technique of diction, about the audience from whom I'm not supposed to avert my gaze for a minute, to remember the text and during this to not forget about the necessity of convincingly articulating my speech. (Hitler)

Aspiration to improve skill. I would have wanted to be independent of technique. How much time do you need to work on my voice so that I can fill a large room without having to resort to microphones, loudspeakers or wires, which can't be trusted? (Hitler)

Excessive gesticulation. In the very beginning of your performance your gestures and movements conform to the situation, But then, unfortunately, it happens after that. You get infected by the enthusiasm of the audience and forget. And the public ceases to be interested in your performance, which is how it tires from excessive gesticulation. It makes it so the desired result is not reached. (Devrient)

Comment. Although your voice is strong by nature, now it is not audible, nor healthy, nor strong. It produces a feeble and sickly impression. The listeners understand that you can't get your breath, and your voice is totally constricted. (Devrient)

The Pupil's Defense. I've done everything that I can! Think about the loud cheers with which they greet me .. I can inspire thousands of people! You cannot deny this. This is very important. (Hitler) You can produce the impression or you can win? (Devrient)

Bertholt Brecht's suspicion

Readers had to wait an entire forty years before the children of Paul Devrient delivered the diary of their father to historian Werner Maser. For the duration of several decades the fact that some actor gave lessons to Hitler was kept a stage secret. The Nazis tried to conceal it in every way possible. In 1936 Goebbels wrote that it was absurd to suppose that Hitler could have walked into some school of a master of oratory or theater: he was a natural genius of the art of oratory. One of the first to doubt this was Bertholt Brecht. In "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" there is a peculiar parable of the ascent of Hitler - he put several actors out on stage, who were hired by the gangster Ui "to produce an impression on the common people." "My articulation leaves much to be desired," said Ui, "If I can get into politics, it would behoove me to pronounce a couple of words, so I'll take lessons. And for gesticulations, too."

German neo-Nazis celebrate the day of the death of Hitler's successor

Vremya.ru
No. 151
August 18, 2003

In the little town of Bunzidel in Bavaria German ultra-rightwingers celebrated the 16th anniversary of the day Rudolf Hess died, who is buried there. When Hitler was alive he named him as his second successor, after Goering. Hess was a minister without a post, and was especially close to the Fuehrer. May 10, 1941 Hess left for Scotland and in Hitler's name proposed to Great Britain to make peace and take part in the war against the USSR. But Hess was imprisoned there, and after the Second World War he went before the international court in Nurnberg. He received life imprisonment and was sent to the Berlin Spandau prison.

He was there alone for many years. All branches of the prison's infrastructure existed only for the sake of maintaining a single Nazi criminal. This unjustifiable wastefulness was ended by Hess himself. On August 17, 1987 at the age of 92 he ended his life by suicide. Some neo-Nazis, however, have questioned the prison's examination about the suicide.

Nearly 2,600 neo-Nazi pilgrims assembled to take part in the procession to Hess' grave in Bunzidel. They were confronted by a thousand police, along with almost 500 people who opposed the dubious arrangement. The latter put up posters around the town that read, "Bunzidel is different colors, not just brown."

The local authorities had prohibited the march from taking place. However the federal constitutional court in Karlsruhe reversed that decision in so far as "one single anxiety about delinquent acts by itself did not justify prohibiting the assembly."

Separate flinging into the eyes of the "demonstrators" the police nevertheless concentrated on control points. There they confiscated "anti-constitutional symbols" in the shape of Swastikas, and also, even if not described in German Basic Law, baseball bats, which are not looked upon kindly by police. The day before the police announced that the principle of "zero tolerance" would be in effect in regard to violence, and that any delinquency would be nipped in the bud.

There were no noisy brawls this time. The police detained 56 people temporarily. However Bavarian Internal Affairs Minister Gunter Beckstein criticized the federal constitutional court and said that the time had come to tighten up the law. But Omid Nuripur, member of the "green" federal party, remarked that the constitutional court did have a different "free speech" law for a "war criminal cult."

Yurii Shpakov, Berlin

Leni Riefenstahl, oldest film producer on the planet, dies in Germany at age 101

1tv.ru
September 9, 2003

Leni Riefenstahl became a world celebrity thanks to propaganda films in Hitler's Germany. Her "Triumph of Will" and "Olympia" were part of the historical cinema of the best documentary films of all time. The actress died in her sleep at her home with her loved one.

Leni Riefenstahl, "If I wouldn't have filmed "Triumph of Will," I would have lived a splendid life."

Her name is well known to all who would like to know anything about German Fascism. The favorite of Hitler and creator of model propaganda movies was born in Berlin. At first she was engaged in dance and theater, she appeared for the camera in several fiction films, she quickly became famous as a movie actress of a definite Aryan type, it seemed as though she was doomed to play the parts of a beautiful shy woman. Among the admirers of her work was Adolf Hitler.

He engaged Riefenstahl at that time to work as a movie producer, to film documentary movies about the Nazi party congress in Nuernberg in 1933. It was not possible to refuse such and offer, although Riefenstahl had no interest in politics. At the same time politics interested her. She filmed the movie "Victory of Faith." And through the year she had occasion to create newsreels of the regular congress, to define the aesthetics of Nazism, and to invent, for the night, rotating, fiery swastikas, torch parades and symmetrical arrangements with large groups of people, scenes which are still exploited by film producers to this day.

Riefenstahl's second movie, the most famous and most acclaimed of all - "Triumph of Will" - was greeted with enthusiasm and awards in the as yet unoccupied Europe up until the war broke out. Commemorated by the regular Nazi party congress in Nuernberg, the producer was forever established in 20th century art for her militarist themes, glorified cult uniforms and repudiation of individualism.

After these assignments Leni Riefenstahl received an invitation to film Stalin and Mussolini, but she was too busy in Germany for that. The Berlin 1936 Olympics was the theme of her next masterpiece, "Olympia." The cameras were launched on aerial spheres on motorized mounts to film the runners, and plunged into the water along with the swimmers. After the end of the war, Riefenstahl was forbidden to hold a movie camera in her hands. She refused to confess to collaboration with the Nazis, claiming that she was only involved with cinema.

Leni Riefenstahl: "Shooting 'Triumph of Will," I only realized my own artistic objective was to make a movie that was not just another stupid film chronicle. I suffered much from the attacks on me. People wronged me again and again."

To this day Germans cannot forgive her for the label of "the best producer of the Third Reich and the best friend of Hitler," for which Riefenstahl was punished with arrests and trials in the 1950s. Living through confinement in psychiatric clinics and many years of obstructionism after the war, Riefenstahl left for Africa. In the 1970s she traveled almost the entire continent by herself to photograph vanishing African tribes.

Leni was making new movies up to her hundredth birthday, a 45-minute documentary film which told about underwater life in the Indian Ocean. For the film Riefenstahl made over 2,000 dives under water from 1974 to 2000 to capture shots of rare fish and plants.

Leni Reifenstahl, "Only under water was I completely happy. I became a different person on leaving the water. Even sharks couldn't stop me."

It seemed like not even time was able to stop her. At 99 she remained good-looking and irreproachably graceful. She had time to realize her final dream, to visit Russia, the fatherland of her maternal ancestors. Not long before her death, "Time" magazine carried Leni Riefenstahl, the only woman, on the list of the "hundred most important and powerful artists of the 20th century."

Germany