"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Karl May was a German author of Western novels. And he was Hitler's favorite author. Hitler named his official train "Amerika" specifically because he loved American Westerns.
Of course, after December 1941 the train got another name.
When I was stationed in Germany, back in the early 1980s, one senior NCO was German-American; he had lived through the Nazi regime, and had some pretty interesting stories. He never said so in my presence, but I suspect he was probably drafted into the Wehrmacht during the final days.
Anywho, he told of watching American produced westerns in post-war Germany (with the dialogue dubbed in German), and how he would laugh when some Indian raised his right hand and said "Achtung!" instead of "How!".
And Mel Brooks incorporated this cultural phenomenon into the movie "Blazing Saddles", with his usual twist, using Yiddish instead of German....
I found out about Karl May while watching Dark Winds, This season, the principal villain (or villainess) was a German contract killer who grew up on Karl May novels and bizarrely internalized some of the themes.
Karl May was a German author of Western novels. And he was Hitler's favorite author. Hitler named his official train "Amerika" specifically because he loved American Westerns.
ReplyDeleteOf course, after December 1941 the train got another name.
When I was stationed in Germany, back in the early 1980s, one senior NCO was German-American; he had lived through the Nazi regime, and had some pretty interesting stories. He never said so in my presence, but I suspect he was probably drafted into the Wehrmacht during the final days.
ReplyDeleteAnywho, he told of watching American produced westerns in post-war Germany (with the dialogue dubbed in German), and how he would laugh when some Indian raised his right hand and said "Achtung!" instead of "How!".
And Mel Brooks incorporated this cultural phenomenon into the movie "Blazing Saddles", with his usual twist, using Yiddish instead of German....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ZoseMPXfE
I found out about Karl May while watching Dark Winds, This season, the principal villain (or villainess) was a German contract killer who grew up on Karl May novels and bizarrely internalized some of the themes.
ReplyDelete