Unwelcome visitors

[3748 Hussar]

Evening ,

Unwelcome visitors at event .

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/2380008...s-not-germans/

[Jelly Terror]

Originally Posted by 3748 Hussar

Evening ,

Unwelcome visitors at event .

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/2380008...s-not-germans/

Everything is 'offensive' nowadays; it's getting so you're frightened to speak freely in public without first looking over your shoulder. It'll be just like Nazi Germany before long.

The underlying irony of that article will probably fly completely over the heads of anyone 'offended' by the sight of those reenactors.

JT

[Ben Waterhouse]

Reptiles gotta do what reptiles do

[yorkstone]

They are re enactors at a re-enactor event with out the former enemy whom do you enact with.

Round heads committed treason and killed the king and imprisoned thousands but with out them whom would the cavaliers enact with.

US former enemies 1770’s and war of 1812 Japanese allies of ww1 as were the Italians enemies of ww2

Russians former Allies and as a veteran of the Cold War and now we see poor Ukrain a-former Soviet Union state and enemy of my service days.???

Gets complicated doesn’t it.

Re-enactors should look correct we as collectors of Historical items all shout at the tv films when they get it wrong.

Stephen

[Alan O]

I am afraid being an SS re-enactor is a very poor life style choice and they clearly are not good at choosing their audiences. I am very anti-PC woke but in this case I feel their decision to go there was in bad taste and un wise.

[Luke H]

Originally Posted by Alan O

I am afraid being an SS re-enactor is a very poor life style choice and they clearly are not good at choosing their audiences. I am very anti-PC woke but in this case I feel their decision to go there was in bad taste and un wise.

100% agree.

Seen one article saying they were goose stepping down the streets giving Nazi salutes.

The event website missions statement bills it as ‘a celebration of the 1940s, remembering our past, the music, the dancing, the fashions, the classic vehicles, the historic displays, the sights, and the community spirit shown in times of adversity.’

I question anyone who feels anything to do with the SS deserves celebration or fits into such a 1940s weekend in Norfolk.

[Home Guard]

We typically see reenactors of all sides show up at our semi-annual shows, and because they are in uniform, they get in free. In my younger years I was invited to join a US paratrooper reenactor group but declined - it is not really my thing, playing soldier. I once had a vet of the Bulge tell me that no matter how much I studied or researched I would never know what being in a combat situation is like. I knew then and have always known that is true. That is why I always tip my hat to any vet!!!

Terry

[Gary B]

I just don't get it...
What the hell is there to admire about the "people" they pretend to be?

Ich kann nur vermuten, dass sie einen sehr kleinen Penis haben...

Gary B

[William]

German Nazis are/were neither British nor Commonwealth. They should not be on this forum.

Best regards to all

William

[Jelly Terror]

Could not agree more that public Nazi cosplay is in the poorest of taste, and even highly offensive to some. Certainly not my cup of Schnapps. Is it, however, in such poor taste, or so inflammatory, as to warrant complete intolerance?

It's difficult to sympathise with a Nazi, even a pretend one; is our British C21st tolerance, therefore, robust enough to recognise the (in this case somewhat blurred) line between just dressing up, and apparent sympathy with an abhorrent ideology? Left unguarded or poorly defined, lines can be fragile things... they can soon be crossed and even erased, rendering the very freedoms they delineate open to harm.

It goes without saying that this was not just a bunch of blokes ironically venerating National Socialism, or making fun of Hitler (a la Freddie Starr). But neither, it could be argued, was it an attempt to incite racial hatred. That said, I've not seen the particular goose-step/Nazi salute item Luke refers to.

Is the story linked to in the OP, about poor taste, the inciting of racial hatred, tolerance Vs intolerance, freedom of speech, the erosion of liberties, a group of trouble-makers looking for a punch up? Clearly it is a provocative subject, and rightly so; the responses so far are more than indicative of that.

JT

[Hoot]

We British are a strange bunch, I mean, most of us who used to watch 'Allo 'Allo! back in the day would crease up at the antics of the "Germans" in it. The two Gestapo characters Herr Otto Flick and Herr Englebert von Smallhausen were hilarious and nobody complained about them as far as I'm aware. The fact that they represented one of the most murderous organisations in recent history mattered not a jot. If the two actors who played them had dressed for the role and walked down the High Street in Sheringham they would probably have been mobbed by fans of the show and had more drinks offered than they could possibly have handled. The fact we get so touchy about the Nazi regime, understandable though it is, doesn't seem to matter when it comes to buying cars, given the vast numbers of German cars on our roads. History is history, we can't change it, when we see a bunch of clowns, all reenactors are clowns after all, we should just ignore them, they are just attention seekers after all and getting rattled at the sight of them just puts the spotlight on them and that is what they crave. Just walk on by.

[Gary B]

You're spot-on JT (love the Freddie Starr reference by the way) but if a bunch of Jimmy Savile impersonators walked down your street, what conclusion would you draw about their mental state & trustworthiness?

Surely you have to question the motivation behind a bunch of (seemingly) middle-aged men who are in awe of the 20th centuries most horrific butchers?

Actually - thinking about it - the Savile mob would probably prove to be mentally, more well-balanced...

[Jelly Terror]

Originally Posted by Hoot

We British are a strange bunch, I mean, most of us who used to watch 'Allo 'Allo! back in the day would crease up at the antics of the "Germans" in it. The two Gestapo characters Herr Otto Flick and Herr Englebert von Smallhausen were hilarious and nobody complained about them as far as I'm aware. The fact that they represented one of the most murderous organisations in recent history mattered not a jot. If the two actors who played them had dressed for the role and walked down the High Street in Sheringham they would probably have been mobbed by fans of the show and had more drinks offered than they could possibly have handled. The fact we get so touchy about the Nazi regime, understandable though it is, doesn't seem to matter when it comes to buying cars, given the vast numbers of German cars on our roads. History is history, we can't change it, when we see a bunch of clowns, all reenactors are clowns after all, we should just ignore them, they are just attention seekers after all and getting rattled at the sight of them just puts the spotlight on them and that is what they crave. Just walk on by.

Well said. It's an interesting debate, actually. Where is the line between what should be tolerated and what should not? Is being offended by something a valid, defendable argument? In my opinion, absolutely not.

As a kid, I remember the board game 'Escape from Colditz', having a Nazi swastika on the front of the box... nobody back then, I should imagine, gave that a second thought. Today, the infamous hooked cross has been replaced by a nondescript Germanesque eagle thingy. Clearly times have changed, along with our delicate sensibilities and fear of causing offense. Is that a good or a bad thing?

I don't frequent many places where there are these sorts of reenactors. The last time was (I think) at Stonleigh, back in January. There were a few people there who dressed up, but two in particular stood out: a father and son in immaculate, black, SS uniforms. What was a little disturbing was that the son could not have been more than about nine or ten-years-old. How much could that young chap have known of the dark history attached to that sinister garb?

Funnily enough, three of the 'Allo 'Allo! actors where there that day, signing autographs... and charging for them too!

JT

[Jelly Terror]

Originally Posted by Gary B

You're spot-on JT (love the Freddie Starr reference by the way) but if a bunch of Jimmy Savile impersonators walked down your street, what conclusion would you draw about their mental state & trustworthiness?

Surely you have to question the motivation behind a bunch of (seemingly) middle-aged men who are in awe of the 20th centuries most horrific butchers?

Actually - thinking about it - the Savile mob would probably prove to be mentally, more well-balanced...

Not forgetting Koba the Dread, of whom we were an ally.

JT

[Hoot]

Originally Posted by Jelly Terror

Well said. It's an interesting debate, actually. Where is the line between what should be tolerated and what should not? Is being offended by something a valid, defendable argument? In my opinion, absolutely not.

As a kid, I remember the board game 'Escape from Colditz', having a Nazi swastika on the front of the box. Today, the infamous hooked cross has been replaced by a nondescript Germanesque eagle thingy. Clearly times have changed, along with our delicate sensibilities and fear of causing offense. Is that a good or a bad thing?

I don't frequent many places where there are these sorts of reenactors. The last time was (I think) at Stonleigh, back in January. There were a few people there who dressed up, but two in particular stood out: a father and son in immaculate, black, SS uniforms. What was a little disturbing was that the son could not have been more than about nine or ten-years-old. How much could that young chap have known of the dark history attached to that sinister garb?

Funnily enough, three of the 'Allo 'Allo! actors where there that day, signing autographs... and charging for them too!

JT

Blimey JT, three of the cast were at the show, I thought they were all dead!!.