Anyone here ever read 'A Child of Hitler'?

[Oeditpus Rex]

It's by Alfons Heck, autobiographical about his experiences before and during WWII in the Hitler Youth, in which he attained the rank of Gefolgschaftsführer, the equivalent of a major. I'm reading it again and, this time, the following passage stopped me:


Traditionally, the German people were subservient to authority and respected their rulers as exalted father figures who could be relied on to look after them. A major reason why the Weimar Republic, despite its liberal constitution, did not catch on with many Germans, was the widespread impression that no one seemed to be firmly in charge. Hitler used that yearning for a leader brilliantly. From our very first day in the Jungvolk, we accepted it as a natural law — especially since it was merely an extension of what we had learned in school — that a leader's orders must be obeyed unconditionally, even if they appeared harsh, punitive or unsound. It was the only way to avoid chaos.


Sound familiar?

[gateley]

1. Yes. Sigh. nt

[MrMickeysMom]

2. Very familiar... I liken it to the "Republicans wishing to be safe"

... Very interesting way to total fascism. Did any of these children as adults experience a remorse or other conflict with that conditioning?

Perhaps the next book out there will talk about the reversal of this and becoming an independent thinker once again?

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. It took Heck some years after the war

to come to the full realization that he'd been suckered. When he did — well, read here: Alfons Heck; 'Child of Hitler' spent years purging guilt.

It's his obituary in the San Diego Union-Tribune; he died in 2005.

:patriot:

[MrMickeysMom]

5. Damn... that was just the obit, too.

Thanks for sharing this.

The part about those kids in the Junior High school in San Diego brings to mind the number of neo nazis and history repeating itself every damn day right here in our own backyard.

I get some of these stories as a supporter of South Poverty Law Center.

[Heddi]

3. both my husband and I read it

we got it at a book sale for a quarter.

It was interesting how he had to be 're educated' after the war, and how hard it was for him to believe the reality of nazi germany. For a long time he thought it was lies, propoaganda, etc.

[undergroundpanther]

6. same dynamic

you see in the punitive father dominated abusive dysfunctional families.
Some people in male dominated abusive homes grow up terrorized by father figures,so they learn obedience through punishment and fear of the top dog,and also learn freedom without an outside authority figure telling them orders is "the breakdown of society".They fear life without orders and classes because freedom from authority terrifies them. This is because they don't want to learn to be ethical from within,grow up and self actualize and take responsibility for what they do with freedom.They want to seize all the power to abuse and manipulate and none of the consequences of being such a asshole to others they call 'weaker'.They want to dominate everyone else just like their daddies had done to them..