One of the most fascinating and interesting documentary's I have ever seen on the National Socialist Party and the Nazi's rise to power.

Nietzsche and the Nazis
http://www.amazon.com/Nietzsche-Nazis-Stephen-R-C-Hicks/dp/B000JMJQGS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1287980593&sr=8-2
If you have Netflix they offer it streaming, about 2.5 hours long.

The narrator breaks down and presents the party's platform and philosophical arguments, perfectly. What I think a lot of people today fail to fully understand is how attractive the movement was, and it had the backing of quite a few intellectual heavy weights. Also that they didn't fool anyone, they spelled out exactly what they stood for and planned on doing once they achieved power.

For anyone interested in WW2 this is a must see.

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The scientists of the day looked upon state sponsored eugenics quite favorably too..

not so much after WW2.

Sounds like a good documentary.

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Curious as to what the director thinks are the connections between Nietzsche and Nazis. I can see some similarities but also very substantial differences. Nietzsche wasn't a nationalist, nor were his views on morality close to Hitler's in Mein Kampf. I can see a common thread of opposition to Marxism but Nietzsche's individualism seems deeply opposed to National Socialism.

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I'll try to get to this tonight.

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"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

Should be an interesting piece, thanks. I will see that I get my hands on it.

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For those who like to dig deeper into the complexity,

Our Hitler - A Film from Germany

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076147/

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Hitler-Germany-Martin-Sperr/dp/B000UL61EI

plot & structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler:_A_Film_from_Germany

critic/review
http://bluele.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-hitler-by-hans-jurgen-syberberg.html

It's a real tough coockie. I didn't make it all the way through, may have to take another approach.

I do believe though, the geniune sense of the topic gets the real gravity only in German language, although, co-produced by the BBC it received remarkable critics based on its English speaking audience/reviewers.

You maybe able to translate language, but you can't convert meaning and sense.

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I'm about an hour into the documentary and so far I'd say it is a very good account of how and why the Nazis came to power. However, there hasn't been a single mention of Nietzsche yet!

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Your not half way through, keep going.

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Finished it up. I thought his explanations of both National Socialism and Nietzsche were very good. Clear, succinct, and focused. Well worth watching. His analysis of where Nietzsche and the Nazis coincide and disagree is fuzzier. There are clear similarities and very clear differences. The biggest problem is his claim that Nietzsche is a collectivist the way that Nazis are collectivist. I don't think that argument holds up. Even if it does, the Nazis were nationalist and Arayan whereas for Nietzsche, if a collectivism exists, is focused on the species as a collective. This is so far removed from National Socialism as to be in a completely different political category. It made me think that if Hicks' argument is correct, then Aristotle was a collectivist also.
The final part of the analysis where he summarizes National Socialism and elaborates on it's opposite which we are to assume must be held to be true in order to oppose Nazism is the weakest part I think. The weakness of this section is tied in with the weakness of his collectivist argument. He is arguing, in effect, that capitalist individualism is the only coherent opposition to National Socialism. This is both historically and logically false. Hitler didn't kill Marxists and Anarchists for no reason. He also refrained from killing capitalists for good reason. The question of what political theory or theories is best suited to resist National Socialism is far more complex than his brief summary admits. His views in fact, may exacerbate the very social, cultural and economic conflicts that allowed for the rise of National Socialism to begin with.
Nevertheless, his excellent summaries of both National Socialism and Nietzsche are worth watching. Be warned however, that the budget for this film was pretty small and the use of visual techniques to convey his points fairly primitive. The substance of the film is easily retained in the soundtrack alone.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Sounds interesting. Maybe I'll give it a whirl when I have the time.

- Peter.

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