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A review by sungold
Winter Men by Jesper Bugge Kold
5.0
This is one of those books that takes a widely shared perspective and challenges it beautifully.
In Germany at the start of war, there are two kinds of people: those saluting, Heil Hitler, and meaning it; and those saluting, Heil Hitler, and wondering about the sanity of peers and the reigning government. Unfortunately, in a society where speech is limited and unfiltered expression is punished, it can be impossible to tell the difference between the two.
People are blackmailed into giving sensitive information about others in their communities. Intellectuals' lives are threatened until they resign in support of the cause. Some people are jailed in concentration camps until given an opportunity to run one.
No one is safe. No one can refuse to salute. Everyone who is wanted must participate.
Now, historical facts back up this stunning piece of fiction. People were blackmailed. People were threatened. People were jailed until given an opportunity to save their own lives. How do we, as people and learners, rationalize that these original* Nazis were not all-evil and filled with hatred?
I think the commentary is especially important today as we see a rise in Nazi sentiment and paraphernalia related to our political climate. Here is the thing: while many Nazis engaged with Hitler's sentiments and army were coerced, required to do so to save themselves and their families, people spreading Nazi sentiment today (and waving Nazi flags, having Nazi tattoos) are under no such coercion. How did we get here?
In Germany at the start of war, there are two kinds of people: those saluting, Heil Hitler, and meaning it; and those saluting, Heil Hitler, and wondering about the sanity of peers and the reigning government. Unfortunately, in a society where speech is limited and unfiltered expression is punished, it can be impossible to tell the difference between the two.
People are blackmailed into giving sensitive information about others in their communities. Intellectuals' lives are threatened until they resign in support of the cause. Some people are jailed in concentration camps until given an opportunity to run one.
No one is safe. No one can refuse to salute. Everyone who is wanted must participate.
Now, historical facts back up this stunning piece of fiction. People were blackmailed. People were threatened. People were jailed until given an opportunity to save their own lives. How do we, as people and learners, rationalize that these original* Nazis were not all-evil and filled with hatred?
I think the commentary is especially important today as we see a rise in Nazi sentiment and paraphernalia related to our political climate. Here is the thing: while many Nazis engaged with Hitler's sentiments and army were coerced, required to do so to save themselves and their families, people spreading Nazi sentiment today (and waving Nazi flags, having Nazi tattoos) are under no such coercion. How did we get here?