andyt andyt:
He's not playing the Germans. He's specifically playing the Wiking devision of the Waffen SS.
To reenact a German WWII division, the 5th SS is probably not a bad choice.
The Wiking was composed of volunteers from Belgium to Finland. As such,
being non Germans, well you get my point.
Also, yes that division never really faced American forces, so another advantage.
Bad choices.. 12th SS Hitlerjugend, for Normandy
9th and 10th SS, in Arnhem for Market Garden
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler aka 1st division, for Malmedy
Actually, there is a group in California that does reenactments of 12th SS
http://www.12hj.com/welcome.html$1:
He says he's not a Nazi (which you would have to be to join the SS)
The SS swore a personal oath to Adolf Hitler, not to Germany.
Membership in the party was optional, but I am sure the original units got lots
of political education.
$1:
but admires their fighting spirit for their homeland. Seems a little bent to me. He says he got into it with his son. As somebody on Bill Maher asked "what, the Boy Scouts were full?"
Many many people since 1917 were convinced that Communist Russia was the real threat in Europe.
Some had enough conviction to go and fight the Russians.
We in the West were happy enough after WWII to make it government policy
to not be friendly to the Russians.
However, I agree that it is a little weak. As was pointed out, the 5th
was never directly implicated in war crimes, but WWII was pretty brutal
all the way around.