Aaaand the prize for the most talked about dictator goes to… Of course it’s Der Fuhrer. It’s not like you thought some other answer would be coming instead. I mean, if world history were a comic book he’d be one of the most enduring villains.
Thankfully enough, the world ISN’T a comic book, and that’s good news for us, because there the villains tend to re-appear every now and then, despite seemingly dead or missing or locked away.
Add to that that his deeds and his proficiency in genocide are a very serious matter and that these couldn’t be justifiable even in a fictional account, let alone here in the real world, and it becomes even clearer that Hitler is best left as he is now.
However, his impact on the world was great (to use an euphemistic manner of speaking), which resulted in many interesting happenings surrounding him or his persona. Let’s take a look at 5 Hitler related odd stories.
1. The Asian black-hole
Just like in a black-hole where (supposedly) no information comes out, it’s hard to explain exactly why the facts we are about to discuss are happening in parts of Asia. But they do and the best the Western world can attempt is to rationalize an explanation based on a present or past gap in education in certain countries systems (Japan, India, Taiwan, Thailand).
As in, they don’t teach about the Holocaust. Ergo, kids don’t know much about Hitler. Ergo, he is all the rage in Thailand, but not in the way you might think. No, he’s not revered or admired as a great leader. On the contrary, he’s portrayed like a buffoon, a fop with a fetish for silly uniforms and hair and facial styles. So you get things like high-schoolers showing up dressed like him, or buying t-shirts with him as a panda or Ronald McDonald etc.
In India, “Mein Kampf” is one of the best selling books and there was an attempt to sell “Hitler Ice Cream”.
2. Britain is to blame
Possibly the most iconic mustache in history (a statement confirmed by the fact that even today wearing one in that style will gain you negative stares), Hitler’s version of facial hair has a pretty unexpected explanation. You would think that the obvious root for Hitler choosing this particular type of mustache would be Charlie Chaplin’s influence, who made this sort of facial hair popular after 1919, with his “Little Tramp” character. But that’s apparently not the case.
It seems Hitler, while fighting in World War I against the British, actually had a normal, longer mustache. But, due to the later usage of poisonous gases by both sides, he was ordered by his superiors to shave it off, because it would hinder when wearing a gas mask. So, wily Hitler decided that he loved his ‘stache too much to take it all of and shaved just the bothersome sides, so he could wear the mask. Win-win.
3. In the end he was forgiven
If you’re religious and you think Hitler deserves to suffer in whatever version of hell forever, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Because at the present, Hitler has already been redeemed. Incredulous? Just ask the Desteni. What? You don’t know about them?
That’s probably ok, since they’re a sect founded by a South-African cop turned ADHD curing software salesman turned High Priest demon hunter and Jesus’ sidekick.
Yes, you read that right. Bernard Poolman claimed to be all that, until his death in 2013. He also claimed to have gone to hell in his never-ending crusade against demons where, alongside Jesus, he defeated the Demon King, none other than… Hitler. BUT. There’s a catch. Poolman only used one thing to defeat demons during his whole career: the power of self-forgiveness.
So, after he defeated Hitler, the latter ended up being a good spirit that was (and still is) regularly channeled by the Desteni cult’s “interdimensional portal” a priestess(?) called Sunette Spies.
4. Biggest fan
You would think that in the current Western civilization declaring that you’re a Hitler admirer is a pretty risky decision, that most people (barring Neo-nazis) tend to avoid. But how about a super-fan? And how about a millionaire super-fan?
Because that’s exactly what Kevin Wheatcroft is. And there’s no exaggeration involved.
His obsession with Hitler and everything Nazi is so grand that to list here his numerous Nazi possessions would take too long. Suffice to say that he: goes to sleep every night in Hitler’s bed, has purchased the famous Mercedes that Hitler rode in when coming to Sudetenland in 1938, a few of his motorcycles, dress suits and paintings. Oh, and the door to the prison cell where the Furher wrote Mein Kampf.
To round things up nicely, Wheatcroft also owns some U-boats, Kettenrads motorcycles, V-2 Rockets aaaaaand… 88 (mostly Nazi) tanks. However, he is staunch in declaring that he is NOT a Nazi or Hitler sympathizer. He’s just doing this because he likes to preserve things for future generations…
5. Well, isn’t that sweet?
Let’s talk about the Hitler that nobody knows. There are authentic photographs showing a day in the life of Hitler just before he took power. It shows him conscientiously meeting people from rally to rally, but also resting and having dinner after a busy day of arduously working for the same people. Then there’s photos of him and his pets (dogs, in case you were wondering; yes, dog people are just swell, aren’t they?), surrounded by children who love him and enjoy his presence and even photos of him feeding baby deer. Then there’s the cultured side of him, and his 6000 books library which he read entirely, despite also being an average man and dressed as such in other photos.
This aptly named photo album, “The Hitler that nobody knows”, confirms beyond a doubt this part of Hitler’s personality that you never know. Perhaps because it was all a PR campaign by his official photographer Heinrich Hoffman, and this side of him was fake. But, hey, if it’s printed, it must be true, as I’m sure the thousands of Germans that later supported him thought as well…
Oh, and the international Western papers and magazines picked up on this story too and did their part in promoting this “shy, retiring man” to the general public. Riiiiight before he seized power over Germany and started the Third Reich.
