TOW #13: Führer Humor: The Art of the Nazi Comedy

Many a user of YouTube has seen a parody meme that goes something like this: a scene from the German movie Downfall, a biopic about the last days of Hitler, depicts an enraged Hitler screaming in fury over Nazi failures; however, the subtitles are parodied to make it seem as if Hitler is screaming about late pizza, learning Santa isn't real, or any number of ridiculous topics. This lampooning of the genocidal dictator has become commonplace in the decades following WWII, and is seen as a "defanging" of the Nazi regime. However, turning one of the most insidious leaders in history into a joke has its detriments according to Atlantic writer Daniel Gross. Following the release of a German Hitler comedy, Look Who's Back, Gross argues that while seemingly harmless in nature, these comedies dehumanize the atrocities committed by Hitler. 

As early as Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator Hitler has been the butt of comedic ridicule as society tries to demystify Hitler and reinforce the fact that Nazism was defeated. However, Gross argues that this demystification has distanced society from recognizing the magnitude of Hitler's atrocities. To prove this point, Gross effectively presents a counterargument and then refutes that counterargument in order to develop an objective and analytical view that proves to the viewer that Hitler's lampooning detracts from society's admission of his horrendous acts. Gross explains how this lampooning can be good, saying "Every time Hitler dies on a movie screen, every time he's reduced to a pathetic and bumbling fool, society reasserts its loathing for Nazism. Films that ridicule past injustice can help distance society from a history we’d rather not repeat". However, he then asserts that this distancing from history can be too effective: "But that distance is also the key disadvantage of Nazi slapstick. When audience members laugh at The Great Dictator or parodies of Downfall, it can become harder to imagine the thoughts or motivations of actual Nazis". Through juxtaposing his counterargument with his refutation, he not only establishes ethos as a level headed source, but logically conveys to the reader that Hitler comedies have good intentions but detrimental effects. In doing this, Gross shows us that while we must distance ourselves from the horrors of the past, we must not go too far or else we are doomed to repeat.