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Best SS reenactor


SuperComrade

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  • 1 month later...

Short version: In a frictionless vacuum, SS/Wehrmacht reenactors are nice people and there's nothing wrong with experimental archaeology or even just play of distasteful historical organizations (I've played paintball on a Soviet Union themed team before, so no issues there), but in practice reenactors of WWII German units tend to be an almost perfect mix of starstruck idiots, wehraboos, and closeted and sometimes not even that closeted Neo-Nazis.

The reality is unfortunately those groups attract Neo-Nazi untermenschen like a ripened grapefruit to flies (speaking from personal experience). My advice for people wanting to honestly reenact German units from WWII, and who want to not just become a Neo-Nazi party would be to hold very public fundraisers for Jewish organizations every month, and also buy a few cattle prods for some of the more stubborn wehraboos.

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I think most of these guys can't figure out the difference between a "bad guy" and a morally reprehensible piece of shit.

Anti-heroes are cool, and we like to mythisize historical figures and groups. Unfortunately, figures and groups that had basically no upside get lumped into being the cool anti-hero group by a couple of idiots. It is hard to change minds once they have come to that conclusion.

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Short version: In a frictionless vacuum, SS/Wehrmacht reenactors are nice people and there's nothing wrong with experimental archaeology or even just play of distasteful historical organizations (I've played paintball on a Soviet Union themed team before, so no issues there), but in practice reenactors of WWII German units tend to be an almost perfect mix of starstruck idiots, wehraboos, and closeted and sometimes not even that closeted Neo-Nazis.

The reality is unfortunately those groups attract Neo-Nazi untermenschen like a ripened grapefruit to flies (speaking from personal experience). My advice for people wanting to honestly reenact German units from WWII, and who want to not just become a Neo-Nazi party would be to hold very public fundraisers for Jewish organizations every month, and also buy a few cattle prods for some of the more stubborn wehraboos.

I find it hilarious how the people attracted to those groups are often the worst examples of the Aryan archetype desired by the Nazi big dogs.

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Norse and early Slavic re-enactment/living history groups suffer from the same sort of appeal to certain unsavory elements. Luckily we have pretty strict bylaws for members of our particular group and we are usually able to weed those types out almost instantly. Typically because they are too stupid to function in civil society. 

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Yeah, they can be just as obnoxious and very nearly morally bankrupt. Again, these aren't sweeping statements about everyone who reenacts as X or Y, just what those groups tend to attract.

Agreed. You can be legitimately interested enough into a topic to participate in reenacting, yet distance yourself from the "politics" of it. If I was asked to participate in a reenactment as the historical villain I'd probably do it. I would have to make it clear that I don't agree with the historical person's POV, that is where many of these guys screw up. 

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The more legitimate living history groups tend to have an academic interest in recreating a specific event or period of time and are apolitical and nonreligious. These groups suffer from a different type of Nazi colloquialism, but that is a different topic.   We get the "Nordic blood" types every once in a while but they usually out themselves with the stupids and are removed from the group. 

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