German tourist ad from 1939

[Mr. Hallack]

A while ago I got an old copy of Fortune Magazine from Feb. 1939, excellent condition, and even has in between the pages the original sales receipt. I was flipping through it, love looking at the old ads in it. But I found this one a bit, well maybe not creepy, but just weird feeling. It's an ad for visiting Germany via railroad. And this is just a few months before they decided to smash into Poland, starting WW2.

 

[sheeplady]

A while ago I got an old copy of Fortune Magazine from Feb. 1939, excellent condition, and even has in between the pages the original sales receipt. I was flipping through it, love looking at the old ads in it. But I found this one a bit, well maybe not creepy, but just weird feeling. It's an ad for visiting Germany via railroad. And this is just a few months before they decided to smash into Poland, starting WW2.

The reasons under modern progress are a little disturbing.... "no unemployment" because we're building a massive army to kill millions.... "production" at all times high building the war machine.... the "organized efficiency" that is about to kill millions of Jews, Poles, dissidents, and the disabled in the most systematic genocide ever seen...

yeah, creepy.

Granted, I doubt the railroads or the vast majority of people in Germany knew what was happening behind the scenes in 1939 or Hitler's plans to devastate Europe. But think of the praise they were heaping on these things which turned out to be deadly tools of manipulation by the Nazi's.

 

[LocktownDog]

Ahh ... the joys of visiting Germany in 1939. :eeek:

 

[LizzieMaine]

If it's any consolation, not too many Americans were going anywhere near Germany in 1939 unless they had business interests there. The writing had been on the wall since the previous autumn, and most people knew very well what was coming.

 

[Wally_Hood]

The reasons under modern progress are a little disturbing.... "no unemployment" because we're building a massive army to kill millions.... "production" at all times high building the war machine.... the "organized efficiency" that is about to kill millions of Jews, Poles, dissidents, and the disabled in the most systematic genocide ever seen...

yeah, creepy.

Granted, I doubt the railroads or the vast majority of people in Germany knew what was happening behind the scenes in 1939 or Hitler's plans to devastate Europe. But think of the praise they were heaping on these things which turned out to be deadly tools of manipulation by the Nazi's.

If memory serves me well, the Nazi government appointed the head of the national railways as the director of the death camp system, utilizing his knowledge of rail transport to expedite their plans.

 

[Stanley Doble]

I've seen a letter from a German Jew written in 1935 encouraging his relatives in the US to come back to Germany, business was booming and everything was great. Have also heard of a German Jew living in Canada, who got sore at some anti Semitic crack and resolved to return to Germany to get away from Canadian anti Semitism.

Fortunately his friends talked him out of it.

You have no idea how things looked at that time unless you read some original source material, like the above ad. It was not ironic short sighted or dumb. That is how most people thought. I suppose it is a blessing we don't know what the future will bring. It may well be that we will seem unbelievably blind to future generations.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Hmm . . . considering the Nazis enacted laws that required Suhneleistung (so-called "attonment payments"), facilitated the expropriated property and confiscated business immediately after taking power in 1933, that's quite surprising. Here's a link to one family's experience.

The father of my Dad's best friend, who was one of Germany's most preeminent cardiologists, had a massive bribe (millions in today's money) extorted from him in order to obtain exit visas for himself and his wife.

 

[sheeplady]

If memory serves me well, the Nazi government appointed the head of the national railways as the director of the death camp system, utilizing his knowledge of rail transport to expedite their plans.

Oh, that's just wonderful. :/ They had to find the people they promoted someplace, I guess. It's a little chilling to think people who could do that type of thing (genocide, systematic murder) aren't complete sociopaths but integrated into our societies, running businesses, etc. Heck, they could be sitting at the desk next to you at work. They simply are missing the promotional opportunity to be murderers.

Granted the person at the head of the railroad was likely placed there for loyalty to the Nazi party, so I guess that makes sense.

 

[CharleneC]

If memory serves me well, the Nazi government appointed the head of the national railways as the director of the death camp system, utilizing his knowledge of rail transport to expedite their plans.

Well, Hitler was a washed out artist. He had very limited skills so no surprise he turned to an experienced person.

 

[The Wolf]

My wife' has a Harper's Bazaar from 1934 that has a tourism ad for Germany.
Amongst the photos of scenic Germany is a picture of a motorcade driving under the swastika and the crowd giving the one arm salute.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Oh, that's just wonderful. :/ They had to find the people they promoted someplace, I guess. It's a little chilling to think people who could do that type of thing (genocide, systematic murder) aren't complete sociopaths but integrated into our societies, running businesses, etc. Heck, they could be sitting at the desk next to you at work. They simply are missing the promotional opportunity to be murderers.

Granted the person at the head of the railroad was likely placed there for loyalty to the Nazi party, so I guess that makes sense.

I once saw a roster of SS officers which also listed their civilian background and many were middle class professionals such as lawyers, teachers, etc. Kurt Daluege, head of the Order Police (German uniformed police) whose members made up a significant percentage of the notorious Einsatzgruppen, was an engineer by profession who was originally employed by Berlin's department of public works. Among other things, the Ordnungspolizei carried out the liquidation of Lidice for which Daluege was ultimately hanged in 1946.

 

[W-D Forties]

My wife' has a Harper's Bazaar from 1934 that has a tourism ad for Germany.
Amongst the photos of scenic Germany is a picture of a motorcade driving under the swastika and the crowd giving the one arm salute.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

The oddest thing I've seen recently was a George Formby film from the 30's (I can't remember which one, they are all so alike), where he's riding motorcycles, could be the Isle of Man TT. All of the national flags are flying during the race, including the Swastika. It looks so strange to see that now in what was a comedy.
Hindsight is a wondeful thing.

 

[1961MJS]

I once saw a roster of SS officers which also listed their civilian background and many were middle class professionals such as lawyers, teachers, etc. Kurt Daluege, head of the Order Police (German uniformed police) whose members made up a significant percentage of the notorious Einsatzgruppen, was an engineer by profession who was originally employed by Berlin's department of public works. Among other things, the Ordnungspolizei carried out the liquidation of Lidice for which Daluege was ultimately hanged in 1946.

Hi

If memory serves, from Heinze Hohne's book "The Order of the Death's Head", the leaders of the Einsatzgruppen weren't really told what exactly it was they were leading until they showed up in Russia. More than half of them got grossed out and left pretty quick. I think the pitch was something on the order of "an important difficult task", "requires men of iron will", and "room for advancement", no mention of piles of dead bodies etc.

Later

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Here's a colour film from 1935 promoting Berlin for the 1936 Olympics.

[video=youtube;ywiHc6PCfWg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywiHc6PCfWg[/video]

 

[Metatron]

Incredible footage, thanks for posting. Very sad to think that everything would be turned into rubble in ten years.

 

[Mr. Hallack]

That is quite fascinating the film, amazing it's from 1935.

My bad, the copy of Fortune Magazine is from July 1939, not February.

 

[hatguy1]

Hi

If memory serves, from Heinze Hohne's book "The Order of the Death's Head", the leaders of the Einsatzgruppen weren't really told what exactly it was they were leading until they showed up in Russia. More than half of them got grossed out and left pretty quick. I think the pitch was something on the order of "an important difficult task", "requires men of iron will", and "room for advancement", no mention of piles of dead bodies etc.

Later

In "Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust" (Goldhagen, D. January 28, 1997, http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Willing-Executioners-Ordinary-Holocaust/dp/0679772685), Goldhagen follows some German "police squads" (men rejected for full military induction) and "takes us into the killing fields where Germans voluntarily hunted Jews like animals, tortured them wantonly, and then posed cheerfully for snapshots with their victims. From mobile killing units, to the camps, to the death marches, Goldhagen shows how ordinary Germans, nurtured in a society where Jews were seen as unalterable evil and dangerous, willingly followed their beliefs to their logical conclusion."

One striking point I remember from this book is that those in the police squads who literally went on "hunt and destroy" missions looking for Jews in Poland etc and shooting them where they found them usually did not show any remorse in letters home or while on leave at home etc for what they'd done.