There Are Plenty of Other Evil Villains

The Nazis were terrible, but were they the worst bad guys ever?

Photo of the infamous Auschwitz Gate by Nur Yilmez at Pexels

What about the Third Reich is so appealing that books and movies are still being made about it? And why do we keep wanting to hear more about Nazi lies, Nazi attacks on anyone they hate, and Nazi humiliation of those who don’t agree with them?

Germany is still ashamed about the Nazi/Hitler/Third Reich debacle, but they deserve credit for paying 86.8 billion to survivors and their descendants (even though they made sure that there wouldn’t be all that many survivors or descendants). On another positive note, Germany requires Holocaust education in the schools. Kudos for that, and for countless films and books set at the epicenter of the Third Reich.

But what about other countries in Europe that were inspired by Hitler? I think they deserve films and literature at least as much as Nazis do, although Poland is still being weird about it. Aside from the paintings of big-nosed Jewish men clutching money that they sell for “good luck” on the streets of Warsaw, there’s a snack bar/gift shop just outside the gates of Auschwitz, where people picnic (such a pleasant place).

I snapped at the bathroom attendant and pushed past her saying that I wouldn’t pay a single zloty to use the facilities where nearly 1 million of my people were gassed to death. We don’t need more Holocaust movies set in Poland.

It wasn’t until 2009 that France’s highest court admitted that France had been responsible for allowing thousands and thousands of Jews to be deported. That was after decades of claiming that “mistakes were made by the Vichy regime.” We got the documentary Night and Fog and Inglourious Basterds out of France, plus books like Sarah’s Key and All the Light You Cannot See. And those are only the famous ones!

Ukraine (which gave us Everything is Illuminated), is putting up a brave resistance against a terrible autocratic regime, but they should never forget, nor should we, the decades they spent blaming the USSR and Germany for “mass exterminations” (eg: Babi Yar) in which they participated.

Volodymyr Zelensky (their president) is Jewish, and Ukrainians teach Holocaust education in their schools, so when the Russian people get sick of Putin’s war and Ukraine can move forward, maybe they’ll confront their past antisemitism.

What about Austria? Their government waited until 1991 to formally admit the numbers of Austrians who’d supported Hitler and made sure all their Jewish citizens were either murdered or expelled so they could take over Jewish homes, art, and household goods). Well, we did get Sound of Music and Woman in Gold out of Austria.

I could go on about the rest of Europe because I consumed this stuff for breakfast growing up in a family with a bunch of cousins who survived Auschwitz (Luckily, the Nazis didn’t get to Hungary until 1944, late in the game). But that’s not my point here.

My point is that we’re still seeing a barrage of Holocaust-related books and movies every year, like the following: 2021: The Meaning of Hitler, Operation Mincemeat, Munich: The Edge of War, 2022: Die Wannseekonferenz, The Huntress of Auschwitz, Red Ghosts: Nazi Hunter, 2023: Nazi Fugitives, Zone of Interest, Condor’s Nest).

I’m just going to come right out and say it: The Nazis and Hitler are not worthy of all these books and movies. In a list of the top ten WORST political parties in the history of the world, Nazis come AFTER the Chinese Communist Party! It’s a silly list, since the Democratic Party comes in at #6 and the Republican Party at #12 (so imagine what kinds of people voted), but still, why aren’t there more movies and books about the Chinese Communist Party?

Maga Republicans have a lot in common with the Third Reich in terms of temperament, dislike of minorities and immigrants, suspicion of intellectuals, and loose relationship with the truth, but they can never reach the Nazi's hold on the entertainment industry. We’ll probably get a few books and movies when Trump is finally just a bad memory, but it won’t be anything like the consistent release of Nazi-related books and movies nearly 80 years after the end of WW11.

Then there’s this: Nazis are #25 in a list of the 25 most RUTHLESS political parties in the history of the world. Not even in the top five! But we hardly see any movies about #1 - Somalia’s Revolutionary Council, #2 - Sudan’s National Congress Party, or #3 - The Communist Party of Turkmenistan.

And if we’re looking at the Evil Despot Responsible for the Most Murders Award, that goes to Mao Zedong (49–78 million) with Josef Stalin as runner-up (23 million). Hitler is #3 and only responsible for the murder of 17 million human beings. Where are the movies and books about the top two murderers?

I’m begging all authors and producers to stop subjecting us to books and films about Nazis, Hitler, or Germany during WW11. You know who everyone is afraid of that might be a good replacement for Nazis? Snakes. Ew.

Also, MAGA Republicans are frightening because they’re putting women’s health at risk and they’re huge fans of discrimination and bigotry. Or what about the climate crisis? — That can be darned scary and titillating for those who need that sort of thing.

In conclusion, although Hitler and the Nazis (the leader and his followers, not the punk band) were good at destruction, torture, and attempting to eradicate my entire people (but only managed 6 million), there are plenty of other historical villains to use in your books and films.

Please, it’s enough already with the Nazis.