Hmm, not to play devil's advocate (possibly quite literally!), but the photo got me thinking about the perceptions of both men in history. (I've been reading lately about post-Churchhill Labor leadership increasing the welfare state in Britain...and I've always been upfront about my dislike for Winston.) We think of Chamberlain as an appeaser, Hitler as pure evil, etc..
But I'm struck with Dubya's attempts to improve his historical image lately and wondering if he's quietly figured out by now (despite public face otherwise) that his own view and what people think of him may be at odds.
What I'm getting at is the unknowable souls of the two in the photo. What did Eva Braun see in Adolf, for instance?
Long story short is at my museum last month I took the guided tour of the U-505 which includes a bit about how advanced German technology was--esp. compared to the US. We're sort of raised on a steady diet of American rah-rah, but you see the photos of the young 17 year olds who were captured and they don't look like "Nazis." With my beard now, I would have blended in fine. They were inexperienced kids learning to use superior technology...not all that different from the vagueness of today's wars the US is fighting.
I guess what I'm saying is when I look at the photo I see two dudes who couldn't possibly understand the full impact of what they were doing.
As the new year approaches, I'm just waxing philosophical about living our own history as best we can. Mostly I feel sorry for both of them...within about 5 years they'd both be dead and hated.
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Date: 2008-12-31 05:01 pm (UTC)From:But I'm struck with Dubya's attempts to improve his historical image lately and wondering if he's quietly figured out by now (despite public face otherwise) that his own view and what people think of him may be at odds.
What I'm getting at is the unknowable souls of the two in the photo. What did Eva Braun see in Adolf, for instance?
Long story short is at my museum last month I took the guided tour of the U-505 which includes a bit about how advanced German technology was--esp. compared to the US. We're sort of raised on a steady diet of American rah-rah, but you see the photos of the young 17 year olds who were captured and they don't look like "Nazis." With my beard now, I would have blended in fine. They were inexperienced kids learning to use superior technology...not all that different from the vagueness of today's wars the US is fighting.
I guess what I'm saying is when I look at the photo I see two dudes who couldn't possibly understand the full impact of what they were doing.
As the new year approaches, I'm just waxing philosophical about living our own history as best we can. Mostly I feel sorry for both of them...within about 5 years they'd both be dead and hated.