"Movin' On Up" Performed by Hitler and Friends

There was a video of Hitler strutting his stuff to Merv Griffin’s “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” on you tube which I was hoping to re-post, but it has been removed due to copyright issues. It’s too bad, because it was really well done. I was thinking about the video while watching the news and the latest rumblings from North Korea. Don’t take me wrong, the situation is not a good one, and whenever things get too far down on the scale of life I always turn to humor as a source of relief. And that’s what brought that video to mind.

I did find, in its stead, this little gem of Hitler set to music; in this case “Movin’ on Up” from the sitcom “The Jeffersons.” Now, before you object too strenuously, let me tell you why I find these types of videos to be so funny. You see, they take the demagogue and show him up for what he really is; a buffoon. Not a larger than life dictator, but a fool. Just as in Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”, or the Three Stooges in “You Natsy Spy”, these films help to undercut the fear engendered by such fanatics. No one is powerful enough to stop laughter.

The best example I can give of this line of reasoning comes from a concentration camp survivor named Robert Clary, who played Corporal Le Beau on “Hogan’s Heroes”, and was a prisoner from 1942 in Ottmuth and then transferred to Buchenwald where he was freed on April 11, 1945 at the age of 19. The other 12 members of his family all perished there. He was asked if he thought there was something wrong with his participation in a show that made the Nazi’s look like fools. His reply was that in the camps there was only laughter to sustain one’s strength. To lose that spirit would have meant giving up, and then dying. That explanation, from someone who was there, and lost so much, has always held weight with me. 

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Tommy Tucker - Fascist on the Rise

“I am the Senator. You are the citizen. You need to be quiet.” 

  Senator Tommy Tucker (Waxhaw)

This is the face; and those are the words; of Fascism. The man looks quite ordinary, and that’s where the danger lies. Think about Charles Manson; he looked nuts, so he didn't scare me. But his “disciples”, who all looked like ordinary people were the ones who carried out his orders; hence they are the scarier of the two groups.

North Carolina is in the midst of a sea change in politics. With a Republican held state government anything is possible. Just 2 weeks ago the State Legislature tried to fast track a resolution which would have established a State Religion. Naturally, I was not included in that group, which would have marginalized my rights as a citizen to worship as I please without fear. It did not even make it to a vote because people, like me and you, stood up against it.

This week we see the emergence of State Senator Tommy Tucker of Waxhaw pushing a bill on a fast track which will allow the state government, and small towns, to act in what amounts to secrecy in changing things like zoning laws and the placements of waste-water treatment facilities without the requisite placement of Public Notice in the local newspapers which are read almost 60 times as much as the notices posted on government websites, which is where the notices will go if the Senate Bill 287  passes today.

I called Mr. Tucker’s office at 919-733-7659 this morning and was treated with the utmost rudeness by a man who would not give his name, did not know that the Senator had said the words quoted above, and had never heard of the bill. When I tried to explain the meaning of the bill to him he became agitated and rude, talking over anything I had to say. Then, to cap it off, he claimed to know about the bill but refused to discuss it. Such arrogance has never come my way before.

Tommy Tucker works for the people. He is an employee. When he tells a reporter to shut up, he is talking to you. As his employer, we call upon the people of Waxhaw to fire this misguided would be dictator in the next election. And then, tell him to be quiet.

"Stalag 17" with William Holden (1953)

This is another re-post from last year as I wind down for the New Year ahead. It is one of my favorite Christmas movies simply because of the time and place in which it takes place; a German POW camp in the few days leading up to Christmas; a time when “good will towards men” is the usual watchword. This film is very different than the traditional, and yet it packs a powerful punch every-time I watch it.

This is a film that I associate with Christmas. It's not the warm and fuzzy type of Christmas movie you would normally expect. I prefer the more unusual Christmas movies, the ones which explore the human condition more than the tinsel on the tree.

In this film the entire story takes place around the time of the holidays, only this time in a German POW Camp, Stalag 17. The time is less than 4 days before Christmas of 1944. In this 1953 film directed by Billy Wilder, fellow Director Otto Preminger plays the Commandant  of Stalag 17; a POW Camp located somewhere in Germany. He is pure Nazi, right to the bone. They couldn't have picked a better actor. The film is based entirely upon the Broadway play of the same name, in which Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck, who play the roles of Harry Shapiro and "Animal", appeared. They are both excellent in this screen adaptation.

Someone in the barracks at Stalag 17 is a stoolie. Several men have already died attempting escapes. No one knows who it is, but everyone suspects it to be Sgt. Sefton, played by William Holden, a shrewd black market trader who has fresh eggs for breakfast while his fellow prisoners subsist on gruel. He is not very well liked. He flouts his wealth, mocking the others as "saps."

Overseeing the entire barracks is Sgt. Schultz, (if you're thinking of "Hogan's Hero's", forget it. In this film, Klink and Schultz are both real Nazi's, with no shred of honor, or humor. This is a drama.) He is a cruel and calculating man who masquerades as the men's "friend", but his real purposes are sinister and without merit.

When the men in the barracks gang up on Sefton, and beat him, thinking he is the stoolie, they set off a chain of events which leads to the discovery of the real mole, on Christmas Eve, just in time for a planned escape by several of the prisoners. With the holiday only hours away, someone is about to pay for those who have died, while others are on their way to freedom.

A real surprise twist at the end makes this an excellent film at any time of the year. But now, as Christmas approaches,, the film is somehow more poignant, as we watch these men struggle with their burdens, each one bearing their individual cross, during a time of year which normally holds joy for most.

The film won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in 1954 for William Holden, who initially refused the part. In addition it also won Nominations for Best Supporting Actor for Robert Strauss, as well as a Nomination for Best Director for Billy Wilder. If you've never seen this one, check it out. Here is a clip from the film;