Ohio Tea Partier Spent Weekends Playing Nazi Games

Source: Talking Points Memo

The Atlantic's Josh Green reports that millionaire businessman Rich Iott, the Republican nominee challenging Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D) in Ohio's Ninth District, has an unusual hobby: He likes to pretend he's a Nazi.

Iott, a tea party-backed candidate, spent time fighting another battle before he hit the campaign trail against Kaptur as a member of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a group of Ohio World War II renactors.

According to their website, the Wikings strive to "salute" the "idealists" from occupied northern Europe who saw the Third Reich as "the protector of personal freedom and their very way of life" and signed up to fight for the Wermacht and "gave their lives for their loved ones and a basic desire to be free."

Green broke the story tonight, showing the photos of Iott in his SS garb on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/ohio-tea-partier-spent-weekends-playing-nazi-games.php?ref=fpa

---

Photo of Ohio Republican candidate Rich Iott in his Nazi uniform on the link ABOVE.

Edited to add:
The link BELOW is what TPM's Josh Marshall has to say regarding the issue
Marcy Kaptur's Good Night's Sleep
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/10/marcy_kapturs_good_nights_sleep.php?ref=fpblg

And an excerpt from ''The Atlantic'' article:
.... Sydnor added that re-enactments like the Wiking group's are illegal in Germany and Austria. ''If you were to put on an SS uniform in Germany today, you'd be arrested.''
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/why-is-this-gop-house-candidate-dressed-as-a-nazi/64319/

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

some commercials about this.

Yes, go on the offensive.

and other outrages such as Babi Yar


Women waiting to be executed---stripped naked




Nice Waffen SS uniform

That must be Mel Brooks in the blue jacket :silly:

They hate immigrants, they hate African Americans, they hate poor people, they hate Muslims, and now they identify with Nazis, always cloaking it in the name of "freedom". That would be freedom from common decency and a sense of humanity; freedom to be as self-serving as they want.

Does anyone else get the feeling that we are all part of a 60 year old nazi genetic testing scheme? Just a thought.

Members of the division's bakery column, led by Obersturmführer Braunnagel and Untersturmführer Kochalty, assisted Einsatzgruppe A in rounding up Ukrainian Jews. Witnesses report that the Jewish victims were forced to run a gauntlet formed by soldiers who would beat them as they passed, and when they reached the end of the gauntlet, Einsatzgruppen officers murdered them and their bodies were pushed into a bomb crater. The German 1st Mountain Division is also suspected of being implicated. Between 50 and 60 Jews were killed in this manner, as a part of the larger Einsatzgruppe operation which resulted in over 700 murders.

Otherwise, this makes perfect sense.

I'm sorry, you haven't received your copy of the NEW history books, have you? We'll get one right out to you. Actually, at this point maybe we should just sign you right up for the reeducation camp.

Gypsies.

The guy isn't play acting at being a Nazi he is
a Nazi.

amongst men.

Never underestimate man's ability to justify to himself what he is doing is "good" and "right".

Oh, wait a second ... that's O'Donnell's campaign slogan isn't it?



Iott (2nd from right) in a Nazi SS Waffen uniform.

OK, how about: "SS We Can" ... or ... "I Like Reich" ... or "The few. The Proud. The Morons."

You are just trying to smear these upstanding "Real Americans".

Hey tea baggers; STFU and DIAF. You are racist bigots and the only reason you give a rat's shit about opposing Obama is because he's black.

You don't fucking understand our history much less world history. You can't even balance your own fucking checkbooks much less understand even basic economics. You idiots can't figure out the directions on a bottle of shampoo yet you claim you are experts on the Constitution.

I know who you folks are. You are the same asswipes I had at work who would whisper "Happy James Earl Ray Day" on MLK-JR day. You are idiots every last one of you.

So, does this guy APPROVE of Obama, then? Fellow-nazis, and all?

I'm just... so confused.

:sarcasm:, if it's needed here.

amusedly,
Bright

This guy is actually running to be a member of the United States House of Representatives? And I suppose he could actually win?

Why should I be surprised? We have a candidate with a youthful witchcraft issue (among many other questionable dabblings, lies, and financial failings), a candidate for Governor of New York who sends pornographic and racist emails and threatens to kill reporters, a Senate candidate in Nevada who is nuttier than a fruitcake. Why not a weekend Nazi?

This could be our country folks. People elected these creeps and clowns. That is so truly scary.

This is more like: who let the crazies out, and why are so many people willing to vote for them?

Is it possible for a large segment of society to undergo mass psychosis at once?

You know he'll be spinning this as just like Boy Scouts for adults or some such nonsense.

Beck, who loves to paint Democrats as Nazis, will have a real dilemma with this. He'll probably just ignore the whole thing.

He's probably on their website right now wondering how he can get in on that action.

sometimes an SS nazi.. its normal. that's what rush would say

They will blame the liberal media, they will say this is a proud expression of freedom or liberty, or just flat out ignor it ...

one's heritage blah...blah...blah...he will justify it by saying that black Americans get to do it...see how that works....they will justify anything.

Why can't it be Rob Portman or Toomey or suchlike

Amazing that voter believe his line of shit.

knr!

As a Scandinavian i think its pretty annoying and strange that nazis use this mythology.

The Vikings were first and foremost tradesmen, explorers and excellent craftsmen. Nazis tend to have a thing for northern myhology etc.

who fought for the Germans were traitors.

..the fact that the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division was comprised of volunteers from occupied countries - mostly Scandinavia.

can i still feel offended that they are using northern mythology in their Nazi ideology?

all but indistinguishable from actual Nazis anyway. Listen to the cadence of their words of hate directed at the gullible. This country is on the edge right now, on the edge of full blown WWII style fascism.

Not that I like to hang with that crowd. But, last year, posters were organizing carpools to Tea Party events because of the large "target rich environment." Translation: mostly white attendees. They were bragging about some recruits they had picked up at some rallys and how best to disguise their pamplets to appear less blatantly racist so that organizers wouldn't catch on to them, i.e. "Multiculturalism and America" vs. "String up all the Jew Bastards." Well, you get the idea. So, yes, whether Tea Partiers admit it or not, racists are a strong component in their organizations. The members did admit that the older crowd, presumably WWII vets, were outraged by them (don't know why, they are mostly White Supremacists, not really neo-Nazis. Oh, hell. They're really neo-Nazis) and they were told to approach mostly those under 50. But, it's a chilling website. And they are very enthusiastic about the opportunity of meeting large crowds of overt and covert bigots grouped at one place for their browsing pleasure.

of Stormfront's existence. Most of the willing participants (like Teabaggers) aren't even aware that they are being manipulated by fascists, imho. Just gullible dupes.

Does anyone else see the relationship of this to the bullied deaths in Ohio? And for that matter, all over the country. As long as society accepts this behavior from adults, children will mimic the behavior and bully others.

8 years get away with bullying everyone, I'm not one bit surprised by people following his example. I knew this was going to happen.

He never apologized. He never admitted he was wrong. He talked stupidly. He set the example.

And I live in Ohio....I see this type of behavior every damn day. Is there any place I can move and see less of this bullying and crudeness?

ETA: Welcome to DU.

:puke:

to be our nation's Brownshirts. They would like nothing better. This guy is just a little ahead of the curve and got caught.

watch & see how many people actually cast their votes for this nazi. That, to me, is more chilling than a fascist fucknozzle running for office - the fact that people will look at this and say, 'that's my guy!'

:scared: of these nuts.

We'll fold them into a tea bread batter. They'll be over-baked soon enough.

:loveya:

:loveya:

Fascinated?

Tx4obama

Then the republican nomine should try to read himself up on what type of military formations, the young, often naive volentarys from northen europe was into before he play around in world war two gears. The volentaries from many country's was never in Whermact, as it was a pure german formations. You must at least have a parent, male, to get into Whermact. But it was little more loose, to get into Waffen SS, the SS army with weapon. Waffen SS was known, as the armed formations of the political party police SS, and was at first a rather smal force, but as the war progressed, and the formations grow, it was by the end of the war, a army of ten of thousands, and also a army who could treatend the really fundation of Whermact as the only military system in Germany. Heinrich Himmler, the suprime comander of SS, is belived to wanted to make SS the suprime military force in Germany, replacing Whermact, for SS as the military arm. Mostly becouse Himmler and to a degree also Hitler never trusted Whermact. As the officer corps was part of the old Preussen military system, and therefore not that into nazism as SS was...

And we all know what SS did, or at least some formations in SS did, in the KZ system where millions of people was killed or maimed for the rest of their life.. The SS Totenkopfbande, who was organisation the KZ camps was rather unfriendly to the inmates...

Again, I belive he should try to read himself up, as SS and the nazi-Germany was never into the business of "protector of personal freedom and their very way of life. and to be free". If that was the case, they should have been fighted for the Allied forces not germany!. Many might have had great ideals for fighting for germany, but I doubt that "protecting personal freedom" was one of them, as germany was a full flown dictatorship in the 1940s, and I doubt Hitler, or any of his group of leaders was into given anyone some personal space.... Rather the opposite if anyone would read about how it was in Germany before the war, from 1933 and forward, the whole idea of personal freedom was the opposite that the germans wanted, or the regime was there to give..

Many of the volentaries was naive, maybe belived that Germany would win the war, and therefore it was easy to get with the flow. Many young men also wanted actions, after grown up in often poor conditions, it was easy to belive that after a service in SS, you could came back, as an important person in the local community. And at least in Norway, many hoped after the war, that they should be given a farm in Russia, where they could make a decent living.. Many of them, was sons of smal farmers in Norway, and wanted something better for themself.. After the war, they often resived hard time for their membership in SS.. Some lost everything they had and was leaving as fast as they was out of prison, to Latin America, where many head of state was really into former soldiers of Waffen SS

Germany lost, the soldiers in SS, and Whermact, and the sivilians in so many country's lost, It was a horrible war, who ended when Berlin was overrun by USSR in may 1945..

And now, over 60 year later, a hopefull to the Kongress, a republican is playing around as an soldier in SS.. How little many have learned about the whole war..

It was indeed a sharming divition he want to play as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_SS_Panzer_Division_Wiking

Diclotican

I was born at Rammstein AFB although my dad was a military Captain (Green Beret) in the army. I spent the first few years of my life in at that time West Germany (early 1970's). At that time there were a great deal of men in their late 50's and early 60's that had served for Nazi Germany. You would think they all would have hated my father but the old military guys knew exactly who "those in charge" were. So in spite of the fact that he was a black man, married to a white American of German descent . . . But they had such a 'naive' adoration whether they still held onto the 'ideals of Nazism' or not for the Elite Soldier. There was a little bar place my dad and some of the other officers that reported to him would go into and he was always amazed at how respectful they were to him. He even used to chit chat with a couple of old Panzer (tanks) guys because that was how my father received his Commission - in a tank division during Vietnam.

Contrast my dad saying - that was the past as far as he was concerned(back in the 1970's) and as long as they didn't make problems for his wife or bi-racial children . . . he had no issues with Germans born before 1940 as opposed to - this morning? He's in a tizzy over this picture and this man's involvement in this organization.

He expressed he could have tolerance for a former enemy that we basically crushed with our allies - but he couldn't tolerate that enemies point of view in America.

Now my mom's father (U.S. Army Captain World War II) coming to visit us and my mom's maternal Grandfather (A Veteran officer of the French Army in World War I) and they had a different perspective. Basically slapping the hands of an elderly woman who patted us on the head and remarked how cute we were - my great grandfather who went to his death believing the French propaganda during WWI that the Germans were cutting off the right hands of Belgium children so they had to defend to the end. And then my mom's dad's ranting and raving about how he didn't want "Those People" anywhere near HIS grand babies. Hmmm . . . Kind of rambling here. They both such an extreme love for the country one immigrated to and the one my grandfather was born into as a 100% German American. I can't imagine the foaming at the mouth reaction either would have to someone dressed as a Nazi running for a Federal position within the government they loved.

JustAnotherGen

Must ben intersting to live in another country than US, even if it was just for a few year. Many of them, who had been fighting in the war was alive and around in the 1970s too... But I doubt that many of them hatet the americans, becouse they know wel that the US forces in Ramstein AFB and other places, was one of the forces who keep russians for marshing west.. And many of the old comerades from world war two, was more scared about the posibility that the russians would came, than to have americans, and british forces in West Germany.. And they do know who was in sharge - it was not them anymore. Germans have allways had a deep rooted respect for the men in power, it was inscrined into them from young age, and was was really something that a military career would get into them.. Follow your orders was one of the commands in german community from the 1870s, and was used by the nazis to really drill into them the duty they had to do the command from above.. Even if the orders was something that they might personal object to. And to many germans did as they should do, following orders... I am not sure about if it was a nive belif in the Elite soldier, or what else it could be, that they had so respect for him, but it could be a lot of reasons.. Your father was maybe a man who on his own two feet would make them respect him, his personality was maybe enough? Wel, old soldiers often want to talk with others, who share the same "worldwiew" as they do. Even if they was enemies in the war... And it was maybe intersting for the old panzer crews to know about how things was going, in a new world, and they might even pick up some new knowlegde about how things have changed since they was in actions.. You can say wat you want, but the german Panzers was the best, of the best in their days... It was not easy to be accepted into a panzer divisision at all, and then you have to prove yourself in war, and the german panzers was all over the place, in front of every part of the world, where germany was in war, the speerhead was the Panzer...


Must be interesting to grow up, as the child of a black man, and a white woman, even that in the 1970s, I guess it was not that difficult as before, when you really had problems when it was "mixing races". Even today, it must be some tolleranse from everyone, to fully accept it..
Former enemies, often respect eatch others. Becouse after all, they was fighting for a cause, and when the one side lost, the other side had to accept the loss. Even if it meant you might have to do a lot of soul searching about what happend.. I belive many did that after the war.. Even if they never admited to it they did a lot of soul searching maybe for the rest of their life...

I belive you when you told your dad get into a fizz when he got that type of news, that some who want to have a role in your government, also is playing around in war games, dressed up as SS soldiers.. That is allways not easy to forget when you know your country have fighted against them, and ten of thousands of young men died to crush the ideology and the war mashine the germans had.. At best it is tasteless, at worst, arrogant, criminal stupidity, and he should come near a seat of government.. My grandfather on my mothers side was in the war, as part of the norwigian ressistance, when germany occupied Norway in world war two. He was fighting in a way, doing what he could do, as part making sure that Norway once would be free.. My father on my dad side was also doing some part of a ressistance. Even if he got arrested, and was put into arrest at Grini policecamp (It was a KZ camp, but officially it was a camp, governt by the german police, not SS) But managed to escape after 2 weeks, he was not to happy be keept under lock and key, and was in Sweden for the most part under the war. As thousands of norwigian did when they was in dager of been arrested by germans...

Your others family, who experienced even world war one,would posible have turned in their graves now, if they had known.... But it was a feeeling not just made by many after world war one.. Many have also the doubt about germans after world war two, and was doubtfull, or afraid of germans all their life.. My foster father who was in some actions at the war, he was young, and maybe somewhat naive what war was all about, experienced a lot when he had to flee the country, or else maybe be shot by german forces.. And was over in London, and for making a long history short, he had some nasty experienses about war... And he never really forget what he experiensed.. He was also in Bergen-Belsen right after the US army was discovering it, and what he saw there disgusted him withouth doubt... And he never forgot what he experiensed then.. It was not before in 1989, he was willing to even talk to germans not alone shake their hands. Something that was extra ordinary coming from that man... But he was really scared about the posibility of war I belive, even that he never really expressed it public... And what he experienced was with him, all time, to the day he died.... At age 83

I do not what he had said about this, but Iam afraid his head would explode of pur anger...

I hope he never wil be voted into a fedral position anymore.. But I have to say, US is on a slippery slope when it came to facism, and I would not be suprised, by the total lack of knowlegde many americans have today, about the war, and why the war started at all... That a neo-nazi with a fantacy for SS would make it to the Kongress, or Senate.. We can allways hope for the best, but I am afraid it would be far worse, before it could be anything better...

On another side.. The uniforms he was playing with, looks more like the regular Whermacht uniform, not the real one that SS whore when on duty.. Specially the Panzer uniform that SS whore, was black, not grayish... So he might not even be historic correct, playing around in a regular Whermact Uniform either... Who is posible also stupid :evilgrin: But after all, he IS republican, isen't he?

Diclotican

My husband is a WW II reenactor. He does British, a Welsh unit. But one of his good friends, who is also a Democrat, does German, one of the mountain units however and not SS.

need to get other hobbies...or do some self-reflection. Why are you so sick of your life that you have to go imitate someone's life in the past? I think it is very strange. 'Playing War' is just plain sick to me.

Do something that betters your community. Help out at a Food Bank or something.

Learn chess. Something....anything.

.. which at its core is basically the same you chastice these people for doing.

something similar but not so violent.

Are you another willful ignorant? So tiring, so boring, so you.

I expect more from a dane....guess ignorance has gone global.

Is Tivoli Gardens still a delight or have the ignorants taken over that as well? Copenhagen was one of my favorite cities.

Chess pieces reflect concentration camps?

I'm a historical reenactor myself, although I do the medieval period. I am an archer and would love to get out on the battlefield as a combat archer, something I'll work on when my daughter gets a bit older. It's a great hobby and educational as well. I have no interest in learning chess or helping out at the food bank - it doesn't interest me in the least, whereas history does. I don't have a problem with WW 2 reenactors, my husband is one as well as being a <gasp> Civil War reenactor is a <double gasp> Southern unit, the Tigers. I am just not thrilled with the idea of reenacting the SS.

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

I certainly can teach her about war. Thank you for being so concerned with her education. I also have a Masters degree in Modern East Asian History, a Masters in Art History and Museum Training and a BA in Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture, so she'll get a good education in history.

Being interested in history does not a Freeper make and it is a shame that you seem to believe it does. Nor, for that matter, does being interested in the history of warfare make someone "sick". History is not all about war, as any good history major or historian can affirm. You need to read a better class of books on history.

I won't touch your "fatherf*cker" comment except to say that I found it in poor taste, although most telling.

As for your "I have free speech as well.", please let me know how you believe your right to free speech was being infringed upon? My daughter is proud of me. She knows that I have several advanced degrees, that I like history and doing odd things with her, like taking her to archery practice or a museum exhibit, that she was adopted because my husband and I love her very much and that I work for an organization that is working to reduce poverty in the underdeveloped world. Thank you, but I already have a decent life.

I'm on DU, and have been since 2001, because I'm a card-carrying Democrat who enjoys the company of other Democrats and progressives and liberals for the intelligence of their discourse, albeit electronic, as well as for the intellectual stimulation that many of the posters provide. And of course there's always the Lounge if I need to smie.

Just remember, the mill of the Gods grinds slowly, but it grinds exceedingly fine.

WWII reenactment - or Civil War reenactment, or Punic War reenactment or whatever - is one thing, but the reenactors in the OP sound disturbingly like they're trying to idealize the Waffen-SS. I don't have much of a problem with someone reenacting even sketchier units like that, but if they actually buy into the ideology of the soldiers then that's a different matter entirely.

... posted the Atlantic link to this over where a bunch of Teabagger chumps ply their propaganda...

... looks like a room full of tops now ...


So much spin it makes ya dizzy!



:rofl:

When I was 8-years old it was called "playing Army" because kids don't know the real horrors of war. War reenactments are "playing war" by adults who should know better. No, it is not life-or-death, it is just in bad taste. And those who have different taste than me have that right to their own opinion. I just have better things to do with my time than glorifying the real life-or-death struggles and low points in history. And that is everywhere---we tend to glorify the killing of others when it is "our" side that "wins." There are no "winners" in war---just two losing sides of varying degree.

innocent 'collateral damage' that make up the most of the dead and wounded. The women, elderly and children....that is who is by far the most killed and maimed.

Better to have good old 'hand-to-hand' combat where only the soldiers suffered. Of course the women, elderly and children were raped/killed as the soldiers marched to their 'hand-to-hand' wars.

War sucks. It is a racket by which rich men sell weapons to both sides. It should NOT be 'played.' I'd be ashamed to admit to such a 'hobby.' It's sick.

Play Peace!

The GOPers are all NAZIS at HEART...

:wtf:

During the battle of the bulge the Germans surrounded the town bastogne
the German high command demanded Gen. McAuliffe to surrender his reply 'NUTS'.

but American propaganda turned it from a recognition of defeat into some kind of act of defiance, by dropping the "aw..."

Less a recognition of defeat and more a simply "wtf?" reaction to what he thought was an absurd proposition

(The Greatest War: Americans in Combat, by Gerald Astor.)

Something tells me that these guys are into it for more than the history.

Godwin's Law became defunct once the Teabag contingent decided it was super-awesome to call Obama a Nazi.

Now drink your tea and love it, Mien Herr! :)

But there are people who impersonate NAZIs? For real?

And are there also re-enactors who do the Japanese Bataan Death March? Or the Rape of Nanking?

Since WHEN do the LOSERS of a major war get this much attention and adulation????

if someone REALLY wants to feel the pain, adrenaline surge and sting of battle (but not death), I have three words:

Paintball without armor

Democrats criticize GOP over House nominee who dressed as Nazi during battle reenactments
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/09/AR2010100903350.html?hpid=moreheadlines

:rofl:

snip:

Matt Parker, Iott's spokesman, said that Iott had also participated in World War I and U.S. Civil War reenactments and is not a Nazi sympathizer. "He is a military history enthusiast," Parker said, adding that Iott and the group performed reenactments "strictly from a military tactics standpoint." Parker also asserted that the Atlantic story was "clearly a hit piece" by Democrats. snip

Pugs are known for their hit pieces and they don't like it when the Dems fight back.

:(

I thought liberals were the "Nazis"? :puke: :eyes:

Has it ever occurred to anyone that all this clucking about Tea Partyers might have the long term effect of promoting the Tea Party and Nazis?

No more than a bright light promotes roaches...