MPL Talks: Nazism in Power

If Dr. John Foster's talk on the rise of National Socialism in Germany intrigued you, its sequel will fascinate you.
In this talk, Foster examines:
• how National Socialism's particular brand of anti-Semitism was especially malevolent. (Not that any form of bigotry is admirable.)
• how Adolf Hitler's Germany gradually dehumanized and then exterminated certain sub-populations of humans.
• how the Nazi Party wasn't organized-and we use that word loosely-as most people expect or assume.
• the inherent danger in deciding a group of people "isn't one of us."
For more information on programs at Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org

[@aug3014]

I really enjoy his speaking style. He’s speaking from his personal knowledge, not reading a lecture. It’s conversational. I find it very engaging.

[@gatoblanconzful]

Exactly. He's just sharing what he knows. And he knows a lot about many different things

[@dancroitoru364]

only if he could finish his sentences without those awkward pauses and also he could spare his audience of bombastic explanations "they accused the jews of having a certain smell, *which wasn't true*" - dude, they did not!? what a relief

[@HMDHEGD]

I for one enjoyed the sort of messy delivery here...

[@imnotbuyingit983]

Thank you, Dr. Foster, for posting your lectures. I'm enjoying them, from afar.

[@johanneduardschnorr3733]

Dresden was ‘45.... He left out a BIG part of the “Night of the Long Knives” story, gaining acceptance of the Military....

[@mcfontaine]

The detail in these lectures is fantastic. Thank you.

[@DasKammergericht]

Big error at 1:09, that's ALFRED Rosenberg, not Hans. Just putting that out there.

[@spin1788]

Great video

[@kaycox5555]

This speaker probably has all the information in the world, but needs help with delivery, pauses, inflections, etc.

[@dariowiter3078]

Not all lecturers are articulate speakers, so don't complain too much.

[@AleisterCrowleyMagus]

I’m an academic myself, and I’ve given dozens of lectures and listened to hundreds of talks over the course of my career. Foster desperately needs notes, or a detailed outline, at the very least. He wanders (intellectually), loses touch with points and persons he mentions, and in general confuses himself and the audience. The issue is one of basic organization and preparation - not whether or not one is “articulate.” This is a special setting that requires particular preparation.

[@dariowiter3078]

@@AleisterCrowleyMagus Yes, exactly. Telling history in a general way doesn't make the subject matter interesting or accurate in that style of presentation.

[@robbiecotner3666]

Yeah I’m not a good public speaker, but a lot of his pauses seem totally unnecessary. I find myself completing his sentences in my mind.

[@paigetomkinson1137]

I noticed it, at first. Now, it's like listening to a friend, while sitting comfortably at home, while he tells me the most incredible stories. If he were your friend, sharing a deep understanding, or a relative, I doubt you'd be quite so critical. It doesn't seem to be that giving lectures was ever his goal in life, but learning was. We're lucky he's willing to share.

[@lightyearsfromhome1165]

Sounds like a serious version of Louis CK

[@capitalist4life]

CK is a descendant of holocaust survivors and he has some great material on the topic

[@3746463]

It was ALFRED Rosenberg, not Hans...

[@DasKammergericht]

Funny you mention Northern India when speaking about the Aryans, as a, perhaps, bettwr example is Iran, whose name was changed from Persia to reflect their roots; the name ,,Iran'' means Aryan.

[@dariowiter3078]

"Iran" means "Land Of The Aryan," not "Aryan." Also, the name change from "Persia" to "Iran" occured in 1935.

[@gkocourek6274]

NAZIs had a age/height/weight table for children in Czechoslovakia. If a child didn’t fit within the constraints of the table, the doctor had to report them to NAZI officials. These children were sent to concentration camps if, the parents couldn’t hide them somehow.

[@childeharoldskillgrimage2652]

Alfred Rosenberg, not Hans.

[@jesseadair8050]

There's a large segment of American society that thinks Jesus was not a Jew now also.

[@paigetomkinson1137]

That is very discouraging.

[@MisterDragonbeard]

The Nazis nationalized services etc. There were very large socialist programs. This is an undeniable fact. I hope this is merely a major misrepresentation by oversight

[@paigetomkinson1137]

The Nazis destroyed the existing labor unions that had been thriving in Germany. They then banned any union that wasn't of their creation. What they created was a system that told workers how much they'd be paid, the job they'd do, the hours they'd work, etc. The people who owned the businesses were allowed to stay on, but as managers. There were a few large businesses they mostly left alone, like anything having to do with armaments. Businesses in Nazi Germany were never owned by the state, or turned over to the workers as cooperatives. The Nazis also believed in private property, and didn't shift ownership except for in the lands they conquered, and to some extent in agriculture to try increasing yield to achieve autarky.

[@commissary4196]

I used to believe this but they were ultra capitalist. Private ownership was pretty much at an all time high.

[@RMStrasser]

The man transposes an idea of 'the last gasp of capitalism'. This was a thought of fascism over communism. Fascism is so far right... it is understood as "popular empire" (by communists).

[@charleswilcher6158]

I agree ...I don't like the speaker himself..he is not fluid when he talks...the information is fine ..and pretty much accurate..but he must do a better job delivering the goods..I love Nazi history and have viewed and read my fair share..but he seems to stammer through it..and I find that very unfortunate

[@danelirimescu6832]

Off topic : I live in canada. Originally I am from eastern europe . When I was an adolescent I asked my dad a few questions about the Arab world and the peace process with state of Israel? My dad told me to bring the world map. The one that you can rotate . Then he asked me to show him where Israel is ! I could point out saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and that s it. Nothing else. I realised than what

[@danelirimescu6832]

....

[@sveu3pm]

yea sure, you can find them if you want . Just like those detention centers at the mexican border

[@dariowiter3078]

Stupid, anti-Trump idiot! 😠😠😠😠😠

[@autism-is-unstoppable8017]

58:18 illegal immigrants have entered the chat

[@AleisterCrowleyMagus]

John Foster (the speaker) - please, I beg you, USE notes at least and/or a detailed outline at the very least. I am an academic myself (medieval history), and I’ve given and listened to many talks over the years, and I’ve heard - at the most - three note-less talks that were successful. It has NOTHING to do with depth of knowledge as the most knowledgeable people I know need notes the most as they can wander off discussing various tangents for hours. This is very frustrating for audiences (and it doesn’t matter if the audience is full of well-published Ph. D.s or just ordinary folk who’ve maybe watched a documentary and are mildly interested in the topic). It’s difficult to listen to a speaker who pauses for long periods of time, mentions names and places and various events without integrating them successfully, and wanders from topic to topic. Please use notes- it will make the experience better for everyone - I assure you.

[@bkbmckee]

Frustrating for you maybe, the rest of us are listing to the Dr because we like his style. If I wanted history I'd read a history book or listen to one of Yale's lecture series. I just like listening to John because it's like listening to one of my friends ramble about a subject they know a lot about.

[@paigetomkinson1137]

@@bkbmckee I agree, completely. I think of these lectures of his as listening to a very knowledgeable friend describing what he knows, sitting comfortably in one of our houses over coffee, or maybe something stronger. His depth of knowledge is incredible, and I feel lucky to be able to listen to him, for free, across the country.

[@gatoblanconzful]

I disagree. I like the way he talks about different things

[@yp77738yp77739]

Always fascinates me the way the massive elephant in the room is always skimmed over. How exactly were so many bodies incinerated, where did the huge amount of the fuel necessary for incineration come from in time of war and where were all the remains claimed. Something on a small scale happened but it has clearly been exaggerated for political purposes.

[@randyhavard6084]

Hitler absolutely was a socialist, he didn't want a revolution that would trash the whole economy the way the Communist did Russia, so he gave the industrialist a choice of going along with the government or the government would completely take over, but make no mistakes the Nazi government was in control of all media, all the production in Germany, distribution of resources, and the prices of those resources. Socialism - a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. State - a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government Germany is a state, it was an organized political community under the Nazi party controlled all the means of production and distribution therefore the Nazi government was absolutely 100% socialist just like the communist.

[@Rosssk8ing]

“Owned or regulated by the community as a whole” contradicts your entire point. Also, there was private property all over Nazi germany. Ask any historian who has spent decades studying the Nazis if Germany was socialist.

[@randyhavard6084]

@@Rosssk8ingdo you even know what socialism is?

[@kevinspacey5325]

"Social democrats". . . Nice oxymoron there pal....