Reenacting, Atrocity, Politics, and Being Offended by All Three- Part 2/2

[@BrandonF]

At first I thought that it may be a mistake uploading this, given the first video made me lose 12 subscribers. Then I reread some of those initial comments, and I remembered the kinds of people who left. So here's part 2!

[@Schizohandlers]

Haha, well said

[@klappspatenkamikaze]

The right decision!

[@theabstractchicken3998]

It takes great courage to upload the truth. Some people just can't handle the truth. In this case.. The truth hurts.

[@venator0405]

Its the idiots who get butthurt about what you said about the Red Army and the USSR. Good riddance.

[@wesleysnyder349]

Atta boy! Don't let the ignorant ones get you down

[@Kaiser_VSB]

I’m just here doing Great War reenactments where we argue over who had better weapons, uniforms, generals, and who should’ve won the war. We Great War reenactors can agree on one thing is that early war Belgium uniforms are a bit humorous.

[@exploatores]

I think all nation got uniforms out of touch with the time in 1914. I might have missed a nation. but the french is another contender for the one most out of time.

[@crustypuppy3122]

Did y'all make the serbian reanactors not wear shoes?

[@philipb.3758]

@@crustypuppy3122 that's not funny. Slav strong

[@PfalzD3]

But they had a Great hat. LOL

[@timothym9398]

I misread that initially and saw "gulf war" rather than great war and thought "Ooooffff.... that's probably not cool." I know people still fighting with the VA to get their therapy bills covered.

[@Shadowrifta]

History needs not to be tampered with by politics for personal agendas. For it is to educate with solid facts. Another Great Video Good Sir.

[@ВладиславШевченко-с8р]

There is an elemento of truth to the video but a lot of it is based more On cold war propoganda rather then facts.

[@profgandoor2030]

@@ВладиславШевченко-с8р a lot of it is BASED?????!!?

[@FirstNameLastName-qx8ii]

@@ВладиславШевченко-с8р You're literally what the above comment is talking about

[@Oversamma]

I commend your courage in uploading this, not many people would have the guts to do that! By the way, I look very forward to the continuation of your historical evaluation of the battle scene from Revolution. :D

[@BrandonF]

That's the next project to finish!

[@DrCruel]

I once wore a Bolshevik Red Army military coat and fur hat on the Rush Limbaugh show back in the early 1990s. During the commercial break, Rush asked me why I was wearing it. I said that I helped kill the bear, so now I can wear its pelt.

[@Oversamma]

Also, weren't you planning on doing a video about the differences between battalions, platoons etc., explaining the sizes and naming of units? I would like to feast and grow fat on your knowledge. :D

[@BrandonF]

Still am!

[@bpeyman68]

@@BrandonF link to that video?

[@wesleycantrell332]

Where were you when I was taking History at the college level in High School. You literally could've saved my grade during the American Revolution. Well glad I found you now.

[@jamestown8398]

2:28 - I'm gonna have to disagree here; I'll go ahead and hate the people who commit atrocities. Usually those people could have chosen not to commit their crime, but decided to do it either because they like inflicting suffering or because they decided their lives are more important than the lives of their victims. I don't pity Hitler one bit.

[@JohnSmith-il7jn]

Brandon, you are on the right track. Reenactments should always be about history and education, the good, bad and the ugly of being a soldier of that particular time period. Inserting politics into reenacting only summons the ghosts of heated passions, hatred and feuds of the past. This is the danger that must be avoided at all costs. We know that strife and conflict are always bubbling below the surface. Note our present times. Keep the peace and carry on.

[@kllk12ful]

That's fine and all if your family wasn't affected by the atrocities that were committed

[@filmandfirearms]

@@kllk12ful My family was. My grandmother lived through the siege of Leningrad as a little girl. Her father fought, putting his life on the line to save his family and his country. My great-grandfather was no saint and probably committed a few war crimes himself. Seeing Wehrmacht reenactors doesn't offend me. I can differentiate between the men my great grandfather fought and the men who wear the uniform as a hobby today. So long as they don't actively try to glorify or whitewash Nazi Germany, I don't care. In fact, if I had the money, I'd probably do both. I'm under no illusions about who my great-grandfather was, but I'd still use his name in my reenactments. He was an abusive ass back home, I can't imagine he treated the Germans any better

[@TheMovingEye]

I like your compassionate view on your hobby. I was an Inquisitor, cowing some simple soldiers until they drowned 12 villagers on my orders for following heretical beliefs, I was the Czech son of a rich farmer in a small village in Sudetenland who saw his uncle shot in the village square by his German neighbour and who witnessed his German stepmother at the end of the war kicked and bashed out of our village for being a German. We practice this hobby not to revel or gloat but to remember through our heart and body the lowest points humanity can stoop.

[@timothym9398]

I'm glad I waited till the end of this video, and I'm glad you acknowledge the problem of bad actors in the reenactment community (and history communities in general.) I tend to feel that our history groups need to do a better job of self policing who we let in, and what we let them do, when it comes to portraying historical "baddies". I've met far too many history geeks who know all about WW2 and seem wonderful to talk with; until they come to trust you and you find out that the reason they know so much with the Nazis is because they think that the shitbags had the right idea on how to deal with things. Same of course goes with the civil war groups. I used to be a part of an online community where reenactment would happen in mods of a game Mount and Blade for civil war battles. Everything on voice chat, regimental orders, proper battle lines, obeying orders and volley fire etc... It was a good time, until after the battles were over and people came "out of character" in the confederate unit, and I got to find out that their views hardly changed from their in character views. Really fucking repugnant people. When it comes down to it, I think we need to worry about a "does the shoe fit" policy. If we continue to allow racist, sexist, religious bigots, homophobic people, etc... be a part of our groups, then the larger outside community is right to view our groups as promoting those ideas. This would be less of a problem if those horrible ideas were all a thing of the past in our current society, but they're not. Every one of those issues are still things people are still having to fight against here and now, so we need to do a better job making sure they're not finding safe haven to breed and continue in our hobbies as well.

[@leohanson-meier3471]

my great grand father was on the eastern front as a German i think you perfectly described how i feel about him as he was almost killed by the nazi for not being a nazi yet he still severed just as he did in ww1. same with my great uncle he was a pilot from 1944 to the end in France and all of my family that served i pity them for they were good people yet were forced to serve for a evil regime.

[@urmum1959]

That reminds me of how my German grandparents actually think the Polish started World War Two.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

That's just sad :/

[@bruleebois2046]

Thats what the german public was told.

[@marinuswillett6147]

Did they miss the whole thing where Hitler wanted to create "living space, " in Eastern Europe? Didn't he mention it in his book?

[@jonathanholland8133]

Wow I just realized you made these videos last year but this 2nd video completely addressed my comments I just made a few mins ago in part 1 of this 2 part session. Well done!

[@wesleycantrell332]

I do Civil War reenacting and I love portraying the Confederate Army. My group portrays both and this upcoming weekend I am going to an event where we're portraying the Union Army; but I had family fight for the Confederate Army so I do it more so to honor their memory. Regardless of why my family fought for the South in the Civil War, I am honoring their memory as well as to go out and have fun with a bunch of guys for the weekend, it's good to get out and have guy time.

[@hippyjoe]

Well, I personally disagreed with a few statements on a philosophical level but honestly I'm glad people are giving light to these kinds of things, and I think you have a fascinating opinion on reenactment. Wish you well

[@Gordons1888]

Tbh I just like the uniforms, who can say no to Hugo boss, and the red army uniforms nice too but of course Britain’s the best

[@brobruh7850]

Imperator Salt Formerly LMS 5588 Gonna take a tropical trip with some Japanese uniforms

[@mergele1000]

Hugo Boss only did manufacturing, not design.

[@KnightofAges]

British uniforms are the best? What have you been drinking? They were cool in the 17th-19th century, then they introduced drab khaki....

[@Goober_Gaming555]

I'll raise you this: early war french uniforms

[@Gordons1888]

@@Goober_Gaming555 it's more effective to go into battle holding a sign saying 'shoot me first please Gerry'

[@petrsoska9837]

he fights along the "bad guys" BUT also AGAINST other "bad guys".

[@kyriakospentheides]

I'd hardly call a people fighting for survival "bad guys" regardless of how bad their government was.

[@Lonovavir]

I’m a fellow Soviet Reenactor, usually as a Partisan, sometimes as the regular Red Army soldier. For me reenacting is about teaching an obscure part of History as many Americans don’t know about the Eastern Front at all. I hate the Soviet Union as much as Nazi Germany so I tell people that representing the USSR isn’t endorsing what it did and that in order to prevent horrible events from happening again you have to remember them. History isn’t always pleasant or simple, we need to remember that. I think some spectators are looking for a reason to be offended and it’s absurd to be offended by pretend Nazis/Soviets/Confederates, etc when they clearly know it’s a reenactment (What next? Going to Chuck E-Cheese and being offended by all the kids present). I go to Polish events as a Soviet Partisan and people don’t get offended as I tell people whenever possible that there was a sliding scale of how evil Soviet soldiers were (typically most atrocities were committed by the NKVD or support troops following up behind combat units). My main problem is that not enough people attend reenactments as spectators because we need to remember history, not the horrible Hollywood version of it. The double standard I benefit from (save at Polish events) and hate is people who have no problem with Soviet reenacting, but yell at German and Confederate reenactors. I was at one event where the (fake) Soviet Partisans had a picture of Stalin prominently displayed, a hammer and sickle flag you could see 50 yards away, but no SS reenactors were allowed at the event. Excuse me? People need to learn to not be offended by fake bad guys (dressing up in your Soviet/German/Confederate uniform at CVS would be inexcusable) and that history’s complex and needs to be remembered.

[@k0vert]

Thank you for educating people, sir. Some folks are just simple-minded. You're doing good work.

[@ironicchungles5912]

When you return to the UK please visit bamburgh on the north coast. The castle has so much history to it ( WWII hospital , stronghold , home etc) and is perfectly preserved . Also the church is beautiful. At least look it up, its truly awesome.

[@marinuswillett6147]

I once met a Volksturum reenactor that seemed to have picked the German side because he had "no respect for anything French or Communist." I don't recall the exact context, but it sounded pretty suspicious

[@kalebthehistorian5928]

I am sorry for my previous slander. As, ironically, I am now apart of a unit that, due to many false rumors, I was warned against joining. But now, I realize that, much as you said in the video, it was much more complicated. Cheers, from the 191st Rifle Division.

[@TheIrishHistorian1998]

Well said, I get so many members of the public coming up to me who either shout down german re enactors for portraying “the racist monsters” or completely ignore the crimes committed by the Red Army and I always remind them that the Soviets were just as bad if not worse than the Axis forces when it came to war crimes. Never have I had someone ask or talk about the western allies and their crimes it’s just wrong to deny that history.

[@friedhelmwinter1237]

6th Guards Semenov its grey on grey

[@PfalzD3]

As a part time Axis re enactor. i appreciate this.

[@kyriakospentheides]

The main difference that elevates the Soviet army from the same position is that they had been fighting a war of literal survival against he Nazi killing machine for years by the time of the massive amounts of Soviet war crimes in Germany. The Soviets and Western Allies didn't actually commit as many war crimes as the Axis also, to be fair. The idea that they did is patently false. Japan alone committed more war crimes than the Soviets or Yanks.

[@erichayes8445]

Not defending it but America and Britain aren't innocent from atrocities in ww2, or in any war. So people need to lose that double standard.

[@carved6749]

Yea I really hate when people go after only the Japanese,Soviets,Germans And no one goes after the US,Britain Aleast in the US their are alot more focus on Vietnam crimes but WW2? No they ignore and justify it

[@hoosierjonny336]

On the topic of not hating the people that carried out the war crimes. This is a very good point on the matter and could be discussed in full on the reason why in a single video dedicated just to this. The crimes cannot be forgiven but there should be some level of pity for them as you say because events do not occur in a vacuum, these are people who have gone from good to bad through some process of change. Simply hating them would do nothing, trying to understand the how they turned out the way they did is important. Because ultimately most human beings if put through the right circumstances could end up being very similar and we should be very cautious because of it. Each case would have a different cause, it could be a cultural factors with the Civil War where people of the south were raised in their way of thinking and so it was just accepted that black people are property. It is horribly sad when you think of how simply being raised in such a way can allow many to dehumanize people simply because of their skin color.

[@kllk12ful]

You can say such a thing because your family wasn't affected by their actions I had family murdered by the Russians and was kicked out of Latvia

[@tricross2663]

Most soldiers fought for there country (family, friends, town extra.) not for what political view it stand for.

[@lovelylavenderr]

Even so, you cannot escape the fact that them fighting inadvertently supported regimes or units or whatelse that commited atrocities, making them accomplices in crime whether they wished to or not. For example, a German conscript forced onto the Eastern Front may of not supported the regime but they inadvertently assisted it by fighting, even if it was against their will. And that's not even to say that majority of the time, these people who may have been "good people" did actually support atrocity even if they didn't partake. Another example here, even though only around 30% of Southerners at the time of the Civil War owned slaves, and even smaller amount than that owned large plantations, most, if not all willing Confederate volunteers, and even a probably large amount of forced conscripts supported the institution of slavery due to the economic benefits it had for the South. Most Southerners at the time, even if poor, worked to get slaves as a goal, because thats just how Southern society was at the time; deeply racist and revolved around slavery. So now take that idea and put it back into the orignal one. A Southern volunteer who did not own slaves and fought for the Confederacy to protect his home against the Union, both inadvertently assisted the Confederacy by fighting in its army, but also very likely supported the Confederate cause. It's for this reason why I think people who try to morally defend those like German or especially Confederate generals are kind of foolish and definitely ignorant. Even if these people did not actively support what Nazi Germany or the Confederacy stood for, such as Rommel not being known to hate Jews or ordering war criminals such as Einsatzgruppen, or allegedly Robert E. Lee believing slavery was abhorrent, these men still willingly stuck by these disgusting regimes. Whether it be from military duty and loyalty in Rommel's case or state loyalty (and let's be frank, economic incentive) in Lee's case, these men still helped to fight for states that were built on, and stood for racism, genocide, and atrocity.

[@marinuswillett6147]

Only by truly understanding why people do Awful things can we hope to prevent such things in the future

[@RCMproductions]

I'm to the left of Lenin, and my own idea is that reenactment is a social good, whether Confederate or Union, SS or Soviet. It reminds us of the past, and allows us the chance to constantly assess how we can learn from it. I have the greatest respect for all reenactors, who dedicate time and passion to educate. I don't approve of those who use historical uniforms in political events. My 2 cents.

[@charleydraper8656]

History, It's not cotton candy clouds, soda pop streams, unicorn cupcake, powdered sugar utopia, it's bloody, cruel, and dirty.

[@TheD3rp2]

Have you by any chance read Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning? I think it's pertinent to the first part of this video.

[@BrandonF]

Not yet, but I've heard a lot of good things about it.

[@williamginocchio812]

I’m in a pre-modern re-creation group wherein white supremacists try to use the historical foundation of the group as shield for their odious beliefs. They then complain about modern politics intruding into their hobby when they are called out for bad actions. I don’t doubt that there are bad actors in re-enactments of other periods too. I do appreciate your approach to playing an impression. Thank you.

[@ThePoeticPariah]

"What was I saying...?" Same. Saaaaaaame. x.x

[@bryankohn8545]

you could certainly apply this same theme to other periods which I reenact. Roman, ww2 german and CSA are all applicable here.

[@jimwestberg4771]

Hey Brandon! I implore you to make a video about how much of the general public and media portray reenactment. It's really disheartening how often people's passion for history portrayed as racist (though unfortunately there are sects in the community) or often just simply backwards.

[@CAP198462]

Good sir, in your purview should the person who purchases, for example a Soviet military surplus jacket for practical reasons be expected to confront the same ethical quandary as you here propose for the re-enactor or are they blameless because their choice is made for more practical reasons? Would your response change if the insignia was removed?

[@JohnsonTheSecond]

I wear a replica 1943 field cap with no insignia every day, it's a good cap but it is """Nazi""".

[@idontknowwhatiamdoinganymo1615]

Oh the weather outside is frightful, the deaths of frozen Germans are so delightful, and since we have nowhere to go, to Berlin to Berlin here we go.

[@xys7536]

Damn good song

[@theabstractchicken3998]

And the Reich is slowly dying. But The Red Army's delighting And since we've no place to go To Berlin, urah go, here we go

[@benettwillbanks5868]

When they finally rest in hell, how we hate leaving Russia behind. But as long as we all fight well, all the way there we'll be fine!

[@haraldisdead]

👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@haraldisdead]

.

[@Didymus-vz6uy]

I disagree a bit with your opinion on the pity over hate part, but still great videos! Keep up the good work!

[@alexunfiltered5756]

To me, some far leaning opposition is necessary to bring to light some of the lesser known facts, and to even bring the foundation of understanding these historical peoples. I completely agree with you on the point that understanding these people is crucial to having a knowledge of history. However I do also believe in playing devils advocate from time to time, because although it may be dangerous, we just cannot apply modern western morals on people in the past. People are people, no matter which time period, and if there's people today who justify the worse of the things that happened, same was true back then; just as much as it is true that plenty of them were also just average joes, whose minds didn't have a comprehension of the greater plans their corrupt leaders were having them fight for. To me, a war is about what the soldiers believed they were fighting for. Yes, you could say they were inherently defending the greater cause, which may have been right or wrong, however if this didn't exist in the mind of a solider who was fighting for it because propaganda told him the war was about something else, then the soldier wasn't a doer of evil, but a victim of propaganda and lies. It's just a truth that war makes hypocrites. The history is written by the victor, but the events were all committed by the people present. All sides did things that were bad; the difference is whether or not their leaders encouraged such monstrosities or not.

[@r.j.lombardi111]

You sir are one of those gentleman that I would like to talk to over a cup of tea.

[@wb6wsn]

Yes, all very coldly logical, but can we expect to see you in a Waffen SS or Belgian Colonial uniform anytime soon?

[@hanz2904]

XD

[@feastguy101]

NOT THE HANDS!

[@richardhazlett7070]

What is amazing to me is that often soldiers have more emotionally in common with the soldiers of the opposing side than they do with civilians back home. US soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Bulge invited former German soldiers to their reunions. I am only guessing that a North Vietnamese soldier would find more in common with a US soldier than the US students that protested the War.

[@Samael16661]

I agree for the most part, but the part about soldiers doing their work in a tyrannical regime is a bit off. It's absolutely true that they implicitly or explicitly help keep up the regime they fight for. My question is this: What's the alternative? If you, as an average German male, get drafted into the Wehrmacht, are you going to respectfully decline? If you showed any hint of disloyalty you would get branded a traitor, outcast, and you would get arrested. Perhaps even put into a concentration camp. Perhaps your entire family would suffer repercussions. It's hard to say what measure a tyrannical regime might cook up. The average joe is always going to either try to keep his head down or be complicit with the system they're under. I hear this argument a lot from left-wing radicals who deride people in Nazi Germany for "not standing up", thinking that "they could have all *just* gotten together to stop it." Sadly psychology doesnt work like that. A guard with a 30 round magazine can keep 100 people at bay, despite not being able to shoot them all. People are individuals afraid of dying after all. It just seems a big arrogant to emphasize the implicit complicity with a system without adding "there wasn't much of an alternative besides dying for what you believe in." And that can't be a general expectation. Otherwise, great video. It's repulsive to hear that people get into re-enactment to indulge in their sick, tyrannical fetishes. I don't care if you're a Nazi or a Communist if the choice you're going to make me have is to either die in a concentration camp or a gulag.

[@Hasitschi4863]

Where did you bought your Gymnastyorka?

[@michealohaodha9351]

Voenspec.ru I think

[@charsfm5203]

“The next video will be shorter” D :

[@shadysheep1984]

brandon: wearing the uniform is bad tyler 1: GET THIS SHIT OF ME!!!!

[@krzysztofstolarczyk7773]

I cant quite understand what you spoke about Poland at the begining of the video. Can someone sum it up?

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff

[@Mericaa47]

imagine a soviet reenacter saying to a Ukrainian that the mass starving of the Ukrainian people was blown out of proportion, or a Japanese reenacter saying to someone in nanking that the rape of nanking didn't happen.

[@joshuasiramarco3233]

Yo is it okay if I change the meaning of the hammer and sickle because I dream long time ago about wearing one of those hats,did not end well, and I found it just sitting in an old store so I bought it and now whenever someone calls me a communist or socialist or whatever I say no I changed meaning of this symbol to me it means friend's

[@waywardchronicler6000]

I mean, symbols don't mean anything intrinsically, so whatever meaning you give them is the meaning they have. That said, what it means to others is also very important, and to almost everyone under the sun it means "Soviet". If you decide the word "bastard" meant "cool dude", you can do that, but don't be surprised when people get mad if you call them that.

[@andrewmccloud8581]

Cool and good.

[@SeasideDetective2]

Yes, ethically speaking, individual soldiers who perform atrocities on behalf of despotic regimes are indeed criminals. But, technically speaking, if your own government doesn't consider something a crime, then it's not a crime. You'll be prosecuted for it only if your side loses the war or your government is overthrown by a junta that DOES consider it a crime. "Might makes right."

[@swaguelclemens9164]

So, I left a comment on part one, and you addressed my idea of the conscript's plight, though again, I still have a problem with people equivocating the Nazis and Stalinists. I hate them both, but still, it makes me think of people who equivocated Trump and Clinton...

[@reallifescottsterling1471]

If there are I haven’t herd of them but are there World War One re-enactments

[@JohnsonTheSecond]

Definitely

[@cracno1125]

I have a question. Essentially, If I had the money too reenact I wouldn't mainly do it too educate. Actually, on the most part probably not at all. I would do it for two reasons. Have fun and feel like I am part of a moment in history I like. Now, the reason I would be a German soldier from WW2, a red army soldier or a confederate soldier isn't at all too educate, but I guess I would do it on the side. It would mainly be for fun. To me, it is much funner being the "Villain" or at least the side that is hated by most people for whatever reason because when ever they are portrayed in movie they have this sort of class and "coolness" to them. For example, If I played Battlefront II most of the time I would try too be the storm troopers of the empire. Because I loved how they look in the movies and how cool and terrifying they look. So, I would be a German (Because I imagine myself being that most of the time if I had the money) I would do it for the same reason. The uniform that I would be wearing ,too me at least, a sort of aura that the German soldiers in the movies give off. Is this a bad reason? Because I don't really see it as something that bad, but maybe I don't see something that should be obvious?

[@seneca983]

What would be worst possible soldier's outfit for a re-enactor to wear, in the sense of those soldiers having done the worst deeds?

[@lewisconroy6225]

Probably a Waffen SS Uniform

[@seneca983]

@@lewisconroy6225: That's probably a very good answer, at least in terms of controversy. I was thinking that maybe e.g. a Mongol soldier's outfit could be a good answer too since they killed a large portion of the inhabitants of some cities that fell to them. On the other hand, that wouldn't so controversial, since events that are so distant in time don't elicit same kind of pain anymore, but I wasn't primarily interested in controversy but more like the "amount of evil".

[@JohnsonTheSecond]

Allgemeine-SS/Gestapo, all black officer's uniform with full insignia including NSDAP armband Not only do they not exactly need or have an easy, practical way to re-enact considering their jobs to view except in movies or carefully staged videos (In which I believe nobody should be associated with the uniforms they wear as they are but actors), but they arguably did the worst, associated with their killing of the 10 million "undesirables", camp running and general bad association. Also it's just extremely expensive and needs lots of preparation, research and training in the proper mannerisms to wear... I'd rather go with a regular conscripted soldier than a black-uniformed SS soldier. Which doesn't apply to field-gray wearing Waffen-SS frontline soldiers; Sure they did their bad things, same with Wehrmacht, but they weren't revolved around the controversial things associated with them.

[@351Comet]

Very good video. I do agree with many of your statements. I need to ask. Do you teach, lecture, docent?

[@benettwillbanks5868]

but Squidward. haven't you heard? *everyone talking at once* The only counties that don't like communism, have never tried it properly!

[@benettwillbanks5868]

I'm joking of course, Communism is easily one of the most intrinsically flawed and immoral political ideologies humanity has devised.

[@kyriakospentheides]

@@benettwillbanks5868 No less immoral than capitism, though. The only moral ideology would be a democratic form of anarchism (perhaps a form of "anarcho-communism" or "anarcho-syndicalism").

[@wd-type9643]

Fucking love this channel.

[@SpicyMediaReal]

The Confederates attacked Fort Sumter because Lincoln *might possibly after a dinner one evening after smoking a cigar decide to take a stroll through Washington DC and decide to drink a fine bourbon and propose the idea of outlawing slavery*. The plantation owners couldn't handle that thought so they started a war they couldn't afford to lose.

[@MrLaedu]

Awesome! Brave and very true!

[@colefritts814]

The true cause of the American Civil War was the passing of the Morrill Tariff in March of 1861 that all but bankrupted southern merchants(most non-slave holding). Now I won't discredit slavery's role in leading to succession but as far as the main cause for the war its simply not the case. Slavery in the world was on its way out by the middle of the nineteenth century and could've ended peacefully in the United States like it did in every other western nation at the time with the right leadership. Now I've read the decorations of succession and I am aware that many mention their primary cause as the preservation of slavery but what you have to understand is that those states that initially succeeded differ from those that declared their independence after March and April of 1861, following the passing of the Morill Tariff and Lincoln's demand for 75,000 "volunteers" to suppress the Confederacy that only furthered Union resentment and led to the succession of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia among others. As well as the attempted succession of Kentucky and Maryland which possessed the least number of slaves over any other state in the Union but their attempts at succession where put down by Federal forces and their legislators arrested. To truly understand a war one must look at the viewpoints of both sides which is something you portray with great accuracy in your videos about the American Revolution but I'm saddened that the same level of detail cannot be provided when you mention the American Civil War.

[@exploatores]

I have met two reenacters one in german army uniform and one in Russian. both eating in a fastfood place. But on the subject, should a reenacter respond as the person he reenact should respond or as the view the person that reenact have.

[@00Trademark00]

A German and a Russian WW2 reenactor in a fast food restaurant? A nice metaphor for who actually won the WW2 and the Cold war :) I had a similar impression last year when I was visiting Moscow for a conference and there was a local band in the street there which played English and American rock music.

[@georgegordon6630]

Umm, not sure you really get the part slavery played in the civil war..the narrative i present is not fully true, there is context...Let me know, we can talk.

[@arthuramuah9221]

Very interesting. I just discovered the channel, silly question, but what if lets say a black person want to take part in some napoleonic reenactment? Will he be accepted I'm genuinely curious.

[@kyriakospentheides]

There were black people in the British army of the Napoleonic wars... mostly from places like Liverpool.

[@erichayes8445]

Again I think there is some evidence to say that the Nazis were slightly worse, but most people either don't use it or use it to justify

[@carved6749]

Your missing the point

[@georgegordon6630]

Umm, Erwin Rommel was not involved in the bomb plot. In '44 it became clear Germany was going to lose. Rommel reached out to the group, but they thought he was just jumping ship to save his skin and had nothing to do with him

[@89boy38]

Will u be attending the ww2 reeanactment in round top New York

[@kllk12ful]

As a Latvian exile in the US and had relatives murdered by the Russians I disagree with you keep in mind the people who had family killed by either the Russians or the Germans before saying something like that it offends people who were personally affected by the atrocities that a certain government committed

[@haraldisdead]

The fall of the Soviet Union was a tragedy that those countries still haven't recovered from

[@filmandfirearms]

No, the Soviet Union was the tragedy. I say that as a former Soviet citizen. Those countries have recovered quite well, apart from former Yugoslavia, Armenia, and Georgia, but all of those have one thing in common, apart from being former Soviet states, which sets them apart from all the other former Soviet states. They recently had massive wars on their own territory. The Yugoslav conflict is well documented and well publicized, and Armenia and Georgia have been under constant attack by Turkey and Azerbaijan for decades now. Continuous invasions do a lot to ruin a country's economy

[@CK-jd1kf]

It sounds to me like Brandon is saying that the Red Army was just as bad as the Nazis. I do not agree with that take at all. I think that it is a good thing that the allies won, because the Nazis held as the cornerstone of their ideology the genocide of several groups of people, particularly the Jews. As someone who supports human rights I will support any action necessary to defeat Nazis. The Soviets did not hold genocide as a cornerstone of their ideology, the holodomore was an incidental consequence of their successful attempt at industrialization and winning the war. Furthermore, the Nazis also wanted to control Ukraine and exploit Ukrainian agriculture. I am not at all saying that the holodomore wasn't a trajedy or that it was justified, but rather that it was to some extent inevitable, just as famines had precipitated industrial development in other countries. The USSR industrialized faster than any other country had done at that time. You could take the same view with the US Civil War and say that the Union was just as bad as the Confederacy because the Union genocided Native Americans, however, I would disagree with that because a Union victory was necessary to end slavery, and the Confederacy also genocided Native Americans.

[@hamm6033]

Going to play Devil's advocate for a minute. You are assigning western modren morals to a foreign soldier of 75 years ago. Life was fantastically harsh in Russia for centuries before the 2nd world war. Ivan " The Terrible " didn't get his name for being kind. Nor any of the despots that followed him. To take all from your enemies was common. Starvation was common. If you protested you were killed. Usually in public. Back to just me. Almost all re-enactors I've met are there to have fun, drink a little, eat good food. They are not thinking of the political of moral issues of the times. They are not as confederates racists. They are playing a part in a fake battle. As Tories, playing a part, Union playing a part, and on and on. Lots of smoke and yelling then adult beverages and food. I have no idea how many knots you tie yourself into at a reenactment. Frankly I don't care. And for those that want to assign crimes of the past to the present, go get some help. Better yet go do some actual good. Feed the hungry, Cloth the naked, Protect the weak and innocent. Does that sound familiar?

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Doesn't change the facts that it was still atrocious and should be condemned in the greater context. Explanation of why does not justify the what regardless of how many others acted the same way.

[@fullsuit6711]

I don't really mind stuff like what his say (that being Red Army and confed etc.) I do believe most of what he says but when I first started to get into the reenacting way I was like "Why would you want th]o fight as a NAZI?" I do now realise how and or way you would so yeah.

[@astrayadventurer4450]

Deep Space 9 - Duet

[@360Nomad]

Brandon F. reenacting Großaktion Warschau and crying as he simulates shooting Jews when?

[@TheScandinavien]

This was brave.

[@gabemurray9663]

You're welcome

[@tovarishchmartins4999]

Calling out people for racism is something brave nowadays. Its something we tend to be very defensive about (it doesn't necessarily make you a bad person, but very few people take the topic kindly). Evil is banal, and racism is one of the things that pulls people towards it.

[@senpoo510]

Would like to point out that communism isn't inherently evil. Just like how capitalism isn't inherently evil, someone being a communist, or a socialist doesnt in any way mean that they support the evil that for example the USSR, or Mao's China commited. It doesn't mean that they support those regimes in any way at all. The idea of sharing wealth, trying to provide food, healthcare, and oppurtunity to the many is not an evil one and we have to remember that both capitalism and communism, are economic structural policies and it is not them that cause evil, but the people who take advantage of them to do so.

[@thornydig]

History is a bitch✌

[@ohiofisherofmen2194]

I like that you st least admit the u in did terrible things too

[@salty4496]

A comment :)

[@Reprodestruxion]

Guy’s a hero, he brought down the fascist. After what has gone down in the Soviet Union perpetuated by the Sonderkommando. So go ahead, tank commander too.

[@tomskonieczka2385]

there were no Poles conscripted into the German SS or Einsatzgruppen. You should really check your history before you ramble.

[@st.patrickiv1238]

The hammer and sickle is a disgusting symbol? really? do you still live in the cold war? jesus ...

[@BrandonF]

I suppose so.

[@00Trademark00]

Swastika is a disgusting symbol? Do you still live in WW2? Jesus!....that makes about as much sense as your reaction. Both of these are symbols of disgusting and perverse collectivist regimes which committed horrible crimes in the name of their harebrained ideologies and which both had a complete disregard for freedom and the rights of individuals. Swastikas are banned in most of Europe, the hammer and sickle are not but that does not make them any better (e main reason is that western and a part of central Europe never experienced the horrors of communism first hand, hence communism has a lot of sympathizers and apologists there on the left). I don't believe either of those symbols should be banned, I don't think it actually helps anything but I find both symbols equally disgusting .When I see someone wearing a T-shirt with the Soviet flag or with Che Guevara I treat that person the same way as if he had a T-shirt with Goering or with a Nazi swastika - I'm going to think he's an idiot (unless it is clearly meant as a joke in which case I might or might not be ok with that, depending on the nature of the joke I might still find it distasteful but that's not even close to how disgusting a person is to me if she seriously supports either of these ideologies).

[@00Trademark00]

Xceptor g I'm not from the US, I'm Czech. And yes, the red army soldiers did fight and die against an equally horrible regime, oftentimes they had little idea about who they are even fighting against and where they even were, they just did what they were told (same in 1968 during their invasion of Czechoslovakia). And their sacrifice has to be respected and remembered. But that does not justify the regime they were ultimately fighting for, not one bit. A regime which in many parts of Europe (all countries they "liberated", except for Austria which managed to stay neutral by luck and very good diplomacy but which also almost became communist) simply replaced one totalitarian ideology with another. The rapes the red army did were not limited to East Berlin, they did that even in the lands which they were supposed to be liberating, albeit not to the same degree. And let's not forget that the Soviets were initially the aggressors in the war - attacking Poland together with the Germans (then there's the Katyn massacre and similar Soviet atrocities). Even before the war, they annexed the Baltic countries. Living under Nazi rule was really bad, particularly for someone with Jewish roots (like me). But the communists just had a different set of people they murdered (and in fact they were not so keen about Jews either, albeit not to a degree comparable to the Nazis) and sent to concentration camps (gulags). Just because one evil helped (considerably, no denying that) defeat another evil it doesn't make that evil any better. Their regime oppressed and impoverished many people and countries during the 40 years after the war ended.

[@st.patrickiv1238]

Taking all your points at face value, im sure you consider the United States as Hittlerland supreme then? I mean they tick all your boxes plus extras. I understand where you coming from however, eastern european countries were under rough regimes ultimately under the power of the soviet union. Yet most of the money was spend on Russia and countries like Ukraine were left far worse than Russia in terms of citizen quality of life. I know that, i understand that. Yet, Ukraine is filled with NAZI era sympathizers and fascist real life activists and murderers nowdays, and Hungary is a present day 1934 Germany. Poland is similar, not sure about the Czechs or Slovaks. I mean even the European Union had to activate their most harsh EU laws for punishing Hungary (poland soon) for their FAR RIGHT abuses and totalitarian laws that fall onto the head of poor people fleeing from a war INSTIGATED by the western world (for the needs of certain arab countries and israel). So ye, I can see how you can see NAZI and SOVIETS as equals, although your views are part of the recent FAR right resurgence. And quoting John Oliver here : "Lest we forget, when Europe goes far right, they go far right through Belgium."

[@00Trademark00]

Trump is an idiot but the US is hardly comparable to 1930s Nazi Germany, and Trump is not Hitler either if that's what you're getting at. Don't be the boy who cried wolf. Soviet Union has always been a 3rd world country and much poorer than Czechoslovakia - even during communism and that's despite the fact that Czechoslovakia was forced to adopt many backwards Soviet policies and had to ship a lot of resources to the Soviets more or less for free during that time. The quality of life in the Soviet Union was far worse than in Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia and even Poland and Hungary. However, Czechoslovakia was one of the most developed European countries before WW2 and 40 years of communism dragged it down considerably. We're getting back, already ahead of countries like Portugal and Greece, roughly comparable to Spain (except we currently have the lowest unemployment rate in all of Europe), but without the Soviet imposed communism we could compare ourselves to Austria or Germany rather than Spain today. Poland and Hungary do exhibit a worrisome political development but once again, calling then a 1934 Germany is a huge stretch. The EU has not actually implemented any sanctions against Hungary yet and it is unlikely that they will be put into practice. Furthermore, a lot of their objections have very little to do with immigration policy but rather the erosion of the rule of law and balance of powers in Hungary and Poland. One country which actually is comparable to 1934 Germany is Russia though. I don't know much about Ukraine but a lot of what you can read online about Ukrainian nationalists is Russian propaganda used to justify their military intervention and the annexation of Crimea. Russian propaganda is very extensive in this regard. As for the EU as a whole, which cannot be equated with the European parliament, most countries nowadays are drifting towards a different asylum policies, Germany is one of the last countries that stubbornly insist on the current ones (and even there Merkel is quickly losing support - once she is replaced as the head of CDU it is likely the Germany immigration policy will shift considerably...that will also likely weaken the ever growing influence of the nationalist-leaning Alternative für Deutschland). The problem with Germany (I did my PhD there and I regularly read German media) is that anyone who does not agree with the official very left-leaning views of the government is very quickly labeled as far-right in most media. This ultimately only strengthens the real far-right and unless this changes, this could potentially end up with the real nationalists getting real power. I don't think it will come to that though. In terms of asylum policies, Hungarian policy is more or less shared with Austria, The Czech republic, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Britain (which is leaving the EU but still) and the sentiment is shifting in other countries as well. Since in many countries the "traditional parties" are not willing to change their policy, this sadly makes people vote for people who are either close to nationalists or outright nationalist. A notable case are the Swedish Democrats or Fronte National in France. However, it is simply a result of the governments not listening to the people, I don't think many of their new voters really subscribe to the nationalism of those parties and the moment other parties start doing something about them, their rise will stop - case in point Austria where the centrist ÖVP managed to halt the rise of the nationalist FPÖ by shifting towards an immigration policy aimed towards limiting the number of asylum seekers in Austria. They form a coalition government with the FPÖ now, but had they not changed their course, there would have been an FPÖ chancellor. The whole situation is a lot more complicated than people fleeing from wars and evil nationalists and racists not letting them in - Most asylum seekers in Europe nowadays don't even come from Syria, they are mostly economic migrants which would by fine IMO but they come to enjoy the European (mostly German) welfare state rather than for work (many of them are not even literate in their own language so they have no chance of finding a job in Europe), using asylum as a loophole to the access to the welfare checks. Many of them are hardly the most needy and efficiently (that is the keyword, most foreign aid is sadly extremely inefficient) helping people in their home countries in Africa would do much more good. Since these are also disproportionately young men and from cultures which tend not to be very compatible with European culture and given their usually poor education and ability to assimilate themselves to the European population (skilled and educated immigrants, even from the middle east and Africa, are a completely different story and those should be welcome, albeit sadly most people on either side of the immigration debate in Europe don't differentiate between different types of immigrants much). So you end up with many unemployable people living off welfare and not accommodating in the slightest to the western culture so you end up with middle eastern ghettos where middle eastern rules apply - women are treated as second class people, honor killings are at least tentatively accepted and the frustration caused by unemployment leads to a lot of violent crime and sometimes terrorism. Generally speaking, try reading some non-left news sources, particularly European ones if you speak a language other than English. I read various Czech, German, English and Spanish language (mainstream) media at times to get a better picture since relying on one source or even several sources from a single country usually leaves you with a rather distorted view. Note that I do not advocate reading "alternative" media (right or left-wing) since they are usually full of bullshit. It is also a gross oversimplification to talk about wars instigated by the western world, albeit the US destabilized the middle east quite a bit by toppling Hussein which allowed sectarian violence to run amok. Ultimately, the problems are inherent to the region though. I don't think western military interventions are a good idea since there are no obvious good guys and your allies today often become your enemies later (case in point Taliban and in fact even Hussein). Russia and the US definitely did not help stabilize the region with their meddling.

[@gabemurray9663]

First😂