Lingua tertii imperii

The lingua tertii imperii is a term for the Newspeak like use of euphemisms and frequent use of buzzwords by the Nazi propaganda machine. It is the title of the book "LTI - Lingua Tertii Imperii: Notizbuch eines Philologen" published in 1947 by Victor Klemperer, Professor of French at the University of Dresden.

Klemperer lists different types of word alienations. Probably most widely in use were euphemisms such as Verschärfte Vernehmung (literally "enhanced interrogation", meaning torture), Evakuierung ("evacuation", really meaning deportation), Endlösung ("final solution" of the so-called "Jew-problem"), and Sonderbehandlung ("special treatment", equalling murder).

Many of the bloated and euphemistic linguistic terms are near to ridiculous when viewed today: examples of this include Zuchtziel ("breeding objective" of the Aryan race of superhumans), Defektmenschen ("defective humans", a term for handicapped people), Ballastexistenzen ("ballast organisms", dito), Untermenschen ("sub-humans"), Schweigelager ("mute camps", another word for concentration camp) etc. As can be seen, German is a language suited quite well for creating super-long word conglomerates that can sound quite innocuous while really being quite the horror.

Even today, there are many examples that should make a German speaker cringe: for instance, words like Gruppenführer ("group leader", formerly a rank in the SS, and these days meaning "section leader" in a company) or reinrassig ("pure breed") are still in use today or have become usual again, even though they did carry a wholly sinister meaning during the Nazi years.

Wikipedia has a really comprehensive and interesting glossary of Third Reich terms.

Glossary of Nazi Germany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nazi school names

A recent study showed that in Germany, some schools are still named after dubious characters with Nazi background, such as a chronicler from the town of Frankenberg near Chemnitz, Max Kästner:

In one section the author eulogizes the Nazis' reign of terror. "The last Marxist hideout was smoked out," he writes, going on to note that a highpoint in Frankenberg's history was when it was home to SS concentration camp guard unit SS-Totenkopfsturmbann Sachsen. "We regretted seeing the SS depart when they were relocated to Weimar-Buchenwald for important political reasons," he writes.

However, subsequent research seems to prove that these passages of the town chronicle were not written by Kästner (after whom a school for mentally handicapped children is named in Frankenberg), but added by the then mayor of the town, Ehrhardt Weichelt, a convinced Nazi.

Whatever the outcome, dealing with this history is always risky business, some facts of which will probably never be known for sure (see the case on the alleged Dachau visit of Heesters for a similar disagreement).

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Dubious Role Models: Study Reveals Many German Schools Still Named After Nazis

1938/39 color footage of the German Reich

Eerie color footage from different German cities, dated 1938 and 1939.

We are shown a training camp of the BdM (Bund deutscher Mädel = League of German Girls, part of the Hitler youth), a party meeting of old fighters of the Nazi movement, and a military parade in the Ruhrgebiet in 1938, which just two years before was a demilitarized territory under the Versailles treaty.

Next up is some footage of the visit of David Llyod George, English politician, convinced that Hitler could be persuaded to peace. After some footage from the Spanish civil war, in which the Franco regime was aided by the Nazis, we see some images from the so-called "Gausporttage" (District Sport Festival), including the performances of the Motor-HJ, showcasing the early military education of the youth.

After some shoots of Berlin city life just before the outbreak of the war (also showing the newly built Reichskanzlei, see earlier post), switch to a briefing on an airfield of the Luftwaffe. The new Messerschmitt planes shown here were used in the raid on Poland in 1939.

Another queer event shown here are recordings of the Polizeimeisterschaften (Police Athletics Championship) 1939 in the town of Frankfurt (Oder), one of the disciplines being "hand grenade throwing". The winner threw to nearly 80 meters. The police corps were directly subordinate to the chief of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, and are said to have perpetrated some of the most grueling crimes and massacres against Jews and civilians during the war.

Europe without Germany

Concept map by Kalimedia, also known for publishing the "Atlas of True Names".

Denmark spills out of Jutland all the way down to Hamborg.

Poland’s new western border corresponds exactly to the old DDR one, with East German cities renamed Drezno (Dresden), Lipsk (Leipzig) and Berolinsk (Berlin), among others.

The Czech Republic extends into northern Bavaria, including Nuremhora (Nuremberg).
Austria has gone completely Italian (Salzburg is now Salcastello) and has overrun southern Bavaria, including Monaco di Baviera (Munich).

France reaches across the Rhine all the way up to Cassel (Kassel), and has frenchified cities like Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), Mayence (Mainz) and Charlesrepos (Karlsruhe).

The Netherlands reach Hamburg and touch Poland, and include Keulen (Cologne), Dusseldorp (Dusseldorf) and Willemspoort (Wilhelmshaven).

Strange Maps: Europe Without Germany

German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin

Graf Zeppelin was a German aircraft carrier of the Kriegsmarine, named like the famous airship in honour of Graf (Count) Ferdinand von Zeppelin. It was Germany's only aircraft carrier during World War II. Its construction was ordered on November 16, 1935, and its keel was laid down December 28, 1936 by Deutsche Werke of Kiel. It was launched on December 8, 1938, but was never completed.

Wikipedia: German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin

Lost German girl

A short clip from final episode of the "World At War" BBC series. It shows a German girl in despair, clearly wounded and confused, on a country road after the passage of the Red Army, somewhere in Czechoslovakia.

The same girl can be seen in a much longer clip called "Czechoslovakia 1945 in Color" below. This film is also available with an extensive commentary at the Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive at USHMM.


Extensive discussion on the Axis History Forum dates this footage as of May 8th 1945, while the exact location of the shot and the identity of the girl remain unknown.

UnknownWWIIinColor Youtube Channel