The German Reich & Physical Prowess

The 3rd Reich's Carnal Fascination

One would not expect the 3rd Reich to be fascinated with any kind of beauty. The Nazis overemphasized the physical form What is beautiful in the world and what is sinister do not seem to co-exist easily. Hitler's obsession with the physique, physical beauty and fertility, though have a strong foundation in his desire to bring back early Norse and German Mythology, Religion and Archetypes; as well as to increase the progenty of Germany.

Even before WWII began, there was a massive emphasis on the physical body and athletics. Large athletic conferences were held in which young people displayed their agility and skill in sports arenas and stadiums. There were frequent displays at rallies and events of group gymnastic and dance-exercises, in which the Reich leaders would proclaim the fitness and superiority of the the Aryans. Heydrich considered it a great priority for all Germans to be in superb physical condition.

Additionally, the 3rd Reich placed much emphasis on the 'traditional' German family: Mothers were to care and bear many aryan children, and raise them in the "New German" principles. Posters, Art, and Economic incentives all guided young German women to what Hitler considered their main vocation: Childbearing for a New German Millenium. The Olympics Games in Berlin in 1936 was to have been a grand universal show of Aryan Superiority and Physique: Hitler and his entourage left in protest as a Black American, Jesse Owen took the Olympics in style: Hitler refused to grant him the ribbons.

Other endeavors demonstrate the over-occupation with physique and carnality. The Reich's Eugenics program was meant to usher in a Master Race: it never came near. Lebensborn was to produce the elite of Atlantean perfection: instead lives are still broken from the experiment 50 years later. The utter worship of fertility, physical beauty, physique and athletic accomplishment did not bear the fruit that the National Socialists had hoped.



Jesse Owens &
the 1936 Olympics

A Cult of
Youth

Fertility &
the Maypole

The
Sportsplast

Motherhood, Physique
& the Media

© 2002-4 Elizabeth Kirkley Best PhD, Shoah Education Project-Web; All Rights Reserved

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