wwii axis reenactment forum

It's a waste of time trying to deal with ignorant public, they will always be that. The ones who want to know about history and be educated will stay and enquire about the stall/set up/camp that you have put up. Some people(ww2 veterans included) will walk on by as it has no interest for them, others will gladly engage in conversation.
I personally think that most of the people who are interested in military aspects of recent times are not bothered about uniforms or insignia, they are more interested in playing about with de-act guns.
The idiots that purposely come up and ask about being Nazis are generally brain dead arseholes who couldn't spell natsi...natzi...nasti Oh BOLoX!!!

grenadier181 wrote:I was at a railway event, I dare not name it for fear of ridicule. Man with bulldog, cropped mohawk, leather jacket and ring in his nose.

I am in German uniform.

MAN: "Are you a Nazi"?
ME: "No, are you a bull"?

End of conversation.

Oddly enough I've never been asked that question, the most common question is "aren't you hot in that uniform?" (yea sure, its 90 degrees in the shade and wearing the eqivilant of an entire sheep on my ass, what do you think? ) of course I don't say that but the thoughts there. .

grenadier181 wrote:I was at a railway event, I dare not name it for fear of ridicule. Man with bulldog, cropped mohawk, leather jacket and ring in his nose.

I am in German uniform.

MAN: "Are you a Nazi"?
ME: "No, are you a bull"?

End of conversation.

I was there - I couldn't stop laughing for twenty minutes..........You have to know G181 to appreciate how he delivers humour...... it adds another 70% TO THE FUNNINESS QUOTIENT!!!!!

GD,obergrenadier wrote:Oddly enough I've never been asked that question, the most common question is "aren't you hot in that uniform?" (yea sure, its 90 degrees in the shade and wearing the eqivilant of an entire sheep on my ass, what do you think? ) of course I don't say that but the thoughts there. .

I get that ALL the time. The thing that shocks them though is when I say no. Why? Because I am used to it.

I play airsoft and wear a lot more gear than I do during a reenactment.
I have experienced the pleasure of being in full turnout gear.
At work, rain, shine, heat, or cold, I wear a vest that I swear has it's own ecosystem at the end of each day.

So, I am used to 'suffering'. When everyone else retreats back to camp and beings ripping off their gear, I usually calmly sit down for a minute or two still dressed in full gear.

Hoffman Grink wrote:

grenadier181 wrote:I was at a railway event, I dare not name it for fear of ridicule. Man with bulldog, cropped mohawk, leather jacket and ring in his nose.

I am in German uniform.

MAN: "Are you a Nazi"?
ME: "No, are you a bull"?

End of conversation.

I was there - I couldn't stop laughing for twenty minutes..........You have to know G181 to appreciate how he delivers humour...... it adds another 70% TO THE FUNNINESS QUOTIENT!!!!!

I cant remember whether I was there, or whether G181 told it me - either way it doesnt get old everytime I hear it.

Oddly enough I've never been asked that question, the most common question is "aren't you hot in that uniform?" (yea sure, its 90 degrees in the shade and wearing the eqivilant of an entire sheep on my ass, what do you think? ) of course I don't say that but the thoughts there

I love that one i was at a American Indian wars re-enactment in Arizona in 2004 wearing full wool cavalry uniform it was 110 in the shade, i was only wearing what your basic cavalryman was wearing fighting the Apache in those temperatures back in the 1870's

"aren't you hot in that uniform?"

My usual reply if its a female is "Thanks. You look pretty hot too"

At a multiperiod event, Spartans "at work"...

MoP: They didn't have that back then...

Spartan: They didn't had annoying public also at that time...

I have a few of these lining in the deep south of Alabama ( Mobile U.S.A)

I had a woman come up to me with her German husband, I heard his accent first and though OOOOO crap here comes trouble. But I was wrong about him he was a delight and could not be more pleased with seeing all my original gear and personal items. But on the other hand his wife had a strange look in her eyes. She shouted at me first in french and then in English.... " We were hunted by you Nazi dogs night and day, we had to live off the land and survive some times on our own urine. You took my Mother and Father from me. But we got even with you didn't we!!!!!. I just looked at her for a moment and said "schokakola?" she calmed her self and apologized for her rudeness she then informed me that she had been an 8 year old girl in the resistance in WW2. The other one have just been dumb red-necks looking for a fight I usually just cock my ppk( blank fire) and stand there for a moment, then they leave. My biggest problem is people grabbing my gear and ruffing it up.I have since made re-pros of some of the original so I don't worry about that anymore and keep my rifle shouldered as well.Had someone walk off with a schokokola can once... lesson leaned. The hard way.

I had a similar experience at Delting about 3 years ago, having gone through the pros and cons of what i do and accusing of being a Nazi, we played the numbers game, i said Stalin was the worst as he disposed of approx 22.5Million (depends which book you take the figures from). Evntually she came out with the punch line " you Nazi's killed my great grand parents in Auschwitz". what could i say, next comment " if i had know the the Nazis were here at this show we would not have come". Silence followed as she and her husband with 2 kids went on there way.
Graham
Weissmann, Oberfeldpolizeidirektor Luftwaffe

I would have had an instant answer - "What the Hell was she expecting to see?" It's a multi period living history gig with a disproportionately large World War II section.

My other halves great aunt was murdered by Einzatzgruppen near Luga and her grandfather was dragged off to Germany to work as slave labour.

Yet she went to a dinner and dance ball where there were people wearing the black Allegmeine SS gear and to her it's all just part of her boyfriends hobby. She knows the difference between reenactment and reality - which is not exactly rocket science to figure out.

Did that lady at Detling think that her family has the monopoly on suffering during the war? Bollocks.

It's just sanctamonious posturing on her part. They must have known what they were going to see at Detling. And if not, all I can say is that they were complete cretins.

Reich Crispies wrote:

"aren't you hot in that uniform?"

My usual reply if its a female is "Thanks. You look pretty hot too"

OOOOOOh I've got to remember that one .

GD,obergrenadier wrote:

Reich Crispies wrote:

"aren't you hot in that uniform?"

My usual reply if its a female is "Thanks. You look pretty hot too"

OOOOOOh I've got to remember that one .

+1 to that!



We also seem to have a rather ignorant public here, only differance is they actually salute us with the Hitlergruß instead of verbally attacking us. Seems like the role of who's a nazi is reversed here

Bleh, I hate people doing the Hitlergrüss, but more for another reason. When someone raises his arm at me I instinctively think he's waving at me so I try to wave back, only to then realize it for what it is and look like a complete tool