Sanitising the Wartime Years?

[Peiper]

Ryan took a subject that deeply interests him - he researched, he invested and he struck out and undertook a portrayal. Ryan as an individual has achieved more - in my opinion, than many groups of 20 plus geezers, laden down with armour, big guns and flashy uniforms, in the few years he has been portraying JRA. He did it with meagre resources, little practical help and next to no support - Indeed - he did it against a LOT of closet resentment.

I know the feeling of doing something that not many do and starting out with it - as I started back in 2004 - and what is around now, didn't exist then for me. I had to do all my researching, etc. and like Ryan with few resources...and I can't say I had much support either.

I think it's nice that Ryan is doing Imperial Japanese. While I don't study that theater - at the Reading, PA event that I go to - there are Imperial Japanese (as the event covers Pacific, Eastern Front, Western Front, and Italian).

Hi Prien
Nobody was saying this portrayal shouldn't be done infact if you re-read my previous post
you will see i said quite the opposite, it just makes me uneasy seeing it thats all.

Basically i could say the same about your portrayment as my other Uncle was on the "Oak",
but im grown up to know that War is War and people get killed! (It was still a sneaky trick though. )

Pipes.

[KapitanPrien]

Oh yeah - I understand. No worries.

[sideshowbob]

speaking as an old fart who has been in this since the 1980s I can say that although we have had a huge expansion in the variety and number of events open to re-enactors there has definately been a restriction in exactly what and where German re-eanctors have been allowed to take part .(if that makes sense?)

We have had the no-SS rule ,the no runes rule ,the restriction on "offensive" uniforms on heritage railways -NYM Railways still wont allow people in German kit onto the trains at 40s events even when they are putting in loads of effort to pull in the crowds for the railway . I took part at an event at a certain museum where we were asked by the manager to not march and give orders in German because"it upset people" and it seems to get tighter defined and restricted year by year so yes I think the German re-enacting community is being sanitised ,primarily by show and event organisers but also by self-regulating because the majority of re-enactors take part in public events and dont want to be seen as causing offence .

As to the Allied re-enactors I dont think I am qualified to comment but from what I have seen the majority seem to conform to a Hollywood ideal with immaculate uniforms ,well fed and sharply dressed girlies and lots of dances ...

[Sean]

Sideshowbob, don't take this the wrong way but look at what AFRA recently did in Malta, the idea of Allied re-enacters poncing around/doing dances etc is just as crazy as all Axis groups being full of nutters (well to an extent )

Ref points in this thread of Gestapo etc at events, I'm not fan. Maybe this is because the only area's I have seen them 'portrayed' are at Railway 'events' and even then it's done badly..... maybe that's my why I have a problem with it

[Gott Mit Uns]

Surely if Gestapo re-enactors were doing their job properly, you wouldnt notice them?

[CDB Schmidt]

Just my 2 cents....

I'm a member of the Dutch "Der Windhund"

We try to take this intrest (because it's not a hobby anymore for our group) as serious as possible.
When we arrive at a Friday, we dig in and live like the '40ties until we get in our cars on a Sunday.

Nothing from the modern stuff around and try to get the feeling what they must have had back then.
You never want the whole feeling, that's something I've learned, but as close as you can get.

When we have an event we like to show the people that war Isn't fun!!
We try to make the public think about things that happend back then with Allied but also with German soldiers.

You were pushed into the HJ, than you went in het Wehrmacht and they said you were perfect for the SS.....
After a lot of years, there's an American or a Russian who tells you what you did was wrong.... but that had to be strange?!?!
Are you wrong than?
Yes, in our culture right now... but how was that back then?
That's the questions we asked them.

Some pictures of an event last weekend here in The Netherlands with an American fieldhospital, that's what we have to show people.
http://picasaweb.google.com/laroscout/S ... 27Juni2010#

Ofcourse I can understand if you have "show and tell" event that it's not that bad, but make the people think and talk about it when they are driving home.

Greetings Wald Schmidt

[Gott Mit Uns]

Thats a bloody good effort there. Well done. Although Im not too sure that anyone with some of those wounds would be up and about. That lad on crutches is defo T1 - morphine, torniquet and outta here for re-setting.