Adolf Hitler Wins Election in Namibia (Yes, This is Real)

[Neanderthaland]

I'm actually kind of torn on this. On the one hand, obviously not someone we want to commemorate at all.

But on the other hand, imagine Hitler's face when he learns that the people who commemorate him are non-Aryans.

[Insaanistan]

I remember the story someone told me of this Indian Immigrant to the US who had never learned about the Shoah/Holocaust. As a Hindu, in art class he began drawing swastikas to show his culture. His teacher was actually Jewish and got very offended, and didn’t know what an actual Swastika was. He was also left handed, so the teacher made him redo the whole project with his right hand. Then he late became right handed.

[Cetacea]

Most Africans aren’t actually taught about the Holocaust and just know that he was strong enough to make their oppressors ask them for help in fighting him.

Like Trollzyn said, ignorance.

Its not ignorance, its cultural and temporal distance. Afterall nobody would raise objection to a child being named Leopald or Victoria or Napolean or Christopher despite them all being the overlords of some significant colonial genocides.
The Nazi holocaust has been continuously promulgated in Europe and the Anglosphere as a core defining myth of “Modern Western Civilisation”, thus ensuring that the name of Adolf Hitler remains a byword for Evil Megalomaniacal Poilitican - but why should it have that force outside the confines of ‘the West’?

Adolf never invaded or colonised my country - Victoria and her soldiers did

[Trollzyn the Infinite]

Like Trollzyn said, ignorance.

Its not ignorance, its cultural and temporal distance. Afterall nobody would raise objection to a child being named Leopald or Victoria or Napolean or Christopher despite them all being the overlords of some significant colonial genocides.
The Nazi holocaust has been promulgated in Europe and the Anglosphere ensuring that the name of Adolf Hitler remains a byword for Evil Megalomaniacal Poilitican but why should it have that force outside the confines of Europe?

Adolf never invaded of colonised my country - Victoria and her soldiers did

Adolf isn't the name we're taking issue with, Adolf Hitler is.

Leopold, Victoria, Napoleon, and Christopher are by themselves just names--much like Adolf. But when they become Leopold Ludwig Philip Maria Victor Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Alexandrina Victoria of Hanover, Napoleon Bonaparte, or Christopher Columbus then they--much like Adolf Hitler--become something else entirely and carry a much different meaning behind them.

[Trollzyn the Infinite]

I'm actually kind of torn on this. On the one hand, obviously not someone we want to commemorate at all.

But on the other hand, imagine Hitler's face when he learns that the people who commemorate him are non-Aryans.

"FEGELEIN! FEGELEIN! FEGELEIN!" - Hitler, probably

[Nekostan-e Gharbi]

Hitler Wins Election in Namibia, Promises He Doesn’t Want To Take Over The World

I’m not kidding.

A man named Adolf Hitler has won an election in Namibia. The man says he goes by ‘Adolf Uunona’ and that he doesn’t ascribe to Nazi ideology.

German and Germanic names are quite common in Namibia, as it used to be a German colony. Namibians suffered under German rule, and things were pretty eh when the British took over.

The man admitted his father probably named him after Adolf Hitler on purpose, but didn’t actually know what Hitler believed in. As someone with African parents, I know that especially in Southern Africa, many people are named ‘Hitler’ because all many black Africans know about him is that he was so powerful the British begged them to help them fight him. They don’t really know about the Holocaust.
Which I should call “Shoah” in this case, because the Germans engaged in the Namibian Holocaust, too. Sauce: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55173605

Which doesn’t reveal anything other than lack of communication..

[Insaanistan]

Hitler Wins Election in Namibia, Promises He Doesn’t Want To Take Over The World

I’m not kidding.

A man named Adolf Hitler has won an election in Namibia. The man says he goes by ‘Adolf Uunona’ and that he doesn’t ascribe to Nazi ideology.

German and Germanic names are quite common in Namibia, as it used to be a German colony. Namibians suffered under German rule, and things were pretty eh when the British took over.

The man admitted his father probably named him after Adolf Hitler on purpose, but didn’t actually know what Hitler believed in. As someone with African parents, I know that especially in Southern Africa, many people are named ‘Hitler’ because all many black Africans know about him is that he was so powerful the British begged them to help them fight him. They don’t really know about the Holocaust.
Which I should call “Shoah” in this case, because the Germans engaged in the Namibian Holocaust, too. Sauce: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55173605

Which doesn’t reveal anything other than lack of communication..

And your point is...?

[Nekostan-e Gharbi]

Which doesn’t reveal anything other than lack of communication..

And your point is...?

It’s not even interesting. Adolf Hitler was so irrelevant to Namibia that no major faction there actually cares enough to hate him.

[Insaanistan]

And your point is...?

It’s not even interesting. Adolf Hitler was so irrelevant to Namibia that no major faction there actually cares enough to hate him.

The people who posted here seemed to think it was at least mildly interesting. You’re the only one who explicitly said they were uninterested.

[Nekostan-e Gharbi]

It’s not even interesting. Adolf Hitler was so irrelevant to Namibia that no major faction there actually cares enough to hate him.

The people who posted here seemed to think it was at least mildly interesting. You’re the only one who explicitly said they were uninterested.

It’s pretty similar to the Tutsi-Hutu conflict. If you are not related to the African Great Lakes region your stance on it is probably just a vague “don’t murder” and nothing else. Lots of cultural stuff go weird when they cross borders into completely unrelated areas. I mean in Japan some people actually go to KFC to celebrate Christmas and in the United States the word “ramen” actually refers to instant noodles.

A black person named Adolf Hitler in Namibia is nothing weird since he didn’t do anything there while being an infamous human being whose name is known. It is not very different from people in Ancient Greek states ostracizing famous people simply for having heard of them or some French people voting Napoleon III into power for the same reason. It doesn’t imply there is either serious neo-Nazism in Namibia or the other way around.

[Risottia]

Adolf Hitler is back from the dead, and this time he's a schwarzer Untermensch.

Ain't karma a lovely bitch?

[Nekostan-e Gharbi]

Adolf Hitler is back from the dead, and this time he's a schwarzer Untermensch.

Ain't karma a lovely bitch?

Apparently you think all Johns and Annas are the same person. You are misinterpreting the situation.

[Senkaku]

As someone with African parents, I know that especially in Southern Africa, many people are named ‘Hitler’ because all many black Africans know about him is that he was so powerful the British begged them to help them fight him. They don’t really know about the Holocaust.

That's... actually pretty funny, if dark. Can't blame them for wanting to stick it to the British imperialists or for not being super informed on the history of a distant continent (not like Europeans have a great grasp on Southern African history), I'm sure they're as horrified as anyone if they're informed on Hitler's actual deeds.

[Nekostan-e Gharbi]

As someone with African parents, I know that especially in Southern Africa, many people are named ‘Hitler’ because all many black Africans know about him is that he was so powerful the British begged them to help them fight him. They don’t really know about the Holocaust.

That's... actually pretty funny, if dark. Can't blame them for wanting to stick it to the British imperialists or for not being super informed on the history of a distant continent (not like Europeans have a great grasp on Southern African history), I'm sure they're as horrified as anyone if they're informed on Hitler's actual deeds.

Lots of things get weird after crossing cultures. For example Kobe Bryant was named after Kobe beef while in Japan that’s pretty absurd. Yet in Japan people actually name a pork dish after.....the Muslim country of Turkey.

[Risottia]

Adolf Hitler is back from the dead, and this time he's a schwarzer Untermensch.

Ain't karma a lovely bitch?

Apparently you think all Johns and Annas are the same person. You are misinterpreting the situation.

Apparently you think that
a) combining "Adolf" and "Hitler" in the same name is entirely equivalent as calling anyone "John", and
b) irony is something you do after your clothes have been washed and dried.

[Adamede]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55173605

A Namibian politician named after Adolf Hitler says he has no plans for world domination after winning a sweeping victory in local elections. Adolf Hitler Uunona was elected last week as councillor for the Ompundja constituency.
In an interview with German newspaper Bild, he insisted he had "nothing to do" with Nazi ideology.
Adolf, like other Germanic first names, is not uncommon in the country, which was once a German colony.
He was elected for the ruling Swapo party, which led the campaign against colonial and white-minority rule.

He told the interviewer "It wasn't until I was growing up that I realised: This man wanted to subjugate the whole world," he said, adding. "I have nothing to do with any of these things."

He won his election with 85 percent of the vote in the North of the country. He said he has no plans to change his name.

Im not sure what to think of this. It certainly is one of the craziest things ever heard. He also said his father probably didn't understand what Hitler stood for which I find a little hard to believe.

What's your thoughts on this bizarre story NSG?

Believe it or not everyone on the world cares that much about Western history. Nazism doesn’t seem to have as much impact in non-western regions such as Africa and east Asia.

[Nekostan-e Gharbi]

Apparently you think all Johns and Annas are the same person. You are misinterpreting the situation.

Apparently you think that
a) combining "Adolf" and "Hitler" in the same name is entirely equivalent as calling anyone "John", and
b) irony is something you do after your clothes have been washed and dried.

There are also Stalins in India who are not communists. So what? The name of Adolf Hitler entered Namibia simply for being repeated a lot but not most of the content. Just like most of the content of ramen failed to enter United States and most of the content of the name “Kobe” was not known to Kobe Bryant’s father.

[New Antarcticania]

Can't wait for a guy named Josef Stalin to be elected president.

[Insaanistan]

“Yusuf Stalin elected to Parliament in Uttar Pradesh, India.”

[Nekostan-e Gharbi]

The weird religious mysticism people subscribe to a name is very telling about society.

I agree. It’s pretty insane. Nazism is a serious problem. However the name “Adolf Hitler” used in all other contexts isn’t since the name is not inherently problematic (I.e. there is no Nazism within the name itself, neither Adolf nor Hitler is an antisemitic word). I mean, there are lots of Caroline Petersons and Isabella Garcias out there. Are they the same person?

[The Hindustani State]

Like Trollzyn said, ignorance.

Its not ignorance, its cultural and temporal distance. Afterall nobody would raise objection to a child being named Leopald or Victoria or Napolean or Christopher despite them all being the overlords of some significant colonial genocides.
The Nazi holocaust has been continuously promulgated in Europe and the Anglosphere as a core defining myth of “Modern Western Civilisation”, thus ensuring that the name of Adolf Hitler remains a byword for Evil Megalomaniacal Poilitican - but why should it have that force outside the confines of ‘the West’?

Adolf never invaded or colonised my country - Victoria and her soldiers did

Yeah this is the same thing I say to Westerners when they say Indians are racist because of swastikas, because the swastika doesn’t carry the same history here

[Infected Mushroom]

This is really cool.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Of course there's some African dude named Adolf Hitler and he won an election somewhere. I give it five days before the parliament building burns and he blames "communists, anarchists and Jews" for it.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Its not ignorance, its cultural and temporal distance. Afterall nobody would raise objection to a child being named Leopald or Victoria or Napolean or Christopher despite them all being the overlords of some significant colonial genocides.
The Nazi holocaust has been continuously promulgated in Europe and the Anglosphere as a core defining myth of “Modern Western Civilisation”, thus ensuring that the name of Adolf Hitler remains a byword for Evil Megalomaniacal Poilitican - but why should it have that force outside the confines of ‘the West’?

Adolf never invaded or colonised my country - Victoria and her soldiers did

Yeah this is the same thing I say to Westerners when they say Indians are racist because of swastikas, because the swastika doesn’t carry the same history here

There's a building in downtown Detroit with swastikas on it. The building was built before World War II and swastikas weren't a hate symbol in America back then.

[San Lumen]

This is really cool.

I really hope this is satire.