The Iron Eagle: An Adolf Hitler Presidency

[joea64]

Ah I see.

Depends on the part of the world ...

Some places might turn out better than in otl, some worse.

My own impression is that, unless you were black or Mexican, you wouldn't actually be too bad off in the Hitler Administration in most cases; in fact, it has to be said that his views on race aren't really significantly different from the American white mainstream at this point in the country's history, and much of a piece with most other prominent Southern Democrats of the era. And there have been a lot of clues dropped through the TL so far that, while progress on racial issues is greatly retarded, the Civil Rights movement does get going in the end and things do get better on that front. I think the key thing to realize here is that US!Hitler is fundamentally different from OTL Hitler in that he's a winner, not a loser, in life. Think of it this way: OTL Hitler failed at just about everything in life until he entered the army during the Great War, and he was permanently embittered and radicalized by the outcome of the war, catalyzing all the inchoate thoughts that'd been swimming around in his mind and turning them into their noxious whole.

The Hitler of Iron Eagle can best be described as a classic American success story to this point in his life; just about everything that could go right for him, has. He's the protege of both Wilson and Bryan, imbibing deeply of their distinct political theories; one of the most famous conservative intellectuals and newspaper pundits in the country; a genuinely well-regarded academic in the field of history; and one of the up-and-coming powers in the Democratic Party who's just made himself a national figure both by rebuking the Ku Klux Klan and saving the party convention from total collapse by a dramatic speech. With a record like that, any other political figure would begin to be seriously thought of, by a great many very serious people, as potential Presidential timber in the not-too-distant future.

I'm still looking forward, though, to seeing Senator Hitler's interactions with the great moguls of Hollywood, who could be a LOT of help to him in his ambitions. Hint, hint...

 

[President Earl Warren]

I'm still looking forward, though, to seeing Senator Hitler's interactions with the great moguls of Hollywood, who could be a LOT of help to him in his ambitions. Hint, hint...

Any suggestions as to who could do the job? to be honest I always saw Hollywood being a target of Hitler, what with all of its supposed Degeneracy and with the Catholic Moralist movement taking off in the 30s, which managed to make Hollywood play by their rules all the way up to the 50s.

 

[Pelranius]

Is Hitler Catholic enough during his Administration to take badly to the anti-Catholic attitudes of a hypothetical Ludendorff regime in Berlin?

 

[President Earl Warren]

Is Hitler Catholic enough during his Administration to take badly to the anti-Catholic attitudes of a hypothetical Ludendorff regime in Berlin?

He is, but then again any Ludendorff regime would be rather short, he died in 1937.

 

[joea64]

Any suggestions as to who could do the job? to be honest I always saw Hollywood being a target of Hitler, what with all of its supposed Degeneracy and with the Catholic Moralist movement taking off in the 30s, which managed to make Hollywood play by their rules all the way up to the 50s.

Louis B. Mayer and MGM, in particular. Mayer was hugely into the whole God-mom-and-apple-pie American national myth (he was famous, back in the day, for putting mothers, starting with his own, on a golden pedestal, and pestering the talent in the MGM stable to respect and take care of their mothers), and a strong exponent of "Americanism", both of which would have struck US!Hitler's fancy strongly, and MGM's whole image in the "Golden Age" of Hollywood was about providing high-quality, wholesome entertainment. Hitler was a huge movie fan OTL - in fact, his favorite film at the time World War II started was "Gone With The Wind" (a MGM production, and one that, if you remember it and the book it was based on, was a big exponent of the "Lost Cause" myth) - and there's no reason to believe he would have been different TTL, particularly being a native-born citizen who'd have been exposed to Hollywood movies all his life. Mayer was also - like all the other studio moguls - quite conservative in his politics; IOTL he was aligned with the GOP, with his executive assistant, Ida Koverman, in fact being state chairwoman of the California Republican Party at one point, but ITTL he might, in the right circumstances, swing toward the Democrats and the Senator from Texas. I see Hitler getting his entree into Hollywood power circles via Joseph P. Kennedy, who is strongly hinted to become a close ally and confidant in the near future, and who was quite a prominent player in those circles in the 1920's (not just because of his romantic connection with Gloria Swanson).

That being said, I agree that he would have been on the side of making Hollywood "clean up its act", so I do see him being aligned with the Legion of Decency, the Catholic organization which was one of the biggest pressure fronts on Hollywood to get them to "clean up their act" during the period, and I wouldn't be surprised if, ITTL, he strongly recommends Joseph Breen - a Catholic like himself - to take his OTL post as the chief film censor. So I see ITTL relations between Washington in the Hitler Administration and Hollywood being a delicate, complex dance, with some studios being much more closely allied to him than others, and with everyone anxious to stay on his good side. OTL, Hollywood would send dozens of stars to Washington every year to appear at FDR's huge and splashy public birthday parties (no joke, Lana Turner and other stars wrote about that in their autobiographies), for example; I can definitely see them doing the same thing for President Hitler every April 20th TTL as a way of flattering him.

And once TTL's version of World War II kicks off, Washington and Hollywood are going to be working hand-in-glove on war movies, documentaries, instructional films, and propaganda in general, just like OTL...

 

[Pelranius]

Is Hitler Catholic enough during his Administration to take badly to the anti-Catholic attitudes of a hypothetical Ludendorff regime in Berlin?

True, but his successor would probably continue a fair amount of anti-clerical Ludendorff policies.

 

[President Earl Warren]

- like all the other studio moguls - quite conservative in his politics; IOTL he was aligned with the GOP, with his executive assistant, Ida Koverman, in fact being state chairwoman of the California Republican Party at one point, but ITTL he might, in the right circumstances

This could be a problem, as Adolf is portsyed as having a purely Keynsian Economic view.

 

[joea64]

This could be a problem, as Adolf is portsyed as having a purely Keynsian Economic view.

Not necessarily an insuperable one, if we have a serious economic downturn in the late 1920's-early 1930's timeframe; IOTL, after all, Hollywood was able to accommodate to FDR with his "lite" version of Keynesianism. Don't discount Hitler's charisma and persuasiveness, either.

 

[Godwin]

The subject of Hollywood has also brought my mind to the eventual Soviet infiltration of the industry and the State Dept. I wonder just how bipartisan on the issue McCarthy and President (if he's still president then) Hitler will be. I imagine Hitler will still play the hardline against organizations like CPUSA or IWW.

 

[Dan Yampton]

Hitler kinda reminds me of Peron (minus military) in this, not sure why.

 

[joea64]

Hitler kinda reminds me of Peron (minus military) in this, not sure why.

I daresay Hitler is going to play the populist card for all it's worth ITTL, reaching out to every (white) working- and middle-class constituency he can think of. Dunno if whomever becomes his wife TTL will turn into an American Eva Peron (it was Eva, after all, who was the face of Peron's populist appeal, "shirtless ones" and all), but we'll have to see.

 

[IntellectuallyHonestRhino]

(German-American Actor Bruno Ganz in his Oscar Winning role as President Hitler in Hitler: The 20th century Legacy, 2004.)

 

[Edward IX]

I mean assuming a certain Canadian Father takes to the radio and The Spirit of St. Louis doesn't tumble into the Atlantic, I am interested to see his relationship with Coughlin and Lindbergh.

 

[joea64]

(German-American Actor Bruno Ganz in his Oscar Winning role as President Hitler in Hitler: The 20th century Legacy, 2004.)

This actually raises a very interesting question: would TTL Hitler even be the sort of personality to fly into monumental tantrums of rage like OTL Hitler, as Ganz so famously depicted in Der Untergang? I'm not quite seeing it myself - but it's clear that the President is under a great deal of stress in this scene. Personally, I'm envisioning it as he, General Marshall, Admiral King and the rest of the senior military leadership having a weary, tense discussion as to how to reverse the tide of bad news in the early days of America's involvement in TTL World War II. He looks anxious and careworn here, but nowhere near close to snapping and beginning to scream.

 

[Bongani The Mediocre]

(German-American Actor Bruno Ganz in his Oscar Winning role as President Hitler in Hitler: The 20th century Legacy, 2004.)

Another question; does Ganz become German-American instead of Swiss ITTL because there was no decent acting jobs avaliable in Western Europe and he had to migrate just like Hitler family did? Unless his parents chose to leave Germany before he was born.

 

[Edward IX]

This actually raises a very interesting question: would TTL Hitler even be the sort of personality to fly into monumental tantrums of rage like OTL Hitler, as Ganz so famously depicted in Der Untergang? I'm not quite seeing it myself - but it's clear that the President is under a great deal of stress in this scene. Personally, I'm envisioning it as he, General Marshall, Admiral King and the rest of the senior military leadership having a weary, tense discussion as to how to reverse the tide of bad news in the early days of America's involvement in TTL World War II. He looks anxious and careworn here, but nowhere near close to snapping and beginning to scream.

"No,no Patton with the 3rd Army will attack and break through."

General Eisenhower: "Mr. President, General Patton could not launch his attack."

Hitler: " The following people will stay: Eisenhower, Long and Truman. "

Sorry, cheap joke to your good post. Bit, I figured that this website made up the domestic gross for that film.

 

[r1ncewind]

How about a picture of hitler and charles davenport, they should be bff ittl

 

[King_Arthur]

As long as we get Marshal Marshall then this will officially be the best TL on the site.

 

[SkylineDreamer]

"No,no Patton with the 3rd Army will attack and break through."

General Eisenhower: "Mr. President, General Patton could not launch his attack."

Hitler: " The following people will stay: Eisenhower, Long and Truman. "

Sorry, cheap joke to your good post. Bit, I figured that this website made up the domestic gross for that film.

Or maybe:

"No,no Patton with the 3rd Army will attack and break through the encirclement."

General Eisenhower: "Mr. President, General Patton could not launch his attack because he is also encircled. Patton and the Third Army are encircled in that beach."

Hitler: " The following people will stay: Eisenhower, Long and Truman. "

"How the HELL does my finest general TRAP in that BEACH?!?!?"

Ahh.. Dunkirk

 

[Aloha]

(German-American Actor Bruno Ganz in his Oscar Winning role as President Hitler in Hitler: The 20th century Legacy, 2004.)

One of my favourite movies. Bruno was amazing in his role as President Hitler.

Curse those 45 people on the poll.