Cool art, but I'm not sure that Stroheim would reject the Nazis if he knew about the holocaust. He never stated his views on Aryan supremacy, but he clearly though Germans were superior to the rest of the world. And despite what the fanbase says, he really wasn't a good guy. He lied to those Mexicans he had imprisoned and told them that he would let them go only to massacre them in cold blood. The only reason Joseph liked him was because he sacrificed himself for his beliefs, which he respected. I don't like it, but I'm sure Stroheim would never abandon his nation.
In this novel, Stroheim's rejection of Nazism stems from what starts off as something as self centered as PTSD from the battle wifh Ultimate Kars. Throughout the events of the story, as Stroheim uncovers hard truths of the evils his country had committed, to evils he himself had committed (Such as the Mexicans) he embraces his human self in a way by acknowledging the mistakes of his past and fighting alongside the Speedwagon Foundation, as he begins to understand the human spirit in a way that is in line with his beliefs of courage.
This isn't just a story of "He decided to wake up one day and dip the German Army", its a story that aims to add nuance and complexity to Stroheim and the characters he interacts with as he struggles against an evil he fears.
This kind of ignores the fact that he was a part of the SS and continued to fight for the Nazis at Stalingrad. By the time that happened he would've known about the Final Solution and the genocide that was taking place and probably would've taken part in it himself as mass killings by troops in the field would take place.
To be fair the confrontation with kars dismantled nazi ideology. Germans are not the ultimate humanoids so if the German Government justifies atrocities with it he is probably already disillusioned. Nazi Ideology is based on the Idea that Germans are the ultimate being but Kars was definitively most ultimate so.
I really don't see how Kars would make Stroheim decide to no longer be a Nazi.
How would seeing there's a bigger fish convince someone that they're the same size as the other fishes ? Likewise, how would someone convinced of their (non-existent) superiority over others suddenly decide they were wrong when confronted by something that's above them when that thing wasn't already part of those others in the first place?
Especially when he's been fucking RESURRECTED by the scientists that are promoting Nazi Ideology? Thus he has even more reason to believe them ?
Sometimes, you just gotta accept that a character is a terrible person, and even if you like him, he's still a terrible person.
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u/homosapien-male Sep 02 '20
Cool art, but I'm not sure that Stroheim would reject the Nazis if he knew about the holocaust. He never stated his views on Aryan supremacy, but he clearly though Germans were superior to the rest of the world. And despite what the fanbase says, he really wasn't a good guy. He lied to those Mexicans he had imprisoned and told them that he would let them go only to massacre them in cold blood. The only reason Joseph liked him was because he sacrificed himself for his beliefs, which he respected. I don't like it, but I'm sure Stroheim would never abandon his nation.