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The Nazi Card

Nazi Comparisons at the Beginning of the Cold War

Brian Johnson

The Cold War began almost immediately after the end of World War II and the defeat of the Nazis in Europe. As images of the Nazis’ atrocities became part of American culture’s common store, the evil of their old enemy, beyond the Nazis as a wartime opponent, became increasingly important. As America tried to describe the danger represented by the spread of Communism, it fell back on descriptions of Nazism to make the threat plain through comparison. At the heart of the tensions of that era lay the inconsistency of using one kind of evil to describe another. The book addresses this tension in regards to McCarthyism, campaigns to educate the public about Communism, attempts to raise support for wars in Asia, and the rhetoric of civil rights. Each of these political arenas is examined through their use of Nazi analogies in popular, political, and literary culture.

The Nazi Card is an invaluable look at the way comparisons to Nazis are used in American culture, the history of those comparisons, and the repercussions of establishing a political definition of evil.

Lexington Books

Pages: 230 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-4985-3290-7 • Hardback • January 2017 • $109.00 • (£84.00)

978-1-4985-3291-4 • eBook • January 2017 • $103.50 • (£80.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture, Social Science / Comparative Cultural Studies, History / Modern / 20th Century, Literary Criticism / Modern / 20th Century

The Nazi Card

Nazi Comparisons at the Beginning of the Cold War

Hardback

eBook

Summary

The Cold War began almost immediately after the end of World War II and the defeat of the Nazis in Europe. As images of the Nazis’ atrocities became part of American culture’s common store, the evil of their old enemy, beyond the Nazis as a wartime opponent, became increasingly important. As America tried to describe the danger represented by the spread of Communism, it fell back on descriptions of Nazism to make the threat plain through comparison. At the heart of the tensions of that era lay the inconsistency of using one kind of evil to describe another. The book addresses this tension in regards to McCarthyism, campaigns to educate the public about Communism, attempts to raise support for wars in Asia, and the rhetoric of civil rights. Each of these political arenas is examined through their use of Nazi analogies in popular, political, and literary culture.

The Nazi Card is an invaluable look at the way comparisons to Nazis are used in American culture, the history of those comparisons, and the repercussions of establishing a political definition of evil.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 230 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-4985-3290-7 • Hardback • January 2017 • $109.00 • (£84.00)

978-1-4985-3291-4 • eBook • January 2017 • $103.50 • (£80.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture, Social Science / Comparative Cultural Studies, History / Modern / 20th Century, Literary Criticism / Modern / 20th Century

Author

Brian Johnson teaches American literature and popular culture at Cuyahoga Community College.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Nazism as an Epitome of Evil for American Ethics
Chapter 1 - From Hun to Holocaust: American’s Depiction of Nazism Before and After Camp Liberation
Chapter 2 - America Über Alles: The Promise of an American Postwar
Chapter 3 - Are You Now or Have You Ever Been…: Nazism and the Second Red Scare
Chapter 4 - Pod People and Swastikas: Nazism and Images of the Communist Threat
Chapter 5 - The Matinee War: Selling the War Against Communism with the Nazis of World War II
Chapter 6 - White Power, Black Power: The Use of Nazi Analogy in Civil Rights and Black Power Rhetoric
Conclusion - The Repercussions of Ubiquity

The Nazi Card

Nazi Comparisons at the Beginning of the Cold War

Brian Johnson

The Nazi Card

Nazi Comparisons at the Beginning of the Cold War

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