JOY DIVISION & NAZI CHIC
A "joy division" was a Nazi military brothel typically compromised of Jewish women. Little is known about the Nazis' use of Holocaust victims for sexual pleasure (i.e. rape) but a few fictional efforts have created using the Freudenabteilung for its setting of terror. One truly interesting film that referenced a joy division was The Night Porter (starring Charlotte Rampling and Dirk Bogarde). Both actors also appeared in the Nazi thriller-drama, The Damned, which centered around a transsexual sociopath who molests children in secret and performs fab in drag for his wealthy German family and friends (I'm also assuming that film is the source band name of The Damned). Charlotte Rampling and Dirk Bogarde are no strangers to partaking in films that explore the hidden underbelly of our sexual psyches.
The Night Porter in particular challenged the idea of "love" between a woman haunted by her past in a concentration camp bordello and the SS soldier who was her abuser. Years later, she encounters him working the night shift at a hotel. Stricken by terror to see his face again, a strange moment of confrontation/recognition unfurls his deep desire and tenderness for her, and he surprisingly begs his past victim to use him sexually in the way that he used her. Thus an intense S&M "romance" unfolds between "master" and "servant" except role-reversed in their new found re-kindling. Whereas many criticized the film for its unhealthy connection between the characters (and the gruesome flashbacks the female character suffers from her joy division confinement), the director seems to be exploring the idea that love can exist in the most sick of scenarios (Stockholm Syndrome no exception). The film ends, of course, in tragedy once the two are found out, and such a scenario is unrealistically tender compared to the reality for what once was organized rape by SS soldiers.
Originally calling themselves Warsaw (then deciding to use the city for the name of a song instead), the band Joy Division expressed more interest in Nazis beyond one reference to a location of pain and suffering during WWII. Their band name was inspired by House of Dolls (author Yehiel De-Nur), a supposed non-fictional account of life in a "joy division". The book was also a source for some lyrical content on the song "No Love Lost" and later the title of a Joy Division release. Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy who crashed his plane and became a prisoner of war by Churchill, is referenced in "Warsaw" by his prisoner number #31G-350125. (Three One G became the name of Justin Pearson's record label. San Diego hardcore was prime in the '90s Joy Division revival, propelled by this label. Their awareness about Nazi-related references in the song is unknown). More obvious, An Ideal for Living EP features a drawing of Nazi Youth illustrated by JD member, Bernard, and the insert contains an image of a soldier about to shoot a child ("the 12" version was released later with an image of scaffolding in an attempt to distance the band from perceived Nazi overtones" according to Wikipedia).
It's unclear if Joy Division are interested in Nazis from a sympathetic or a curiosity viewpoint but it's obvious that they are at least interested. As one of the accidental founding fathers of "goth", subject matter of the twisted and violent were already common place in youth subculture/music movements of the time. Joy Division emerged on the tail end of the UK punk movement i.e. Sex Pistols and many punk kids already wore Swastikas for shock value.
I never had much interest in Ian Curtis. To me he is not much more than a pretty boy with a tortured soul who happened to be a singer for a bunch of rad musicians who aren't getting the attention they deserved in his shadow. I love New Order (another Hilter reference) over Joy Division though respect both musically (and influentially as a bass player). Ian's suicide doesn't stand out to me as much as his ambiguous flirtation with Nazi subject matter especially with An Ideal for Living's obvious references. One interview mentioned the Nazi association but when asked about what "Leaders of Men" was about, Ian says it's "pretty obvious really" then fails to answer the question. However, the rest of the interview questions their "Nazi chic" which the band argues is supposed to be "dark and doomy" rather than "racist". They go on to gripe about Rock Against Racism benefit shows "patronizing" non-whites (they did perform at one of their anti-racist events in October 1978). Racism was still very relevant in England and all of Europe at that time and everyone seemed divided on the issue.
Obviously JD wasn't part of the skinhead movement though it was a growing presence around the same time frame. Skrewdriver and many other punk bands in Europe had Nationalistic tendencies and many punk kids with similar opinions followed suit. Above is a really rad documentary that couldn't be more spot on in relation to the music + society crossover. It starts with the birth of and the rowdy (but non-racist) origins of the skinhead movement but mostly focuses on the decline of France's political parties as they welcomed racist skinheads' camaraderie and involvement in conjuring political power.
SKINHEAD IN THE '80s = NAZI
Today we don't see much of this shit except the occasional racist Internet forum dude walking into a Sikh temple on a shooting spree. There's definitely counterculture violence but not organized enough to be considered a movement (as displayed in the documentary). The 80's skinhead movement divided many punk kids (those for and those against). Punk in itself had truly split off into sub-genres and sub-sub-genres by the mid-early-80's. For a band like Joy Division, who barely would talk about their musical influences, the most they did to address their flirtations with Nazi aesthetic and themes was to somewhat deny the presence of it even though it was blatant to any intelligent person paying attention. Further, there are no explanations for what these Nazi references mean to them or why they maintain such a fascination with the subject matter.
It seems strange when fashionable bands employ fascist or racist tomes for their aesthetic or lyrical content however I do admit there is a certain mystique to secret societies whether or not they are occult or racist or both. I had a time frame when I read The Rise and the Fall of the Third Reich along with books about John Wayne Gacy. I was in no way planning on becoming a Nazi or a serial killer, just simply stuck in a wormhole of typical teenage fascination with the dark underbelly of the our modern society's history. I wrote a Black Flag Day zine (i.e. Valentine's Day for my misanthropic friends) called "Love Letters to Geli Raubal", the niece (and lover) of Hitler's who died of a (mysterious) suicide (that may have not been a suicide at all) before Hitler took office. I have the Germanic rune that the Nazis borrowed aesthetically for their SS symbol tattooed on my inner arm - what it means to me has nothing to do with racism but its original pagan representation.
Still it's weirdly unsettling when young people emulate Nazis in any form, especially when they are not German and sometimes even not "white" (such as the recent cute-culture appropriation of Hitler in Bangkok). Of course globalization and hipster culture have borrowed from many past cultures and movements they could never have possibly experienced and have turned them into fashion statements. It's one thing when kids are dressing up like hippies or trying to emulate French 60's movies; it's a whole other bag when they are glamorizing a group of people who killed thousands in the pursuit of ethnic cleansing.
A relevant and real reminder of this is current Danish band Iceage who use imagery related to the KKK and Nordic Paganism borrowed by Nazi Germany. Singer Elias's zine features Klan members fucking shit up, similar to their music video (above). Funnily enough Joy Division had a song called "Ice Age" and frontman Elias has similarities to Ian Curtis: blue eyed, milky white skin, tall and thin, somewhat effeminate, shy but solid in intellect, not exactly your typical skinhead meat head (even though Iceage's manager fits the skinhead descript perfectly). I've asked Iceage personally about racism in Scandanavia, which said they weren't associated with whatsoever. They all expressed how racism was backwards sentiment mostly reserved for backwoods hick-equivalents in the countryside... modern society in Scandanavia doesn't recognize or support racism as anything more than low class bullshit. But, like Joy Division, there is a tinge of gray-matter making it seem these white boys part of the Scandinavian post-punk revival are mixing fascist/racist tomes in their music and aesthetic while living in hipster hype.
One explanation for it is simple. Fascination with the bizarre extent that human life could be mistreated (especially in the context of a modern society that was technologically and intellectually growing) is understandable. Human psychology has shown that regardless of "socially advancing", "good" people are still malleable enough to become malicious and abusive under reigns of power or influence. Think about Metallica, a primarily anti-war band with frequent song subjects about war and violence. The first Slayer show I saw featured an enormous screen with video collages of Nazis sliced in with images from Guantanamo Bay along w/ Jesus and American flags (reminders that our country is just as fucked up as any other "enemy" of ours). These image's presence make a statement, a collection of the harsh reality of brainlessness and hatred that exists right under our nose that is anything but glorifying. Slayer's Reign in Blood album is most definitely about Adolf Hitler and Nazi brutality. Neither of these bands are in any way down with war or the gore of war, even if it is the basis for much of their artistic subject matter.
It's expected that anything "metal" will feature horror. Intellectual effeminate types bordering on pretentious with interest in Nazis creates a more perplexing aura. Joy Division weren't the kind of band to employ overt sexuality or costumes. They didn't spit on the audience or even use "foul" language. They had no shock tactics or intense aggression like many metal bands or the violent macho-ism with skinhead punk bands. They were one of the primary "post punk" with the image to fit: slacks and button down shirts, plain, stark, clean lines, only a few steps away from a Nazi look with Hitler youth haircuts. They read books and drank coffee quietly and conducted few sarcastic snarky convos with journalists, mostly refusing to have dialogue with the media who wouldn't "get" what they were doing anyway.
But, they had an influence on the shape of things to come, especially in the Goth genre. And later on, in hilarious genre creation, the term "Nazi goth" saddles up with mention of JD on godhatesgoths.com. Could Hitler have been the first Goth? I mean, you've probably seen the "emo" Hitler meme. "Failed artist, stupid hair, big crybaby - the Goth Trifecta" as my bro puts it.
TYPE 2 - NAZI GOTHS.
Nazi Goths is another worrying tribe and make up about 9% and growing of the Gothic Culture. Goths obsessed with Hitler and the Third Reich. These are mainly found in the Black metal Goth scene. Then you have the Columbine Killers, Goths obsessed with Hitler and guns. They shouted 'seig heil' and made Nazi salutes as they shot the black kids first. There are a great number of Goths in Germany, the country with the largest amount of Gothic tribes, who are obsessed with their Nazi heritage. Listening to Nazi music like Black Metal and Neo-folk, and dressing in Nazi uniforms. Have you ever seen a negro Goth? NO. Because they don't exist. Goths paint their faces white as a sign of their white supremist ideologies, and as a sign of their hate for blacks.
Nazi Goths is another worrying tribe and make up about 9% and growing of the Gothic Culture. Goths obsessed with Hitler and the Third Reich. These are mainly found in the Black metal Goth scene. Then you have the Columbine Killers, Goths obsessed with Hitler and guns. They shouted 'seig heil' and made Nazi salutes as they shot the black kids first. There are a great number of Goths in Germany, the country with the largest amount of Gothic tribes, who are obsessed with their Nazi heritage. Listening to Nazi music like Black Metal and Neo-folk, and dressing in Nazi uniforms. Have you ever seen a negro Goth? NO. Because they don't exist. Goths paint their faces white as a sign of their white supremist ideologies, and as a sign of their hate for blacks.
Even early Goth bands weren’t entirely free from flirtations with Nazism. Ian Curtis,the singer of Joy Division, one of Goth’s founding groups, was obsessed with Nazi uniforms and his lyrics often reflect his Nietzschean leanings. The band's name was taken from a Nazi term for female prisoners forced to prostitute themselves to German soldiers. It doesn't help that after Curtis' death, the band renamed itself New Order. Christian Death's 1989 album, All The Hate, features a swastika and sound clips of Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan.
(SEE OUR SECTION ON NAZI GOTHS FOR MORE INFORMATION)
Above all it doesn't seem that many people recognize the hidden relevancy to Nazi's brutal history when they incorporate anything having to do with it in their fashion or music then claim they aren't "racist" or associated. It's strange. We do not question the sexualization of Nazi-ism in the fetish S&M community... it has been commonplace for some time due to the nature of Nazi brutality and their roles as powerful figures with no sympathy for basic humanity. In the words of Susan Sontag:
Above all it doesn't seem that many people recognize the hidden relevancy to Nazi's brutal history when they incorporate anything having to do with it in their fashion or music then claim they aren't "racist" or associated. It's strange. We do not question the sexualization of Nazi-ism in the fetish S&M community... it has been commonplace for some time due to the nature of Nazi brutality and their roles as powerful figures with no sympathy for basic humanity. In the words of Susan Sontag:
"Sadomasochism has always been an experience in which sex becomes detached from personality, severed from relationships, from love. It should not be surprising that it has become attached to Nazi symbolism in recent years. Never before in history was the relation of masters and slaves realized with so consciously artistic a design. Sade had to make up his theater of punishment and delight from scratch, improvising the decor and costumes and blasphemous rites. Now there is a master scenario available to everyone. The color is black, the material is leather, the seduction is beauty, the justification is honesty, the aim is ecstasy, the fantasy is death."At our core there may be a deep inner obsession with power, either being controlled or controlling others. The estrangement and grim realism we experience as kids, teenagers, especially those who experience "alienation" and incorporate it into their artistic expressions, are no stranger to these themes even if subconcious. The lack of dialogue in regards to the history of the Nazi Party's destruction of human life holds a strange fascination to those of us who are already bombarded with the power struggle that is all around us in our personal relationships to our local society and beyond to bigger struggles of space and land on our continents and countries. Flirting with fascism is dangerous but relevant. We are so easily led astray by the seduction of power.
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2 comments:
Nazi blood is not only in the North, even if it comes from the North, it is everywhere in every ethnic group. That is why Hitler had partners (with affinities)in Japan (asian), but also in the Middle East (arabic)and in Africa (black). And also that is why many members of the band had affinities with the ideology of Nazism. Nazis used to tattoo their blood type on their body. The selection of concentration camp victims was rational. I say ´Nazis´because Hitler was only the facade of an European group of people with a domination ideology.
I'd agree that people's fascination with Nazism in specific and Fascism in general seems tied to concepts of power and control. In an era of society where people seem to be feeling less in control of their destinies, interest in power exchange/s&m seems to have increased a great deal. I think at face value, it seems to have manifested in people's sexual habits, but there's something wider at work here. Of course, it doesn't seem like a universally bad thing, but there could certainly be downsides. DH
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