The 3D Spies of WW2

[Bekah]

In Germany, many things related to Nazism are illegal, for obvious reasons. It's illegal to belong to a neo-Nazi organization, and it's illegal to own Nazi paraphernalia except for purposes of historical interest (such as for a museum.) But here's where things get a bit less clear. There seems to be some kind of law against displaying a swastika, but under what circumstances? The game Wolfenstein 3D was banned in Germany because it depicted swastikas, and the new Return to Castle Wolfenstein will be sold in Germany with all swastikas removed. However, when I lived in Germany, I could go to the local video store and rent "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," which features a giant Nazi parade in Berlin with swastikas everywhere. Why is that legal and Wolfenstein 3D is not?
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http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=134617




On Jul 23, 2013, at 4:28 AM, Monte Davis <montedavis at verizon.net> wrote:

> “the suspenseful, previously untold story of air photo intelligence…”
>  
> Is it Hitler^h^h^h^h^h^h History Channel influence that makes it mandatory to add “previously untold”..? Yes, some WWII documents are still being declassified, but 98% of the substance of this program – and certainly the stereoscopic photogrammetry that’s the essence of it – has been known for a long, long time. E.g., during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, in which U-2 reconnaissance photos figured prominently, there were plenty of news backgrounders about how these photo interpretation techniques and skills had been used on Peenemunde and V-weapon launch sites, on the Ruhr dams, on submarine pens, etc. If you missed that, you could get most of it from “Operation Crossbow” (Sophia Loren, Trevor Howard, George Peppard) in 1965.
>  
> OK, call it routine promotional hype. I guess it rubs me the wrong way because of the periodic go-rounds here about the “discovery” (in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, world without end) that US Space Hero Wernher von Braun had actually been – gasp -- THE SAME PERSON who led development (and knew all about slave-labor production) of the V-2. Each time it becomes more firmly the conventional wisdom that the US government/military-industrial complex suppressed WvB’s dark past, and “now at last it can be told” -- when in fact, all the salient information had appeared in 1945 newspapers and in the first wave of WWII histories by 1950.
>  
> Foax, there was no need to “suppress” it; it was simply rolled over and drowned out by a newer, shinier narrative about Our Cold War Wizard:  WvB on Walt Disney space specials, WvB as keynote speaker at aerospace industry events, WvB in NASA press releases and press conferences. I object to the “suppression” narrative because it lets us off the hook too easily, as consumers of news and history and as citizens.
>  
> In the same way, there’s a lot less actual news in the Snowden/NSA “revelations” than meets the eye – and very little that couldn’t have been inferred by paying attention since the Church Committee in 1975, the FISA court legislation since 1978, and of course the Patriot Act since 2001. *Of course* the master narrative becomes “Ooh, look at all the nasty secrets They’ve been keeping from us.” It’s so much more comfortable than “Jeez, we turned the lights down and cranked up the surround sound for ‘The Siege’ and ‘24’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ – how were we supposed to know?”
>  
> If they can get you asking the wrong questions…      
>  
>  
> From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On Behalf Of David Morris
> Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 9:07 PM
> To: P-list
> Subject: The 3D Spies of WW2
>  
> http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/spies-3d.html
> Program Description
> During World War II, Hitler's scientists developed terrifying new weapons of mass destruction.mass destruction. Alarmed by rumors of advanced rockets and missiles, Allied intelligence recruited a team of brilliant minds from British universities and Hollywood studios to a country house near London. Here, they secretly pored over millions of air photos shot at great risk over German territory by specially converted, high-flying Spitfires. Peering at the photos through 3D stereoscopes, the team spotted telltale clues that revealed hidden Nazi rocket bases. The photos led to devastating Allied bombing raids that dealt crucial setbacks to the German rocket program and helped ensure the success of the D-Day landings. With 3D graphics that recreate exactly what the photo spies saw, NOVA tells the suspenseful, previously untold story of air photo intelligence that played a vital role in defeating the
>