The review of Charles Bukowski’s short story Swastika from @mgaft1

One of the important aspects of a good short story is that after you finished reading it, it leaves an emotional trace in your mind, makes you ponder and say …“hm.” The story “Swastika” is one of those stories. For those who didn’t read it, and I imagine, it would be most of the people from the generations x, y and z, I will give a skinny of it.

http://www.mmryan.net/archive/writing/bukowskicharles/shortstories.html#swastika

In the story, a president of the United States, a hypothetical one, because of an unknown political intrigue, is replaced by none else but Adolf Hitler.

Not by the 56-year-old, as he was when he supposedly died in Berlin in 1945, but by a man in his mid-eighties, which makes the time of the described event approximately 1970-75. Thus, the author hints that the replaced president was either Richard Nixon or Gerald Ford. Yet, how could the Nazi monster be brought to lead the most democratic country on Earth without being recognized? To make a seamless substitution two scientists-plastic surgeons were able to completely switch not only the appearances, but also the voices between the dictator and the president.

As the president, who was left in the old body of the dictator, tried to bring this treacherous act to the attention of the public, he was only ridiculed and placed in the nut house.

This humorous story, perhaps, even a farce, has a couple of serious implications.

Firstly, the author suggests that it is not an important person makes a position, but a position makes an important person. Even with the best intentions, trapped into the appearance of old Adolf, this person could not convince the media and the public about the upcoming political catastrophe. That conclusion brings to mind those people who knew about nine-eleven ahead of time and attempted to warn FBI but were only dismissed.

Secondly, the author implies that even an American president – allegedly, the most powerful man on Earth - placed within a certain political system, can only do so much within the bounds of that system. In another word, even Adolf Hitler, placed into a position of an American president, would hardly be permitted to accomplish what he has “accomplished” in Germany 1933-1945. The overall political environment at that time in the World propelled to the top this type of a leader and allowed him to do what he has done. This conjecture also gives one the idea what the author thought about the actual personalities and political convictions of selected presidents.

Thirdly, surprisingly, the idea of Nazism is still very much alive and well and occupies the minds of the new generation as it was predicted in the old Soviet movie about the Soviet spy working in Nazi’s SS. I dropped the reference below to the movie clip below. Here is the gist of it.

Muller, the head of the Gestapo, explains to another German officer, who happens to be the Soviet spy, that the gold of the Nazi’s party hidden by Martin Bormann, is going to feed the spark of desire to revive the Nazi party in the future.

“This gold,” he states in that fragment is “for those hundreds of thousands of intellectuals who, after a lapse of time, would understand that there is no other way in the World except for National Socialism. As soon as anywhere in the World, anybody, instead of the word ‘Hello’ will say ‘Hail’ addressing some specific person, get ready. These people are waiting for us. From that point in history, we (he means Nazis) will start our great revival.”

Here is the link to this video clip. I started it right from this important moment in the conversation and it has English subtitles. So, if you have the patience to watch for about 5 minutes you’ll get the full impression.