Reading the blog posts of others often engages my astute mind in memories and research that I would otherwise never have considered. That is exactly what took place the other day when I read the post From a Polish Stripper to a Nazi Duck. It seems that 4-year-old Hunter is four year old WWII buff. As only a 4-year-old could do, he concluded that his talking AFLAC duck is a Nazi. That conclusion engaged my razor-sharp mind and it went into “search” mode, eventually locating a memory of a Disney World War II cartoon featuring Donald Duck as a Nazi and the song, Right in der Fuehrer’s Face. I do admit it took a bit of Internet googling to find that clip, but it was worth it.
The cartoon move was part of the Disney Studios war effort during WWII. Although they produced it before I was born (I am one of the first of the Baby Boomers), it was still being shown in movie theaters as late as 1950 when I was Hunter’s age. Besides remembering seeing the movie when I was a small kid, the song, Right in der Fuehrer’s Face, in stuck in my memory because my Uncle Frank had a 78 RPM recording of it. The song was written by Oliver Wallace and performed bySpike Jones and His City Slickers
; it was recorded July 28, 1942.
; it was recorded July 28, 1942.
I remember at sometime when I was a bit older “playing Nazi.” I drew a red swastika on a sheet of paper, cut it into an armband, and pinned the creation around my left arm. When my mother saw me, she almost blew a gasket in the frontal lobe of her brain. “Get that off,” screamed. “What if you father saw you after he spent four years fighting in World War II?” I note that she made no mention of her—and my—Jewish ancestry.
Back to the song and the cartoon: I am glad that the 4-year-old me and 4-year-old Hunter share that interest in World War II and Nazis—ducks or otherwise. Few people do today, which means that the horrendous lessons of World War II may be forgotten. We are at a time when many who where there are no longer with us. And we must not forget! The Disney cartoon film “der Fuehrer’s Face,” by poking satirical fun at an evil group, enabled people engaged in fighting and dying in opposition to the Third Reich to laugh a bit. And so I say we need to not forget that evil and maybe even sing:
When Der Fuehrer says, "We ist der master race"We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Der Fuehrer's faceNot to love Der Fuehrer is a great disgraceSo we HEIL! HEIL! Right in Der Fuehrer's faceWhen Herr Gobbels says, "We own der world und space"We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Herr Gobbels' faceWhen Herr Goring says they'll never bomb this placeWe HEIL! HEIL! Right in Herr Goring's face
Seems that I heard the song years ago. I too am a WWII history buff, which is strange because back in high school, I almost flunked out because of history. There was also an infatuation involved, but that's another story. ec
ReplyDeleteHistory is strange, Mr. Eddie. My B.A. major was history and I’ve taught history. I know many people who say they can’t stand history; yet when I talk to them about historical events and people, they seem to get excited. My personal view is that people who had trouble with history as a school subject may have had a poor history teacher. Or, their minds may have been somewhere else, which may be your other story.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that I would have remembered the song or the cartoon ”in der Fuehrer’s Face” had my uncle not had that 78 rpm record.