‘The Man in the High Castle’ Depicts America Under the Nazis

War is Boring ^ | 1/22/15 | Gault

[pabianice]

An excellent adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s best novel

After the highway patrolman finishes helping Joe Blake fix a flat tire, the cop offers him a sandwich. Blake is nervous. He’s stuck in the Midwest at the mercy of a police officer … and he’s carrying illegal cargo.

Blake wants to leave, but he accepts the sandwich. Better not to cause a stir.

As Blake takes the meal, he notices a tattoo on the officer’s forearm—a knife through a flower. Blake asks what it means. “Oh?” the cop says. “A soldier so fierce he’d kill a rose.”

“That was you?” Blake asks.

“A long time ago,” he answers. “We lost the war didn’t we? Now I can’t even remember what we were fighting for.”

Ash falls from the sky, peppering the two men. “What is that?” Blake asks.

“Oh, it’s the hospital.”

“Hospital?”

“Yeah,” the cop says. “On Tuesdays they burn cripples … the terminally ill. Drag on the state.”

This is the 1960s in an alternate timeline—another universe where the Axis powers won World War II. This is Amazon’s newest show The Man in the High Castle.

[tophat9000]

In this version of history, Giuseppe Zangara—who in reality killed Chicago mayor Anton Cermak in 1933—assassinated Pres. Franklin Roosevelt instead. Without FDR’s leadership, America delayed entering World War II....

Hmm I had not read this book... but sounds to be the inspiration jump off point for the famous Star Trek “The City on the Edge of Forever” episode

[Durus]

That twist is a bit of a laugher. FDR was a crappy president in almost every measurable way.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

I remember seeing an early 1940’s copy of the Saturday Evening Post for sale at an used book store about ten years ago.

The magazine had a story about what a Nazi air raid over Detroit, Michigan would look like.

Large colored drawings showed factories and residential neighborhoods in flames.

At the time, my father’s side of the family lived there. I wondered if they had seen the magazine during World War II. It probably would have scared the bejesus out of them.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks, interesting stuff!

[colorado tanker]

One of the most notorious spy rings of WWII was in Detroit. A woman arrived from Europe, compromised from the beginning and turned by the FBI. There was an active Bund organization there at the time. The FBI fed them disinformation and monitored them until they finally arrested and prosecuted them.

Another bizarre story from Detroit is that German ladies were visiting German POW's in Canada and slipping stuff to them. One of them escaped, swam the river and showed up. A Bund member showed him the town, even taking him to a whore house, before putting him on a bus to Chicago. He wandered around with a half baked plan to get to Mexico before he was arrested and sent back.

[printhead]

Len Deighton wrote a good book in the ‘70’s “SS-GB” about the same subject.

[Darksheare]

Yes.
The death panels they said weren’t there that are actually there.

[Pajamajan]

Bookmark

[Kommodor]

Fascinating ... I’ll have to have a look.

[tophat9000]

Im no FDR fan.. but the point in alternate history is delay of the US in the World War 2 means we don’t develop the atom bomb which means the Germans get it first... so Really boils down to an intervention vs isolationist....

realistically eliminate Winston Churchhill a conservative who really was the original driving force against stopping Hitler and you have the same result...

I’m not necessarily a fan of conservative isolationist

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Anyone remember this one?

SHADOW ON THE LAND (1968)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063589/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_37

From the book by Sinclair Lewis (novel “It Can’t Happen Here”)

[Ronniesque]

Anyone remember an HBO movie in the mid 90s called “Fatherland” with Rutger Hauer and Miranda Richardson? The U.S. pulled out of Europe after Normandy had failed, but still went on to win in the Pacific, leaving “Germania” in control over Europe, but Germania still fighting with the USSR some 20 years later.

[zeugma]

bfl

[warsaw44]

Doesn’t the book also include the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor being a huge success ( oil reserves destroyed, sub pens and repair yard in complete ruins ).

The above was the original Japanese plan. Had they pulled it off and turned Pearl harbor into a waste land it would have been pretty hard to conduct the war from California.

[Durus]

It's implausible that we would have joined the war later simply because FDR wasn't around.

December 7, 1941 - Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor December 8, 1941 - United States declares war on Japan. December 11, 1941 - Hitler declares war on the United States.

Would another president not declared war after Peal Harbor? I suggest that pretty much any rational non-socialist loving president would have joined WW2 earlier not later. It shows the bias of whomever created the series.

[tophat9000]

Well my alt take on history was Japan never should have attacked us in 41.

the way I think the smart way for the axis to play it out was... when Germany had its packed with Russia then goes to war with England and France ... Japan also should have gone to war with England and France..

Germany basically follows the same exact scripted did in Europe up until when the switch gears and when after Russia

Japan at the same time in the Far East stays away from the Americans and goes after the British French and Dutch interest in the colonial region in the far east

This give Japan access to all the raw materials they wanted.... plus it can play to the American isolationist who didn't want to be involved in the war, American anti-colonialist sentiment, how can you justify going to war to defend British French and Dutch colonies...and the American Left who was on Hitler's and Axis side when he was allied with Russia.

Germany Japan and Italy basic could have taken all over all the other European colonial interests in the world.. including India ...

Britain being simultaneously hammered by the Germans in europe and the Japanese in the Far East Asian colonies .. and Germany and Japan leveraging the anti-colonial, isolationist, leftist sentiments in the US so the US could really not support Britain..the British Empire does in fact collapse.

once Britains out of the way now you have Russia sitting between Germany in the West and Japan in the East

If Hitler really wants his Russian showdown now he gets his Japanese allies to attack from the other side of the same time and they probably would take them.

make the whole thing a Eurasian, African, Australia war and keep the all the Americas out of the mix make them irrelevant via political maneuver

[pabianice]

Not available anywhere, including Amazon and ebay.

[Inyo-Mono]

Back in the 60’s I remember an edition of Life or Look (my parents took both) had an article about a half-baked plan to divide America in the case of a German and Japanese victory.

I remember reading that article too. As I recall, the Nazis sneakily planned on taking over the Japanese part of the American West after the takeover.

[colorado tanker]

I thought the article was pretty amazing. Maybe that's when I began thinking about alternative histories. Remember this exchange in Casablanca?

Major Strasser: Are you one of those people who cannot imagine the Germans in their beloved Paris?
Rick: It's not particularly my beloved Paris.
Heinz: Can you imagine us in London?
Rick: When you get there, ask me!
Captain Renault: Hmmh! Diplomatist!
Major Strasser: How about New York?
Rick: Well there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn't advise you to try to invade.

[Inyo-Mono]

It was an amazing article. Can’t remember if it was Look or Life either (my parents too, subscribed to both). I dimly recall that the article was based on captured Nazi documents.

And ah yes, Casablanca, what a classic!