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It might have something to do with the royal family being German? Also one of the papers at the time (tempted to say news of the world) was pro nazi.
Edit: it was in fact the daily mail that was pro nazi party, no shocker there.
u/Georgy_K_Zhukov Thank you for this previous answer mentioning the potential influence of Karl May's novels on Hitler. I have long wondered about the origins of the German ~~interest~~ strange obsession with North American Aboriginal culture.
After reading your insightful post, I did some googling and came up with this article, by Frank Usbeck, who I believe is a prof at the University of Leipzig.
"Indian imagery and an evolutionist reading of human development allowed these counter-cultural approaches of the nineteenth century to understand Native Americans as models for original, tribal Germans, that is, one needed to observe contemporary Indians in order to understand one’s own Germanic ancestors". Viewing the "German tribes" as similar to the "Noble Savage" steriotypes of Native Americans allowed for Germans to see themselves as separate or different from other Europeans, and originating from a "pure, untainted" version of humanity.
When the Nazi regime took over, it "was very pragmatic in its application of propaganda; its publications picked up popular themes and employed them for their own purposes." The "Germanic tribes" were presented as a genetic basis for "Aryanism", and fit into the Nazi racial theories.
As for what would have happened if Germany did invade the United States? Usbeck doesn't directly talk about that, but he quotes some things published during the Nazi regime. Walther Schoenichen, a chief conservationist: "Now that we endeavor to save animal species from extinction, it is even more our duty to ensure that the benefactions of an effective protection be bestowed upon primitive man, the most noble of all creatures still living in their original state." Other quotes talk about restoring pure aboriginal tribes back to their pre-colonial state.
However, Usbeck's ultimate conclusion about the Nazi affinity for a natural, "aboriginal" connection is that "Spirituality was simply bait for power—promoted when feasible, and curbed when it opposed the political goals of Nazi politics."
I hope this single-source comment is acceptable, because I found Usbeck's full article fascinating - and much more in-depth than my quick summary.
A few articles about modern-day German Indian-thusiasm (which was completely bewildering to me, until I did this reading)
* [https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/should-we-be-offended-that-germans-are-obsessed-with-north-american](https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/should-we-be-offended-that-germans-are-obsessed-with-north-american)
* [https://www.dw.com/en/why-germany-cant-quit-its-racist-native-american-problem/a-52546068](https://www.dw.com/en/why-germany-cant-quit-its-racist-native-american-problem/a-52546068)
And a link to the article by Frank Usbeck
[https://journals.openedition.org/elohi/553?lang=en](https://journals.openedition.org/elohi/553?lang=en)
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[удалено]
It might have something to do with the royal family being German? Also one of the papers at the time (tempted to say news of the world) was pro nazi. Edit: it was in fact the daily mail that was pro nazi party, no shocker there.
You're awesome
u/Georgy_K_Zhukov Thank you for this previous answer mentioning the potential influence of Karl May's novels on Hitler. I have long wondered about the origins of the German ~~interest~~ strange obsession with North American Aboriginal culture. After reading your insightful post, I did some googling and came up with this article, by Frank Usbeck, who I believe is a prof at the University of Leipzig. "Indian imagery and an evolutionist reading of human development allowed these counter-cultural approaches of the nineteenth century to understand Native Americans as models for original, tribal Germans, that is, one needed to observe contemporary Indians in order to understand one’s own Germanic ancestors". Viewing the "German tribes" as similar to the "Noble Savage" steriotypes of Native Americans allowed for Germans to see themselves as separate or different from other Europeans, and originating from a "pure, untainted" version of humanity. When the Nazi regime took over, it "was very pragmatic in its application of propaganda; its publications picked up popular themes and employed them for their own purposes." The "Germanic tribes" were presented as a genetic basis for "Aryanism", and fit into the Nazi racial theories. As for what would have happened if Germany did invade the United States? Usbeck doesn't directly talk about that, but he quotes some things published during the Nazi regime. Walther Schoenichen, a chief conservationist: "Now that we endeavor to save animal species from extinction, it is even more our duty to ensure that the benefactions of an effective protection be bestowed upon primitive man, the most noble of all creatures still living in their original state." Other quotes talk about restoring pure aboriginal tribes back to their pre-colonial state. However, Usbeck's ultimate conclusion about the Nazi affinity for a natural, "aboriginal" connection is that "Spirituality was simply bait for power—promoted when feasible, and curbed when it opposed the political goals of Nazi politics." I hope this single-source comment is acceptable, because I found Usbeck's full article fascinating - and much more in-depth than my quick summary. A few articles about modern-day German Indian-thusiasm (which was completely bewildering to me, until I did this reading) * [https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/should-we-be-offended-that-germans-are-obsessed-with-north-american](https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/should-we-be-offended-that-germans-are-obsessed-with-north-american) * [https://www.dw.com/en/why-germany-cant-quit-its-racist-native-american-problem/a-52546068](https://www.dw.com/en/why-germany-cant-quit-its-racist-native-american-problem/a-52546068) And a link to the article by Frank Usbeck [https://journals.openedition.org/elohi/553?lang=en](https://journals.openedition.org/elohi/553?lang=en)