Title - Swastika Night
Author - Katharine Burdekin
Year - 1937
Stand Alone or Series -Stand Alone
Pages - 196
Reading Time - 17 days (November 2010)
Rating - 8.5/10
ReviewThis was an interesting reading. A bit different of other books I've read about a hypotetical Nazi victory. Usually the tales are a couple years to decades into the future but this tale takes us to almost 700 hundreads years into the One Thousand Year Kingdom that Hittler envisioned.
This book was written over 70 years ago. Let's not forget that at that time woman in some countries were gaining a bit of respect but most of the world womens were seem beneath man. This book was written by a woman and depicts a world divided by Japanese and the Nazi Empire. Both treat woman alike. Like cattle. There is one law that said "As a woman is above a worm; so is a man above a woman. As a woman is above a worm so is a worm above a christian." This says a lot no? This story has no major character as a woman but the story concentrates heavily onthe oppression of women and portraying the Nazis as homosexual misogynists. Christians are marginalized (like the europeans did to the Roma people some hundreds years ago) and of course the Jews were eliminated (at the time of the writing of the book there was no plot afoot about the killings of the jews).
This book is a propaganda book. There is no doubt about it. Nazis = Evil and homosexual (in these case the woman who wrote seem to have something against homosexuals). Woman = Poor woman. Christians = Poorer christians and of course Comunism = Good! And that's about it. He even says why fascism and democracy are poor choices of goverment. BAH!
These tale focus on a Knight (German noble) and a englishman as he tells him some secrets about the Nazi Empire.Adolf Hitler is a tall, blond god who personally won "The Twenty Years War". Alfred (the englishman) is astounded when shown a secret, historic photograph depicting Hitler and a girl before a crowd. First, he is shocked that Hitler is a small man with dark hair and a paunch. The crowd seem more interested in the girl; this does not fit the world view of Hitler as god. The photograph's most shocking betrayal of myth is the girl's appearance. Alfred believed her to be a boy — the attractive figure has a proud posture and long, blond hair — and is appreciated by the crowd. Women have developed self-loathing, becoming pathetic beings who have difficulty performing their sole, utilitarian function: reproduction.
Most of the book is the Knights tales about history, woman and christian values are not that bad (and indeed they aren't) but as I said before the book seems a lot about a propaganda book. After the tale that lasts for almost 120 pages the englishman is entrusted with a book depicting the Truth but Alfred is killed by a nazi but before he passes the book to his son telling him that the world is not ready yet.
Believe me when I say it's a nice tale and one to read it for anyone who loves alternative history or philosophy/politics. But as I said the propaganda about womans rights and the freedom of religion and above all the one thing I loath ... comunism!
Everyone is free to write whatever they want, right? We only read it if we want it.
Comments