4 ms·

You can be like Humpty Dumpty and use the word like that if you want, but it seems like highly unhelpful terminology to me and rather insulting to the people co

by bloak 8y ago

You can be like Humpty Dumpty and use the word like that if you want, but it seems like highly unhelpful terminology to me and rather insulting to the people concerned. If you want an example of something that really is Nazi, take a look at the downvoting that's going on here! (That was an attempt at humour; downvote it.)

mikeash 8y ago
It seems extremely helpful to me. It immediately tells us that this guy was active somewhere between 1933 and 1945 and not, say, an interrogator of Cold War spies in the 1970s, or someone who worked under an 18th century Prussian king or whatever. It also immediately emphasizes the contrast between "the value of kindness" and the culture brutality that would have been all around him. Maybe he wasn't actually a member of the NSDAP but if you insist on reading "Nazi interrogator" as implying party membership, I would suggest it is you who are insisting on a weird and unhelpful meaning.
- icebraining 8y ago
  I'd prefer "Nazi's interrogator", but I'm also sorry for contributing to this offtopic thread :/
- blattimwind 8y ago
  Scharff is normally described as a Luftwaffe interrogator, which not only tells you "this guy was active somewhere between 1933 and 1945", but also "immediately emphasizes the contrast between "the value of kindness" and the culture brutality that would have been all around him" and even in which part of the military forces he worked, which is even more valuable (i.e. Luftwaffe, not SS or Gestapo). Finally it does imply NSDAP membership, and indeed Scharff was never a party member and is unlikely to be a Nazi of conviction.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    “Luftwaffe” is also the name of the modern German Air Force created in 1956. If in fact that term conveys the correct time period to the reader, it is only by luck and ignorance.
    - wongarsu 8y ago
      While "Luftwaffe" alone does not reveal much about the timeframe, "Luftwaffe interrogator" gives a strong clue. The need for air force interrogators likely decreased a lot since WWII for a country like Germany
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]

by bloak 8y ago

mikeash 8y ago

It seems extremely helpful to me. It immediately tells us that this guy was active somewhere between 1933 and 1945 and not, say, an interrogator of Cold War spies in the 1970s, or someone who worked under an 18th century Prussian king or whatever. It also immediately emphasizes the contrast between "the value of kindness" and the culture brutality that would have been all around him. Maybe he wasn't actually a member of the NSDAP but if you insist on reading "Nazi interrogator" as implying party membership, I would suggest it is you who are insisting on a weird and unhelpful meaning.

icebraining 8y ago
I'd prefer "Nazi's interrogator", but I'm also sorry for contributing to this offtopic thread :/
blattimwind 8y ago
Scharff is normally described as a Luftwaffe interrogator, which not only tells you "this guy was active somewhere between 1933 and 1945", but also "immediately emphasizes the contrast between "the value of kindness" and the culture brutality that would have been all around him" and even in which part of the military forces he worked, which is even more valuable (i.e. Luftwaffe, not SS or Gestapo). Finally it does imply NSDAP membership, and indeed Scharff was never a party member and is unlikely to be a Nazi of conviction.
- mikeash 8y ago
  “Luftwaffe” is also the name of the modern German Air Force created in 1956. If in fact that term conveys the correct time period to the reader, it is only by luck and ignorance.
  - wongarsu 8y ago
    While "Luftwaffe" alone does not reveal much about the timeframe, "Luftwaffe interrogator" gives a strong clue. The need for air force interrogators likely decreased a lot since WWII for a country like Germany
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]