This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
DalekKanNoladti: As far as I know, there is a very rarely applied exemption to Godwin's Law for actions that actually resemble or approach those of Nazi Germany, but this only applies when everyone agrees on it (as with, for example, Stalin or Mao). If there's someone around who says, "No, that's really not a Nazi thing XYZ is doing.", then Godwin's Law remains in effect. Also, Godwin's Law has no application to fiction, because any author can pretty much create a fictional Hitler as they please, intentionally and knowledgeably.
The reason for the extreme strictness of Godwin's Law is that most political movements will at some point compare some other political movement or country to Nazis and Hitler. These are almost never valid comparisons, and it's usually best to leave an event behind for a good 30-50 years' historical consideration before comparing it to Nazi actions.
[[01d55]]: Found this
◊, which I thought would be a great pic for the trope. I'm not going to replace the Hitler Card without more feedback, though.
Darktalon: It'd go well with Did Not Do The Research if we decide not to use it here.
Sotanaht: For what its worth, and this is probably too old to matter, I like the current (MTG hitler card) picture better.
Unknown Troper: Removed image h**p://photos-013.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v76/120/43/1642350013/n1642350013_9689_4481.jpg (Hitler Card) until I or someone else can replace it with a smaller version.
Silent Hunter: Aware of this, I usually cite East Germany...
Fast Eddie: Image too big: (hitlercard1 jpg). Shoot for around 250px wide.
Big T: I may have been the one who fixed this, I don't remember. At least, I still have the original on my HD. I'm converting the current image into a thumbnail link so people can read the full text of the card. I think it is at least tangentially important.
(later) Unfortunately, it adds that weird picture to the link. I'm going to the Wiki Tech Wish List to ask if there's a way to shut that off.
Laevatein: Is there an addendum concering some scumbag going on trial who compares himself to Gandhi/Mandela/Martin Luther King? After seeing that guy who tried to sell Obama's senate seat comparing himself to them (I'm Australian, I can't remember his name) I think there definitely should be.
Sotanaht: That might be something to look into on its own, possibly under a title such as inverse Godwin's Law, but I doubt it will be consistent enough to warrant a mention.
Sotanaht: So does this apply when a Hitler/Nazi comparison is justifiably made? For example, when comparing a group, hopefully in fiction, who's primary goal seems to be genocide of "inferior" beings, to the Nazis?
Count Dorku: Since many of those were intentionally designed to be Naziesque, I wouldn't think so. (For example: no-one would bat an eye if you compared the "Optimum Movement" in the Star Trek Expanded Universe to Nazis, because they have "Based On The Nazis" written on them in big red letters, and the dot on the i is a swastika).
Looney Toons: moved the following random comment by Daikiwixep 68.33.214.236 out of the main text:
debates in the US recently, perhaps we should make use of this off the Internet...
Mac Phisto: we need a Real Life or Troper Tales section — I was denouncing the racism prevalent in the mainstream news media, and was called a Nazi by the justification that I am "in favor of wanting children to die"
- Elaboration: the discussion began as I pointed out how the overwhelming majority (999.999 times out of a million) of missing children who the news canonizes are white, and how minorities are vastly unrepresented, even though children of another race or ethnicity are just as often the victims
Woolie Wool: I found a potential alternate image for the page. This image came from an actual debate on Something Awful that got Godwinned, when someone made fun of the invocation of Hitler. Does anyone like this one better than the current one?
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hitlerchart.png
