History Main / PuttingOnTheReich

[[caption-width-right:209:Gray uniforms with button panels, the fashion of choice for today's {{Mook}} on the go.]]

** And then there's the Imperial Starfleet uniforms from "In A Mirror, Darkly", which are generally like their "Our Universe" counterparts, but now include Sam Browne belts and black and silver rank epaulettes. As well, the MACO insignia is now a Totenkopf-like skull rather than the Mako Shark.

-->-- '''Heinrich Himmler''', ''Die Schutzstaffel als Antibolschewistische Kampf-Organisation''

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': The Vandenreich seems to be closely associated with this trope. It doesn't help that they're quincies and the quincies have been associated with the militant Christian Knights (Teutonic Knights, in particular, but also the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller) since the very beginning of the manga. Just like the adoption of certain Teutonic Knight themes and symbols in the Nazi pagentry, the Vandenreich also seem to have evolved from these Teutonic Knight roots into something very reminiscent of the Nazis. They even sent a sub-division called the Jagdarmee (Hunting Unit) to occupy Hueco Mundo and engage in activities that oscillate between assimilation and ethnic cleansing. The Jagdarmee's leader also looks enough like Heinrich Himmler for him to have earned a FanNickname based on this resemblance. The Quincy Cross also seems to have some styalistic associations with the Iron Cross, even though it's a five-pointed cross rather than a four-pointed cross.

** In ''Turn Left'', an Italian-British family are shipped off to "labor camps" and Donna's grandfather (who's starting to break down into tears) says "that's what they called them last time." What's most shocking is that it's the ''United Kingdom'' doing it.

* In ''Film/HarryPotter and the DeathlyHallows: Part 1'', the Ministry of Magic becomes this after Voldemort takes over. The {{Mooks}} wear gray versions of the standard Nazi uniform, higher officials like Runcorn wear longcoats similar to those of the SS, and the Ministry starts issuing anti-muggle-born propaganda very similar to the antisemitic tracts issued by the Third Reich. Similarly, Voldemort's own Death Eaters wear hooded robes very similar to those of the Ku Klux Klan, but in black instead of white. When the regular Ministry of Magic temporarily become bad guys in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', they go for a Stalin-era Soviet look.

* In ''Film/HarryPotter and the DeathlyHallows: Part 1'', the Ministry of Magic becomes this after Voldemort takes over. The {{Mooks}} wear gray versions of the standard Nazi uniform, higher officials like Runcorn wear longcoats similar to those of the SS, and the Ministry starts issuing anti-muggle-born propaganda very similar to the antisemitic tracts issued by the Third Reich. Similarly, Voldemort's own Death Eaters wear hooded robes very similar to those of the Ku Klux Klan, but in black instead of white. When the regular Ministry of Magic temporarily become bad guys in ''OrderOfThePhoenix'', they go for a Stalin-era Soviet look.

** Ironically enough, despite how they look, they're not particularly evil and are rather understandably just [[spoiler:trying to stop the prison break initiated by Luffy]]. The head of Impel Down, Magellan, in particular, is often considered a HeroAntagonist.

* The sci-fi television miniseries ''{{V}}'', which is hardly surprising as it was adapted from a script about the rise of a fascist movement in the United States. Notably such aspects as the swastika-like Visitor's flag, the Friends of the Visitors (Hitler Youth), the persecution of scientists (Jews), [[LesCollaborateurs collaborators]], the creation of fake 'incidents' to justify Visitor policies, the Great Leader (Fuhrer) and Diana's Mengele-like experiments.

* The Principality of Zeon and its offshoots from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'''s Universal Century. Gets more {{Anvilicious}} as time goes on, since later series played up the "Zeon = Nazi Germany" metaphor: ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'' gives us Axis Zeon = Axis Powers. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]'' gives us Neo-Zeon = Neo-Nazis. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0080WarInThePocket Gundam 0080]]'' gives Zeon a fixation on using German words with their mecha, like Kämpfer, Gelgoog Jäger and Rick Dom Zwei. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Gundam 0083]]'' introduced battle flags that were one Swastika away from Nazi banners. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamMSIGLOO MS IGLOO]]'' waves that same Wehrmacht-esque flag with pride, sticks Reichsadlers on almost every uniform going (replacing the Swastika with a Zeonic symbol), has Colonel Herbert von Kuspen wearing a leather coat and an Iron Cross, (and this is the series showing Zeon as the protagonists!) ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Gundam Unicorn]]'' gives the Neo-Zeon group 'the Sleeves' mobile suits with Stahlhelms.

* The Principality of Zeon and its offshoots from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'''s Universal Century. Gets more {{Anvilicious}} as time goes on, since later series played up the "Zeon = Nazi Germany" metaphor: ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'' gives us Axis Zeon = Axis Powers. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]'' gives us Neo-Zeon = Neo-Nazis. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0080WarInThePocket Gundam 0080]]'' gives Zeon a fixation on using German words with their mecha, like Kämpfer, Gelgoog Jäger and Rick Dom Zwei. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Gundam 0083]]'' introduced battle flags that were one Swastika away from Nazi banners. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Gundam Unicorn]]'' gives the Sleeves mobile suits with Stahlhelms.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': The Vandenreich seems to be closely associated with this trope. It doesn't help that they're quincies and the quincies have been associated with the militant Christian Knights (Teutonic Knights, in particular, but also the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller) since the very beginning of the manga. Just like the adoption of certain Teutonic Knight themes and symbols in the Nazi pagentry, the Vandenreich also seem to have evolved from these Teutonic Knight roots into something very reminiscent of the Nazis. They even sent a sub-division called the Jagdarmee (Hunting Unit) to occupy Hueco Mundo and engage in activities that oscillate between assimilation and ethnic cleansing. The Jagdarmee's leader also looks enough like Heinrich Himmler for him to have earned a FanNickname based on this resemblance. Their logo, a modified Quincy cross, is also vaguely reminiscent of the Nazi swastika.
** Of course, the logo being reminiscent of a Nazi swastika is downplayed somewhat by the fact that the guard for Ichigo's bankai is, and has been for the entirety of the series, a swastika/manji depending on which way you look at it, and nobody's said a word about it.

* Enclave Officers from ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' wear a uniform that makes them look like a Nazi mixed in with a Confederate soldier (with maybe even some ''StarWars'' thrown in). [[TheDragon Colonel Autumns]] uniform is especially Reich-ish. In both ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' and ''3'', they are trying to kill all mutants, and thusly, all life (all non-Enclave or Vault humans are mutated in some manner), so somehow their Putting On The Reich act becomes fitting. It ain't just the clothes, either: on Enclave Radio, President John Henry Eden uses some rather overt Fascist imagery and rhetoric. MalcolmMcDowell's voice helps.
** Strangely though, the U.S. Military seemed to have used those kinds of uniforms even before the nuclear apocalypse, as evidenced by General Chase's overcoat. This ''was'' the army that violently annexed Canada.

* Enclave Officers from ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' wear a uniform that makes them look like a Nazi mixed in with a Confederate soldier (with maybe even some ''StarWars'' thrown in). [[TheDragon Colonel Autumns]] uniform is especially Reich-ish. In both ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' and ''3'', they are trying to kill all mutants, and thusly, all life (all non-Enclave or Vault humans are mutated in some manner), so somehow their PuttingOnTheReich act becomes fitting. It ain't just the clothes, either: on Enclave Radio, President John Henry Eden uses some rather overt Fascist imagery and rhetoric. MalcolmMcDowell's voice helps.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The uniforms of the {{East German|y}} ''Volksarmee'' and ''Volkspolizei'' for a while. That could just be due to uniform shortages, but [[http://www.tridentmilitary.com/EG-Uniforms.htm yeah]].
** In a similar fashion, the East German railway system had to keep its name [[ArtifactTitle Deutsche Reichsbahn]], [[LoopholeAbuse as to not risk losing the West Berlin railway operating rights to the Allies.]]
* Check out the flag of the [[http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Afrikaner-Weerstandsbeweging ''Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging'']]. Not surprising considering they're a Germanic (the Afrikaners are a Germanic people, yes) white-supremacist group.
* The Nazis ''themselves'', surprisingly, used this trope, adapting many of their motifs and insignias from the Roman Empire. (They also copied from the very short lived Free State of Fiume, a kind of early fascist regime set up [[ItMakesSenseInContext by Italians in Croatia.]])
** Many of the minor Axis nations had fascist militias or police units who wore uniforms inspired by either the Nazis or the Italian blackshirts (e.g. Croatian Black Legion, Romanian Iron Guard...)
*** Interesting fact about Black Legion is that, while their nickname does come from their black uniforms, initial choice was not made due to ideology, but the simple fact that black cloth was only thing they had avaliable at the moment; it was noted as being impractical in winter, and extremely uncomfortable during summer. It did make for a good pscyhological weapon, due to Black Legion's renowned brutality.
* Revolutionary and Napoleonic France was hit by an intense wave of PuttingOnTheReich in Roman Terms. During the Revolutionary Period, the new government of France was modeled to the Roman Senate (complete with wearing togas over their formal clothing). By the Napoleonic Era, Napoleon's armies carried Eagle Standards and his heavy cavalry wore Roman-looking crested helmets. Architecture was also affected, specially with the commissioning of Triumphal Arches and Columns whenever there is a decisive victory. Casual fashion also borrowed from Greco-Roman depictions, featuring the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_silhouette Empire silhouette]].
* The Iraqi Ba'athist Party, to some extent, though given Saddam's predilections and mustache, that was more "Putting On The Stalin." The party structure of the Ba'ath Party was more communist than Nazi, and the Iraqi uniforms more Soviet than German [of course, the insignia is still British inspired]. And of course, Saddam's mustache resembles Stalin's more than it resembles Hitler's. The reason for this is that while the early Ba'athists were (small-d) democrats and more or less left-wing, Saddam eventually subverted the Ba'ath to his own ends, doing deals with the USSR (Iran, Iraq's natural enemy, was a firm US ally until 1979) even as he slaughtered thousands of Communists. For their part, the USSR was vaguely cool with them because the other Arab governments were conservative US-backed monarchies. So the Kremlin didn't really care whether Saddam (or Nasser or Sadat or Hafez al-Asad) was killing all the Communists in their country as long as they were buying Soviet-made arms and were generally Soviet allies.
* Flagspot.net has [[http://flagspot.net/flags/fic-nazi.html an entire section]] listing fictional flags that mimic the Nazis' swastika one, including the Klingon Empire from ''Franchise/StarTrek'', the Galactic Empire from ''StarWars'', and the Visitors from ''{{V}}''.
* MarilynManson's [[http://wallpapers.free-review.net/84__Marilyn_Manson_-_The_Love_Song.htm late 2000s style]] is/was described by Manson as "OscarWilde [[XMeetsY at the Nuremberg Trials"]].
* [[http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/3085400001_6d8358e98e.jpg The New Jersey State Police uniforms]]. Funny because parts of the American gun community [[AffectionateNickname call New Jersey]] [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny The People's Republic of New Jersey.]]
** As with Massachusetts, which is lampshaded hilariously in ''TheDeparted''. "You got any suits at home or do you like coming to work dressed like you're gonna invade Poland?"
** [[JustifiedTrope The uniforms of several state police forces were explicitly based on the uniforms of Tsarist or Prussian officials. This was a policy adopted in the Gilded Age, in the hope that this would make the recent immigrants from Eastern Europe have more respect for the police. Prussia and Tsarist Russia were militarist and authoritarian regimes]], so...
*** A bizarre sort of inversion: In the late 1990s, mullet hairstyles briefly became popular in Germany, so much so that some German police departments permitted officers to let their hair grow long. This led ''SaturdayNightLive'' cast member Colin Quinn (who was fond of taking potshots at New Jersey) to joke that these precincts would probably be recruiting in the bars of New Jersey next.
* Subversion in DoctorSteel's "[[Website/ToySoldiersUnite Army of Toy Soldiers]]", who mimic fascist uniforms, flags and propaganda to satirize armies that seek to crush free will and freedom of expression... all in the name of fun.
* Many modern militaries, from France to the United States, have a standard-issue helmet that shares the basic shape of the distinctive German Stahlhelm of World War I & II. The reason for this is simple: the WW2 German helmets were very well designed for their job. It was such a good design that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stahlhelm#Stahlhelm_use_in_other_countries many other countries bought and or copied the design.]] In essence, this was PuttingOnTheReich because of functional practicality rather than ideology. As design marches on, however, more recent updates to the US helmet (and several stahlhelm-based designs) have moved away from this look slightly - although the Lightweight Helmet, which replaced the [=PASGT=] helmets still has a noticeably "Stahlhelm"-y profile. Of the "first-rank" powers, only Britain and Russia have not adopted Stahlhelm derivatives - The British adopted a design similar to the Stahlhelm in 2005, but replaced it with a less-Nazi design in 2009, because the 2005 model tipped the rim of the helmet over the soldier's eyes when lying prone. The Russians still use their own old WorldWarTwo designs, slightly updated.
* [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors The National Revolutionary Army - officially, the Army of the factious Republic of China - from 1928 to c.1950.]] From the '30s onward, when the Guomindang under Chiang Kai-Shek signed several deals with Weimar and Nazi Germany which basically traded Chinese raw materials for German armaments factories, the Guomindang's troops soon looked ''exactly'' like those of Germany's -sans boots, as the Guomindang had to resort to cheaper puttees. And so, [[SecondSinoJapaneseWar when fighting Japan]] [[TheOtherChineseArmy the Republic of China]] used German Rifles (the Karabiner 98k), German machine-guns (the MG34), German pistols (the Mauser C96, China's most popular side-arm for nearly three decades), and German grenades (the 'Potato Masher' was China's no.1 grenade). The Guomindang also issued their troops German-inspired combat webbing and the [=M1935=] version of ''the Stahlhelm''.
** By late 1930s, Soviets became the main supplier of arms to the KMT government (after the latter made nice with Mao Zedong's communists, which the Soviets themselves helped arrange) and Chinese fielded a large quantity of Russian arms (Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 fighters, T-26 tanks, SB-2 light bombers), many of which remained in service throughout World War II, along with the German arms they received earlier and the American ones they received later. Of course, some of these older Russian arms used by NRA wound up in the hands of their enemies, PLA, after the Chinese Civil War, adding to the already complex hodgepodge of wares and wears that the latter would field (see below).
** On the other hand the Guomindang's Burma-based [[WorldWarII Chinese Expeditionary Force]], which fought alongside the Anglo-Indian Army, received American training equipment and weaponry during their time under the command of General Stilwell, such that they looked and acted the part of a U.S. Army formation. The Nationalists' main forces also received small quantities of American uniforms, helmets, and weapons such as the Thompson submachine gun - the latter being sorely needed, given their near-complete lack of automatic weaponry after four years of total war. For the most part, most warlord troops were outfitted with various locally-made copies of all of these German and American weapons (as well as various others), some of them (such as the Thompsons) being produced legally and under foreign supervision. What made things even ''more'' complicated was when the Japanese surrendered and their million-strong army and occupation force destroyed or left behind all of their equipment and weaponry - chiefly to the Soviets, who handed it over to Chinese Communist rebels when they withdrew from Manchuria in 1946. As if that wasn't bad enough, when the People's Liberation Army (the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party) defeated the NRA in the Civil War, they then received Soviet-made weapons, equipment, and uniforms - again a mixture of imports and local products - as part of the Sino-Soviet Alliance, but continued to use their existing stuff too. Consequently, most Chinese forces in the early-to-mid '40s looked German with American bits, which came closer to Nazi-American hybrids as the war dragged on until, by the mid-to-late '40s, they became weird [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Nazi-American-Japanese-Soviet hodgepodges]]. Only in 1953 were the PLA's uniforms and equipment finally standardized along Soviet lines.
* The Ethnocacerists in Peru are nationalist, ally themselves with communists, and their banner/standard is the nazi black eagle replaced by a condor. Essentially, CommieNazis.
* Pretty much the point of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_chic Nazi chic.]]
** Especially bizarre when Asian cosplayers dress up in Nazi regalia, [[http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/pictures/nazi-chic-cosplay-chinese-netizen-reactions.html such as for a wedding]]. Even more bizarre since the bride decided to cosplay as...[[{{Chobits}} Chii]]?
* The [[ImperialGermany German Empire]] itself did this with [[TheRomanEmpire ancient Rome]], as did [[ImperialRussia the Russian Empire]]. The titles of "kaiser" and "czar" are, respectively, German and Russian translations of "caesar", with the former being how it's actually pronounced in Latin.
** The Holy Roman Empire, both the one founded by Charlemagne's Franks and the one founded by Otto I, considered themselves as the continuation of the Western Roman Empire.
** While the Russians claimed Moscow to be the Third Rome, even inheriting the City on Seven Hills trope.
* The black uniforms the Royal Irish Constabulary used during the Irish struggle for independence resemble Nazi uniforms, making them an example of PuttingOnTheReich before the Reich was doing it.
** Black uniforms have long been standard in traditionally working-class occupations, or in occupations in which a worker was liable to get something disgusting (mud, blood, etc.) splattered on him.
* Rich Iott, a Tea Party candidate for Congress in Ohio during the 2010 elections, made national news when it was discovered he does (did?) Nazi {{cosplay}} as part of a [[WarReenactors World War II reenactment group]] that specialized in taking on the roles of a Waffen SS division. Apparently, he got into it "as part of a father-son bonding experience." Note that many reenactors do this without necessarily approving of the side they're playing since someone has to play the bad guy, but it can be hard to explain out of context.
* The Chilean army was restructured according to Prussian military tradition in the 1890's, right down to the spiked pickelhauben helmets. Now their parade uniforms are the same as those of the Wehrmacht...[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xorK15uzvOg&feature=channel_video_title They even goosestep!]]
* Jane Elliott, about the "social experiment" of racism she first performed with third-graders and continues to perform with college students, stated in the documentary ''The Angry Eye'', "I didn't invent this exercise. I learned this from Adolf Hitler."
* Almost all early 20th century officer's uniforms, especially in Eastern Europe, from WorldWarOne until the 1930s tend to have this vibe to them. The Germans were far from the only people who wore tunics, Sam Browne belts, and jackboots. Even the [[http://polishmilitary.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/img_0213pu.jpg Polish]] were dressed to invade Poland. Take away the festive colors and tan campaign hats, and replace the brown leather with black and even [[http://thesportspin.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mounties.jpg Mounties]] share many similarities.
* Inverted by George Lincoln Rockwell, former leader of the American Nazi Party. Rockwell sought to turn the ANP into a legitimate political party by toning down Nazi imagery. He phased out Nazi-esque uniforms, limited the public use of the swastika, changed their slogan from "Seig Heil" to "White Power," and changed the ANP's name to the National Socialist White People's Party.
* [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/02/mongolia-far-right These]] Mongolians have appropriated Nazi imagery to express anti-Chinese sentiments.
[[/folder]]

* In ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', the new Starfleet dress uniforms seem to hint at the undercurrent of increased militarism in the alternate timeline, some of them look like something straight out of the [[Franchise/StarWars Imperial Navy]].
** Although, strangely enough, they're now made of denim. The Gap must still exist in the future.
** Though they do also strongly resemble the uniforms from ''StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', with the shoulder pips denoting rank in a similar fashion to those on the [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration 24th-century uniforms]].
** Also, the brown uniforms (presumably Marines/ground forces or enlisted) evoke an image of World War 2 British and US Army uniforms.

* The police officers in Tim Burton's ''{{Batman}}'' films wear what appear to be gratuitously militaristic black uniforms, even though most of them are good guys. This could just have been to provide a general sense of the 1940s (the decade when Batman first became popular), or maybe just another example of how much Burton adores black clothing.

* ''NintendoWars'': The Green Earth, in some part a FantasyCounterpartCulture of [[WorldWarII WWII]] Germany. And they're good guys. This is the same series that had "Hatler" as a playable character, by the way.
** While Black Hole soldiers look like astronauts, several Black Hole [=COs=] dress in a manner specifically intended to recall Nazis -- namely, Flak (a stahlhelm-and-greatcoat sporting grunt soldier), Adder (an officer in jodhpurs and epaulets), and Sturm himself (a general with a CommissarCap and a gas mask).
** ''Battalion Wars'' has the Xylvanians, who are a cross between WWI Germans, Nazis, and, of course, vampires.

** And on the good-guy side, Welkin with his garrison cap and headphones is the very picture of a Wehrmacht Panzer Ace. His AceCustom tank also uses the same tread and roadwheel system as the Mark III and IV tanks.
* Artwork of the two pilots you play as from the [[BulletHell danmaku]] [[ShootEmUp shmup]] Under Defeat for the Dreamcast have them wearing Nazi-like uniforms. Also, PA announcements from your enemies is in [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish perfect English]] and dialogue between your pilot and her CO is in perfect German. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVGDuGJkNyQ Subbed for your convenience.]]

* Good guy example: the Furoia Army forces in ''Madou Souhei Kleinhasa" wear SS-style uniforms, reinforced by the fact that all of the named Furoian soldiers have [[GratuitousGerman vaguely German-]][[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign sounding names]].

* ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'''s main ''hero'' pus Akatsuki, Kanae, Adler, Elektrosoldat and Murakumo.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', the Galbadian army has elements of this. While the enlisted men and noncommissioned officers primarily consist of soldiers in red and blue uniforms with fairly high-tech looking helmets and gear, General Caraway wears a black uniform with long coat. Ironically, he's one of the ''good guys''.
** [=SeeD=] gets in on the action too, as the men's formal uniform is essentially a Nazi SS uniform with shoulderpads.

* VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}} has the Black Egrets fit the bill... Except they're good guys, since their boss, [[BadassPrincess Parasoul]], actively seeks the destruction of the [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Skull Heart]]. By proxy, this ALSO includes [[PowerFist Panzerfaust]], who's a Black Egret himself.

** By late 1930s, Soviets became the main supplier of arms to the KMT government (after the latter made nice with Mao Zedong's communists, which the Soviets themselves helped arrange) and Chinese fielded a large quantity of Russian arms (Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 fighters, T-26 tanks, SB-2 light bombers), many of which remained in service throughout World War II.

* ''VForVendetta'''s Norsefire party is pretty much literally the Third Reich [-[[InSpace IN THE UK!]]-], though the movie throws in bits of [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Oceania]]. Unsurprising, what with Norsefire being an extension of the National Front, British Union of Fascists, British National Party, and similar groups. Even clearer in the original comics where Norsefire shares the National Front's "NF" symbol.

* Even though Standards and Practices forbade the writers of ''[[WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]'' from showing any Nazis onscreen in CaptainAmerica's introductory episode, the RedSkull wears an SS uniform and an Iron Cross, albeit with the Swastika replaced with a HYDRA emblem.