History Main / PiggybackingOnHitler

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[DoctorWhoVirginNewAdventures "New Adventures"]] novel ''Timewyrm: Exodus'' the War Lords do this. This results in an alternate timeline where [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel the Nazis win the war.]]

* ''{{Batman}}'': Ra's Al Ghul allied with the Nazi's to further his goal of [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans wiping out 90% of the human race to stave off overpopulation]], so taking part in the Holocaust. One of the victims was his own daughter and her family - she survived, they did not; needless to say, she was ''mightly'' upset with him.

* In the ''StarTrekEnterprise'' two-part episode "Storm Front", a race from the 29th century find themselves back in time on 20th-century Earth, during World War II. They side with the Nazis, offering to build advanced weapons in exchange for the resources they need to build a time machine. When the Nazis complain that the Aliens aren't helping them enough, the alien leader lampshades the trope by bluntly stating that the Nazis conquer countries; they conquer ''planets''.

* Sebastian Shaw (Klaus Schmidt) in ''{{Film/X-Men First Class}}''. He was just there to experiment on captive mutants.

* In the ''DoctorWho'' [[DoctorWhoVirginNewAdventures "New Adventures"]] novel ''Timewyrm: Exodus'' the War Lords do this. This results in an alternate timeline where [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel the Nazis win the war.]]

* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', the RedSkull (Johann Schmidt) sets up Hydra like this.
** More of an inversion; Schmidt is an actual member of the Nazi party, but turns against them both when he gains the super-soldier serum and, much later, when he gains the Cosmic Cube and turns [=HYDRA=], hithertofore a Nazi science division, into his own personal war faction.

The dozens of Waffen-SS non-German volunteer units don't play straight this trope, since they were nominally a part of the German armed forces and subject to German military laws and regulations they did not ''use the Reich for their own gain''.

- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.S._Sturmbrigade_R.O.N.A SS Sturmbrigade RONA]] had been made up from rebellious Soviet people from the Lokot area after the German invasion of 1941 and led by the Russo-Pole [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronislav_Kaminski Bronislav_Kaminski]]. Their cruelty, looting and total lack of military competency during the Warsaw Uprising [[EvenEvilHasStandards enraged]] [[AdolfHitler the Führer]] enough to execute Kaminski and disband the unit.

- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XVth_SS_Cossack_Cavalry_Corps XVth_SS_Cossack_Cavalry_Corps]] had been formed by the German high command from anti-Soviet Cossacks to fight partisans under the command of General Helmuth von Pannwitz. They were later forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union by the Western Allies and faced execution as traitors.

* IndianaJones films like this trope. First was Belloq in ''RaidersOfTheLostArk'', then Walter Donovan in ''Last Crusade''.

** ''Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' has Mac teaming with the Soviet Union, albeit with a fair less grandiose goal - money.
* In ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', the RedSkull (Johann Schmidt) sets up Hydra like this.

The dozens of Waffen-SS non-German volunteer units don't play straight this trope, since they were nominally a part of the German armed forces and subject to German military laws and regulations.

- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XVth_SS_Cossack_Cavalry_Corps XVth_SS_Cossack_Cavalry_Corps]] had been formed by the German high command from anti-Soviet Cossacks to fight partisans under the command of General Helmuth von Pannwitz. They were later focribly repatriated to the Soviet Union by the Western Allies and faced execution as traitors.

- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.S._Sturmbrigade_R.O.N.A. SS Sturmbrigade RONA]] had been made up from rebellious Soviet people from the Lokot area after the German invasion of 1941 and led by the Russo-Pole [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronislav_Kaminski Bronislav_Kaminski]]. Their cruelty, looting and total lack of military competency during the Warsaw Uprising [[EvenEvilHasStandards enraged]] [[AdolfHitler the Führer]] enough to execute Kaminski and disband the unit.

- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.S._Sturmbrigade_R.O.N.A. S.S._Sturmbrigade_R.O.N.A.]] had been made up from rebellious Soviet people from the Lokot area after the German invasion of 1941 and led by the Russo-Pole [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronislav_Kaminski Bronislav_Kaminski]]. Their cruelty, looting and total lack of military competency during the Warsaw Uprising [[EvenEvilHasStandards enraged]] [[AdolfHitler the Führer]] enough to execute Kaminski and disband the unit.

A villain joins the Nazis during WorldWarII, impresses AdolfHitler enough to get his own squadron/unit, then uses these resources for his own gain. This villain often sees Hitler as just another obstacle to overcome later. This trope also works if you substitute Hitler/Nazis with any other historical dictator (JosephStalin, Kim Jong-Il, PolPot, etc.), but those examples are less prevalent.

** And later in the series, two leading members of Hitler's Weird Science division are revealed to be secretly working for the cloned brain of Helsingard all along.

* In the ''JusticeLeague'' three-part episode "The Savage Time", the immortal Vandal Savage in the present builds a time machine and sends [[GraysSportsAlmanac a laptop]] back to himself during World War II, containing future history and schematics for technology. Vandal then joins the Nazis and rapidly rises through the ranks until he usurps Hitler himself, becoming the new Führer. Vandal Savage didn't really care about Nazi ideals; he just wanted to use them to conquer the world for himself.

* In the mainstream MarvelUniverse Mister Sinister, the XMen villain, was a doctor in Auschwitz performing unethical human experiments and looking out for mutants. He used his real named, Nathan Essex, but was nicknamed {{Nosferatu}} and he scared even the Nazis. {{Magneto}} remembers him and recalled that he used to [[AffablyEvil give candy to kids]] in exchange for blood samples.

* In the mainstream MarvelUniverse Mister Sinister, the XMen villain, was a doctor in Auschwitz performing unethical human experiments and looking out for mutants. His nickname was Nosferatu and he scared even the Nazi's. {{Magneto}} remembers him and recalled that he used to [[AffablyEvil give candy to kids]] in exchange for blood samples. He used the name Nathan Essex, which is basically his real name.
* [[{{Batman}} Ra's Al Ghul]] allied with the Nazi's to further his goal of [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans wiping out 90% of the human race to statve off overpopulation]], ie. taking part in the Holocaust. One of the victims was his own daughter and her family- she survived, they did not; needless to say, she was ''mightly'' upset with him.

* DeanKoontz's {{Frankenstein}} novels have this as part of Victor Helios' (aka Victor Frankenstein's) backstory.

* In the mainstream MarvelUniverse Mister Sinister, the XMen villain, was a doctor in Auschwitz performing unethical human experiments and looking out for mutants. His nickname was Nosferatu and he scared even the Nazi's. {{Magneto}} remembers him and recalled that he used to [[AffavlyEvil give candy to kids]] in exchange for blood samples. He used the name Nathan Essex, which is basically his real name.

* In the ''StarTrekEnterprise'' two-part episode "Storm Front", a race from the 29th century find themselves back in time on 20th-century Earth, during World War II. They side with the Nazis, offering to build advanced weapons in exchange for the resources they need to build a time machine.

* IndianaJones films like this trope. First was Belloq in ''RaidersOfTheLostArk'', then Walter Donovan in ''Last Crusade''.

* In ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', the Red Skull (Johann Schmidt) sets up Hydra like this.

A villain joins the Nazis during WorldWarII, impresses Hitler enough to get his own squadron/unit, then uses these resources for his own gain. This villain often sees Hitler as just another obstacle to overcome later. This trope also works if you substitute Hitler/Nazis with any other historical dictator (Stalin, Kim Jong-Il, Pol Pot, etc.), but those examples are less prevalent.

* Herr Kleiser in ''TheUltimates''. He was Captain America's chief nemesis during the Second World War, but was actually [[spoiler:an alien known as a Chitauri (aka a Skrull) that ate the real Kleiser and impersonated him, backing Hitler by giving the Nazis advanced weaponry. Really, this was just a scheme to soften the Earth up for a full-scale invasion]].