2023
Julia Boyd: Travellers in the Third Reich / A Village in the Third Reich
Earlier this year, in February I was making a trip to my dentists in Edinburgh, well Ferry Road in Leith, actually -, they’ve been great companions to me & my chompers for twenty years. Anyways, I had a bit of time to wait, & Leith Library wass only two minutes away, so I bobbl’d along & one book in particular leapt out from the shelves – ‘Travellers in the Third Reich,’ by Julia Boyd. I hadn’t heard of the book or the author, but spending only a few minutes with them both encourag’d me enough to order the book online.
It duly came, & then subsequently gather’d dust until early July, when finally opening it to read properly upon Brodick beach on Arran, where I live, little did I know that within, what, a day, I had decided to pick up my epic poem once more. We’re talking another 30,000 lines or so, fpr what became completely apparent to me on reading Boyd’s brilliant bringing-to-life prose, is that there is so much more I needed to cover, especially about the rise of the Nazi regime.
I spent a week or two with ‘Travellers,’ assiduously underlining everything I will be using as materielle for when I return to my epic, Axis & Allies, sometime next spring. Boyd’s book basically tells the story of the rise of the Third Reich thro’ visitors to Germany between the wars. Hate’s possibly too strong a word, but Boyd has no sympathy for the Nazis whatsoever, & good on her. Chapter by chapter we slowly feel the authoritarian walls of total tyranny taking over German society lock, stock & barrel, while the ever approaching horizon of complete catastrophe approaches page by page. Hindsight is a wonderful thing – but none of these accounts could really even barely imagine the horrors & suffering & paranoia that would soon consume all facets & spheres of existence.
As a fellow historian I really appreciate her work. The future needs to know how the human race is potentially as gullible as the Germans were for Hitler’s demonically seductive character, entwin’d with Goebell’s genius for propaganda. Lest we forget. A fine example of Boy’d’s approach & technique – mixing overarching narrative with on the spot contemporary accounts – can be seen thro’ the visit to Germany of British feminist and Conservative Party politician, Thelma Cazalet;
While King Alfonso took the waters at Mareienbad, Thelma Cazalet was visiting empty factories & youth unemployment camps in the Rhineland. The latter aimed to provide short-term, low paid work for those aged between eighteen & twenty-five. Thelma, like her brother Victor, a Tory MP, was in Germany on a fact-finding tour with a group of fellow parliamentarians. In a few pencil-scribbled lines, she summed up her impressions.
Germans loathe the Poles – mainly because they are Asiatic. They tackle for granted we are on their side against the French & feel we could & should take a firmer stand with them. They have no idea about conditions in England. They imagine we have hardly suffered & have forgotten the war. Very insensitive as a nation. No doubt Hitler’s party has saved Germany from a Socialist/Communist government by splitting the people up. Nearly all the young are Hitlerites. Germans all assume we shall be on their side in the next war.
As I came to the end of this brilliant book, this magnificent compendium of professionally curated travelogues, I became aware of a follow-up call’d ‘A Village in the Third Reich. ’A bloody sequel – brilliant! On obtaining the book I was suddenly thrust into the other side of the Nazi cancer – that which rotted the innards of Germany, with Hitler’s rise & fall now being told from the standpoint of a single German mountain village, the most southern in the country actually, & it’s interesting panoply of inhabitants – Oberstdorf. This book’s kernel is an attempt made by the Oberstdorfers themselves to record their ‘awkward’ history of the Nazi period, a task completed in the main by Angelika Patel, who gets credited as a co-author. Out of Patel’s mission prosper’d an incredible amount of detail’d tales, accounts, anecdotes, etc., were obtain’d for posterity. Of her evolution, Boyd says;
I would aim not merely to present a factual account of how one German community had fared under Hitler, but to make these people – with all their problems, dreams, hopes & foibles, their compromises & contradictions – come alive on the page.
From Oberstdorf, Boyd then widens the scope of the book, following the village’s inhabitants across the war’s diasporic scatterings. I really enjoy’d, for example, the account of certain of Oberstdorf’s mountain regiment soldiers, harden’d by life in the Alps back home, taking over a hotel at Mount Elbrus, in the Caucasus, while the Battle of Stalingrad was raging. Here’s an extract from that section;
After several days on the road they reached the Ullu-Kam valley. The trucks were sent back & the man started to climb. Having survived so much death & annihilation in recent months, they now found themselves tramping through deciduous forest along a path lined with exquisite Alpine flowers. Groth later recalled how, once they started climbing, the men were unusually quiet;
But it was not their loads (which grew ever more oppressive as the path steepened) that caused their silence, but rather the sheer loveliness of the landscape. When we reached the end of the valley, we were rewarded with a broad vista of astonishing tranquility… soon we reached the Chotju-Tau Pass & were again thrilled by a magnificent view. Ahead of us stood the massive ice-covered mountains with the bizarrely striking shapes. Above them all soared our objective – Elbrus. We knew there would be no turning back until our flag was flying on its summit.
The flag, of course, is the Swastika – & the book is full of them, descriptions of anyway, & all the other despicable trappings of Nazi nonsense· Boyd is a really evocative writer – she completely sucks you in, like. Over both of these astoundingly, meticulously research’d books, her wordsmithery is engaging & addictive, & her ability to ressurrect long dead individuals is positively bardic. She is a true visionary, a poet perhaps, & this is what makes this book all the more special. She is communing with our ancestors, finding in their accumulated & shar’d experiences a severe message of warning for us all & all to come, not to fall for nob-head tyrants.
If Boyd was solely a poet, the epic vision she possess would have created some sublime works for the slopes of Parnassus. Telling a gigantic story using only a few characters, avatars let’s say, is a key component of epic, & the way Boyd hande’s her evolving narrative thro individual responses to events at large is masterful. A true story teller, she would have been worship’d as some kind of Snorri Sturlsson among the Icelandic bards & saga writers. One of her greatest abilities is showing how, altho’ World War Two was a polarised period all about paragons of goodness & evil demons – most people bounced between the two opposites, if only to merely survive those desperate days .All the nuances of this spectrum were magnificently handl’d.
Julia, I cannot praise these two books highly enough, & you have given my epic poem new life, new purpose, new materielle & most of all, new vigor – thank you!
Damo
Wisdom of the Men… & Women: An Interview with Clint Arthur
Hello Clint, first things first, where are you from & where do you live today?
I grew up in New York City, but my wife and I moved down to ACAPULCO during the pandemic, and now we live in paradise.
What is your first memory of performing in front of people?
When I was five years old, Yankee Doodle Dandy at a summer camp performance on July 4 Independence Day.
You are quite the entrepeneur – can you tell us about that?
After graduating from the Wharton business school, I’ve learned a personal secret that shocked me into changing course in my life, and I moved out to Hollywood to pursue the Hollywood dream. They put me behind the wheel of a taxi cab for many years and ultimately, my poor health both mental and physical, got me out of that downward spiral and got me into the gourmet food business as an entrepreneur. I started writing books about success in business 13 years ago and as a result of that, I had to figure out how to create Celebrity for my personal brand, and that became a whole cottage industry for me, and has helped more than 3000 author speakers coaches, and other experts to get their message out in a bigger way.
You’re also quite the face on American TV, can you tell us why & with whom?
I go on TV because TV is the best place to build Celebrity for your personal brand. I’ve been on every show in America more than 135 appearances including with Brooke shields and Willie Geist on the today. Show on CNN, HLN, BBC, sky, news, FOXBusiness channel, etc.
You’ve shar’d the stage with several American Presidents – what does that feel like?
All the presidents shared two common traits. They were all very nice, very charismatic, warm people, and they also had tremendous personal power which was frequently intimidating.
Your recent book, ‘Wisdom of the Men’, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize – what is it all about?
I put all the smartest stuff that I’ve learned from all the international superstars and the presidents into this book so that people can learn from my mistakes and my experiences, and hopefully it could be a source of wisdom for men, regardless of whatever circumstance you might be in, the answer should be in wisdom of the men.
So, you’ve turn’d the book into an hour-long show for the Fringe, how has the transformative process been & are you happy with the results?
Anytime you do something new it’s scary and challenging. I did a consultation on the script with Chaz Palmentieri , who wrote and starred in “a Bronx tale“ with Robert De Niro, and he encouraged me to put in a lot more personal stuff than I anticipated getting into with this place so it has really been a deep exploration of my life and I’m kind of scared to be so vulnerable.
What are we to expect from the show?
Whatever you’re expecting, your expectations will be exceeded with the show. There’s so much packed into one hour, if you come with an open mind, you will leave filled with ideas and inspiration and new concepts of what is possible for your life.
Of the celebrities you mention in the show, who was the most humble & who was the one most full of themsleves?
The two most humble celebrities were Mike Tyson and Caitlyn Jenner, both of whom advised me that the most important thing they ever learned was to be humble. The celebrities who were the most full of themselves, were Tommy Lee Jones, and Simon Cowell, both of whom told me not to be boring.
What are you looking forward to most about being in Edinburgh outwith performing in the city?
I’m looking forward to sharing my work and my energy and my life with the people who show up to see my show. Showing up is everything and I always tell all my clients just show up so if you’re reading this, I hope you will just show up for wisdom of the men.
You’ve got 20 seconds to sell your show to somebody in the streets of Edinburgh, what do you say?
The show is about how one man went from chump to champion with selfies and includes life lessons. He learned from 18 international superstars and five presidents of the United States.
WISDOM OF THE MEN
Roman Eagle Lodge
Aug 2-6 (15:55)
BUY TICKETS
Reinhard Kleist: Starman, Bowie’s Stardust Years
Reinhard Kleist first became known to a wide audience in 1994, with the book Lovecraft, and made his international breakthrough in 2006 with the graphic novel “Johnny Cash” I See A Darkness. Both books were awarded the prestigious Max and Morris prize, Reinhard later receiving the German Children’s Literature Award for “The Boxer” In 2013. In 2016, an Olympic Dream was awarded the Luchs-Buchpreis, the Katholischen Kinderund Jugendbuchpreis, and the Gustav Heinemann Friedendpreis.
In 2017, Reinhard once again tackled one of musics greatest storytellers in Nick Cave: Mercy On Me, which was simultaneously released in many languages. In 2018 he’s was honoured for his work with the Max And Moritz Prize for best German language Comic Book Artists.💕 In addition to his graphic novels, Reinhard Kleist has illustrated many books including George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. His work regularly appears on the Suddeutsche Zeitung Magazine, FAZ, Arte and Phoenix. He holds Workshops all across the world and regularly performs live drawing events on stage.
In 1972, the rock n roll messiah Ziggy Stardust was born. His provocative play on sexual identity and gender roles laid the foundation for David Bowles ascent to becoming one of the most successful pop musicians of all time. 💕 Reinhard Kleists Starman weaves the gripping tale of this outrageous characters genesis, rise and fall, as well as David’s hapless efforts in the London music scene before Ziggy’s arrival, and of the struggles he experienced with his own creation at the height of his fame. As Bowie transforms himself, ever more frenetically, into the egocentric rock star he first conceived, the extravagant lifestyle he had only ever imagined threatens to engulf him and bring everything down before his eyes…… ❤️
Reinhard Kleist’s, Starman Bowies Stardust Years, a graphic novel that takes the reader back in time to the birth of both Ziggy Stardust and the birth of David’s career in the sixties. Two separate storylines that drop in and out as the storyline progresses. jumping back and forth in the Soul Time Line Continuum, in not too dissimilar a way as the recent Bowie Art Piece “Stardust” Anyone who loves Bowie, loves Bowie totally. digesting the grand masters legacy 1000’s of times over. from many different formats and various multimedia interpretations. Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars the album itself tells the story through music and song, Then D. A. Pennebaker’s Ziggy Stardust The Motion Picture documents the storyline, released both as a long Player and a feature film. After all the subject matter is part of our DNA.
So, what new could one possibly learn from a reinterpretation of Bowies rock opera tragedy, Ziggy Stardust?? I digested the contents of this book in silence. with full focus. The art is exceptional and consistent throughout Telling the tale of how David started the career of both Iggy Pop and Lou Reed… How he met and fell in love with Angie. Of course, being a graphic novel it is very visual, describing how Bowie came across all of Ziggy’s outfits at a fashion show created by Kansai Yamamoto Bowie bought the whole collection, the clothes that brought Ziggy Stardust to life. (now this was something that I didnae know ❤ ).
If one is not familiar with story behind Ziggy Stardust and the beginnings of Bowie’s musical legacy and how it came into being, then this graphic novel is educational and very entertaining. Anyone with a slight understanding and love of Bowie will love this book. Even giving reason for the fall of Ziggy Stardust, How the personality of Ziggy was larger than David Bowies, The alter ego took voice and Rock N Roll Suicide became a self-fulfilling prophesy. There is quite a disturbing bit at the end, where he sets fire to Ziggy’s wardrobe, OMG I thought. Nahhh he didnae otherwise there wouldn’t have been a V&A Bowie Exhibition. So that bit is nae factual, However, the storyline does describe this burning as the phoenix rising from the ashes, the rebirth and metamorphosis into Aladdin Sane and The Thin White Duke.
Indeed, it is a very pretty book and will find a loving home in many a Bowie fans, Bowie Library because I believe it is the first of its kind. I listened to Ziggy Stardust The Motion Picture long player after I had finished reading the book. I have the 50th Anniversary remaster, it serves as a wonderful musical accompaniment offering the storyline a musical dimension.. Bringing young Bowie back to life.
In the pre-Ziggy flashback chapters, there is a spectral Major Tom guiding proceedings and Bowie along the path of fame and fortune David’s higher self?? Indeed Major Tom is a reoccurring theme turning up in Ashes To Ashes and Blackstar. However Ziggy was the metamorphosis that began the death and rebirth of characters that made the grand master so unique, forever tempting the pallet of his devotees, Inspiring many great bands over 4 decades of artistic brilliance.
Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert
Mumble Words 