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Ribon Fox wrote:To all these nay sayers, how is it wrong and tasteless? Is it just becose of what the army of that time did or did not do, or is it some thing deeper?
You could say that an IG army fully loaded to the gunwales with flamer weaponry, that is based on the us pacific army could be just as tasteless. A flamer is a terror weapon and how prolithicly the US army used them could be tantamount to war crimes, yet no one complains about that as they were the victors.

It's like an eight year old kid writing a report for school on how Osama Binladen is his hero it's just wrong and goes without saying, it just is.

I'd say do it. Obviously don't use the Swastika, but aside from that, sure why not? Thing is, the Swastika is actually a Hindu symbol of good luck which the Nazis stole and used, so really it shouldn't be a symbol of hatred and disgust.

orkcommander wrote:

Ribon Fox wrote:
-Snip-

It's like an eight year old kid writing a report for school on how Osama Binladen is his hero it's just wrong and goes without saying, it just is.

In a perverted way he is. I forget whom said it but "One mans terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." As fracked up as it is meny do see him as...

...eh?......Wait a sceond, have I just been called an eight year old? I've been called many nasty things but not that

Any way if I remember the history at that time I thought it was the Nazi Party was the big bad evil and the Wehrmacht just got screwed by the SS all the time...and what is wrong with having an Wehrmacht styled army? And just saying "Its just wrong!" does not cut it in a proper discussion of wether or not some one should paint there IG force a type of style (note the word style).

It would be in bad taste to actually have Hitler as the Company Commander. However DKoK evidently didnt raise any gak about it.

Also, wasnt the Swastika basically the inverted version of the Hindu symbol?

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:It would be in bad taste to actually have Hitler as the Company Commander. However DKoK evidently didnt raise any gak about it.

Also, wasnt the Swastika basically the inverted version of the Hindu symbol?

As would Stalin and Pol Pot but so long as you haven't called your force comander any of them so what.

Yes it was.

Ribon Fox wrote:

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:It would be in bad taste to actually have Hitler as the Company Commander. However DKoK evidently didnt raise any gak about it.

Also, wasnt the Swastika basically the inverted version of the Hindu symbol?

As would Stalin and Pol Pot but so long as you haven't called your force comander any of them so what.

Yes it was.

although, if you played a Hitler commander "to the fluff" could lead to some hilarious games, full of constant "i change my mind" moments

I'd say go for it. You could go for some nazi iconogrophy, but expect criticism. If I was doing a WW2 themed army, I would just do pretty much the sme color scheme as the Germans, with no swatstikas or armbands, but I would definitley put the iron cross and other such medals to use. If you did, I think it would turn out pretty cool. I mean one has to admit, the nazis had nice uniforms.

graidstin wrote:I'd say go for it. You could go for some nazi iconogrophy, but expect criticism. If I was doing a WW2 themed army, I would just do pretty much the sme color scheme as the Germans, with no swatstikas or armbands, but I would definitley put the iron cross and other such medals to use. If you did, I think it would turn out pretty cool. I mean one has to admit, the nazis had nice uniforms.

Their uniforms were designed by Hugo Boss no? Evil has good taste.

I don't get why people take offense at this. It's a game of toy soldiers. You can paint them however you want and extra points to you if it's good paintjob.

Now, if you start preaching to me how Hitler had the right idea, then we might have a problem.

Tzeentchling9 wrote:I don't get why people take offense at this. It's a game of toy soldiers. You can paint them however you want and extra points to you if it's good paintjob.

Now, if you start preaching to me how Hitler had the right idea, then we might have a problem.

+1 to this.

Ribon Fox wrote:

Tzeentchling9 wrote:I don't get why people take offense at this. It's a game of toy soldiers. You can paint them however you want and extra points to you if it's good paintjob.

Now, if you start preaching to me how Hitler had the right idea, then we might have a problem.

+1 to this.

If you look at it sensibly then you wouldn't be offended. But, people are rarely that sensible, they see something that looks or sounds like a Nazi symbol and they get angry and feel offended. A pediatrician had his house burned down and was beaten up because the people that did it thought he was a paedophile, not the same thing but still a halfway decent example. Best to play it safe, use the iron cross and stuff but try to avoid the swastika...

OP - This is a reasonable concern and a touchy subject to many people (ignore the ones who just blow off anyone who might conceivably be offended). There are loads of ways for people to be offended if you include clearly nazi-esque symbols, such as the swastika, the one most easily recognizable by most. The most obvious is eventually playing a jewish (or Bolshevistic person, or one of the tens of different religions/nationalities/ethnicities/ways of life that were systematically executed) person who lost someone (perhaps a grandfather or great-grandfather) in a gas chamber. The next obvious one is someone who lost an ancestor in the war (on the side of the Allies).

Like many people have said, I think handled properly it should be fine. However, even when playing with people who are not rash or jump to conclusions, a little bit of sensitivity is required. Another poster has said that some LGS might not let you in - and they have an argument, depending on how the army eventually comes out. If I was playing against you and you had swastikas, I would certainly raise eyebrows and make some comment - I would definitely inquire about it, and perhaps be a bit accusatory, but considering your explanation (German heritage, likes the scheme, etc), I would generally be OK with it and probably again question the need for the swastika. Leave the Swastikas out, however, and with the explanation the army is not only following a common theme but is also personally important to you - which you absolutely have the right to.

However with the swastika, certain people, Tournaments, Stores, and even friends may look at you with disgust, contempt, dislike, and it may even blossom into full hatred, depending on temperament, what the symbol means to them, aggression, and loads of other factors. These are the people you have to be ready for.

To relate to a personal story, I have a friend who is younger than me (about 16 - THAT age), who was quite odd, and a little socially inept. I went to his house one night, only to find a nice 5 foot flag of the Soviet Union hanging in the room. At once I was upset. Communism is perhaps the exact opposite of our Democracy here in America, and I fumed on the inside. "How dare he" I thought to myself. When so many of our brave men have died fighting for our freedom over the years, he's going to hang such a banner in his room!? Over time I realized that to demand some type of...I don't know how to put it...behavior from him was to do just as much, if not more, dishonor to our brave soldiers (which strikes home with me, as my brother fought in Iraq). He has the same rights and freedoms as me - and has the right to express his own beliefs, desires, and such. And I don't even know for sure that it was support of such a system - maybe he just likes the flag. I apologized for my feelings he never knew about (I'm kind of a coward), and moved on.

40K is a wargame - there are many ways to express yourself, from the paint scheme of your army to writing an entirely new craftworld's backstory. We all play it for several reasons, hopefully the main one being fun. Discussions get heated, rules get convoluted, and the unfortunate gamer gets to play with TFG every now and then. If you go through with as close to realism as possible (including the Swastika) prepare from some, perhaps unfair, treatment based on that decision. If I was a Jewish person who lost several of my family through the holocaust...I dunno. Maybe I would be outraged, maybe I would listen to you, maybe I would silently brood over it. But people will express themselves in their own way - some may be okay, some may not. If you intend to go all the way, be ready for a gauntlet of different opinions, emotions, and arguments over it. Because you'll get it.

Freedom of speech protects your right to paint an army however you'd like. (and personally, being of Prussian decent, I like the look and history behind the theme)

Freedom of speech also allows others to express thier distaste, and some store owners might get offended and disallow the army.



I do feel that people are offended to easily. The German army in WW2 was controlled bt the Nazi's. Not every German was a Nazi. Most of them had no idea about the extent of the labor camps. Just because a single man and a regime dominated a culture does not mean that the culture is offensive. Certain parts of it were, other parts were not.

The DKOK is the same idea as a you have, except for a different war and time period.

No one is saying things like Tallaran dessert raiders are offensive so why should WW2 German uniforms be? (except for the swasticka which is legitimately offensive, much like the rebel flag. Those are the symbols that represent domination and power over "lesser" people)


I voted yes, do it but do it tastefully. Avoid symbols that can mean somthing to someone. And ask the naysayers "why would this particular theme to offend you?" Cause really, shouldn't all war be offensive?

Well acctually you could add in some fluff to explain why they look like WW2 Germans. Like the commander of the regiment stumbled across an old record of the nazis and hitler, and finding their style, militarism, and idealism attractive, decided to base his army upon them. If you did do that then you could have your tanks (and other vehicles) painted up like the old Tigers, you could make your artillery look like old howitzers, you could make your mounted machine guns look like Maxim Machine Guns (i.e. the WW1 era water-cooled machine guns), and other things like that. I think if you just did your whole army kind WW2 German themed it would be really cool, albeit time-consuming.

On one hand, you've got a huge risk that you're gonna run into someone who'll be highly offended by the idea. And on the other hand it was 70 years ago and its time people move on.