What can you say about one of the funniest people that ever lived? Well frankly not much, except for that today marks his 132th birthday. Other then that I will leave Groucho do the talking.
“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”
“I never forget a face, but in your case I’ll be glad to make an exception.”
“He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot.”
“While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.”
“Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men — the other 999 follow women.”
“Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, and I’m going to be happy in it.”
“One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I’ll never know.”
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.”
“When you’re in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, ‘Damn, that was fun’.”
“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them…well I have others.”
A few years ago , on the 22nd of June 2016, to be precise I wrote a blog titled “Holocaust and Humour” . I got a lot of criticism for that. The thing I found extraordinary the criticism didn’t come from people who read the blog, but only from people who read the title.
I didn’t mean to disrespect any of the Holocaust victims and survivors, the opposite was true. I wanted to show my deepest respect because despite all the horrors so many still had a sense of humour.
This blog is also meant as a way of expressing my deepest respect for all Holocaust victims and survivors.
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the German constitution guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Through decrees and laws, the Nazis abolished these civil rights and destroyed German democracy. Starting in 1934, it was illegal to criticize the Nazi government. Even telling a joke about Hitler was considered treachery. People in Nazi Germany could not say or write whatever they wanted.
The Treachery Act of 1934 was a German law established by the Third Reich on 20 December 1934. Known as the Heimtückegesetz, its official title was the “Law against Treacherous Attacks on the State and Party and for the Protection of Party Uniforms” (Gesetz gegen heimtückische Angriffe auf Staat und Partei und zum Schutz der Parteiuniformen). It established penalties for the abuse of Nazi Party badges and uniforms, restricted the right to freedom of speech, and criminalized all remarks causing putative severe damage to the welfare of the Third Reich, the prestige of the Nazi government or the Nazi Party. Anyone ,regardless if you were Jewish or Non Jewish, could face the death penalty for breaking this law.
Father Josef Müller, a Catholic priest, was executed for telling some of his parishioners the following story:
A fatally wounded German soldier asked his chaplain to grant one final wish. “Place a picture of Hitler on one side of me, and a picture of Goering on the other side. That way I can die like Jesus, between two thieves.”
The indictment against Müller called this joke “one of the most vile and most dangerous attacks directed on our confidence in our Führer. . . . It is a betrayal of the people, the Führer, and the Reich.”
I just love it how some Jewish people defied the Nazi regime and coped with the horrors of the Holocaust by using humour.
In some of the the ghettos, Hitler’s self proclaimed “masterpiece” was referred to as Mein Krampf (My Cramp). His ides of the “Master Race” was the subject of many jokes. These are just a few of them.
“There are two kinds of Aryan, Non Aryan and Barb-Aryan”
“Aryan, blond like Hitler, slender like Goering and tall like Goebbels”
Cutting the hair of the prisoners was one of the ways the Nazis tried to dehumanize their victims. It was like taking away their dignity and a sense of identity. But even that act did not stop some women to cope with it in a humorous way. This is just an anecdote on how one woman coped with the ordeal.
“When they cut our hair in Auschwitz, that was something terrible. After they cut off my hair, suddenly I saw some of my girlfriends (as in female friends) who I had known for a very long time, many cried. They cried after long hair and then I started laughing and they asked ‘What, are you out of your mind, what are you laughing about? ‘ I said’ This I never had before, a hairdo for free? Never in my whole life’ And I still remember how they looked at me, they looked at me as if I was crazy”
Another anecdote from a survivor was in relation to the transport on the trains.
“This whole situation, they shoved us into those trains. It was like cattle, it was something awful inside the train. When we have just arrived in Auschwitz everybody ran to the window, to see something, but you couldn’t. The window had shutters, a small window. I also wanted to see where we were. Then a girl friend asked ‘what do you want to see so badly?’. I said: ‘I simply want to see the conductor, ’cause I don’t have a ticket, I want to see when he comes in…’
I have quite a good sense of humour myself, albeit sometimes a bit on the dark side and filled with sarcasm, and I have used in many tragic episodes in my life. However I don’t know if I would have the courage to use humour if I was faced with the horrors of the Holocaust.
I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you.
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This is the interview I did with Ferne Pearlstein , director,writer and producer of “the Last Laugh”
A documentary where world-famous comedians including Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, and Gilbert Gottfried pitch in with their own views on the boundaries of comedy.
Ever since I was a kid I loved watching Laurel & Hardy movies and I believe I have them all in my collection.
The humour in their films has remained fresh till today and they never dated. But it is only since recently I started to appreciate that some of their movies had very advanced special effects for their time, and those effect have also stood the test of time for more then 80 years.
Below are just a few examples.
Brats
In the movie Brat Stan and Ollie play themselves but also their sons and in several scenes the four are seen together.
Babes in Toyland aka March of the Wooden Soldiers
That whole movie is filled with special effects. Recently it has become a bit controversial because some people had called some scenes and especially the march of the wooden soldiers anti-Semitic, I have watched this movie hundreds of times and I could not see it, if at all it is more of a warning of things to come.
The Flying Deuces
Nowadays having it seem like an animal is talking is not anyone gets excited about, it is even used in TV ads. However in 1939 having a horse mimicking Ollie and telling Stan “That’s another fine pickle you got me in” was a technical masterpiece.
Ending with one of my favourite scenes from ‘Way out West’
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Despite all the horrors of WWII there was still room for humour, satire and a healthy dose of sarcasm during WWII.
Although sometimes the price to pay for a joke could be quite high. In this blog just examples some WWII jokes and the consequences for some of them, and ways how people coped with the war in a humorous way.
I am not sure if this one originates from WWII but I believe it does.
“Why do french tanks have rear view mirrors? To see the battlefield”
21st November 1940: Wally’s barber shop, St Martin Street has defiant signs outside after losing its windows during the London blitz.
A British shopkeeper hanging up a sign during the Blitz which reads, “Business as usual Mr. Hitler.” London, England – 1940
Although the Nazis didn’t feel that jokes necessarily undermined their regime there were times people were punished severely by telling jokes, especially when Hitler was the butt of the joke.
“The true Aryan is as blond as Hitler, as slim as Göring and as tall as Goebbels” Many German jokes centered on the vanity and human weaknesses of the Nazi leadership , not so much on the fact that they were evil killers.
“An adjutant bursts into Görings office: “The Reichstag is on fire!!”. Göring checks his watch and says: “What, already?” The Germans had their suspicions that the Nazis were behind the Reichstag fire.
“Hitler and Göring are standing atop the Berlin radio tower. Hitler says he wants to do something to put a smile on Berliners’ faces. So Göring says: “Why don’t you jump?”
A factory worker, known as Marianne K., was executed for telling this joke. Her husband had been killed in Stalingrad.
Humorous propaganda poster
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Today is the 53 rd anniversary of the passing away of Stan Laurel, time to look back at some of the wonderful and funny moments he and his ‘Partner in Crime’ delivered for our entertainment.
The power of the humour of Laurel and Hardy is that it did not date, it is still as fresh today as it was then.
Here are just some of their classic lines, very dry but very funny.
From ‘Another Fine Mess’
Ollie “Call me a Cab” Stan “Huh” Ollie “Call me a Cab” Stan “You’re a Cab”
From Sons of the Desert
Ollie: You’d better take my temperature….. get that thermometer.
Stan: The what?
Ollie: Thermometer! You’ll find it on the shelf.
(Stan places the thermometer into Ollie’s mouth and starts to take his pulse)
Ollie: What does it say?
Stan: Wet and windy.
From Way out West.
Lady “What did he die off” Stan ” I think he died of a Tuesday”
From Brats
Stan “You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be led.”
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I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you.
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I am staring off by saying I know I will be getting angry comments, saying how disrespectful I am. How do I know this?
I did post a blog before with the title “Holocaust and Humour” after I published it,a lot of people complained and even called it disgusting, When I asked if they read the blog the all said “no” they had only seen the title and that was enough, But each of them came back and praised the blog after reading it.
For this blog it will probably be the same, some will see the title(not even realizing that it starts with Mein Krampf-My Cramp- rather then Mein Kampf)
I can assure you nothing in this blog will be disrespectful in fact the opposite will be true.
Even in the darkest of times many holocaust victims were able to resort to humour as a coping mechanism to deal with the horrors that surrounded them on a daily basis
In the ghettoes, Hitler’s self proclaimed “masterpiece” was referred to as Mein Krampf (My Cramp).His theory of the “Master Race” was the subject of many jokes. Following are a few of them.
“There are two kinds of Aryan, Non Aryan and Barb-Aryan”
“Aryan, blond like Hitler, slender like Goering and tall like Goebbels”
The following jokes were heard in the Ghettoes, however I don’t know by whom, But they were recalled by survivors after the war.
“A young boy was asked in the Warsaw Ghetto. What would you like most of all if you were Hitler’s son?
He answered: “to be orphaned.”
“Hitler visits an astrologer and asked Am I going to lose the war?”
“Yes,” the astrologer said.Then, am I going to die?” Hitler asked.
“Yes.”
“When am I going to die?”“On a Jewish holiday.”
“But on what holiday?”
“Any day you die will be a Jewish holiday.”
Peter Lorre, the famous actor who played the murderous villain in the Fritz Lang directed movie M in 1931. He resided in Vienna and was invited by Goebbels to come to Berlin, Goebbels was not aware Lorre was Jewish. Lorre friendly declined the offer and replied. “There isn’t room in Germany for two murderers like Hitler and me.”
Anyone who mocked the Nazi regime would face harsh punishment, including the death penalty. A young Catholic priest Josef Müller, made a joke and was executed for it.
Müller was arrested after repeating a satirical joke about a dying German Wehrmacht soldier on his deathbed, who asked a nurse to lay a portrait of Hitler on his one side, a portrait of Göring on the other. Then, he gasped: “Now I can die like Jesus Christ. between two thieves” Müller was interrogated and temporarily taken into custody on 6 September 1943 under charges of comparing Hitler and Göring with the two criminals crucified alongside Jesus Christ.
The indictment against Müller called this joke “one of the most vile and most dangerous attacks directed on our confidence in our Führer. . . . It is a betrayal of the people, the Führer, and the Reich. Although he was interrogated and tortured several times he would not divulge where he got the joke from. He was executed by guillotine n September 11 1944.
Auschwitz survivor Emil Fackenheim simply said “We kept our morale through humour”
In the summer of 1943 a satire was performed in Dachau concentration camp. The play lasted for several weeks.The main character was Count Adolar, a thinly disguised Hitler, The satire was written by Rudolf Kalmar.
He survived the camp and became a popular actor in East Germany after the war. Another survivor, described the effect of this satire on the camp inmates: “Many of them, who sat behind the rows of the SS each night and laughed with a full heart, didn’t experience the day of freedom. But most among them took from this demonstration strength to endure their situation. . . . They had the certainty, as they lay that night on their wooden bunks: We have done something that gives strength to our comrades. We have made the Nazis look ridiculous.
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“I was a Combat Engineer. Isn’t that ridiculous? The two things I hate most in the world are combat and engineering.” — Mel Brooks
By far one of the funniest people on earth,Mel Brooks, born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn in 1926.
I won’t go into his life as Comedian,Director.Actor,Producer and Singer because I’d be here forever. In this blog my focus is on his role in WWII.
Mel Brooks was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1926 as Melvin Kaminsky to Jewish parents from Germany and Ukraine. Brooks lost his father when he was two years old, and in retrospect, reflects on that event as the genesis for his farcical comedy style: “I’m sure a lot of my comedy is based on anger and hostility. Growing up in Williamsburg, I learned to clothe it in comedy to spare myself problems – like a punch in the face.”
Before he could complete his degree in psychology from Brooklyn College, Brooks was drafted into the Army to fight during World War II. He served as a corporal in the 1104 Engineer Combat Battalion, 78th Infantry Division as a combat engineer.The 1104th had been activated in March 1943 and landed in Normandy on 11 June 1944. It advanced with the Allied forces through France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and entered German One of his tasks during the war was to defuse land mines, and he also fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
It has been reported that when the Germans played propaganda recordings over loudspeakers, Brooks responded by setting up his own sound system and played music by Al Jolson, a Jewish musician.
I would have loved to see the reaction of the Nazis as the music of Al Jolson was blaring away. I don’t know what songs Mel Brooks picked to play but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was “The Jazz Singer” a double whammy a Jewish singer singing the music Hitler hated most.
Even at war he had a sense of humour. Mel Brooks a Hero in the truest sense of the word. They just don’t make them like that anymore.
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I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you.
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Without a shadow of a doubt World War II was the darkest and most devastating era in history of mankind. But even in those dark days there was still some time for a bit of humour.
The picture above is a letter addressed to Adolf Hitler, it’s basically saying what the author thinks about Hitler. It was written by a US soldier, unfortunately I don’t have a name(thanks to Norman Stone for sending it to me)
The two men in this photograph are Technical Sergeant William E. Thomas and Private First Class Joseph Jackson of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion, but at the time of the photograph were part of the 969th Artillery Battalion. Scrawling such messages on artillery shells in World War II was one way in which artillery soldiers could humorously express their dislike of the enemy.
The short-barreled version of the Thompson was Winston’s personal favorite weapon of all time. He looks like a gangster from an old Hollywood movie. This photo was taken during in during an inspection of invasion defenses near Hartlepool, on July 21, 1940.
Soldiers of the British, American and Russian armies mimic and mock Adolf Hitler and his ideas on Hitler’s famous balcony at the Chancellery in conquered Berlin.
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I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you.
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Although the world was going through one of the darkest era’s in its existence , there was still a sense of humour prevailing. For many it was this sense of humour which was all that remained of their humanity.
Black Bombers (April Fool’s Day – 1941)
The Elkhart Daily Truth detailed a plan to create a protective air fleet for Indiana at low cost by attaching miniature, eight-ounce bombs to 25,000 crows, which would be trained to release the bombs on the enemy. The report included a photograph of one of the “Black Bombers.” The “bomb” in the picture was really a salt shaker, and the crow was stuffed.
Although the crow bombers were an April Fool’s day joke, there really was a plan developed and tested by the U.S. military during World War II to create “bat bombs” by strapping incendiary devices to bats, and then dropping the bats on Japanese cities.
Rue Maurice Thorez (April Fool’s Day – 1941)
The Vichy government in France arrested 13 people on the charge of participating in a “Communist April Fool day plot” to rename streets in Marseille after the exiled Communist leader Maurice Thorez.
The police made the arrests after finding a large quantity of signs reading “Maurice Thorez Street” (or “Rue Maurice Thorez”) designed to be placed over the regular street signs in the city.
April Fool Fun Rationed (April Fool’s Day – 1943)
The Associated Press reported that the Society for the Preservation of Practical Jokers had issued an advisory to its members warning them that “in view of the war’s restrictions on what some fools consider fun” practical jokers should proceed with caution “otherwise, there might be casualties.”
“Don’t put any bricks under old hats on the sidewalk, for passing pedestrians to kick. It’s sabotage— shoes are rationed.
Don’t use that old wallet-on-a-string trick. If the sucker bends over to pick it up, he may bust his suspenders. Rubber elastic is scarce.
Don’t put salt in the sugar bowl. One cup of coffee ruined by a spoonful of salt is considered grounds for justifiable homicide.
Don’t let the air out of your neighbor’s tires—unless you’ve made your will.
Don’t drain his gasoline out on the ground. Not a lawyer in the country would dare touch your case.
Don’t sneak into an Army camp with a bugle and blow reveille an hour early. Tearing you limb from limb would expend valuable military energy.
Above all, don’t jump up and surprise your acquaintances shouting: “heil Hitler!”
They may not know what day it is—and there’s enough absenteeism without taking time out to attend fools’ funerals.
P.S.—April Fool! There’s no such thing as a Society for the Preservation of Practical Jokers.”
Nazis in Times Square (April Fool’s Day – 1944)
“When Goebbels, Hess, Hitler and Goering, suitcases in hand, marched through Times Square in New York, pedestrians ignored them. But then, maybe it’s because on closer inspection, they look suspiciously like Alexander Pope, Victor Varconi, Robert Watson and Martin Kosleck, as they appear in the movie, ‘The Hitler Gang,’ and if you’ll look at the calendar you’ll see it’s April First.” [The Ogden Standard-Examiner – Apr 1, 1944]
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I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you.
To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Many thanks.
One of his tasks during the war was to defuse land mines, and he also fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Although the world was going through one of the darkest era’s in its existence , there was still a sense of humour prevailing. For many it was this sense of humour which was all that remained of their humanity.
History of Sorts 
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