Comments on: New Jersey, home of Hitler's toilet

By: nemesissy

nemesissy — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 07:49:00 +0000

I’d always heard that the ban had as much to do with the pragmatic aspects of using a type family that was more or less illegible to non-Germans for inter-Reich communication as with any possible Jewish origins.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiqua-Fraktur-Streit#Erlass_zur_alleinigen_Unterrichtung_der_lateinischen_Schreibschrift_als_neuer_.E2.80.9Edeutscher_Normalschrift.E2.80.9C

(The Nazis tended to be pretty selective about what contributions to technology and culture they decided to revile as ‘Jewish’ at any given moment, and their stance shifted along with their political ambitions. See, for example, the propaganda campaign against entertainment such as syncopated kicklines and jazz as degenerate, modernist, and Jewish before coming to power, in contrast with official knockoff Tiller-Girls troupes and creation of ‘authentically German’ jazz bands afterwards.)

By: TheMudshark

TheMudshark — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:08:00 +0000

I know, but the image of Helvetica as the “bad guy” font was too funny to me to pass up.

By: Jake0748

Jake0748 — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:54:00 +0000

This post, and these comments have just flushed Godwin’s Law down the toilet.

By: dculberson

dculberson — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:48:00 +0000

Don’t you mean the British version of BBC America?

By: s2redux

s2redux — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:57:00 +0000

…and he’s angry because it’s not a Ferguson! Ba-WOOSH!

By: Spocko

Spocko — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:20:00 +0000

Fake. I think someones taking the piss on us.

By: donniebnyc

donniebnyc — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:54:00 +0000

What about Eva Braun’s bidet?

By: Crashproof

Crashproof — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:44:00 +0000

“Hitler’s Toilet.” Band name!

By: franko

franko — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:54:00 +0000

i’m hoping there will be an Angry Hitler video about this.

By: Rob Wheeler

Rob Wheeler — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:26:00 +0000

I was going to say the same thing, but scrolled down first. For me, this just ruins the rest of the article.

By: Peter Chylewski

Peter Chylewski — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:40:00 +0000

Funny, but not entirely true AFAIK. The Nazis loved ‘Blackletter’, only to discover later that it had been invented by a Jewish typographer, so they banned it. It’s funny and very ironic to see skinheads running around wearing t-shirts with ‘Alte Schwabacher’ aka ‘Jüdische Schwabacher’ type printed on them.

By: India Osaka

India Osaka — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:21:00 +0000

If you wanted to be pedantic, and we always do, then ‘Antiques Roadshow’ is the American version of ‘Antiques Roadshow. Antiques Roadshow was first broadcast in 1979, the American Antiques Roadshow was only first broadcast in 1997. The things you learn from pub quizzes.

That being said, speaking as someone who has never watched either of the programmes, Four Rooms might be a version of the American version of Antiques Roadshow, if the American version changed the programme’s format in a way which Four Rooms emulates.

By: Repurposed

Repurposed — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:48:00 +0000

They’re calling it ‘Adolph Shitler’

By: The Graphic Avenger

The Graphic Avenger — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:08:00 +0000

Hitler hated Blackletter. Hated hated hated it. Called it “Schwabacher Judenletter” Schwabachian Jew letters (Schwabach being a German town where a certain kind of Blackletter supposedly originated).
The Nazis only used Blackletter because it fit their völkische Ideology and abandoned it as soon as they could. The reason that was given for the Reichsschriftenerlaß in 1941 was that when you rule the world propaganda would have to be readable for all their subjects but actually Hitler wanted to get rid of Blackletter long before that.But the damage to the Blackletter’s image was done and so a whole, very rich canon of beautiful letterforms with over a thousand years of history was forever stigmatized.

By: ImmutableMichael

ImmutableMichael — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:53:00 +0000

Ha! That was my first thought. Glad to say my girl’s never used an S bend…

By: planettom

planettom — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:45:00 +0000

THEY SAVED HITLER’S TOILET.

By: euansmith

euansmith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:34:00 +0000

It Pol Potty!

By: euansmith

euansmith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:33:00 +0000

Apparently the owner is flushed with success… … I’ll get my coat…

By: TheMudshark

TheMudshark — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:14:00 +0000

Imagine if the Nazis had listened to Tschichold. We might be stuck with Blackletter for daily use with Helvetica reserved for skinheads, heavy metal and gang tattoos.

By: Alan Goulding

Alan Goulding — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:57:00 +0000

Yup. It’s shown on the British version of the BBC.

By: dexitroboper

dexitroboper — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:09:00 +0000

There's only one properly scatological response to this: TISM

By: slowtiger

slowtiger — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:50:00 +0000

Have a look for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Tschichold doesn’t list his typography as reason for imprisonment. Later, in 1941, Blackletter typeface was officially abandoned by German government: http://home.arcor.de/lutz.schweizer/schrifterlass.html

By: danielpresling

danielpresling — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:48:00 +0000

I almost couldn’t believe it when I read it.

By: redsrevenge

redsrevenge — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:40:00 +0000

He’s should post a sign on the wall behind it that says

Hitler Shat Here

and charge for people to sit on it and get their picture taken.

It’s money in the bank.

By: Jake Rennie

Jake Rennie — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:39:00 +0000

Pol Pot’s Poop Pot.

By: Robert Holmén

Robert Holmén — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:19:00 +0000

I’m somewhat doubtful about the font history factoids presented in the excerpt.

By: smut clyde

smut clyde — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:10:00 +0000

Think of the cloning possibilities. “I Cloned Hitler’s Feet” was bad enough.

By: Al Corrupt

Al Corrupt — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:09:00 +0000

Sorry Tablet Magazine, but ‘Antiques Roadshow’ is the British version of ‘Antiques Roadshow’.
Sidenote: It is (I have heard) the most popular TV show inside prison there.

By: Stefan

Stefan — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:06:00 +0000

I stayed in Siem Reap at this guy that still owns Pol Pot’s toilet seat:

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2008092521840/Siem-Reap-Insider/im-keeping-the-pot-publican.html

By: Jack Holmes

Jack Holmes — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:05:00 +0000

There’s GOT to be a joke in here somewhere.