sonja henie

[Badams]

ok...i have to ask this question. i hope it doesn't offend anybody. i was watching the biography channel the other day and they were showing sonja henie's biography. in it it said that she had autographed pictures of hitler. this made her home safe from nazi invasion or whatever so i figured it was a safety measure. but then this morning i watched her movie, one in a million, and it had pop-ups (like pop up videos on vh1) and it said that at some competition, i think the '36 olympics (if there was one in 36) she skated past the german judge(???) and did the heil hitler thingy. was she a nazi supporter? or am i reading into this wrong?

[Aussie Willy]

From what understand, Henie was criticised as a Hitler supporter because she did do the Heil Hitler thing at the Olympics. I have a copy of documentary which they showed footage of her doing it before she skated and I think Hitler might have even been there watching her which is why she did it. And I am pretty sure he did present her with her gold medal.

I am not sure about the political ramifications or if she was an out and out Hitler supporter. But then there has always been the rumour that Walt Disney was a Nazi supporter too.

[peachstatesk8er]

I'm sure that she did it to keep herself and her family on his good list if you know what I mean.

As for Walt Disney, he was only one of many in Hollywood on the "list" and believe me, it was a mile or so long.

[karina1974]

There was a 1936 Olympics, in fact both summer and winter Games that year were held in Germany; if you watched the movie close enough, there was a poster for the Winter Olys in one of the scenes. It was the 1940 and 1944 Games that were cancelled, due to the war going on, as they were during WWI.

Yes, Sonja did exhibit the salute, both at the start and end of her program, but there were a lot of athletes at both Games who did, whether or not they were truly Nazi sympathizers. I don't think people in this day and age can truly realize the power Hitler (who WAS in attendance that night) had, even in the years before he started to overpower most of Europe, which had not happened in 1936. If you study your European History, you'll find that many people in Germany outwardly supported Hitler as a survival tactic, not b/c they believed in what he said. Or they did not know at the time what he really stood for, as most of the world did not yet know. Don't forget, radio, newspapers and the occasional newsreel were the only forms of media at the time. So, yes, you are reading a bit too much into the salute.

The incident that REALLY ticked people off was when she refused to give money to the Norwegian troops a few years later, when she had moved to the US and was enjoying a fruitful professional skating career and was the richest woman in America. She rationalized that, since she was an American citizen now, and America was [at this point in time] neutral, she had to be neutral too. It left a really bad taste in the mouths of the Norwegians, and fear of their reaction kept her from touring her homeland until 1952.

The deal with the picture: she had kept the Henie family house as a second home when she moved to the US after turning professional. When Norway was invaded by the Germans in 1940, they took over many of the larger houses to use as Nazi headquarters. Supposedly, she called her maid in Norway, and told her to get the autographed picture and put it in a prominent place, where the troops would see it and think she was a sympathizer, thus sparing her home.

Again, I think it was a safety measure and nothing else. And, until you are in a similar circumstance, don't criticize. This was a period of time that, unless you lived through it, you really can't understand why people did some of the things they did.

[karina1974]

Originally posted by peachstatesk8er
I'm sure that she did it to keep herself and her family on his good list if you know what I mean.

As for Walt Disney, he was only one of many in Hollywood on the "list" and believe me, it was a mile or so long.

What list are you referring to, Nazi sympathizers, or the Communists? The Blacklist of Commie supporters is well-known, but there were far more red-blooded Americans in Hollywood who risked and, in some cases, gave their lives for the Allies during WWII than any Nazis that I ever heard of. Some of the biggest male movie stars of the time served in, and were decorated members of, the WWII Armed Forces. And if there were any Axis supporters, I guarantee they would gotten have gotten their a***s kicked had they dared to speak out. Would you care to elaborate on this "Hollywood list"?

[Badams]

Originally posted by karina1974
Again, I think it was a safety measure and nothing else. And, until you are in a similar circumstance, don't criticize. This was a period of time that, unless you lived through it, you really can't understand why people did some of the things they did.


Who's criticizing? I simply asked a question. And I think it was a valid one at that! Let's not jump to conclusions here.

[peachstatesk8er]

Actually I was speaking of the blacklist and it ticked me off that someone brought up WD's name without giving consideration that many in Hollywood were on the list. I hate to see someone associated with something that we don't know he had dealings with. I don't know what the heck you thought I meant but I think you jumped to the wrong conclusion.

[adrianchew]

Topic closed - its headed off topic from the original question. ~adrianchew~