Why Oliver Stone believes Hitler was an 'easy scapegoat'

Henry for did not write the Protocols of the Elders of Zion; they were written in Paris in the late 19th Century by members of the Okhrana, the Tsarist secret police, to justify the Tsar?s pogroms against Russian Jews. The Protocols were largely plagiarized from a satirical work, Dialogues in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu, by Maurice Joly, written as a thinly veiled criticism of Napoleon III; the Russian forgers simply replaced Napoleon with a fabricated and non-existent council of Jewish elders. Ford did, however, fund the printing of hundreds of thousands of copies of the Protocols in English, and also wrote a series of editorials based on them in the Dearborn Independent, a newspaper he owned. He re-issued these as pamphlets which Hitler had translated into German and widely distributed to support his own anti-Semitic agenda; Hitler greatly respected Ford and kept a photograph of him on his desk

Stone isn't the first Hollywood personality to rewrite history only a few years ago Mel Gibson a truck driver turned actor/director has rewritten the Jewish history and made a fortune while doing his vile antisemitic dirty work. What shocked me was that intelligent people actually flocked to see it. Rewriting history = big $'s Nothing new. Henry Ford did it when he lent his his name and money to write "The Elders Of Zion" (One of today's best seller in the Muslim world)

I commend a documentary that examines the global war as a confluence of forces. Those multiple forces should be examined in their historical context, for their causes, to better understand that Hitler alone could not have propelled such a cataclysm, that the responsibility for the carnage cannot be relegated to a small minority of Germans and Austrians on the fringes of society. But to elicit the empathy of viewers for Hitler and to characterize Hitler as a 'scapegoat' is distorted - you have only to read excerpts of 'Mein Kampf' to note the perversion of his rhetoric, and for this reader, such a stance or thesis will not make us empathic human beings or inform us to be better citizens of the future global community.

I doubt that Stone wants to whitewash Stalin or Hitler. (and let's omit McCarthy, he doesn't even come close). He may want to demonstrate that people without conscience get to play out their unconcionable deeds if the historical and societal conditions are ripe and allow them to do so. But few people will be dispassionate enough to watch this objectively. David

"Stalin... fought the German war machine more than any single person. ..." , After making a opact with Hitler ! He had no breira, Oliver Stone, he was attacked. You don't get kudos for defending yourself against an equally evil enemy. David

There was a question that Hitler may have survived and that his body double killed. This was a possibility that a professor at Harvard once mentioned. He was killed 25 days later in a murder no one investigated. I read of it and thought that explains a lot of movement or one of his hidden sons took control secretly trained. I don't believe half of the propoganda about his death and inner circle. Many worked their way in but wouldnt you set up an escape plan if your reich were destroyed. Then you have to think how many millions were assimilated as Reich in Europe in Nazism but hid themselves and just used their goodness. I looked at a map of Europe of every nation the only one not assimilated was Switzerland everyone else had the symbol on it then the Allied Nations combined to win back the land with huge loss of death. Rankoo-Karoon

Hitler was an evil man however Mr.Stone want to portray him. The fact that Germany lost the 1st world war and that the behavious of the rest of the world helped bring him to power is a fact. Also that many Americans supported Germany as well as many europeans is also a fact, but Hitler's fantasies about the Jews showed his madness, there is a german word for it "groessenwansin" and his wanting to conquer the world and thinking that arians should be the rulers of the world shows he was mad. It seems hystory repeats itself as the same is going on with Iran, no one takes them seriously and the longer the world waits the more people will die. Sad that no one ever learns.

Stone's ideas are nothing new. Of course Hitler, etc didn't come from a void. it was the whole historical development which brought them to power. All that is well-known maybe not to Mr Stone. But don't forget that the German social democrats helped Hitler to power. But the wisest thing to do is to read Golhagens's book about Hitler's helpers in Germany. And also Glaser's book "Jahrgang 1902". You will understand a lot. But ask all those killed by Hitler and Stalin if they could feel EMPATHY with those monsters.Mr Stone is nothing but very superficial and al least naïve.

One cannot ignore the effectiveness of the machine that is gathering forces against Jews in the US. And Jews had better wake up to this. There are many Left Wing anti-Semitic campaigns going on funded by the Mel Gibson's of the world. George Sorros, a Jew, is unwittingly supporting groups that will turn on Jews when the economy deteriorates enough. There is also a Right Wing backlash building against Obama where the emphasis is being placed on Jews both dead and alive. From Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Cass Sunsteen, Saul Alinsky, Sorros and many others. I would not be supprised if Mel Gibson is also funding Oliver Stones "project".

You completely missed the point of Lincoln's posts. He agrees that efforts to rehabilitate Hitler, Stalin and Joe McCarthy are stupid. Lincoln is correct when he implies that Limbaugh and Stone assert the outrageous and false in order to promote themselves, and in that respect, they can appeal to "easily manipulated populists with big hates and no desire to educate themselves." You are correct in that Lincoln's generalization as to Rush Limbaugh's fans is overbroad. There are many, in fact, who listen because they are narcisstic and delight in Limbough's defense of their narcissism. There are also people on the autism spectrum who want to elevate their failure to relate to fellow human beings into a positive good. Limbaugh broadly appeals to all sorts of pathologies.

What about Bin Laden? You maybe counted as a witness in the history to come.

Why should we belive stone has any insight into a monster like hitler--he can't walk in his shoes any more than I can---this is just a scam to promote his stupid documentary. stone is a idiot!!!

Stone is a master at doing and saying things that will improve ratings or his box office; any rational person that has a middle school education knows that Hitler, Stalin, and Mao had millions of people murdered and enjoyed it. Stone also knows if he had lived in these countries and under these governments he would have been one of the first these "poor scapegoats" would have murdered because he would have been considered an educated man and a threat. Come Oliver, all of us are not the naive people you would like us to be; but we may watch your productions anyway.

Stone can make ant movie he chooses, if it makes people smarter and more aware of true history then so be it.

What would Stone or any media or Hollywood type say about Rush or any conservative if he came out with this kind of documentary? One sided thinking stinks on whoever where it.

History is always rewritten by the winners. Not a bright idea, considering that many important facts are thus buried forever, leaving future generations unable to avoid the same traps. Let's take a sample, among many... Which country gave eugenics the start kick and promoted it as a legitimate scientific task ?

Here is an interesting example of the ineffectiveness of articles like this. 1) Google "oliver stone sucks" and you will get 38,100 results. 2) Google "israel sucks" and you only get 20,300 results. but... 3) Go to the highest number page of the "oliver stone sucks" results (10 per page). trying to get to the actual Google results page that includes result number 38,100. (You won't get far). 4) Do the same for the "Israel sucks" google results. They are all well indexed as far as you go. That is what you see with marketing companies that pump up something. Meaning? His "enemies" have a much narrower base than Israel's "enemies".

He is not going to glorify them just tell the people the whole story. If people knew more and why it would not hurt them. Knowing more does not mean you support it. Grow up.

Why is nobody telling Obama to stop?

His movie isn't even out yet and he already has alot of free publicity. Hitler was a maniac we all know that, but lets wait to see what the movie is about then we can vilify Stone along with the personalities in the movie.

We know Stone hates Bush, so we see which side of the isle he is shooting from. He had a bias before he started his investigation so how can he be credible??? I wonder who if funding Stone? Please quit giving him a podium to preach from.

Hopefully Stone's research will uncover the true conspiracy in the JFk assasination. The nazis/Majik12/Illuminati all conspired together to kill JFK and had Hitler do it wearing a Castro mask to disguise himself. Had it not been for the brave efforts of Lee Harvey Oswald to expose this plot, and by doing so get himself branded a scape goat, this whole plot would have never been overheard in a bathroom stall of a cruise liner in the carribean.

The first intelligent thing Stone has said in years.

Please do not judge all Americans by one loose cannon. I know of no one else in the US who wants to make apologies for Hitler and Stalin. Left wing liberal moviemakers who can't find work often drift into mania. Please, we are not all such fools!

Oliver Stone is not an historian. He's a Hollywood made mediocre director whose entire claim to fame is pushing the envelope on everything. The guy is just doing what he does best and what pays his bills. I wouldn't take anything he says seriously.

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

but don't impose your personal views on other people. It is called freedom of choice, besides I for one would like to see how the likes of Stalin and Mao rise to achieve absolute power. I would also like to find out what was the motivation behind Hitler what drove him to power and who facilitated it, and what were the mechanisms that led to the Wannsee Conference and the madness that followed. You cannot just declare Hitler as mad and bad and then bury it away with an official history of the third Reich which cannot be deviated from or questioned. What processes led up to the Holocaust needs to be explored, how it was enabled why nobody did anything about it. Why wasn't Hitler told to stop by anyone. I for one look forward to it.

walter is wise; people here would do well to listen.

It's a pity that Eva Braun wasn't alive for this documentary. She could have testified to what a LOVE MACHINE Hitler really was!

Yeah, yeah, "Hitler wasn't so bad, he built the Autobahn." Where have I heard that garbage before? I'm sure Jeffery Dahmer also has a sweet and lovable side to his character hidden somewhere deep, deep inside.

... This is how ANY competent historian would view these historical figures. Sounds to me like Stone is just trying to bring the apt, historical view of Stalin, Hitler et al to the masses. The masses who are more or less indoctrinated by media and pop culture to view these characters as one dimensional evil beings, and nothing more. (Except in the case of Joseph McCarthy who, if one shall listen to the lunatics of Conservapedia, is just misunderstood ;) ). Studying how people like Hitler came into power and how he was shaped in being what he was is something that should be done and needs to be done today. Especially since we are seeing loads of irrational populistic politicians gaining more and more power throughout the democratic nations of the world.

....underwear and realized that both were products of 23 maternal & 23 paternal chromosomes assisted in their combination by GM & IBM. He was poor student and believed that Stalin wore shoes. Stalin wore Georgian boots. In his nightmares he saw himself reminded: " Talent is like money. If You have them You have. if You don"t You don't." " But I can borrow money !" he had inspiration. He is a victim of our financial crisis. But he could sells his soul in exchange for immortality of talent. Like Faustus of movie -making. He did not know who was Faustus, so he toyed with idea of becoming a Jew. Spilberg, Kubrik, ect.all talents. After all, he settled on indentification. To be them. That is how a arist reveals himself, not his talent. And he created a good ,long documentary. Brevity is the sister of a talent, not identification. Hitler & Stalin came alive as complex human being. They were. They had 23 chromosoms from each parent and were identified by many. Then & now.

what he's proposing to do fill in a gap that exists in the mainstream historical documentation of these people. the average person knows absolutely nothing about these people other than their responsibility for the atrocities which have placed them forever in infamy. any who are not interested in a more complete perspective of these individuals, their motivations, and their associations, are not obliged to watch the series he intends to present. it's that simple. personally, i think it's an exceptionally good idea; as long as each is presented with complete objectivity. it might actually give people reason to pause for thought and perhaps spend a little time doing a bit of introspection; something of which far too many people are in dire need. the progression fron an ordinary person with a essentially good heart, to one who would condone or perpetuate an atrocity, is shorter and simpler than you might think; and NOT necessarily innate...unless perhaps within human nature itself.

Stone is not far off the mark. There's widespread support for Hitler/Nazism on Youtube. There's very little censorship and moderation on Youtube Comments. One Youtuber remarks he was surprise there are so many Nazi sympathizers on Youtube. May be it's fallout of the bad economy and high unemployment rate???

Although I've enjoyed his movies and understand his point of view, it must always be remembered that Stone's JFK is so full of errors and so utterly debunked that his credibility will always be somewhat tarnished.

I recommend to anyone Erol Morris' documentary Fog of War. One of the lessons of the life of Robert S. McNamara's is that you must have empathy with your enemies...in order to defeat them. That is an alien concept to many people posting here. This has led to their inability to comprehend what Stone is saying. He clearly does NOT indicate approval for any of these individuals. He DOES advocate understanding them. Empathy is the means, not the end.

"Putting yourslef in Stalin and Hitlers shoes will help us undestand why they behaved that way." Peter Sir, I gather you have no difficulty to put yourself in Stalin and Hitler shoes - it is felt it is you shoe size

I agree American prefer to be deaf and dumb then face the fact nothing new about that, give them an avengelist and they will put him on a pedestal and believe what ever he said like dummy

I am from Italy and the truth american dont know!! they are brainwash by the zionist and it seam american dont care to learn the truth!Yes american founded Hitler and one was Bush grandfather! learn the truth then speak

One need not throw STONES at Oliver Stone for there are others who are as STONED as Oliver Stone who disguise themselves as historians and thus escape the scrutiny of their peers; it is nevertheless time for Oliver Stone to sober-up and not allow vicious revisionists to use him as a corner STONE on which they continue to build farcical and malicious theories.

I can't wait! And I have a feeling I know what he's going to reveal!!!! Tee-hee!

The maestro of pat answers and glib liberalism is going to give us his take on this. Spare me. Whatever its defects, at least the current oversimplification has the virtue of making it clear that Hitler, Stalin, and Mao were all bad men, and that it's wrong to kill scores of millions of innocent people. I'd rather not see what the picture looks like after Oliver Stone sticks his oar in. Presumably, something like this. Hitler: unwitting tool of GM. Stalin: savior of his people. Mao: tried to help the Chinese overcome feudal backwardness and enter the socialist paradise. Too bad they're such backsliders.

While you are right they are not historians, I question your bleat that they are not artists. Art is not the same as morality (or even related to it). TAke your morality where it belongs, which is not in art appreciation.

A person can find thousands of people in any large city that could be Hitlers, Stalins, etc. But the closer (to home) you look, the less you notice.

So in your limited capacity for intelligent thinking you rationalize that people who listen to Rush Limbaugh are "easily manipulated populists with big hates and no desire to educate themselves or engage in reasoning". My arn't you the most intellectual snob on this forum. With every post you loose credibility. As for Stone anyone can take any evil person and look for ways to smooth out the pock marks..all you have to have is the inclination to do so and a deep seated hatred for everything just. An interesting thought..Hitler had the chance and the power to close the extermination camps and to end the genocide..he chose not to. What excuse can you and Oliver Stone dream up for that?

After WW1 Germany was devastated. The USA and Britain really wanted their pound of flesh from the vanquished country. Adolph Hitler was a nobody that came along at a time when the German people needed a saviour. Unless Oliver Stone can prove that Hitler was a patsy for the German indutrialists, there is no way that Hitler can be called a scapegoat. The proven scapegoats of WW11 were the Jews.... Hitler's speeches and rantings within Mein Kampf are proof enough.

Oh, yes... there must be a reasonable historical rationale to explain the extermination of all this people. Oliver Stone is making a great effort to show us "what's behind" that. Once we "understand" the rationale, well, then evertything "makes sense" and if it makes sense, it can happen again. This guy is dangerous, very dangerous or he is merely an idiot desperate to make cash at the expenses of a polemic movie.

After Hitler and Co. turned Europe into a cemetery for 55 million people, Stalin killed million of opponents or anything perceived as such, and Mao set new records in wiping out people and cultures, Stone calls them scapegoats and wishes to enlighten us blind fools with the relevant historic context! He want's us to understand people we dispise? Let's start with Oliver Stone! After all, is there anybody more despicable as an apologetic narcistic ignorant, drunken with conviction of his own importance, who wishes to do justice to the fascist perpetrators of the most heinous crimes in history? In the end, every (pseudo-) liberal and wannabe intellectual turns out as a secret apologetic (and actually admirer) of bloody tyrannts. How said Max Liebermann when the Nazis gained power? "I can't eat as much as I want to vomit!

Stone can put himself in Hitler's shoes. It is absolutely ridiculous that Stone views mass murderers with "historical context". I certainly await his revisionism with boredom

It won't help to replace one flavor of idiot duck-quack with another. Ol' Oliver might want to reflect that McCarthy aside, these guys were collectively responsible for the (generally unpleasant) deaths of upwards of 100,000,000 people and did their damnedest to plunge the world into 'a new dark age made more sinister by the lights of a perverted science,' to quote one of their foes. Oliver Stone is an idiot, and I'd rather stick with the idiocy that at least holds unequivocally that all this was bad.

Sure they have all been vilified, but to lump McCarthy in with Hitler, Stalin and Mao is absurd. Al Capone and John Dillinger were also vilified. Are the dictators who killed millions? This is an ignorant remark from a man whom I used to think had more going for him.

...Adolph Hitler ordered the extermination of 13 million people. That doesn't sound like something a scapegoat would do, or is even capable of. And Stalin and Mao weren't any better.

This is one director who'd better do more research beyond reading Mein Kampf!

SHitler is not a scapegoat....he was a catalyst and perpetrator of evil. Why would I not use him as the reason for the holocaust? An evil like that should not be given a chance to be painted in a different light. Does the devil have a good side? Pure evil - plain and simple. Saying Shitler is a scapegoat is like saying he wasn?t the real reason for what happened and we are blaming him for wanting to protect. I will never support oliver stone's movies again. As a Muslim, I find this simply disgusting.

Even if we take into consideration that 1918 Versailles Treaties were unusually harsh, and that France and England punished Germany with high indemnifications, and other Industrial expropriation; still cannot explain in the case of Hitler for wanting to exterminate people, Jewish People, who were not involved in the FWW, thrue that most of the reformer of the Wymar Republic were of Jewish descent, but they brought reforms that aliviated the weight of the Versailles demands. Stalin did'nt have to kill 20millions Ukrainian just becaise they refuse to go to the communal villages, Mao, read the book by the Canadian writers was a Killer for the sake of killing. So, how is History going to benefit from such a "revision"? Where are the Human ethics, moralities, decency. This kind of Historical revision, or different look, will definetly cleans the German people of any guilt for the rest of Human experience, future Tyrants will always be encourage by the feeling that after all, history will

Except for the blandest brains left and right, everyone knows that none of the great villains of the last century came out of or ruled in a vacuum. Without no Tzarist oppression, no Russian revolution. Without the unjust Versaille peace treaty and without the great depression, no Adolf. Without German antisemitism, no Nazism. And without the terrible sacrifice of the Red Army under Stalin, the Nazis would have won. None of this means that they weren't horrible people that should have been shot on sight. Naturally there are people who prefer the Disney version of history. And quite possibly Stone wishes to supply us with yet another Disney version. But maybe all the anti intellectual peeps on this thread should calm down until they actually seen this documentary?

Sickening, but to be expected for Stone.

Interesting, how Stone gets hammered by some people here on talkback for a film, that`s not even out yet.

There certainly were lots of folks in America and Great Britain who were happy to have folks focus on Hitler in 1942. Many because they always opposed Hitler and what he stood for. There were also lots of folks who didn't want folks to remember they supported Hitler and Mussolini in the 1930s and in many cases promoted Fascism as a good idea for American, Great Britain and the world. Fascism was a popular political movement in Europe, and even the Americas. for example there was Oswald Mosely and his BUF, The American Liberty League. Yes, Hitler was a good 'scapegoat' for folks who didn't want anyone to remember they once supported his movement.

GOAT. Nothing new here. Of course one should understand how a man becomes capable of influencing the flow of history with all others at his side identified as aiding and abetting his destructive vision. Hitler is a horror. Once you rehabilitate him, the end is near for decent human beings, including Oliver Stone, who would have found his way to the nearest concentration/work camp under Hitler or Stalin.

""Obviously, Rush Limbaugh is not going to like this history and, as usual, we're going to get those kind of ignorant attacks," - Oliver Stone Stone will probably like them, good for promoting his show. Rush is a product of the same sort of social sickness as Hitler played to. Easily manipulated populists with big hates and no desire to educate themselves or engage in reasoning.

"Stalin, Hitler, Mao, (U.S. Senator Joseph) McCarthy, These people have been vilified pretty thoroughly by history." - Oliver Stone Really, I wonder why? "People in America don't know the connection between World War I and World War II" - Oliver Stone Few Americans comprehend the connection between yesterday and tomorrow. "Go into the funding of the Nazi party. How many American corporations were involved, from GM through IBM." - Oliver Stone It is not a pretty story, I agree. There were many rich and powerful men and corporations in not only Germany but the USA that approved of what Hitler was peddling and backed him. "He's not saying we're going to come out with a more positive view of Hitler, But we're going to describe him as a historical phenomenon and not just somebody who appeared out of nowhere." - professor Peter Kuznick, Which is exactly how any competent historian would look at Hitler Had he not filled a social need he never would have got past Lance Corporal.

I watches many interviews of yours and was very impressed with your honesty and veiwpoint. You are a Vietnam hero. I am very impressed for you to tackle such difficult subjects knowing very well that you will be branded as antisemite so on so forth. Putting yourslef in Stalin and Hitlers shoes will help us undestand why they behaved that way. We know why W behaved recently.But we are eager to see your point of view of the H & S of the world. The world is blinded and bonbarded with propaganda that the real truth is twisted . I look forward to watching with my children the documentary.

I'm a big fan of his.

you gotta love these hollywood narcissists that actually achieve some success and then ridiculously BELIEVE that they know more than the most dedicated lifelong scholars on these massively documented eras of our history...oliver stone is a left wing liberal do gooder hollywood idiot...can you say sean penn, garofalo, fonda, gibson etc? it's so predictable yet utterly sad...I mean, who the hell is stone to think that his new age left wing ideology is fit for educational purposes? these people are dangerous and are mixing a very powerful medium called film with decidedly corrosive anti american, anti freedom, anti semitic politics. It's disgraceful.

to rise.Who cares what Oliver Stone says.Stupid stuff like this is better ignored ,drawing attention to this kind of rubbish helps the madmen of the world.Forget about it and laugh.

Better to see evil acts as the result of a process than as the product of one evil person. If you destroy the one 'evil person' you have only destroyed an illusion and done nothing. If you understand the process it no longer is a night time phenomena. People who don't understand should hold their tongue until their brain catches up with it.

At last some one came to a right mind without judging the situations by some historian or some media director or some other brain washing material ... it hurts and kills when majority is made to think the way media like us to think and one open his mouth... every one thinks he is out of his mind

no need to take Mr. Stone's new found intellectualism and englightment seriously. This is a simply result of what happens when your last 10 films are box office disasters and you're in desperate need for attention. if Stone made Avatar or a big H'wood box office hit, he wouldn't touch this subject!

No Stone, "vilified pretty thoroughly by their responsibility for murderous actions."

Empathy, compassions, and understanding are necessary when dealing with the trampled and beaten. When dealing with leaders, good and bad, it is worth noting that they are responsible for their own actions,(as are we all), and the actions of those who follow them.

"Go into the funding of the Nazi party. How many American corporations were involved, from GM through IBM."

Nothing wrong looking again at history even when it involves Hitler and Stalin. The holocaust is not being minimized or explained away. Therefore nobody can object to it. That Hitler did not come from nowhere should be evident to most people.

Stone lumps Hitler, Mao, Stalin and McCarthy together, and then describes both Hitler and George W. Bush as people he "thoroughly despised". In doing so he shows himself for the idiot that he is. I don't take anything he makes seriously.

O.Stone,Michael Moore,Griphits(The birth of a Nation),Spike(C.S.A.),Lennie Reifensthal(hitler's main movie propagandist)are extremely dangerous.They are not artists,not historians,just hired guns from the rabid LEFT OR THE RIGHT.There are many of them in different medias.Most of them belong in an asylum or behind bars...Stone belongs deep in a cesspool,together with this "professor" that wrote his piece of garbage