Arnazi Politics

Its hard to separate the biblical beast from the spirit of Nazism and the holocaust, but the question remains, does Arnie have the heart of the beast?  Is he a Nazi in wool clothing? Following are various views relating to the question, with more to be added.

Kurt Waldheim

Long time friend of Kurt Waldheim, former Secretary General of the United Nations, whose bid for the Austrian presidency in 1986 was tainted by revelations of his participation in Nazi atrocities.  Waldheim had previously maintained that he only briefly served in the war until injured, but, in fact, he was an intelligence officer whose name appeared on his unit's "honor list" regarding those responsible for mass murders committed in western Bosnia.  Later, he approved propaganda leaflets dropped behind Russin lines that concluded, "enough of the Jewish war, kill the Jews, come over."   After the war, he was wanted for war crimes by the War Crimes Commission of the budding organization he would later head, the United Nations. 

With the open endorsement of their national hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrians elected Waldheim, anyway, though only to be largely shunned by the international community.  Subsequent to his election and these revelations, the U.S. DoJ considered the charges viable enough to put then President Waldheim on its list denying entry to "any foreign national who assisted or otherwise participated in activities amounting to persecution during World War II."

Though invited, Waldheim did not attend Schwarzenegger and Maria Shiver's wedding in 1986 (shortly after the revelations of his Nazi involvement), but sent a gift, for which Arnold reaffirmed their personal friendship, saying, "My friends don't want me to mention Kurt's name, because of all the recent Nazi stuff and the U.N. controversy, but I love him and Maria does too, and so thank you, Kurt." 

Schwarzenneger passed over another opportunity to renounce his close association with a Nazi war criminal two years later in a 1988 Playboy article when asked about the Waldheim's controversy, saying, "I hate to talk about it, because it's a no-win situation. Without going into details, I can say that being half-Austrian and half-American, I don't like the idea that these two countries that mean so much to me are in such a disagreement. Austria is a very important place for Americans, because it is a neutral country. With a little bit of good will, the problem will be straightened out. I think it's well on the way."

(Ref: "Arnold's Nazi Problem" by Timothy Noah)

Simon Wiesenthal Center

Though unwilling to renounce Waldheim, Schwarzenegger has gone to great expense to build a record of being anti- anti-Semitism.  His works include raising money for education about the Holocaust, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Rabin, and generous financial contributions to the Simon Weisenthal Center for Holocaust awareness in Los Angeles.  Interestingly, Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Weisenthal Center rose to Arnold's defense regarding his friendship with Kurt Waldheim, telling the Jerusalem Post, "He probably did not have any clue as to the seriousness of the allegations against Waldheim at that time [i.e., 1986]. To suggest that Arnold's an anti-Semite is preposterous. He's done more to further the cause of Holocaust awareness than almost any other Hollywood star."   The Weisenthal Center also awarded their National Leadership Award to Schwarzenegger in 1997.

(Ref: "Arnold's Nazi Problem" by Timothy Noah)

Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus

"George W. Bush's grandfather helped finance the Nazi Party. Karl Rove's grandfather allegedly helped run the Nazi Party, and helped build the Birkenau Death Camp. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian father volunteered for the infamous Nazi SA and became a ranking officer. Together, they have destabilized California and are on the brink of bringing it a new Reich. With the Schwarzenegger candidacy they have laid siege to America's largest state, lining it up for the 2004 election.

"...Rove, who has been based in Utah and associated with the Mormon Church, is widely viewed as the chief engineer of the current Bush administration...[and] is a prime behind-the-scenes mover in the Schwarzenegger campaign."

(Ref: "Siege Heil: The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus and the Destabilization of California" by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman Published on Monday, October 6, 2003 by The Free Press, Columbus, Ohio)

Gustav Schwarzenegger

"On May 1, 1939, a year after the Nazis took control of Schwarzenegger's native Austria, his father Gustav, voluntarily joined Hilter's infamous Strumabteilung (SA), "brown shirt" stormtroopers. This was just six months after the brown shirts played a key role in the bloody Kristallnacht attacks on Germany's Jewish community.

"The Vienna daily Der Standard noted recently that "Gustav, a high-ranking Nazi, brought up the bespectacled, rather frail boy with an iron fist and quite a few slaps in the face." Arnold's father favored a Hitler-style mustache in photos."

(Ref: "Siege Heil: The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus and the Destabilization of California" by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman Published on Monday, October 6, 2003 by The Free Press, Columbus, Ohio)

Praising Hitler

"On October 3, ABC News broke the story of Schwarzenegger's 1977 interview in which he was asked whom he admired. Schwarzenegger replied, "I admire Hitler, for instance, because he came from being a little man with almost no formal education, up to power. I admire him for being such a good public speaker and for what he did with it." "

(Ref: "Siege Heil: The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus and the Destabilization of California" by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman Published on Monday, October 6, 2003 by The Free Press, Columbus, Ohio)

Kenneth Lay, Enron, Pete Wilson

"On May 17, 2001, Schwarzenegger also met with Kenneth "Kenny Boy" Lay of Enron at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles. Through the utility deregulation plan signed into law by Pete Wilson, Schwarzenegger's chief advisor, California was destabilized, bankrupting the state government and opening the door for Tuesday's recall election. Lay has been George W. Bush's chief financial backer, and a close associate of Karl Rove's."

(Ref: "Siege Heil: The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus and the Destabilization of California" by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman Published on Monday, October 6, 2003 by The Free Press, Columbus, Ohio)