Montana Smith said:
Book burnings date back to the May 1933 "Action against the Un-German Spirit" during which students held pro-Nazi demonstrations.
I knew that they had them earlier, but I didn't think that the "festival rallies" (with Hitler making them a major party event) happened until shortly before the war itself. Consider me corrected. (That's why I come here. I learn things!)
That's interesting, because I just looked at the stills from those scenes. And I've finally spotted the evidence that she was a Party Member!
Her official bio has her as an 'up and coming star' of the Nazi party as well. But, really, even without the badge, the deference shown to her by the soldiers should have been a clue.
It is significant, however, that she is only seen wearing the Party Badge when she's compelled to do so. Away from Hitler she doesn't wear it. Not even in Vogel's presence.
She's a civilian operative, and a 'spy' at that (though I'll use the term a little loosely at this point). The Jones, by this point, have a staunch anti-Nazi reputation, so her wearing the pin through most of the movie would have just been dumb - which she is clearly not.
There's no real reluctance to join the Nazis for her, and she only once shows regret about it (though it is profound). The rest of the time, she was happily playing along with them, even when it included killing two men that she professed affection for.
Her material allegiance is confined only to the one specific occasion in the film where she couldn't be seen otherwise.
Other than Henry calling her one and Elsa's confirmation?
Like I said, the real problem is that most of the time Nazis are protrayed as either thugs or evil masterminds. We don't see too many of the conflicted characters that actually made up most of the Nazi ranks. Elsa was envisioned as the femme-fatale for Indy in this movie, but she was made more symathetic (probably to explain why Indiana would have a soft spot), adding a lot more depth than normal.
If the character had lived, she likely would have indeed defected at the war's onset, or would have suffered one of the early political 'purges'. Certainly she was in anguish about what she was seeing in Berlin, and it was pretty clear
that she didn't want to be in Berlin. But she was not absolved of her sins, of course, which is why she died in a very pulp way, refusing to leave the treasure behind...
The German State was deep in the moral abyss from the moment Hitler became chancellor.
Keep in mind that I'm in no way saying the Nazis were ever a force for good. Clearly they were not (which is a lot of the point of my conversation here). I'm only saying that the depths of depravity that we take for granted in our literature now were only
hinted at for most people, in the 1933-1937 years. If you were an American, the only alarming thing that the news would talk about was Germany's re-armament. Most eyes were on the Pacific, for good reason.
Europe was trickier. The evidence of what was coming was undeniable, and Nazi activities were growing in both brazenness and cruelty. Yet, most of Europe's press simply wouldn't cover it and even many German citizens (outside of the Berlin area, in particular) were only seeing hints as the worst of things was primarily kept to Party activities.
Only "Crystal Night" made the impact in the press that was required... and that was in November 1938. The evils of Germany were now no longer deniable, and even the New York Times, which had openly been sympathetic to Nazis until this point, had to change tune.
But, of course, anyone who was really paying attention knew that it was already coming, and worse was down the road... but by that time...
The article mentions Mein Kampf, but passes no judgement. It writes of the Berhof "set amid an unsophisticated peasantry". Class and anti-Communism feature heavily in the denial of the Hitler's mistreatment of his own people, and of those within the claimed territories before his invasion of Poland.
I suspect (though this comparison is a bit unfair) that it's a bit like "Dreams of My Father". Many people bought the book to support the Party, but few people who owned it ever bothered to read it - much less understand it.
Compared to Belloq and Donovan, Elsa appears to be the least reprehensible and the most conflicted.
Belloq was a mercenary. He was hired to the Nazis to do a job, and Belloq was happy to take the money and fame - and the Ark too, if he could get away with it. He always refers to the Nazis as 'them' and clearly sets himself apart from them. Had he lived, though, he would have been a Mercenary for the Vichy... there was a
certain amount of French pride in him, after all, but he wouldn't help France without coin. He would take Nazi money right up until the invasion of France, though.
Donovan would be a Nazi outright if the party had attained mass in the United States. With his personality, he was a part of them, though he maintained his 'independence' in the way many party leaders did. I think they were going for a "Lindburgh" style association here, but Lindy was never that much of a sympathizer.. and Donovan wasn't shown with any sympathetic traits.