[2013-Mar-19] Hartler: NO RED DOT

[uncleop]

Haven't seen a RED-DOTLESS comic in a while. Cool.

[OskarS]

I have some problems with the history of this comic. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it seems to me to imply that if Germany had had tight monetary policy during the 1930's (i.e. pegging the Reichsmark to the deflating US dollar), there would have been a severe recession, but Hitler would never have come to power.

Here's the thing: that's EXACTLY what happened in Germany in the early 30's. When The Great Depression hit Germany, the Chancellor Heinrich Brüning responded in a way that we would today refer to as austerity: all government salaries and expenditures were massively cut. As a result, the Reichsmark started deflating (which is exactly what Zach implies didn't happen) and Germany was thrown into a massive economic crisis and had huge unemployment. This, of course, was what lead one charismatic Austrian promising jobs for everyone to start raising up in the polls.

I think Zach is confusing the deflation of the early 30's with the famous Weimar hyperinflation. The Weimar hyperinflation happened 10 years earlier, and had very little to do with Hitler's rise to power (at least compared to the deflation of the 30's, which had everything to do with it). It ended in 1924, while Hitler was at his absolute nadir, inprisoned for high treason due to his failed attempt at a coup.

It's a common myth that people think that the hyperinflation happened in the early 30's and lead directly to Hitler seizing power, but that just ain't the case. Basically, Zach has it exactly wrong: Germany's currency didn't need to be "stabilized" in the 1930's, the problem was that it was too stable! If we're going to blame economics for Hitler, the culprit is deflation, not inflation.

[Peon]

I'm no history buff but I enjoyed the comic. To me it was less about the precise details of history and more about the butterfly effect-like perils of time travel. the dude went back to try to fix a two-decade depression and in his success he caused the bloodiest war in history.

[JonTheMagnificent]

Oskar, you are thinking in a too small scope. What if Hartler was a trusted advisor of Hindenburg influencing his opinion in many ways? What If he was a brilliant rhetorician whose words lured the people to voting boxes? What if his plans to solve the problems of the time sounded good to everyone and were adopted in parliament, unlike Brünings, but failed later. The nsdap might have never gotten it's 1930 landslide, leading to the party splitting in a radical and a moderate wing which then annihilated each other, What if Hartler was a key element in Hitler getting hanged for treason instead of a prison sentence?

[moonraker007]

Inspired from tree lobsters??
http://www.treelobsters.com/2013/03/457 ... -down.html

[Kaharz]

I have some problems with the history of this comic....

The point is that in an alternate universe, some guy named Hartler came to power and changed some economic policies which later led to a horrible depression. Because a time traveler killed Hartler, the much worse of outcome of Hitler rising power happened instead. Just replace the text in panel 3 with "some guy with a name spelled slightly differently than Hitler did something that had moderately bad consequences for the rest of the world."

[treelobsters]

Inspired from tree lobsters??
http://www.treelobsters.com/2013/03/457 ... -down.html

I know, right? Zach must be cyberstalking me.

[Revenge of the Nerds]

The unofficial votey of this strip is a scene of Stalin&Lenin partaking a killing spread with machine guns in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, while an absorbed citizen who is reading a newspaper makes a commentary about how evil that Hitler dude seems to be.

[Lethal Interjection]

The unofficial votey of this strip is a scene of Stalin&Lenin partaking a killing spread with machine guns in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, while an absorbed citizen who is reading a newspaper makes a commentary about how evil that Hitler dude seems to be.

No. It isn't.

[ThePeople]

you are scum

[treelobsters]

you are scum

Yeah. Worse than Hartler.

[DaGeek247]

you are scum

Yeah. Worse than Hartler.

How terrible! :[]