Quote:
Originally Posted by VtwinVince
Yup, the Bundesregierung did their best to distance themselves from Rudel. And don't forget his association with the Deutsches Reichs Partei.
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Vince, to be more precise, Rudel was a famous retired pilot, and nothing else, from the Bundesregierung point of view, until 1976. The Deutsche Reichspartei (DRP), and other Nazi-friendly and neo-Nazi forces, failed to obtain any national influence in West Germany, where society had had its full of that hatred. The Rudel scandal in 1976 was, in part, a consequence of the growing political disputes between left and right in West German politics, even if Rudel himself was a repulsive character who had no qualms about serving Hitler. He was a very brave and capable pilot, but also a vile political extremist - people are complicated.
As a non-aviation history aside, note that political extremism finds much more room for manoeuvre in modern, united, Germany. A central example of this, usually given scant attention in the English-language press, is the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit (BSW). An extreme-left party which has already had far more electoral success than the defunct extreme-right Deutsche Reichspartei.
Dan