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Nazi fervor has deep roots in RI
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subiantoâs camp played down concern from the international community over the glamorization of Nazism by eccentric musician Ahmad Dhani
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residential candidate Prabowo Subianto's camp played down concern from the international community over the glamorization of Nazism by eccentric musician Ahmad Dhani.
Dhani, who is of Jewish ancestry, wore a military costume similar to the uniform worn by SS commander Heinrich Himmler in a music video aimed at promoting Prabowo's candidacy.
Business tycoon Hashim Djojohadikusomo, who is also Prabowo's younger brother, said Dhani's costume, which featured Nazi regalia, was just a fashion statement and should be not be taken too seriously.
'Come on, who is negative?', Hashim said on Thursday as quoted by several media outlets.
The country seems to be in the throes of German nostalgia.
From the substantial support for the German national soccer team, the reopening of a Nazi-themed cafe in Bandung, West Java, to a fascist-flavored political stunt, German fever has descended on the people.
Sarkov Emil, 29, was reminded of the reason he signed up for German Literature Studies at the University of Indonesia's Humanities Faculty.
'I started out like those emotionally troubled kids absorbed in all things military and heroic and was rowdy toward students from other schools. I idolized [Adolf] Hitler,' Sarkov told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
'The Germans are revered for their 'Panzers, Mercys' [Mercedes-Benz] and 'Bimmers' [BMW]; for their advanced technology and excellence in engineering,' he said.
Only after he started learning about the gross human rights violations of Nazi Germany and the genocide of millions of Jewish people in Europe, did Sarkov change his mind about the Fuhrer's legacy.
'Later I got rid of all my stickers and anything else associated with the Nazis,' Sarkov recalled.
Sarkov is one of many Indonesians who were exposed to German culture in their youth and took an interest in Nazism.
Even though Indonesia is historically far removed from the original context of Hitler's Germany, Sarkov argues that Indonesians have developed an affinity to Germany.
'Sukarno chose to ride a Mercedez-Benz and people followed suit. The Germans have since been associated with technological prowess,' said Sarkov.
Sarkov's comments can be interpreted as what renowned social theorist Benedict Anderson calls 'the specter of comparisons'.
The term refers to the experience of looking at an object or phenomenon with familiar eyes, but also seeing it from a distant perspective.
Anderson said that many people perceived Nazism to be a sign of strong government and economic development, and not the cause of the mass murder of 6 million Jews or for the militarism that led to the World War II.
Meanwhile, Asvi Warman, a historian at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that the nation's fixation with cultural symbols like swastikas had more to do with the military culture than the misappropriation of ultra-nationalist ideologies.
Asvi also cited the lack of knowledge on Nazi Germany as another reason for the phenomenon.
'The younger generation of the New Order regime had been brainwashed [...] History wasn't taught in full and those who grew up in that period did little to uncover the truth,' Asvi told the Post on Thursday.
Asvi said Ahmad Dhani was a child of this era and his misappropriation of the Nazi uniform was the result of such ignorance.
'Maybe in the past, people read up on the ideologies. In Dhani's case, I think he's just a military buff,' Asvi said.
'People like him [Dhani] don't take issue with the ideology; they just buy into it for the uniforms.' (tjs)
