ABSTRACT
By designating three different categories-Germans, Nazis, and pseudo-Nazis-the texts create the impression that the Germans were not Nazis and the Nazis were not Germans. The books repeatedly present a distinction between “they”—the Nazis-and “us” the Germans. “Like putty in their hands, that’s what we are” (“Mit uns kann ja jeder machen, was er will!” p. 3 [9]), exclaims the grandmother in Maikäfer flieg!, referring to the Nazis. The categorical distinction between Germans and Nazis is supported by the formation of two contentions that substantiate each other. One portrays Nazism as a foreign entity that subjugated Germany, led the Germans astray, and in turn succeeded in realizing its scheme; the second introduces the term “pseudo-Nazis.”
