Dieter Heydrich

[Inverarity]

What I find most hilarious about this thread is that people keep trying to ask Dieter questions to confuse him out of his Nazi beliefs and turn him into a sweet little angel. As though Dieter is a real person who is really anwering these questions while Tim types them out. Do they think Dieter just has no hands and can't type out the thread himself?

Yeah, I commented on that quite a while ago -- the fact that I kind of feel sorry for Tim, who is dealing with all these people who apparently want to make Dieter see the error of his ways. Hence all the argumentative questions and condemnations of Nazis and talking about how awful bigotry and genocide is, as if they were actually conversing with an individual whose mind can be changed, and not with a fictional character whose personality is entirely the author's creation. And Dieter is fixed at a particular point in time, before WWII and the Holocaust. Of course he doesn't have an opinion about death camps and extermination! The idea would have been ridiculous to an eleven-year-old at that point.

It is a testament to how interesting (and likeable!) this character is, that people want to argue with him and "save" him. But I think the folks "arguing" with Dieter are missing the point.

The average German, prior to World War II, thought pretty much the way Dieter did. The degree to which they bought into the whole "untermenschen" thing might have varied, but no one was really too worried about what might happen to Jews and other minorities. At worst, they believed wholeheartedly in the "stabbed in the back" theory that blamed everything from Germany's losing WWI to the inflation that devastated their economy on traitorous Jews, and at best, they were indifferent. Nobody was imagining death camps and mass extermination.

Also keep in mind that even as the war began, the Germans didn't think it was going to be a huge, global conflict (let alone one that they'd eventually lose). They expected to walk all over Europe and that Britain would make peace fairly quickly. Initially, Hitler even had hopes that the U.S. would join Germany.

So trying to tell the average German, especially an eleven-year-old boy, that in ten years their country was going to be a burned out wreck and that they would be remembered as one of the most evil regimes in history, would have gotten you laughed at and called mad.

(Not universally -- there were Germans even early on who saw what Hitler was and what he represented, but I doubt even they realized just how bad it was going to get.)

I think Tim has done a good job of showing Dieter's fairly unsophisticated view of the world. I don't even agree with the author's own assessment that Dieter is twisted and sick -- he's just a typical kid who believes what the grown-ups in his life have told him. Very few eleven-year-olds have the intellectual or emotional maturity to question things like that. Early on, I asked him whether he'd be willing to kill, because that's one thing that even a child might think about -- the difference between believing that "those people are bad" and being willing to actually kill someone. But death really isn't something most eleven-year-olds understand. It's an abstraction, it's something that happens in wars, and usually to bad people.

What I'd find more interesting is to see what Dieter is like when he's older.

Bine: Very good assessment of the average German and Tim's work on Dieter. 3 points.

[weasleywannabe47]

Tim, I think Dieter is very original, but he seems to...lack. He's your average Nazi socialist. I think he needs something to make him more little boy-ish.

Give him something new..... a newfound liking for girls, perhaps.


To Dieter:

What do you think about your popularity here on MNFF?

What did you get for Christmas?

From Brenna:

Are you friendly towards newcomers?

[Tim the Enchanter]

Hello there. Time to answer some more questions!

What do you think about your popularity here on MNFF?

It's a little overwhelming, but it makes me feel... important, I suppose. I feel like I'm some sort of ambassador of the Reich since so many people are asking me questions about it - I want to make a good impression.

What did you get for Christmas?

From home, Mutti sent me some of her baking (as much as the owl could carry) and Vati gave me some books. Plus I received some mementos of home, including a drawing my sister Marie drew of me flying a broom.

My friend Konrad bought me a wizard chess set, but Ernst didn't get me anything - he said he's poor, but he probably just forgot. Or maybe he's just a stingy Jew in disguise! HA HA!

But seriously, Ernst is a good friend. And yes, he is poor.


And hello to you, Brenna, whoever you are.

Are you friendly towards newcomers?

Well, it depends on who they are!

~ Dieter Heydrich


Sorry for my very spare answers today, but I've been pretty busy for the last few days, writing more chapters! I'm currently at the point where Dieter is at the German equivalent of Diagon Alley.

Now, let's answer some fan-mail!

What I find most hilarious about this thread is that people keep trying to ask Dieter questions to confuse him out of his Nazi beliefs and turn him into a sweet little angel. As though Dieter is a real person who is really anwering these questions while Tim types them out. Do they think Dieter just has no hands and can't type out the thread himself? But, in a way, it also speaks a lot to how well this character has been developed. The best characters are the ones that can be seen as real people. These are also the ones that interest people the most. And Dieter is just the right balance of outstanding and ordinary to make an excellent story.

And you really must have an outstanding amount of patience to put up with all of it. Not only that, but must also be extremely well-researched and have no fear of delving into the dark. A lot of people I know would be too afraid of even the concept of Nazi ideaolgy to delve to deep into it, but you clearly exibit no fear of such a task.

I'm simply excited to see how Dieter's political beliefs will mix in with his emersion into the wizarding world.

Ah, you feel my pain! It does get slightly tiring having to answer every variation of those, "OMG! Don't you know Nazis are evil?!" questions. I am well aware of that, though I can't say the same for Dieter. But yes, I was feeling a bit mad when I first decided to write this story - I'm still fearing that some reader might totally misinterpret the story and get me in trouble with the mods or something like that! Fortunately, that hasn't happened. Maybe I'm braver than I thought...

And yes, as you can tell, I've done A LOT of research for this story, and taking a class on the subject helps too!

Yeah, I commented on that quite a while ago -- the fact that I kind of feel sorry for Tim, who is dealing with all these people who apparently want to make Dieter see the error of his ways. Hence all the argumentative questions and condemnations of Nazis and talking about how awful bigotry and genocide is, as if they were actually conversing with an individual whose mind can be changed, and not with a fictional character whose personality is entirely the author's creation. And Dieter is fixed at a particular point in time, before WWII and the Holocaust. Of course he doesn't have an opinion about death camps and extermination! The idea would have been ridiculous to an eleven-year-old at that point.

It is a testament to how interesting (and likeable!) this character is, that people want to argue with him and "save" him. But I think the folks "arguing" with Dieter are missing the point.

Thanks for your comments on Dieter, Inverarity. Of course, I suspect the main attraction of this thread is the very fact that you can (try to) argue with a little Nazi. And no matter how hard you try, you'll never win!

And you bring of a very valid point - it is simply impossible to try to argue with someone as unshakable and ideologically grounded as Dieter. Simply put, negotiation CANNOT solve every problem. Try putting a Nazi and a Rabbi together at a negotiating table, and see how far you get. Sometimes, the only way to get your point across is down the barrel of a rifle... or a wand, I suppose. Sometimes you have to fight.

I think Tim has done a good job of showing Dieter's fairly unsophisticated view of the world. I don't even agree with the author's own assessment that Dieter is twisted and sick -- he's just a typical kid who believes what the grown-ups in his life have told him. Very few eleven-year-olds have the intellectual or emotional maturity to question things like that. Early on, I asked him whether he'd be willing to kill, because that's one thing that even a child might think about -- the difference between believing that "those people are bad" and being willing to actually kill someone. But death really isn't something most eleven-year-olds understand. It's an abstraction, it's something that happens in wars, and usually to bad people.

What I'd find more interesting is to see what Dieter is like when he's older.

Well, I do feel a little sorry for Dieter for the way he was brought up, but that doesn't stop me from thinking he's twisted. The thought of little Nazi children bugs me...

Unfortunately, you won't be seeing Dieter when he's older for a very long time - I have a lot of chapters to write from 1938 to 1945! However, '45 is going to be one very exciting year!

Tim, I think Dieter is very original, but he seems to...lack. He's your average Nazi socialist. I think he needs something to make him more little boy-ish.

Give him something new..... a newfound liking for girls, perhaps.

You see, about 90% of all the questions Dieter has been asked have something to do with Nazism. Dieter is a typical young boy, but he may not come across as one simply because very few people have bothered to ask him what his hobbies are, or what he likes to do in his spare time! Instead, almost everyone has been grilling him on his ideology rather than his personality. So, if you want to see him as being more "boy-ish," then ask him some questions about just that.

Also, you have to realise that Dieter would not have a newfound liking for girls - how many eleven year old boys have you met that were interested in the opposite sex? I sure wasn't when I was that age!

And I'd hate to sound like Dieter now, but the term is either National Socialist or Nazi, but "Nazi Socialist" is incorrect. Plus it just sounds weird...

Again, thank you everyone for the questions and comments!

Tim the Enchanter

[GinervaPotter213]

I agree with what Tim and Inverarity have been saying. Everyone keeps asking Dieter moral questions when he is just a typical little German boy. This in mind, I have some questions.

Basically, Tim, pick whichever clump of questions fits his situation and ask him those, go ahead and ignore the others.

Hello, Dieter. I'm Ayra. How are you?

If he's at Durmstrang already:
I'm unfamiliar with Durmstrang, being from America, so I want to know what it's like. How are your classes, housing, friends, weather and such?

What do you like to do when you don't have class?

What is your favorite class?

If he's not yet at Durmstrang:
What are you looking forward to the most about going to Durmstrang?

What class are you looking forward to taking the most?


I look forward to hearing from you.
-Ayra

[Tim the Enchanter]

Hello, GinervaPotter213. I'm here to answer your questions!

I'm unfamiliar with Durmstrang, being from America, so I want to know what it's like. How are your classes, housing, friends, weather and such?

You're from the United States? What's that like, living in such a hotbed of moral depravity?

Anyway, Durmstrang is an amazing place. The weather is horrible, but it the most exciting place I've every been - I get to learn how to do magic! The novelty still hasn't worn off.

My dormitory is in the tower on the east wall - that's where the First Years sleep. My two best friends are my roommates - Konrad and Ernst. Konrad is a Pureblood and knows almost nothing about Muggle life, so I often have to explain things to him. My other friend Ernst is a Muggle-born like me.

However, I have another roommate, who the three of us detest - Aleksandar Todorov. He's a Slav and a Pureblood, and he is one of the most unpleasant people I've met.

But to change the subject, I have eight classes: Transfiguration, Defensive Magic, Charms, History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology, Quidditch, and Potions.

I'm sorry I didn't go into more detail, but you can search through the rest of this huge thread to find longer answers, since I've been asked these before.

What do you like to do when you don't have class?

Well, it's always fun to go outside and have snowball fights (there's never a shortage of snow) and check out a broom to fly on. When inside, I like to read some of the books I've brought from home, play Wizards Chess, and plot with my friends ways to get Todorov and Karkaroff in trouble.

What is your favorite class?

I have two, actually, and they're essentially tied. I really like Quidditch class. The Professor made me a Beater - that's the player who uses a club to hit flying cannonballs at people. I'm not very good at it yet, but I love flying - it feels so weird but in a good way, having nothing but a thick wooden stick supporting you.

My other favourite class would have to be Defensive Magic class. We learn how to duel and fight things - it's really fun! Plus, it's my best subject.

So, GinervaPotter213, what about you? What do they teach in the United States? What are your favourite subjects?

Anyway, it was nice to meet you.

~ Dieter Heydrich


As you can see, Dieter is indeed at Durmstrang, though I still have quite a few chapters to write before I get to that point.

But speaking of which, Chapter Four of Für Das Größere Wohl has been updated, hurrah!

Tim the Enchanter

[weasleywannabe47]

WITHOUT USING THE WORDS ARYAN, BLONDE, OR BLUE describe yourself.

What's your favorite food?

How many hours a day do you practice Quidditch?

Heeeeeere's Brenna!:

What do you think is your very weakest point?

Buh-bye,

Wes and Brenna

[Tim the Enchanter]

Well, Guten Tag, Wes. It's nice to see you again.

WITHOUT USING THE WORDS ARYAN, BLONDE, OR BLUE describe yourself.

Easy. I am of pure Nordic ancestry, with hair of a yellowish colour. My eyes would be the same colour as the sky (just much darker), or a sapphire, or the bottommost stripe of the Dutch flag, or any other things that are that colour that begins with a "B" and has four letters in it.

What's your favorite food?

Let's see... chocolate cake, venison, what else? Oh, I don't particularly like vegetables, except for carrots.

I also like bananas whenever I get a chance to eat them, which isn't all that often. They taste so... different from anything else I typically eat.

How many hours a day do you practice Quidditch?

We have Quidditch class three times a week, and for an hour and a half for each of those days. So that makes... three plus one and a half... that's four and a half hours a week, right? Sometimes in the days in between classes I might practice for an hour or so with my friends - I have no set schedule for practicing Quidditch, save for the mandatory classes.


And hello to you, Brenna. I can't say I've met you before... but I'll answer your question. Why only one, anyway?

What do you think is your very weakest point?

Hmm... I suppose I have a short temper - I've been in a few fights with the Slavs at Durmstrang and gotten in trouble for it. But I can't really think of anything worse than that.

~Dieter Heydrich


Thanks for the questions, Wes. Anybody else want to question the little Nazi? By all means, ask him anything you want!

Tim the Enchanter

[Black-Sand]

G'day

Randomly jumping in here.

Sooo... what's this about the hollowcost?(SP?)

Is there any girls you fancy/think is cute/notice more then other girls?

Is there anyone in your family that disagree with you being a Nazi? If so, how do you feel about them disagreeing with your choice?

Do you like poety/songs/any form of the arts?

From my semmy limited knowledge of the Nazi's or more German army in general, they used to be blooded. (Trained to not flinch at the sight of blood). Has that happened to you? I'm not possitive they still do it, but I know they used to. If it has, what was your first reaction?

Last one:
What's your favourite weather? What do you like about it?

...xXxBlack-SandxXx...

[Tim the Enchanter]

Guten Tag, Black-Sand. Thanks for asking me these questions - this thread is getting bigger, and bigger...

Sooo... what's this about the hollowcost?(SP?)

What's what? What is this "hollowcost" thing you are referring to?

Is there any girls you fancy/think is cute/notice more then other girls?

No.

Is there anyone in your family that disagree with you being a Nazi? If so, how do you feel about them disagreeing with your choice?

I'm getting tired of having to tell everyone this, but yet again, it is not "Nazi" - it's NATIONAL SOCIALIST.

But to answer your question, to be German is to be National Socialist, and vice-versa. To speak of one is to speak of the other. Anyone who rejects National Socialism rejects their fundamental German-ness.

And I take it that you didn't read my thread very thoroughly, right?

Do you like poety/songs/any form of the arts?

I hate poetry. Never been even slightly interested in it. I am also not particularly artistic (but my sister Marie is), and I find high art quite boring - art museums are not for me.

Concerning music... I don't listen to the radio much, so I'm not very in tune with what's popular. But I can say I like music with a generous amount of percussion and brass.

From my semmy limited knowledge of the Nazi's or more German army in general, they used to be blooded. (Trained to not flinch at the sight of blood). Has that happened to you? I'm not possitive they still do it, but I know they used to. If it has, what was your first reaction?

How old do you think I am? Do you think eleven year olds are sent to the army?

I know nothing about "blooding" as you call it, but it sounds like a logical thing to do. And not just for soldiers, but I think it would be useful for doctors too.

And again, the word is National Socialist.

Last one:
What's your favourite weather? What do you like about it?

I like the winter. Yes, it is quite cold, but I like all the snow - it's good for throwing at people!

~ Dieter Heydrich


MAJOR EDIT: While writing Chapter VI (in which Dieter gets his Durmstrang supplies), I came across a problem concerning the origins of Dieter's wand. I originally had it as a Gregorovitch creation, since Deathly Hallows seemed to imply that Gregorovitch lived in Germany, evident by how Voldemort murders the German woman living at the wandmaker's former house.

However, while writing the chapter, I suddenly realised that having an Eastern European man (regardless of where he happens to live) make Dieter's wand would make a lot of plot details go pear-shaped, specifically Dieter attitude towards Slavs. Since I think it would be best to have Dieter introduced quite suddenly to non-"Aryans" when he arrives at Durmstrang, I changed the wandmaker to a German one.

Tim the Enchanter

[OliveOil_Med]

Hey, Dieter! You're not dead! I was almost staring to worry about you. Time hasn't written anything about you in ages. Like a certain other author has done with me! *shifts eyes*

Nate, I'm working on nine other stories too, not to mention the Term Challange!

Wah, wah, wah!

Nate, ask your questions and then sit in the corner!

Alright then! I'll do it.


Molly's says she actually came up with one of Tim's characters: Sille, the little Danish girl. Why don't you tell us about her?

Why does Tim always make me suffer? He makes a ball explode in my face, get's me stuck in a vacumn, and has monkeys throw...THINGS at me and steal my Pop-Crackers (Molly wonders when she ever told him what those are. She doesn't remember). Why does he hate me? Did YOU put him up to these things?

Have you had any wizarding candy yet? What are some of the ones you've tried?

What's your favorite food?

Have you brothers and sisters been begging to go to the wizarding market now? Are there any other ways to get there besides the Floo Network?

Do they have zoos where you live? Have you ever been to one? Are there wizarding zoos, do you think? I really don't know.

Have you ever met any famous witches or wizards? Do you think you ever will?


Okay, Nate, you've asked your questions. Corner!

You don't make Lorelei sit there, and she stabbed the priest at her confermation!

She did NOT! And Lorelei doesn't get sent to the corner because if I did, she would murder me with an ax while I slept.

Nate's going to be out for a while, Dieter, so if you want more questions, you'll probably have to go see him.