Attention German Speakers

[Dan R.Stevenson]

I am working on pulp WW 2 campaign and need help with some authentic sounding German names for different military titles and phrases. Sort of an alternative history and reality campaign with a good bit of authenticity.

1) What would 1940's era Germans call a genetically re-engineered soldier. A soldier about 8 feet in height and about 400 pounds in weight. I am using an American slang term "goon soldier" but would like an offical German name.

2) A military term or name for a SS battle mage

3) A SS battle priest. (This character is like a communist commisar except a nazi and better dressed.) This would be priest practising an occult religion.

4) What would a SS breeding camp be called or perhaps a term for going to the camp

5) What would an all occult unit of SS magic users be called. A unit that specializes in the use of magic and occult rituals

6) If the Nazis had a television broadcasting network what would it be called

7) A Nazi medical and scientific branch of the SS that does advanced and strange expirements on humans and animals.

8) A unit of the SS that are blood guards. Protecting the purity of the aryan people. A unit that contains military police and doctors.

I would like to thank everyone who replies to my questions

 

[Baron Opal]

Using wikipedia and your local library as a base, you could probably find most of the info your are looking for. One of Hitler's inner circle was an occultist and sought to utilize occultism for the war effort. There's a whole stack of alternate history fiction with that as a base.

Übermensch is the word you're looking for #1, I think. The Thule Society was a Germanic occult society in the '30's. That name has been used a lot for fiction, too, so be aware of what you are reading when you do a search.

 

[kensanata]

Taking into account that I never took any ranks in Knowledge (propaganda), here's what I would use:

1) What would 1940's era Germans call a genetically re-engineered soldier. A soldier about 8 feet in height and about 400 pounds in weight. I am using an American slang term "goon soldier" but would like an offical German name.

Übermensch (stolen from Nietzsche); ein Soldat der neuen Herrenrasse (a soldier of the new master race); Hammersoldaten (soldiers of the hammer); Niebelungensoldaten (soldiers of Niebelungen, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibelungenlied, ie. an association with dragon slayers).

2) A military term or name for a SS battle mage.

Hexenmeister (witch lord, and incidentally the translation of sorceror used in the German rule books)

3) A SS battle priest. (This character is like a communist commisar except a nazi and better dressed.) This would be priest practising an occult religion.

Erzdekan (Dekan is an existing title, see http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geistlicher, and the Erz prefix refers to ore and is often used to mean something very true, eg. Feind vs. Erzfeind); Sturmkapplan (Kapplan is an existing title, Sturm refers to storm)

4) What would a SS breeding camp be called or perhaps a term for going to the camp

Brutstätte (brood/spawn ground); Zuchtstätte (breeding ground)

5) What would an all occult unit of SS magic users be called. A unit that specializes in the use of magic and occult rituals

Wasen (viking half gods); Asen (viking gods); Volksasen (nation...); Sturmasen (storm...); Erzasen (ore...)

6) If the Nazis had a television broadcasting network what would it be called

Deutsche Volkssender, DVS (station for the german nation)

7) A Nazi medical and scientific branch of the SS that does advanced and strange expirements on humans and animals.

Götterdämmerung (the dusk of gods, a reference to the Germanic end of the world); Götterspeer (spear of gods)

8) A unit of the SS that are blood guards. Protecting the purity of the aryan people. A unit that contains military police and doctors.

Blutwächter (blood guardians); Abteilung für Rassenhygiene (department for race hygiene)

I also suggest you obtain samples from Nazi speeches. Nothing better than to practice your rolling R with "JA WIR SIND INTOLERANT!!" (yes we are intolerant, from a Hitler quote I found online).

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Many good suggestions. I think the english equivalent for "Erz" is "Arch" in this context, not Ore. (though the language roots might be th same )

The names might also be a question of what "flavour" do you want - do you want short, evocative names, or more official sounding names?

"Ubermensch" might be the name used in the streets.
"Soldat der neuen Herrenrasse" would probably be a official title.
Acronym: "SolNeuHer" / "SNH"
"Idealer Soldat" might also be a good title. ("Perfect Soldier")
Acronym: "IS" or "IdeSol"

"Hexenmeister": street
"Soldat der Arkanen Einheiten": official name
"Führer der Arkanen Einheiten": Official name of the "Arch Mage"
Acronym: "SolArkE"/SAE" and "FühArkE"/"FAE"

"Erzdekan": could be both.
"Führer der Okkulten Einheiten": official name for the Arch Priest
Acronym: "FühOkkEin" or "FOE"

"Brutstätte"/"Zuchtstätte": Street
"Lager für Genetotypische Optimierung": Official. ("Camp for genetic optimization")
"Lager für Völkische Zucht": Official. ("Camp for folkish Breeding".Sounds a bit to much like an animal farm in German, but that might be because the word "Zucht" is rarely outside that context used days)
Acronyms: "LGO", "LagGenOpt" or "LagVöZ"

"Deutscher Volksender": Official.
Acronym: "DVS"

"Götterdämmerung": Code Name.
"Ministerium für Experimentelle Naturkunde": Official. ("Department for experimental Earth and Life Sciences")
Acronym: "MENK" or "MinENat"

"Blutwächter": Street (and indicating that they might also be pretty brutal)
"Abteilung für Rassenhygiene": Official
"Abteilung für Volkhygiene": Official
Acronym: "ARH" or "AVH"

The acronyms might not be perfect, as I am not _that_ familiar with the naming scheme used there. But I remember things like "Der Grösste Feldherr aller Zeit" was shortened to "GröFaZ" (Greatest Commander in Time).

Part of the flavor of the names (aside form being German in the first place) should be that the words itself do not really imply the sinister things standing for them. Needing "Lebensraum" doesn't sound like "Waging a brutal War against all my neighbours". "Konzentrationslager" doesn't sound like there have to be Gas Chambers and Mass Executions of civilians...

 

[Tharen the Damned]

The Nazis had a Pendant to use what they perceived as old germanic sounding names (but was mostly from Wagners Operas).
Uebermensch or Herrenrasse was not a name in itself but something the Germans wanted to achieve.

1) What would 1940's era Germans call a genetically re-engineered soldier. A soldier about 8 feet in height and about 400 pounds in weight. I am using an American slang term "goon soldier" but would like an offical German name.

I would call him "Siegfried" after the legendary Hero. It might be "model" Siegfried I or II or whatever. They would have their model and all relevant data tatooed under their right arm.

2) A military term or name for a SS battle mage

I would go with "Gnostiker". They have the okkult knowledge the "Gnosis".
The normal rank and file Soldiers would call them "Faustians" after Goethes famous Book about a Doctor who summons a devil. Of course, they would only do this in whispers...

3) A SS battle priest. (This character is like a communist commisar except a nazi and better dressed.) This would be priest practising an occult religion.

With their trend "back to the golden times of Germany" they might call battle priests "Tempelritter" after the Knights Templar.

4) What would a SS breeding camp be called or perhaps a term for going to the camp

"Lebensborn" (translates like life-fount). Such breeding camps actually existed. Small children were torn form their families to be raised by Nazis and become Uebermenschen.

5) What would an all occult unit of SS magic users be called. A unit that specializes in the use of magic and occult rituals

No good idea

6) If the Nazis had a television broadcasting network what would it be called

"Erstes Deutsches Reichsfernsehen" (First German Reich Broadcasting Net)

7) A Nazi medical and scientific branch of the SS that does advanced and strange expirements on humans and animals.

"Medizinisch -wissenschaftliche Abteilung fuer Human- und Tierforschung."
Inconspicous name, translates in: medical and academic department for huamn and animal research.

8) A unit of the SS that are blood guards. Protecting the purity of the aryan people. A unit that contains military police and doctors.

Abteilung fuer Rassenhygene passt ganz gut.

 

[Kodam]

1) What would 1940's era Germans call a genetically re-engineered soldier. A soldier about 8 feet in height and about 400 pounds in weight. I am using an American slang term "goon soldier" but would like an offical German name.

2) A military term or name for a SS battle mage

3) A SS battle priest. (This character is like a communist commisar except a nazi and better dressed.) This would be priest practising an occult religion.

4) What would a SS breeding camp be called or perhaps a term for going to the camp

5) What would an all occult unit of SS magic users be called. A unit that specializes in the use of magic and occult rituals

6) If the Nazis had a television broadcasting network what would it be called

7) A Nazi medical and scientific branch of the SS that does advanced and strange expirements on humans and animals.

8) A unit of the SS that are blood guards. Protecting the purity of the aryan people. A unit that contains military police and doctors.

1) "Vollarier" (Full Aryan)

2) "Runenkundiger" (Sage of the Runes)

3) "Volksweiser" or "Reichsdeutscher Priester" (Wise one of the people / Priest of the German Empire)

4) "Lebensborn" is exactly the right word

5) "Thule-Gesellschaft" fits the bill

6) - 8) I can only second Tharen the Damned's proposals

Kodam

 

[Nailom]

3) A SS battle priest. (This character is like a communist commisar except a nazi and better dressed.) This would be priest practising an occult religion.

I would call him a pagan priest of the black sun.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarze_Sonne
Edit: Or to give it a german name what about Templer der schwarzen Sonne
Deutschritter der Schwarzen Sonne. (Deutschritter is the name of an old knightorder but sounds good.
They actually did practice a kind of religion in Wewelscastle the SS fraternity castle
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wewelsburg

 

[Darklone]

1) What would 1940's era Germans call a genetically re-engineered soldier. A soldier about 8 feet in height and about 400 pounds in weight. I am using an American slang term "goon soldier" but would like an offical German name.

2) A military term or name for a SS battle mage

3) A SS battle priest. (This character is like a communist commisar except a nazi and better dressed.) This would be priest practising an occult religion.

4) What would a SS breeding camp be called or perhaps a term for going to the camp

5) What would an all occult unit of SS magic users be called. A unit that specializes in the use of magic and occult rituals

6) If the Nazis had a television broadcasting network what would it be called

7) A Nazi medical and scientific branch of the SS that does advanced and strange expirements on humans and animals.

8) A unit of the SS that are blood guards. Protecting the purity of the aryan people. A unit that contains military police and doctors.

Great suggestions so far.

1) I like Uebermensch in a Nazi context. Nibelung or Thors Hammer fits a Nordic genre better... not exactly the Nazi thing.

2) and 5) TT = Thaumaturgie Trupp. Thaumaturge for the single soldier.

3) Templer (for templar) is a great suggestion. These groups might be reinstitutioned German Knightly Orders (Maltesians, Johannitians, Templars... ).

7) Project Ragnaroek (for Goetterdaemmerung)

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

IIRC correctly, some of the Nazis manical ideas where informed by the ideas of "Nordic" origin.
Keep in mind that the Nazi "mythology" and "cultural theories" weren't really based on scientific fact, even if they pretended them to be. At that time, few knew better, and it is pretty easy to spin up a seemingly consistent story if people don't know much about the scientific reality behind it. (But there probably wasn't really a big consistency in the whole story. There were different degrees of "belief" and even some different concepts - some Nazis didn't see the Jew as inferior, as an example, but just as a rival that had to be destroyed. )

Ah, well, we should probably better at coming up with cool names instead of anything else. The rest is just to political, and it has been some time since I last had my history lesson on the 3rd Reich or saw one of the myriad of documentaries about that time. Suffice to say that nordic themes do fit - But if you plan to use them in another context, too, you might naturally want to avoid them.

By the way, Ragnaroek is also Nordic...