Herr Goering: Self-Hating Nazi?

January 24, 2006 12:20 AM

Nazi's relative turns Israel lover. Matias Goering is a direct descendant of Hitler's right-hand man. He also keeps Shabbat, wears a kippa, and identifies with the Greater Israel vision of West Bank settlers. (via jewlicious)
posted by matteo (26 comments total)

I woke up at dawn and heard the voice of God," he says. "This was not the first time I thought God was talking to me. He told me that he wants me to guard the walls of Jerusalem. I was very surprised by what he said. Afterwards I found the passage in the Bible. What is amazing is that at that time I had never read these passages."

Goering says he began to cry when the voice of God came to him and asked him to pray for the Chosen People.

"'Okay', I told him, 'but I think you've knocked on the wrong door. You know what my name is'," he says now.

"But God told me, 'Yes, you.' And then I had a feeling I had to go, at least once, I had to travel to Israel."

posted by matteo at 12:21 AM on January 24, 2006

Not to nitpick, but the article makes it plain that he's not a direct descendent, or indeed a descendent at all. He's a relative: "(his great grandfather was Goering's grandfather's brother)"
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:29 AM on January 24, 2006

Shhhhh, you'll ruin the drama.
posted by nightchrome at 1:53 AM on January 24, 2006 [1 favorite]

Matias Goering is a direct descendant of Hitler's right-hand man and the commander of the Nazi air force.

...followed by...

Matias Goering , a distant relative of the senior Nazi (his great grandfather was Goering's grandfather's brother)

The article is incoherent drivel. Did you write it yourself, matteo?
posted by veedubya at 3:13 AM on January 24, 2006

What did you think of Jews up to then?

"In my family we all learned to hate them, not to love them. We grew up understanding that Israel and the Jewish people are to blame for the fact that our family had no money. When we were little and wanted new toys, our parents said all their money was going to pay the Jewish people."

This basically describes a run of the mill bigoted Swiss loser. They aren't the most popular folks in Europe.

And incidentally, the money he's talking about went to pay for my Tonka Dump Truck and bicycle. It's true.
posted by zaelic at 3:14 AM on January 24, 2006 [1 favorite]

jewlicious
posted by jaronson at 3:30 AM on January 24, 2006

Goering says he began to cry when the voice of God came to him and asked him to pray for the Chosen People.

So descendants of Nazis can be nutcases too.
posted by twistedonion at 4:04 AM on January 24, 2006

Goering's own brother, Albert, saved many Jews and resistants... Seems like the odd one in the family was the Marshall, not the other way round, if you can call such a distant relative 'family'.
posted by Spanner Nic at 4:22 AM on January 24, 2006

he really has a messiah complex or something (or a weird mutant stockholm syndrome?)--and sorta similar to Bush's post-drunk/drugs "salvation"

... "If only the Jews could have as much faith as me. If I succeeded after 44 years of hating the Jewish people, to completely change my ways – anyone can do it. One has to feel in one's heart what is written in the Torah."
"I told God that if he helps me, I would do whatever he commanded. Then my heart changed. I am not the same person I was before," he said. "I think if there were more people like me, there would be fewer problems."...
posted by amberglow at 6:18 AM on January 24, 2006

Why doesn't he change his name?
posted by Saucy Intruder at 6:48 AM on January 24, 2006

like, Joe Goring?
posted by matteo at 6:49 AM on January 24, 2006

I was thinking more along the lines of Ted Hitler.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 6:50 AM on January 24, 2006

Oh man this site sucks... when you enlarge the photos, most of it is cut off by the small popup window size, and they fail to give you resize capability.
posted by zek at 6:50 AM on January 24, 2006

Wow, I'm sure this will lead to all sorts very insightful commentary.

Anyway, in 1500 years every person on earth will be decended from hitler's brother as well as any other evolutionary successful Nazi.
posted by delmoi at 6:58 AM on January 24, 2006

I just want to point out that this Matias Goering guy has not become a real Jew and that it doesn't look like he'd qualify as a "righteous Gentlie" either. It's not even clear from the article that he'd qualify as an old-fashioned "Judaizer" either. I think he's had some some kind of New Age psychotic break, something like Jerusalem syndrome on the cheap (i.e. no travel required).
posted by davy at 7:10 AM on January 24, 2006

Why doesn't he change his name?

But if his name were Joe Blow he'd have a much harder time getting famous!
posted by davy at 7:13 AM on January 24, 2006

Matt Groening?
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 9:01 AM on January 24, 2006

great grandfather was Goering's grandfather's brother

Second cousin, once removed.

And davy, the article doesn't actually say he's become a Jew. But I think your diagnosis of Jerusalem syndrome is spot on.
posted by dhartung at 9:40 AM on January 24, 2006

"Righteous Gentlie"... didn't I see that on the Utah baby names page?
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 10:29 AM on January 24, 2006

Depressed and desperate, Matias prayed to God, whose existence he had denied until that point

Prayer -- the last refuge of the scoundrel...
posted by sour cream at 12:42 PM on January 24, 2006

not to change the subject but this reminds me of a question i have had for some time. what is the difference between calling your group of people the "master race" or "g-ds chosen people" ? just as a question of philosophy. not taking into account what has been done under those banners , but rather , what could one try and justify under ether statements.

example : as the "master race" it would seem the nazis felt they could invade other countries , and deem certain people inferior.

as "g-d's chosen people" the state of israel was founded , and as that state it drove people from their land, and has remained a brutal force in the middle east.

these are just opinions , and i may be wrong in my conclusions about israel. not trying to offend , i have always been puzzled by what i have seen in the comings and goings of israel. and a feeling that after escaping one of the worst evils of the 20th century, that they "the state" turned around and began adopting attitudes towards themselves and those they saw as "others" that reminds me , at least in thought , of the nazi party line. please forgive such a strong statement, but it seems at times like the philosophy of the state of israel is not very different in its basic assumptions. any thoughts?
posted by nola at 2:41 PM on January 24, 2006

"I told God that if he helps me, I would do whatever he commanded."

Waittasec -- you're allowed to negotiate with god like that?

Damn, if only I'd known.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:43 PM on January 24, 2006

nola, it was the British and the newly-formed UN that created the state of Israel, not us "chosen people". And it's been our own US money (billions per year) and interest that have kept it going, for good and bad. I'd say they're definitely not as bad as Nazis, since the Israeli government is not out to exterminate all Palestinians by any means, nor do they want them vanished off the face of the earth. And there are Israeli citizens who are Arab. I'd say it's partially because there have been many statements from Palestinians and others about wiping Israel off the map and into the sea that triggers an immediate "never again" reflex in people, so they overreact to that threat.
posted by amberglow at 7:03 AM on January 25, 2006

i see what you mean amberglow, but don't you think that the state of israel takes the whole "manifest destiny" thing very much to heart, as a god given birth rite?

or am i just putting to much stock in political speeches and the like?

i don't really mean to compare israel to nazi germany on any one to one level.

i just some times have a hard time understanding the rhetoric of israel , given the rhetoric of those that sought to wipe them out. am i wrong for the impression that those that were once bullied are now the bullies?
posted by nola at 8:44 PM on January 25, 2006

nope--you're absolutely right about the bullied now being the bullies--it's a very common historical thing too--all people who take over anywhere end up destroying/oppressing those who were there before, from the dawn of time on, i'm betting.

I think, just as the rhetoric you hear here does not match everyone's feelings, it's just as true for Israelis--most people want to live in peace, without fear, and without terror. It's how you go about achieving that that's the problem, and Israel is failing. (so are we, but that's another story).

I think there's also a giant problem that people can't separate why Israel exists in the first place and the recent history of us Jews from the current situation in Israel, and what that all means. I think it's a disservice, sorta like looking at American policies and actions only in terms of what happened to the Puritans in England before they came here, or something. Like it or not, and for whatever reason, there's now a nation called Israel, and it needs to judged and/or condemned on its own merits, and not thru a lens of the Holocaust.
posted by amberglow at 9:31 AM on January 26, 2006

It also tends to immediately slide into an equation of Jews equals Israel, which is not at all true. There are still far more Jews living outside of Israel than inside, and that won't be changing anytime soon. Us Jews outside get tied into Israel's internal policies and politics and connected with them, when you view Israel thru the Holocaust, which is wrong. We don't like it, and we're not Israeli.
posted by amberglow at 9:35 AM on January 26, 2006