Home » History » Historical Re-Enactment » Being the Bad Guy

Being the Bad Guy

© Megan McConnell

So much of Historical Re-enactment is based on conflict - from the Vikings to WWII, in each battle re-enactment, there is a "good guy" and a "bad guy".

In many cases, this is simply a choice of public perception - depending on which ancient civilisation is in favour (Romans, Celts, Vikings, Saxons). In some cases, however - and especially in the renactment of 19th and 20th century conflicts - politics and public perceptions are not far enough removed for a dispassionate look at the history.

And this is where some re-enactors encounter great problems - both from the public in general, and sometimes from other re-enactors (who should know better).

The two re-enactment areas that most encounter this problem are American Civil War and WWII. Both of these wars were fought over vastly opposing ideaologies - not necessarily to build empire, but to ensure that the ideaology of one side is the dominant one.

What is even more unfortunate than the wars themselves, is that the ideaologies that caused these conflicts still exist, both by those who are proponents and by those who are opposed to them.

With American Civil War re-enactors have the "bad guy" role thrust equally upon those portraying both the North and the South, the unfortnate truth is that WWII re-enactors who choose to portray German units (note: German - not Nazi!) are often the target of those who oppose Nazism, and those who support it.

It is not uncommon for those re-enactment groups to make a statement that no other group has to: that the group is a non-political group, and has no statements to make about the government of Germany at the time, or any other part of what happened.

Many of them portray Panzer (tank) units, with some flying buffs restoring Luftwaffe planes.

German was always a highly militarised country, and the WWII units had long and illustrious histories - with the Luftwaffe growing out of the "flying circuses" of WWI and the Panzer Units growing out of the Cavalry (as did many armoured vehicle units throughout the world).

One must always remember, that during any conflict, the average soldier was their because they had to be. Not because they believed in any specific ideaology - conscription is something that has been used thoughout history in all wars.

Re-enactment of a specific thing does not mean that the re-enactor admires the politics or the ideaology - but that the re-enactor admires the skill of that unit, and acknowledges that one cannot show a one-sided view of history. By refusing to show all aspects in a historical event, we become guilty of censorship of the worst kind.

The copyright of the article Being the Bad Guy in Historical Re-Enactment is owned by . Permission to republish Being the Bad Guy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.