216
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
violence and on NS propaganda. 55 Only Wolfenstein (2009) was confiscated
on the grounds of depictions of violence, 56 and no attempts at reducing
violence for German versions were made. 57 While none of the games were
prosecuted on the grounds of NS propaganda, 58 the following analysis of
the content of “sanitized” Wolfenstein games intended for the German
market indicates that it is, nonetheless, this prosecution on the grounds of
NS propaganda that the video game publishers tried to avoid. 59
The Second World War in non-filtered Wolfenstein versions
In order to better illustrate the impact of filtering on the image of the Second
World War and National Socialism that the Wolfenstein series conveys,
this section presents an overview of the unf iltered versions, and their
mythologization of Nazi Germany and National Socialist rule.
In the Wolfenstein games examined here, a morbid fascination with
occultism in German National Socialism is amalgamated in the plot with
known conspiracy theories. Through a supposedly strong sense of occult
influences on political leaders, Nazi Germany is mystified and indirectly
glorified. 60 The video games’ plots are loosely connected to historiographical
discourses about the Second World War. Only Wolfenstein: The New Order
directly references the Holocaust, but in an alternate-history context. 61
The narrative horizon of the Wolfenstein series – except for Wolfenstein:
The New Order – thus only encompasses elements that can readily be used
for entertainment purposes.
The combination of historical and counterfactual references has a dissimulating effect, blurring out the worst crimes against humanity committed
by Nazi Germany. The first-person shooter genre’s concept of individual
55 German Criminal Code, §§ 131 and 130, respectively.
56 Ibid., § 131.
57 The German version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein is unfiltered in its display of violence
and was originally rated “16” by the USK, but afterwards indexed by the BPjM regardless (“Return
to Castle Wolfenstein,” accessed January 2, 2017, www.schnittberichte.com/schnittbericht.
php?ID=4120).
58 German Criminal Code, 130.
59 Ibid., § 86a; E.g. Kogel, “Wolfenstein: The New Order – Interview mit Bethesda”; Schumann,
“Ist die Ausfuhr von Computerspielen mit NS-Symbolen strafbar?”; Hörnle, “Verwendung von
NS-Symbolen.”
60 Cf. René Freund, Braune Magie? Okkultismus, New Age und Nationalsozialismus, 2nd ed.
(Wien: Picus, 1995), 87 and 10.
61 Bethesda Game Studios et al., Wolfenstein: The New Order (Bethesda Softworks, L.L.C., 2014).
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
violence and on NS propaganda. 55 Only Wolfenstein (2009) was confiscated
on the grounds of depictions of violence, 56 and no attempts at reducing
violence for German versions were made. 57 While none of the games were
prosecuted on the grounds of NS propaganda, 58 the following analysis of
the content of “sanitized” Wolfenstein games intended for the German
market indicates that it is, nonetheless, this prosecution on the grounds of
NS propaganda that the video game publishers tried to avoid. 59
The Second World War in non-filtered Wolfenstein versions
In order to better illustrate the impact of filtering on the image of the Second
World War and National Socialism that the Wolfenstein series conveys,
this section presents an overview of the unf iltered versions, and their
mythologization of Nazi Germany and National Socialist rule.
In the Wolfenstein games examined here, a morbid fascination with
occultism in German National Socialism is amalgamated in the plot with
known conspiracy theories. Through a supposedly strong sense of occult
influences on political leaders, Nazi Germany is mystified and indirectly
glorified. 60 The video games’ plots are loosely connected to historiographical
discourses about the Second World War. Only Wolfenstein: The New Order
directly references the Holocaust, but in an alternate-history context. 61
The narrative horizon of the Wolfenstein series – except for Wolfenstein:
The New Order – thus only encompasses elements that can readily be used
for entertainment purposes.
The combination of historical and counterfactual references has a dissimulating effect, blurring out the worst crimes against humanity committed
by Nazi Germany. The first-person shooter genre’s concept of individual
55 German Criminal Code, §§ 131 and 130, respectively.
56 Ibid., § 131.
57 The German version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein is unfiltered in its display of violence
and was originally rated “16” by the USK, but afterwards indexed by the BPjM regardless (“Return
to Castle Wolfenstein,” accessed January 2, 2017, www.schnittberichte.com/schnittbericht.
php?ID=4120).
58 German Criminal Code, 130.
59 Ibid., § 86a; E.g. Kogel, “Wolfenstein: The New Order – Interview mit Bethesda”; Schumann,
“Ist die Ausfuhr von Computerspielen mit NS-Symbolen strafbar?”; Hörnle, “Verwendung von
NS-Symbolen.”
60 Cf. René Freund, Braune Magie? Okkultismus, New Age und Nationalsozialismus, 2nd ed.
(Wien: Picus, 1995), 87 and 10.
61 Bethesda Game Studios et al., Wolfenstein: The New Order (Bethesda Softworks, L.L.C., 2014).