loCAliZAtion As AdAptAtion in the WOLFENSTEIN frAnChise
221
Nazi Germany, countering the broader and more serious handling of the
matter in the video game, which is given a darker mood than previous
installments.
Table 9.1 Changes to appellations from the US version to the German version of
Wolfenstein: The New Order 83
US Version
German Version
Translation of the
German Term
the nazis
das regime
“the regime”
nazis
feinde, schergen des regimes etc.
“enemies,” “henchmen of
the regime,” etc.
kreisau
Wiesenau
proper noun
Jewish citizens
verfolgte bürger
“persecuted citizens”
hitler
das staatsoberhaupt
“the head of state”
eva’s hammer
hammerfaust
“hammerfist”
the reich
germanien
“germania”
belica
selo
proper noun
Auschwitz
[missing]
buchenwald
[missing]
Consequences of narrative filtering
The many fantastic and counterfactual elements of the Wolfenstein games
construct a f ictional image of Nazi Germany as ruled by supernatural
forces rooted in the occult (Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, Return to
Castle Wolfenstein) and biblical mythology (Spear of Destiny), combining
these with references to conspiracy theories such as Hitler doppelgangers
(Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, Wolfenstein [2009]). The amalgamation of
the counterfactual with the fantastic and an etiological narrative structure
that individualizes historical agency results in a problematic mythologization of National Socialism in the Wolfenstein series.
The series’ historically accurate elements and the meticulous design
of its Second World War backdrop serve as factuality signals for the plot’s
legitimacy. The narrative filtering of forbidden symbols results in camouflage
through the self-filtering process of “sanitization.” This camouflage adds
to the already extant mythologization of Nazi Germany in the Wolfenstein
series by turning the signification process surrounding Nazi Germany into
83 Cf. Wurm, “Wolfenstein: The New Order.”