Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / Speed, Symbolism, and Sovereignty: How Grand Prix Racing Became a Battleground of Nationalism in the 1930s
Transcript
- 0:00Brake Fix's History of Motorsports series is brought to you in part
- 0:04by the International Motor Racing Research Center, as well as the
- 0:07Society of Automotive Historians, the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of
- 0:11Commerce, and the Argettsinger family.
- 0:16Politicizing Grand Prix Racing in the 1930s Germany and Great
- 0:20Britain by Krathen Wurth.
- 0:21Catherine Wirth is a graduate student in history at the
- 0:24University of Western Australia.
- 0:26Following her master's research at the University of Edinburgh on the banal
- 0:30and natural involvement of politics historically in the Olympic movement, Ms.
- 0:35Wirth's current research traces the relationship of politics
- 0:38and nationalism in Formula One and its racing predecessors.
- 0:41Her presentation will analyze the 1930s through the lens of Grand Prix racing
- 0:46and the aspirations to race at that level in Germany and Great Britain, addressing
- 0:51how motor racing became increasingly connected to politics and nationalism,
- 0:55showcasing the complex relationship between Germany and Britain at that time.
- 0:59Ms.
- 0:59Wirth's discussion will highlight the British and German perspectives and usages
- 1:04of motor racing in the 1930s as motor racing became entangled with the politics
- 1:09and rising tensions of the period.
- 1:11Speed became the marker of quote, civilization in Europe,
- 1:14a power Germany possessed, and one that Great Britain envied.
- 1:18Our next speaker is coming to us from Western Australia, Catherine Wirth.
- 1:23I'm Catherine Wirth.
- 1:25Firstly, thank you to the International Motor Racing Research Center for
- 1:27organizing this symposium and making it possible for me to present via Zoom today.
- 1:31I would like to begin today's presentation with a quote from Professor A.
- 1:34M.
- 1:35Lear's article in the British Racing Driver Club's magazine,
- 1:38Speed, in August of 1935.
- 1:40Speed is important, not for its own sake, because it is
- 1:43a very basis of civilization.
- 1:46This statement addresses key themes of the 1930s I would like to discuss and unpack.
- 1:50The correlation between speed and civilization and how nation states use
- 1:54speed is represented in Grand Prix racing to showcase fidelity and dominance.
- 1:58in international politics and sport, particularly from 1933 through to 1939.
- 2:04So how does Lowe define the relationship between civilization and speed?
- 2:07From Lowe's perspective, civilization meant the spreading of knowledge and
- 2:11humane ideas across distances quickly.
- 2:13Speed was rapid transport, particularly that of cars, which
- 2:16would enable people and ideas to move.
- 2:18Alternatively, arising out of this comment, my research will
- 2:21argue that a nation's level of civilization rested on the ability to
- 2:25manufacture the world's fastest cars.
- 2:27Speed was the possession of Grand Prix cars and civilization
- 2:30was victory in these events.
- 2:32As motor racing is a sport that compares speeds between nations,
- 2:35a nation's level of technological civilization could be ranked.
- 2:39The structure of the presentation will begin with analyzing politics
- 2:42and nationalism in motor racing occurring in Nazi Germany.
- 2:45The silver arrows of Mercedes Benz and Auto Union will be discussed, as well as
- 2:49the symbolism of the car for the regime.
- 2:51The hero narrative and legacy of Auto Union driver, Bernard
- 2:54Rosa, will also be considered.
- 2:56Following from this, the focus will shift to Britain in the periods, a
- 2:59nation with no car and no funding to race at Grand Prix level.
- 3:02This section six Explore Way Britain did not invest in motor racing considering
- 3:06members of the racing community saw speed as a marker for civilization.
- 3:10The final section follows the relationship between Britain and Germany
- 3:13in the late 1930s and motor racing.
- 3:15The collision of angler general relations be showcased.
- 3:18The 1938 Donnington Grand Prix, the life of British Mercedes-Benz
- 3:22driver, Richard Seaman.
- 3:23And the calls for an English order.
- 3:24Em.
- 3:25The sources for this research primarily come from Britain and the
- 3:28British murdering press, and a few German sources are also included.
- 3:32On the 11th of February, 1933, during the opening addresses for the
- 3:36International Automobile and Motorcycle Exhibition, Adolf Hitler stated his
- 3:40intentions to align the automobile industry with aviation, to reduce the
- 3:44tax burden of the automotive sector, create a highway system, and promote
- 3:48German automobile sporting events.
- 3:50Occurring 12 days following Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany,
- 3:54this speech became a turning point in Germany's commitment to automobilism
- 3:57and the rise of the Silver Arrows.
- 3:59The seriousness of motor racing for the Nazi government can be seen through
- 4:02the centralization of racing under the National Socialist Motor Corps, or NSKK.
- 4:08This enabled a controlled and unified racing team.
- 4:10This did also create militaristic ties to racing.
- 4:14One example is the paramilitary rank Hellbent Drivers.
- 4:16Furthermore, the Nazi government was involved with subsidizing Mercedes
- 4:20Benz and Auto Union from 1933 onwards.
- 4:23In a period following the Great Depression and war debt that Germany
- 4:27had, to provide any money to a racing team seems quite an expense to justify.
- 4:31Other countries that also fund their teams, including fascist Italy,
- 4:35and reports include the French government sponsoring their teams
- 4:38in the later half of the 1930s.
- 4:40There are numerous factors, including commercial policies that can explain
- 4:43this expense, but for my research, I'm interested in the nationals aspect.
- 4:47The drivers in the cars became symbols of modernity and success for
- 4:51a new Germany Hitler was creating.
- 4:53International competition created proof of Nazi superiority on the motoring front.
- 4:58The silver arrows and the racing team through extensive propaganda were
- 5:01a vision of a modern Nazi Germany.
- 5:03However, this creates a problem due to the contradicting nature
- 5:06of Nazi ideology and modernity.
- 5:08To put succinctly, Nazism was a political ideology in Germany
- 5:12during the 1930s, which proclaimed the superiority of the Aryan race.
- 5:16Associated with the Volkgemeinschaft, or people's community, was the slogan
- 5:20Blut und Beutin, or blood and soil.
- 5:22This romanticized the idea of the peasant farmer and a return to the land.
- 5:26This looking backwards ideology is contrasted though by the
- 5:29motorization policies and the modernity the cars represent in it.
- 5:33Careful reframing and stressing of the historical legacy of the car in Germany
- 5:37aided in bridging this discrepancy.
- 5:39Unfortunately, I cannot cover the full extent of this complex
- 5:42relationship in today's presentation.
- 5:44So the silver arrows were a key symbol of Nazi German pride,
- 5:48modernity, and nationalism.
- 5:49In the British motor magazine, Motorsport, they associated the
- 5:53victories of the Germans of racing cars.
- 5:55For Germany's turn to motorization under Hitler, the Silver Allies
- 5:58became the pinnacle of the German automotive industry.
- 6:01The German racing teams, it was suggested by Motorsport, were run
- 6:04principally to raise the prestige and to demonstrate the power, efficiency and
- 6:08strength of Germany all over the world.
- 6:10In international sport, the setting enables one nation to compare
- 6:13itself against other nations.
- 6:15For motor sport, not only could they compare the sport craft of racing, but
- 6:18also the technology held by each nation.
- 6:21This connection between the silver arrows, German identity, and
- 6:23victory was quickly established and propagandized to the German public.
- 6:27So the Nazi government, motorizing, provided a bounty of propaganda.
- 6:31The racing successes and its reflected glory, all of which were broadcast to the
- 6:34nation on state provided radios, screened in films, and printed in the news.
- 6:39According to Neil Bazcombe, Adolf Hermann, the corpse Fuhrer for the NSKK,
- 6:43took every opportunity to herald the country's dominance at the Grand Prix,
- 6:47as he believed racing is and always will be the highest embodiment of motorsport,
- 6:52and that's the highest achievement of the nation in international competition.
- 6:56One example of symbolism with silver arrows and Nazi German
- 6:59nationalism is the presentation of the cars at the International
- 7:02Automobile and Motorcycle Exhibition.
- 7:04They are metallic emblems of progress which were encased in a pageantry to
- 7:08highlight German ingenuity and success.
- 7:10On the slide is an advertisement for the exhibition in Motorsport
- 7:13from February of 1935.
- 7:15Behind the landscapes and landmarks of Berlin is one of the landscape record
- 7:19cars towering above the cityscape.
- 7:21The car is emerging from the capital, representing the new future emerging
- 7:25from the political center of Germany.
- 7:27As reported in the Times, these exhibitions are not international,
- 7:30but highlight the German first class craftsmanship and inventiveness.
- 7:34On this slide is an image of the Mercedes Benz Grand Prix car at
- 7:37the 1935 International Automobile and Motorcycle Show, displayed
- 7:41in the Fall of Seine exhibition.
- 7:43The car is situated between two pillars, which on the walls are
- 7:47plaques detailing the successes of the car with the insignia of the NSPK.
- 7:51Below the car is a laurel wreath, which is an ancient Greek symbol for
- 7:54triumph, and positioned above the car is the Imperial Eagle of Germany,
- 7:57with the swastika and its talons.
- 8:00The foreground shows lights which are reminiscent of fireballs, and although
- 8:03not shown from this angle, there are guards surrounding the vehicle.
- 8:07The staging, according to Julia Grossberger, generates a sense that the
- 8:10cars are meant to be viewed as objects of veneration, not for inspection.
- 8:14The light of the Holophane combines a museum with a hero's shrine.
- 8:18The quasi spherical elements of the wreaths, imperial eagle lights, plaque,
- 8:22and honor guards provide the appearance that the cars are lying in state.
- 8:25These cars are transformed into symbols of German greatness and superiority.
- 8:30So given this heroic staging of the cars, the drivers also had to match
- 8:34those qualities and be the right character to drive Germany to victory.
- 8:37The German racing drivers became part of a new socio cultural
- 8:40class, the sporting celebrity.
- 8:42They were praised for their heroism and willingness to
- 8:44sacrifice oneself for the nation.
- 8:46A young driver school had been set up to foster German talent rather than force
- 8:50German teams to hire foreign drivers.
- 8:52This shows an aspiration of a national team in which the driver identity
- 8:56matches the identity of manufacturer.
- 8:58However, as we mentioned later with Richard Seaman, this cohesive national
- 9:02identity could be relegated as driver talent may have been more important.
- 9:07So of all the German drivers in this period, Chris Nixon comments, Bernard
- 9:11Rosemeyer was probably the most used driver by the Nazi government.
- 9:15However, why was Rosemeyer used for compared to other drivers?
- 9:19What was the appeal of Rosemeyer for the Nazi regime?
- 9:22An explanation is the hero narrative that was easily constructed by Rosemeyer.
- 9:26He came from humble origins to the 1936 European Drivers Champion.
- 9:31He was a successful and talented racer, but at the same time suited
- 9:35the mould of what a German athlete and a German male should strive to be.
- 9:39We know the phrase, heroes are created for when they are required,
- 9:43and for post WWI Germany and a new government, heroes were needed.
- 9:47For Nazi Germany, a hero needed to be physically fit,
- 9:49mentally strong, and successful.
- 9:51The horrors of the First World War saw men returning home with
- 9:54shell shock and war wounds.
- 9:56Thus, Reisheim needed to represent a new Germany, one that was both physically
- 10:00and mentally fit, withstand modernity, and the possible horrors associated
- 10:04with a modern to illogical war.
- 10:06The creation of male heroes like Rosemeyer were credited with the will and the
- 10:09resolve that gave him the ability to use his car as a weapon in battle.
- 10:13Rosemeyer symbolized a new era for Germany.
- 10:16His victories in America and in Europe were seen as tangible proofs
- 10:19of a rise of a new, modern Germany.
- 10:22His death on the 28th of January, 1938, during a landslide record
- 10:25attempt, provided an important propaganda spectacle for the regime.
- 10:29A soldier doing his utmost to represent the honour and glory of Germany.
- 10:32His death was treated like a period of mourning.
- 10:35Unlike most years, there was no procession of the cars through
- 10:37Berlin prior to the motor show in respect to Brozmaier's death.
- 10:41His death was reframed in every aspect.
- 10:43It was not a full hearty speed test.
- 10:45Instead, as Fritz Tod, the director of the construction of the Autobahn
- 10:49status, he died as a soldier in the exercise of his duty.
- 10:53According to a report in Motorsport, Hitler referred in his speech to
- 10:56the national loss sustained by the death of this great driver.
- 10:59Neil Baskin Pilate's Rosemart was even likened to Siegfried, the dragon
- 11:03slaying hero of German mythology.
- 11:05Even in death, Rosenstein's fatal accident was transformed and mythicized
- 11:09into a hero and soldier narrative.
- 11:11Now, in Britain, on the other hand, the racing community desired to have a car
- 11:15that could race against the silver arrows.
- 11:17They believed Britain should and needed to develop a racing team to
- 11:21uphold British nationalism abroad.
- 11:23The success of Napier in the pre war periods and in the victories of the
- 11:26Bentley boys in the 1920s reflected a historical precedent of British
- 11:30ability to produce winning cars.
- 11:32Unfortunately, British manufacturers could not produce a car suitable to compete
- 11:36within the regulations for the 1930s.
- 11:39The amateurism of the Bentley Boys and the Napier Drivers could
- 11:42explain part of the setback.
- 11:43Amateurism was this belief in fair play and that sport should
- 11:46not involve material gain.
- 11:48This, combined with the financial issues of becoming a driver, meant
- 11:51that racing in Britain was restricted to those who could afford it and
- 11:54had time to participate in it.
- 11:55This was completely different to Germany, where in Germany, the
- 11:58drivers were selected because of talent and weren't paid to drive.
- 12:01For the motoring press, the British government were
- 12:03responsible for Britain's failings.
- 12:05In motorsport, they believed there was an assured popularity to motor racing
- 12:09among the general public of Great Britain, but the opposition by the
- 12:12powers that be inhibited the ability for motor racing to become a national sport.
- 12:17The government had not provided funding for racing, nor has seen
- 12:20the House of Lords supported it.
- 12:22While it is unlikely that there was an assured popularity to the sport in
- 12:26Britain, given its limited attention in the mainstream press, there does seem
- 12:30to be a lack of understanding in what motor racing could offer the nation.
- 12:33The British government, from the perspective of the press,
- 12:35Did not understand the prestige motor racing could offer Britain.
- 12:38Following the 1938 Donington Grand Prix, it was reported in Speeds that it has
- 12:42apparently confirmed to many people that a successful Grand Prix racing team of
- 12:46cars and drivers can do much to enhance the prestige of any country and thereby
- 12:50influence that country internationally.
- 12:53So as has been discussed, nationalism and politics were becoming part of
- 12:56Grand Prix racing in the periods.
- 12:58This section will now explore the interaction between Germany
- 13:00and Britain in motor racing.
- 13:02Richard John Betty Seaman was a British driver who raced for the
- 13:05Mercedes Benz team from 1937 to 1939.
- 13:09Given the previous discussion on creating a driver academy in Germany,
- 13:12and they want to have German drivers racing German cars, it's curious why the
- 13:16German team would agree to hire Seaman.
- 13:18Whether it's solely be his talent, it remains unknown.
- 13:20Seaman's most successful moment was winning the 1938 German Grand Prix.
- 13:25This was the first time a British driver had won a continental Grand Prix since
- 13:29Manchester Henry Seagrave in 1923.
- 13:32Evidence of his British identity was seen through his English
- 13:35green helmet and radiatic ring.
- 13:37Frequently stated by Simmons wife and friends was that he resisted the idea
- 13:40that politics was involved in motor racing, but as will be shown, this was
- 13:44impossible given the climate of the times.
- 13:46Tensions between Britain and Germany over Czechoslovakia, also known as the Munich
- 13:50crisis in 1938, led to the postponement of the 1938 Donington Grand Prix, which was
- 13:55meant to be held on the 1st of October.
- 13:57This event produced a situation in which drivers had to acknowledge the
- 14:00involvement of politics in sport.
- 14:02Both the Mercedes Benz and Auto Union teams had stayed until
- 14:06the very last possible chance.
- 14:07On reflection in Motorsport, the correspondent called Auslander States.
- 14:11The Munich crisis of September last year showed us how the German racing teams
- 14:15were determined to carry on to the very last moments, for they only departed from
- 14:18Donington when war was really imminent.
- 14:20The Munich Crisis highlights the driver's opinions on motor racing and the beliefs
- 14:24of remaining apolitical in sports.
- 14:26However, there was a mounting sense that motor racing could not, as
- 14:30they believed, remain apolitical or even continue to occur.
- 14:32During Seaman's speech to the Royal Automobile Club in London, prior to the
- 14:36Donington Grand Prix, he stated that he is frequently asked why he races German car.
- 14:41Aside from love of sport, he states, Motor racing knows no frontiers, and
- 14:45it would be a calamity if the political situation interfered with that.
- 14:49This was at a cheers from both the German and British racing drivers.
- 14:52Unfortunately, politics often naturally becomes involved in sport,
- 14:56regardless of athlete desires.
- 14:58On March 15, 1939, German troops crossed the Czechoslovak
- 15:02border and occupied Prague.
- 15:04The mounting political tensions in Germany made Simon realize
- 15:06that sport was incapable of being kept separate from politics.
- 15:09As recounted by Mr Neubauer, the team manager for Mercedes Benz, Simon was
- 15:13finding it difficult as an Englishman to carry on working for a German firm.
- 15:17Seaman recalled the previous motor show in which, at Hitler's request,
- 15:21the teams had to parade the racing cars at the Reich Chancellery
- 15:24and shake the hand of the Führer.
- 15:26For Seaman, he could hear Stuart Field Hitler's words about the fearless
- 15:30racing drivers who risked their lives not just for the love of the
- 15:33sport, but for the honor of Germany.
- 15:35As politics of the 20th Cyprule from sport, Seaman consulted Lord
- 15:38Howe, the president of the British Racing Drivers Club, who himself
- 15:41conferred with several people in government, parliament, and business.
- 15:45Lord Howe's response was that any personal contact with Germany
- 15:48was valuable, and she maintained.
- 15:50Eventually, with the Anglo French Guarantee of Poland, and the German
- 15:53repudiation of the Anglo German Naval Agreement, Simon wrote to Lord Howe,
- 15:57As I now hear that Anglo German and Franco German sporting events are
- 16:01either forbidden or frowned upon by the authorities, I am naturally wondering
- 16:05if the time has not come when I ought to give up driving for Mercedes.
- 16:08Given the tone of the letters, Simon understood the typical situation.
- 16:12In the final letter from Seaman, there was a sense of disillusionment and not wanting
- 16:16to do Hitler's racing bidding anymore.
- 16:18Unfortunately, we'll never know if Seaman was prepared to leave the team as he
- 16:22died at the 1939 Belgium Grand Prix.
- 16:25He might not need to give up his Grand Prix dreams if there
- 16:28was an English alternion.
- 16:29Reported in a biography written by fellow racer and friend, Prince Choula Jacopon,
- 16:34Simon was driving a German car for the joys of handling the finest racing
- 16:38machines, exiting, and also to add to his own personal glory as he waited in
- 16:42vain for a British Grand Prix challenger.
- 16:45The British racing community wanted a car to match the Silver Arrows.
- 16:48They saw Germain taking the sport seriously and seeing its
- 16:51value for national prestige.
- 16:53For example, this article at Motorsport on the slide asks for an English Auto Ian.
- 16:58It calls for a coordinated effort of British manufacturers to follow in Auto
- 17:02Ian's footsteps and unite under one team.
- 17:05Prestige in comparison to other nations, especially in fields related
- 17:09to technology, would show superiority.
- 17:12When reported from speed states, perhaps if it was seen that in would losing
- 17:16her laurels in the records fields, it would wake us up to the fact that
- 17:19in these days we cannot afford to ignore any form of achievement upon
- 17:24Rich rests some sort of prestige.
- 17:26These calls on a British motor racing community highlight the
- 17:29failures of British racing industry, a performance performances order.
- 17:33Him also spoke to the magazine, the Murder between November, 1938
- 17:37and January of 1939 regarding British bro pre racing prostates.
- 17:41In the letter titled The Opinion of Mr.
- 17:43Werner, the Director of Auto Union, on the question of building British
- 17:46racing cars dealt with in the magazine The Motor, he regrets that
- 17:49Britain has not been represented at a Grand Prix, for constructing
- 17:52racing cars is, as Werner considers, the foremost of his national duties.
- 17:57At one point he states, in the racing sport, not only the chivalrous combat
- 18:01between man and man is decisive, but of equal importance are his helpers
- 18:05and his tool, the racing car, back of which must stand the intellectual and
- 18:09physical efficiency of the nation.
- 18:11This could possibly link back to the discussion on Rosemeyer
- 18:14needing to physically and mentally fit the challenges of modernity.
- 18:18Given that Germany did have a successful racing team, were
- 18:21they challenging Britain's efficiency in a motorized conflict?
- 18:24This communication between Order Union and the British press does
- 18:28raise the question of motive.
- 18:29For the British press, they might have been seeking advice on the premier
- 18:32racing teams in the hopes of eventually racing against them and maybe beating.
- 18:36But the benefits from Order Union seem unclear.
- 18:39Another assumption can be that having a British racing team, it would be
- 18:42another team for Germany to beat.
- 18:44After years of civil arid dominance, other nations were unable to keep up.
- 18:48Having another team to assert dominance over would add to the prestige
- 18:51and national pride in Germany.
- 18:53While politics did interfere with the running of the Grand
- 18:55Prix, the drivers and teams saw a policy of no politics in sport.
- 18:59This aspiration seems hypocritical, especially from the Silver
- 19:02Arrows, who from the past years had been involved in Hitler's
- 19:05motorization plans and propaganda.
- 19:07It does raise the question of choice though, did the Silver Arrows want
- 19:10to be involved in politics and the nationalistic propaganda of the regime, or
- 19:14merely race cars for the joys of racing?
- 19:17Motor racing did not occur in a vacuum, independent of the social, political, or
- 19:21cultural changes occurring in the 1930s.
- 19:23Rather, it was reshaped and influenced by the climate of the times.
- 19:27It was not only the sport itself, but the fans, racing community,
- 19:30and drivers, which also adapted to the shifting nature of the sport.
- 19:33As the perceptual civilization rested on speeds, motor racing in the 1930s
- 19:37became entangled with politics and the rising tensions of the periods.
- 19:41And that concludes our presentation for today.
- 19:43I just wanted to thank once again, the International Motor Racing Research
- 19:47Center and for organizing symposium, making it possible for me to present
- 19:50also to Silverstone Interactive Museum and Archives, their research and
- 19:55archives, and obviously to my professor.
- 19:57David Barry, and for further information or for references or questions,
- 20:01please feel free to contact me.
- 20:03Thank you, Katie.
- 20:04A very nice analysis interpretation.
- 20:07Would your analysis interpretation shifted if you had looked at it more
- 20:12on the comparing with the French or the Italians rather than Great Britain?
- 20:17I think the Italians were quite similar to Nazi Germany.
- 20:19I think it might've been more, the British and French might've
- 20:23experienced something quite similar.
- 20:24My research doesn't extend to those nations just because
- 20:27of language difficulties.
- 20:29And I thought it's quite interesting, especially with Germany and Britain
- 20:32before the second world war, with just the rise of like different industries.
- 20:36Ideally, it'd be fantastic to have a look at all of the countries and seeing how
- 20:39they kind of interact with each other.
- 20:41Between France and Italy, there was some events where the French did
- 20:47ban the Italians from racing, which I think was a bit more than what
- 20:50happened between Germany and Britain.
- 20:53Was Richard Seaman a spy?
- 20:55Maybe.
- 20:56I we can't find his personal face.
- 20:58It'd be a pretty cool story.
- 20:59I do know that there was, for example, British motorcyclists who were part
- 21:04of the war office racing in Germany up until the start of the second world war.
- 21:09I guess they're kind of more spy ish.
- 21:11This is the thing with these sources is that we never know the full extent
- 21:14of his background and everything.
- 21:16An interesting presentation about the pre war British versus Germany.
- 21:20I wonder what you'd comment about the post war BRM fiasco compared to the
- 21:26resurgence of Mercedes after the war.
- 21:28Was that a parallel kind of situation?
- 21:31I mean, I haven't really looked in the post war period at the moment.
- 21:34This is just one chapter in my PhD thesis.
- 21:37I mean, it'd be an interesting thing to look at.
- 21:40So it's something different to look into.
- 21:42Obviously, German identity changed post war with the divide between East and West.
- 21:48So that kind of taken a bit of a, and different political opinions.
- 21:51I don't really know, but I'm happy to look into it because
- 21:53it does sound quite fascinating.
- 21:54I actually was doing a lot of research on French Grand Prix
- 21:57driving in the interwar period.
- 21:59So I'm so excited to hear more about the German perspective.
- 22:03In your research, were you finding that Auto Union and Mercedes were the
- 22:07high ups real believers in the NSKK and Nazi ideology or were they kind
- 22:12of doing it because they wanted the money that Hitler had on the table?
- 22:15Do you have any sense of what their feeling was about that?
- 22:18I think it was a bit of both.
- 22:19From the sources that I read, the money really wasn't that much
- 22:23compared to what they needed.
- 22:24I did a lot more looking at Auto Union rather than Mercedes, because
- 22:28the RFT books are Mercedes written.
- 22:30So I did look a lot, I went to the Auto Union archives and stuff in Germany.
- 22:34I think there is a belief in it and I think it's more
- 22:37accommodating to the regime.
- 22:38They do offer like their workers time to go to like the
- 22:41rallies and things like that.
- 22:43And I do think they do see it as nationalistic, and I don't know if
- 22:46it's nationalistic in related to narcissism or nationalistic as related
- 22:50to pride in Germany and sort of the rise of German motor racing, especially
- 22:56with like the invention of the car, like showing that's progression.
- 22:59You'd never know if they're fully supported the Nazi regime, or
- 23:02they're just kind of doing it.
- 23:04There are certain drivers, and I think a lot of them were more
- 23:07just playing the system, just trying to make the most of it.
- 23:11Especially, I get that feeling with Hans Stucke a bit.
- 23:14I think he's kind of just playing the political power
- 23:17to kind of get what he wants.
- 23:18I mean, Richard Seaman really wasn't that supportive of Nazism.
- 23:21He was more just, I'm here to race.
- 23:24Yeah, you can never really know, but I do think it's more pride and
- 23:27nationalism in Germany rather than supporting fully the Nazi regime.
- 23:31And I think it would be those in the NSKK that were more like
- 23:35supportive of Nazism and seeing that.
- 23:38That's probably the best way I could explain it, but it is definitely
- 23:40something quite interesting to explore.
- 23:42Very nice presentation.
- 23:44Could it be said that the British pursued aircraft development through the Schneider
- 23:48Cup and the Supermarine Company, which led to the development of the Spitfire, which
- 23:52might even have been more significant than what the Germans were doing?
- 23:55I think that is a possibility.
- 23:57I think there might have just been, yeah, looking elsewhere.
- 24:00Rather than focusing on motor racing, you look at like the
- 24:03automobile industry in Britain.
- 24:04It's still kind of increasing in that period.
- 24:07It's just developing those technologies.
- 24:09I don't know how the British government were kind of dealing with post Great
- 24:13Depression, preparing for a future war.
- 24:15They just didn't have the time to develop a racing car and defend
- 24:19landscape record, but they wanted to focus on more, more preparation, more
- 24:23about the people of Britain rather than a sport, which is fair enough.
- 24:27I think they just had other things to, which are a high priority to maintain in
- 24:31that society rather than build a fast car.
- 24:34So, fabulous work.
- 24:35It stimulates way too many questions, but I'll restrain myself to one.
- 24:40Bring your analytical focus to the present day.
- 24:43We suspect that Formula One would say it's a transnational enterprise now.
- 24:48And yet, of course, drivers are identified by their nationalities.
- 24:51We hear the national anthems, you know, but on the third hand, of
- 24:54course, these are corporations are all globe spanning, not necessarily
- 24:59identified by the nation state.
- 25:01So, a simple question would be, What is the place of nationalism
- 25:05in Formula One racing today?
- 25:07That is the entirety of my thesis.
- 25:09I'm looking at nationalism is a part of Formula One.
- 25:13And even with this globalization and transnational guys, the very heart of
- 25:19any kind of sport or anything in society, we do have an attachment to the nation
- 25:23and we do attach nationalism to it.
- 25:25And so my research, my PhD thesis does start, so I'm actually starting pre First
- 25:30World War, and I go up to the present day, is the goal with different case studies.
- 25:35So even the recent case studies, yeah, we've got this massive sort of traveling
- 25:39circus of Formula One going to these different countries and different cities.
- 25:43But there is nationalism.
- 25:44Like you look at the Tifosi, you look at the people who support
- 25:47Saffron's fans from that side.
- 25:49You look at the British Grand Prix.
- 25:51There is nationalism.
- 25:52And I mean, even if we're just flagging it with the national
- 25:55anthem or the flags or the colors.
- 25:57It is still nationalism getting printed.
- 25:59And I always get reminded of Michael Billy's Spanish Nationalism
- 26:03and this idea of like the flag.
- 26:04Even if it's just silently in the building, it is still reminding
- 26:08us that we belong to a nation.
- 26:10And we know that that's a nation, we know that we've got our own nation.
- 26:13So I do think Formula One is nationalistic and it tries to tender
- 26:18to Islam and it will always be involved in nationalism and politics, it's
- 26:22the nature of sport and Formula One.
- 26:24That's my goal for my research for my PhD.
- 26:27So it's a few more chapters to go till we get to that point in time.
- 26:30It's fascinating.
- 26:32Anyone else?
- 26:32Okay.
- 26:33Thank you very much, Katie.
- 26:35Thank you so much.
- 26:35Thank you.
- 26:35And we look forward to hearing from you, uh, in the future,
- 26:39the symposium or your writings.
- 26:41Please keep in touch with us and we'll keep in touch with you.
- 26:43Yeah, definitely.
- 26:44Please feel free to contact me with any email.
- 26:46Hearing you talk and watching you.
- 26:48I've gotten two emails from members at home asking how to contact you.
- 26:52So.
- 26:53Yeah.
- 26:53Happy to discuss anything related to motor racing and national.
- 26:56All right.
- 26:56They're both racing guys.
- 26:58All right.
- 26:58Thanks again, Katie.
- 26:59You take care.
- 27:00Bye.
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