Shaping the Superman

This is a study of masculinity as a metaphor and especially of the muscular male body as a moral symbol. It explores the Nazi’s preoccupation with the male body as an icon of political power, and the ideology and theories which propelled it. One of the central images of masculinity in the Western cultural tradition is the murderous hero, the supreme specialist in violence. A string of warrior-heros – Achilles, Siegfried, Lancelot, Rambo – populate European and American film and literature. Governments can use this connection between admired masculinity and violent response to threat to mobilize support for war. This collection explores the most systematic case in modern history, the Nazi’s cult of Nordic manhood, which reached its peak in the propaganda image of the SS-man.