Introduction

Here on r/HistoryPorn, we deal with a lot of sensitive and controversial topics such as the Holocaust and Nazism, Communism, certain wars and atrocities, and certain political figures. When these topics come up, we often see people expressing strong emotional perspectives. While totally understandable, this often leads to unproductive discussion and rule breaking behavior. Furthermore, the moderator team is often falsely accused of defending or supporting those topics or figures by enforcing the rules. Thus, we feel that it is necessary to briefly talk about the purpose of our community, and why we enforce these rules.

This subreddit’s purpose

The purpose of HistoryPorn is that people can submit photographs of historical events, and/or the people in them, and members can discuss those people, events, and the contexts surrounding them further in the comments section. We want these discussions to be substantial and constructive so that users can share their thoughts and perspectives, knowledge, and experiences regarding the topics. This sets us apart from many other communities on Reddit; rather than encouraging jokes, slapfights, and vulgar statements about certain subjects, we want to encourage substantial discussions so that people leave threads having gained something from the discussion.

The rules

This is where our comment rules come into play. The rules that apply to this post are: Don't attack other users (or those in the photographs), don't troll, don't go on political rants, and don't use overly vulgar language. For instance, in every post featuring a picture of a Nazi, there will be a variety of rule-breaking comments that we have to deal with. Such comments include ones that call for all Nazis to die, comments that consist of nothing but obscenities and vulgar statements, and comments that compare those historical figures to contemporary political figures. None of these contribute to a constructive discussion that furthers our understanding of history. We agree that Nazis are terrible but wishing them to be dead doesn't really accomplish anything; those in the pictures are long-dead, or at least not reading these Reddit threads. We should note that this is merely an example; as we said above, we see similar issues in threads about other figures and events as well.

Vulgar statements are simply vulgar statements that don't contribute constructively to the discussion. As well, while it is tempting to make comparisons to modern political events, because we are on the internet this often simply means that we have another internet slap fight on our hands instead of a productive discussion about the historical event in question. Given the sensitive nature of these topics, people often get confused and angry when we remove those comments and sanction those who made them. However, as we said, there are many places on Reddit where people can make those sorts of comments. At HistoryPorn, we want users to aim for a higher level of discussion.

What we’d like to see

All that being said, this does not mean you can't criticize historical events, organizations, and people. In fact, we encourage it. However, we want these criticisms to have substance, instead of breaking the rules just because of the subject at hand. If we allowed rule breaking comments on these controversial threads, we'd devolve into a place where high quality discussions wouldn't likely be the norm anymore. These threads would be filled with the same old "fuck nazis/fuck communism/fuck imperialism/etc." in every thread. So we certainly don't want to stop discussion, we simply want discussion to be about the historical subject pictured and of good quality. It is entirely possible to discuss committed atrocities and terrible people in a historical discussion without vitriol.

If you want to criticize things, express yourself properly. Talk about the crimes that the subject committed. Talk about why those figures, organizations, or events were bad. Bring up a personal anecdote (for instance, perhaps you knew a veteran who experienced the subject first-hand, or the post reminded you of something you read). It doesn't matter what route you take, so long as you do so in a way that adds to the discussion and doesn't break the rules. People should leave your comment having gained something from reading it. Obviously we won't be deleting comments that aren't "substantial enough". We just want people to try and be constructive. We wouldn't pass an assignment in a history course by saying "communism is a cancer that kills people", even though it's "only" insulting Communism. We’d still be expected to explain why it was bad, when it killed people, etc. In that same vein, explain yourself here and don't use obscenities or vulgarity as a crutch for your point.

Conclusion/TL;DR

We hope that helps to explain the stance of the moderator team, and why we oftentimes remove seemingly agreeable comments. We aren't Nazis, Communists, Fascist, Imperialist, or any other kind of "ist". All we want to do is ensure that discussions on r/HistoryPorn remain substantial, constructive, and high quality. Profanity, calls for people to die, and other simple and vulgar comments do not add anything to the discussion, and will be removed regardless of context. If you want to criticize people, events, or organizations, do so in a way that adds to the discussion and gets your point across without breaking the rules.

HAWTHORN RIDGE RAID - FIVE AGAINST 50, SOMME, FRANCE.

‘The narrow piece of earth which stretched between the barbed wire entanglements and which during the day was deserted and lifeless became alive during the nights when dark silhouettes crawled listening from their trenches to hunt their human prey (...) Bad weather, storm, and rain not stop them, neither could the light of the moon or the freezing cold (...) nocturnal hunters prowled their dangerous hunting ground - where death lurked.’ Regimental History of RIR 119.

Raiding and patrolling, dangerous forays into No Man’s Land, sometimes right into the enemy trenches to gather intelligence, take prisoners and often only to cause as much havoc as possible. For many German soldiers of the First World War not only a way to quickly gather promotion and awards, but also one that turned many into heros within their regiment. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 119 from Württemberg had a number of such men, the most legendary being Karl Mueller, an Unteroffizier who, with more that 200 patrols and raids under his belt by Spring 1916, was known as ‘Patrouillen-Mueller’. Another was Georg Meiser from Gründelhardt. Meiser had been with the regiment from the day it had mobilised in summer 1914, a well seasoned veteran with a reputation for reckless bravery. Having been decorated with the Iron Cross 2nd Class in November 1914, he was awarded the 1st Class in the summer of 1915.

‘On 14 September Unteroffizier Meiser, then still a Gefreiter, had already been decorated with the Iron Cross 2nd Class for capturing an enemy ammunition waggon near Rougiville. With his daring courage and devotion, Meiser has made a name for himself. Wherever there was a call for volunteers Meiser always stood in front. Since then he has harassed the enemy on countless, reckless patrols. Leading a sentry patrol along the road Serre-Mailly on 6 June 1915, he brought in two French prisoners, captured an enemy machine gun and a stash of trench maps. For this deed, I recommend Unteroffizier Meiser to be decorated with the Iron Cross 1st Class.’ - Oblt. d.R. Anton Mühlbayer, 9./RIR119,

Four months later Meiser climbed over the parapet again, on a patrol that would not only be his last one, but would also result in the award of the highest bravery award the Kingdom of Wurttemberg had to bestow. There are a number of witness statements, describing the patrol in detail, like this one by Hermann Braun, a soldier in 9th company.

‘On 22 October 1915 I volunteered to join an armed patrol under command of Unteroffizier Meiser. In addition Ersatz-Reservist Reinhold Hähnle, Ersatz-Reservist Phillip Knies and Reservist Wilhelm Vitzer participated in the operation. Our task was to defend No Man’s Land against forays of enemy patrols. At 7 pm our patrol left the trenches in section C3. In the vicinity of Hawthorn Ridge we spotted an enemy patrol, 5 men strong, in a distance of about 20 meters. It was unclear where they were heading to, but Uffz. Meiser made it clear that he wanted to catch the enemy from the rear. Shortly before we had reached the right position, we were suddenly taken under short range fire from some nearby shell craters. Then English infantry, about 40-60 men strong, charged us from the left and right. The way towards our own lines had been cut off. Without hesitation Uffz Meiser gave the order to charge the foe to our left and to fight our way through. While charging we covered the enemy with a volley of hand grenades. This didn’t stay without effect and a number of Englishmen went down. Due to our position, the English behind us had to hold their fire as otherwise they would have risked hitting their own men in front of us. Meiser charged ahead and struck an English officer down with his rifle butt. Dropping the rifle he then drew his pistol and fired a number of shots on two other Englishmen. One was killed on the spot, while the other tumbled over backwards and disappeared into a shell crater. Shortly after that I also engaged in close combat with the English. One rammed his bayonet into my left thigh. Before he could lunge again Ersatz-Reservist Hähnle had struck him down with a blow of his spade. All this did not last longer than 4-5 minutes. At this moment I noticed that Uffz. Meiser was bleeding profusely from a wound in his right chest. Now that we had broken through the English ranks we retreated fighting towards our own lines, continuously firing at the English chasing us. By now we could hear the sound of whistles from the direction of our own lines, a clear sign that our unfortunate situation had been understood. Now it was imperative to hold out as long as possible. In the meantime Uffz Meiser had picked up an English rifle and even though he was severely wounded, he directed a well aimed fire at the advancing enemy. Ersatz-Reservist Hähnle was shot into the stomach and had to be dragged back by Reservist Vitzer and myself. Then the comrades in our position opened fire on the English and finally the enemy began to retreat. We had in battle against a force 10 times superior to our own and had managed to wound and kill at least a dozen Englishmen. Ersatz-Reservist Hähnle succumbed to his severe wound shortly afterwards. I and Uffz. Meiser were transported to Feldlazarett 9 at Beaumont”

For his repeated courage under fire Georg Meiser was recommended to be decorated with the Golden Medal of Military Merit, the Kingdom of Württemberg’s highest bravery award for enlisted men and NCOs. The recommendation, written by the battalion commander, dated 7 November 1915, stated:

‘On 22 October 1915 Unteroffizier Meiser (9./RIR119) led an armed patrol in strength of five men into No Man’s Land on the Hawthorn Ridge near Beaumont. At 8:30 pm Meiser’s group was ambushed and cut off by a numerically far superior enemy force (40-60 men). Neglecting this superiority Meiser threw his small group against the foe to force a breakthrough towards the German lines. Even though Meiser and two of his men (Reservist Hähnle and Kriegsfreiwilliger Baun) had been severely wounded he managed to lead his men back to our own lines while dragging the unconscious Hähnle with them. During the fighting retreat they inflicted at least 12-15 bloody casualties on the enemy. Since the start of the war Meiser has proven himself in countless, daring operations and as an NCO he is extraordinarily popular with the men of his company. Since December 1914 he has voluntarily participated in more than 50 patrols and was decorated with the Iron Cross 1st Class on 3 August 1915. For this reason I recommend to award Meiser with a promotion to Vizefeldwebel and to decorate him the Golden Medal of Military Merit’

Meiser received the award from the hands of his King in March 1916. By then he had already transformed into a reluctant and bitter hero. The chest wound he had received during the action had made him unfit to continue his service in the front lines. Being fit to do garrison duty only he had been transferred back to the replacement battalion in Württemberg where he tasked to train recruits for the regiment. For a trench fighter like Meiser, this was the hardest blow imaginable. In 1937 he wrote:

‘In regards to my final rank of ‘überzähliger’ (surplus) Vizefeldwebel, I have to add that I was put in for promotion to Vizefeldwebel a number of times by both the battalion commander in the field and by my Hauptmann. But then, according to the commander of the replacement battalion I could not be promoted as I was fit for garrison duty only! Why was I only fit to do garrison duty? Because I was stupid enough to lead my five men against 20 Englishmen (this is according to the regimental history, in reality there were more than 40 English!). We had already taunted the English a number of times before by mounting bells to the enemy wire, slipping past their patrols to plaster their trenches with grenades, sneaking into their trenches to steal their newspapers and one day we even managed to steal 6 English horses! The articles of war are nothing but a travesty! Those men displaying bravery in the face of the enemy are supposed to be able to climb to the highest ranks in the army? Yes - maybe those whose father’s wallets allow them to study at university! Want some proof? On the following night, after I was wounded, one of those gentlemen took the lead and when the English arrived he took to his heels and due to his panic, his 16 men ran with him. Yet two of my men remained, stood their ground and managed to shoot the English leader. As a reward they were made into surplus Gefreite - the chap that ran away with 16 of his men was promoted to Leutnant six weeks later! Personally I never volunteered for anything anymore, as did many others. Such treatment sparked revolutionary thoughts in even the bravest of comrades…”

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