--- title: "16 jokes Germans could die for telling under the Nazi regime" date: "2019-01-28" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-movies/16-jokes-germans-could-die-for-telling-under-the-nazi-regime/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # 16 jokes Germans could die for telling under the Nazi regime ![]() When the Nazis came to power in January 1933, [the party only won 37 percent of the vote]() across Germany. In the Reichstag, the German parliament, the National Socialists only controlled a third of the seats when Hitler came to power. When they held another election two months later, after crushing other parties and quieting opposition, they still only won 43 percent of the vote and less than half of the Reichstag. --- ![]() *The Reichstag (like everything else) became less relevant once they burned it down.* So it's safe to say that not every German was huge supporter of the Nazi party and its leadership. But after a while, criticizing the government became more and more hazardous to one's health. How does a population who can't openly object to their government blow off the built-up popular anger among friends? With jokes. ![]() *Austrians started it.* For many Germans, laughing at Hitler within their homes was the most they could do. Far from brainwashed, they were fed up with the laws forcing them to do things against their will. As Rudolph Herzog writes in "Dead Funny: Telling Jokes in Hitler's Germany," these jokes could get you in a concentration camp or in front of a firing squad. These are the jokes people living under Hitler and the Third Reich told each other. ## 1. The crude behavior of regime officials offended Germans immediately. ![]() The German word "wählen" means "to dial someone" and "to vote for someone." ## 2. Did you notice a lot of Nazis were overweight? So did the Germans. ![]() *Sounds like someone could almost be American.* ## 3. Not all Germans were thrilled to greet each other with "Heil Hitler." ![]() *Failing to make the greeting could get your kids taken away.* ## 4. Everyone knew who really set the Reichstag fire. ![]() *The SA were the Nazis' unofficial thug army.* ## 5. Clergy were the first to point out Hitler's hypocrisy. ![]() ## 6. Germans wondered why the Nazis pretended to have a justice system. ![]() *They felt the laws were arbitrary in the first place.* ## 7. Many Germans knew of some concentration camps and what happened to dissenters there. ![]() *Rumors abounded in Hitler's Germany.* ## 8. Dachau was the one everyone knew about. ![]() *This shows the risk of telling jokes in the wrong company.* ## 9. German Jews who escaped joked about those who stayed. ![]() *The punchline asks which was more dangerous?* ## 10. The people knew what was coming. ![]() *They weren't prepared for the scope of it.* ## 11. Their Italian allies weren't exempt from ridicule. ![]() *This was at the beginning.* ## 12. Italian inability didn't go unnoticed. ![]() *The end came quick for Italy.* ## 13. After a while, the German people felt stupid for believing it all. ![]() ## 14. They got more cutting as time passed. ![]() *Someone was executed by guillotine for telling this one.* ## 15. Telling this joke was considered a misdemeanor: ![]() ## 16. The end became apparent in jokes long before the reality of the situation. ![]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()