Great presentation, as always. I find it funny that the bicycle was considered the vehicle of the poor back in Hitler's day. We all see now, that many high end bicycles cost more than motorcycles.
Today's high-end bicycles cost more than a decent used car. But a decent used bicycle also costs a lot more than it did even two years ago thanks to world governments' irrational response to the virus.
Haha. I enjoyed this. I'm 65 and I love the old European/British style roadster bikes. I have several Schwinn "lightweights" from the '60s that are modeled after these classics. My father fought the Nazis in Europe, long before the American army arrived, and was a POW in Germany for about half the war.
Lots of research put into this short video. As an avid WW2 historian it is appreciated. Unfortunately half of my mother’s family wasn’t given the option of riding a bike. Their final mode of transportation was a train ride to eternity. Never forget!
Hey, Mark! Yep, I had relatives on my mother's side that unfortunately rode those trains as well. My mom remembers relatives she knew when she was a child in New York that still had camp tattoos. My dad's family came from Sicily, so they just died of natural causes (gun shots, cement shoes...)
Well presented again! I really like how you present historical times. Would it be possible to do a video on early cycling in the US national parks or postal service?
Wow ! I didn´t know any of this, even though I read a lot of Nazi history (whilst living in Austria). But I do know that the Dutch used to say "Where´s my bike ?" to German tourists as a joke.
I new that Hitler was a massager in the Great War but I had now idea that he used a bicycle. My great grandfather was a runner in the battles of Saint Mihiel and the Meuse Argonne.
Hi Andy, Those battles were beyond brutal. Truly hell on earth from what I've read. Just finished reading a book called "Riding in the Zone Rouge" about a bike race in France in 1919 right after the war. The race went through all the battlefields and the author does a good job of describing just how bad that war was. Hope your grandfather survived the fighting!
@@bikestrikesrazors He did survive, came home married his German girlfriend. Lived a long good life. His hundred and one year old daughter is sleeping at the moment. Thanks for asking.
Hitler was also a vegetarian who hated cigarette smoking. So if you really want to stick it to the fascists, the next time you go riding, stop for some burgers and a smoke break.
The german word for bike path is "Radweg". Bike activists sometimes call them "Rad weg!", meaning "Bike away!" or "Bike gone!", referencing the fact that bike paths were invented to get bicyclists off the road. A lot of bike paths in Germany are still designed very poorly and dangerous, to narrow, uneven ground, ending nowhere, crossings with poor visibility etc., and that not only old paths but even newer ones, even the official regulations require better paths. On some streets I'm happy that I can lawfully ignore them because they are unusable (to narrow, full of obstacles or people) with a trike or a two-wheeled trailer.
That's fascinating, Daniela! Sounds like the old attitudes from the 1930's have carried through to current times! Thanks for the information and for watching!
Cyclists often think they're cars, without the speed or visibility. Thus the obtuse mentality and selfish riding habits they develop brings about ire from motorists.
They do seem to go together. But the fact that he had a testicle shot off in WWI might also be a reason he didn't care for bikes. Can you imagine the pain?
This is absolute poppycock. Anything else that we love you can think of, like, 'He even hated precious baby kittens!' Oh, the Humanity! Oh! Such a tortured soul! Ohhhhhhhhhhh... That's pretty much anyone who watches TV anymore. Rise above, Western man.
I enjoyed this video, but it's hilariously mistaken. Just because you (we!) love bikes, doesn't mean that the Nazis hated them. There was room for bikes - and for cupcakes and steam engine trains too, under the Führer. I wouldn't want to miss bikes, cupcakes, or steam engine trains, but they're not incompatible with fascism as such, unfortunately. The video twists the facts in an almost satirical way. Hitler had to ride a heavy bike with no gears during WWI, so that why he must have hated them. Lol. There is a German vintage bike aficionados mag called Knochenschüttler that has some actual history of bikes and the bike industry during the Nazi era. Anybody interested should check it out. Google translate will help.
Oh yeah 😎. 20-30 years ago think 🤔 🙄 Swiss Army replaced their Military Bicycles 🚲 🚴♂️ 🚵♂️ 🚳 with Shimano Bicycles 🚲 The Military 🪖 had their soldiers take their Bicycles 🚲 home. Think 🤔 💭 maybe the Bicycles 🚲 were single speed back then 🤔 don't remember? 🤔 😉
Wow. Who'd ever thought that he'd have any hatred left in his soul for something like a bicycle?!?
Great presentation, as always. I find it funny that the bicycle was considered the vehicle of the poor back in Hitler's day. We all see now, that many high end bicycles cost more than motorcycles.
Hey, Evan! Yep, now you have to be quite well off to afford a modern race bike!
Today's high-end bicycles cost more than a decent used car. But a decent used bicycle also costs a lot more than it did even two years ago thanks to world governments' irrational response to the virus.
@@rangersmith4652 I think you are correct.
Haha. I enjoyed this. I'm 65 and I love the old European/British style roadster bikes. I have several Schwinn "lightweights" from the '60s that are modeled after these classics. My father fought the Nazis in Europe, long before the American army arrived, and was a POW in Germany for about half the war.
Thanks for watching, Andrew! Yes, the BSA/Hercules/Raleigh bikes in that style are pretty cool. Glad your dad survived the fighting!
Lots of research put into this short video. As an avid WW2 historian it is appreciated. Unfortunately half of my mother’s family wasn’t given the option of riding a bike. Their final mode of transportation was a train ride to eternity. Never forget!
Never Forget ⛩🔯
Hey, Mark! Yep, I had relatives on my mother's side that unfortunately rode those trains as well. My mom remembers relatives she knew when she was a child in New York that still had camp tattoos. My dad's family came from Sicily, so they just died of natural causes (gun shots, cement shoes...)
Never forget
Well presented again! I really like how you present historical times. Would it be possible to do a video on early cycling in the US national parks or postal service?
Hi Dan. I can do some research and see if I can find enough to do a video on. I know folks collect the old postal bikes.
@@bikestrikesrazors that would be fantastic!
Every kid who wants a motorcycle for Christmas needs to show their parents this video.
The motorcycles shops should also have this video running in a loop on the wall. :)
Thanks for the fabulous history I never knew all of this before so fascinating. I knew he was a messenger but never knew it was on a bicycle.
Thanks for watching, Spotsill!
Fascinating! Great video.
Thanks for watching!
This I never knew, thank you for the info.👀
Thanks for watching, James!
Wow ! I didn´t know any of this, even though I read a lot of Nazi history (whilst living in Austria). But I do know that the Dutch used to say "Where´s my bike ?" to German tourists as a joke.
That must be where that originated, Ian! Interesting!
Watch the two documentaries; The Greatest Story Never Told and Europa The Last Battle.
bro the ending was perfect :'D
Thanks, Smokey, and thanks for watching!
I new that Hitler was a massager in the Great War but I had now idea that he used a bicycle. My great grandfather was a runner in the battles of Saint Mihiel and the Meuse Argonne.
Hi Andy,
Those battles were beyond brutal. Truly hell on earth from what I've read. Just finished reading a book called "Riding in the Zone Rouge" about a bike race in France in 1919 right after the war. The race went through all the battlefields and the author does a good job of describing just how bad that war was. Hope your grandfather survived the fighting!
@@bikestrikesrazors He did survive, came home married his German girlfriend. Lived a long good life. His hundred and one year old daughter is sleeping at the moment. Thanks for asking.
@@andyZ3500s I love a happy ending! :)
@@bikestrikesrazors Me to
Hitler was also a vegetarian who hated cigarette smoking. So if you really want to stick it to the fascists, the next time you go riding, stop for some burgers and a smoke break.
The burger no problem. :)
Take that Adolf!
I have seen it done
The german word for bike path is "Radweg". Bike activists sometimes call them "Rad weg!", meaning "Bike away!" or "Bike gone!", referencing the fact that bike paths were invented to get bicyclists off the road.
A lot of bike paths in Germany are still designed very poorly and dangerous, to narrow, uneven ground, ending nowhere, crossings with poor visibility etc., and that not only old paths but even newer ones, even the official regulations require better paths. On some streets I'm happy that I can lawfully ignore them because they are unusable (to narrow, full of obstacles or people) with a trike or a two-wheeled trailer.
That's fascinating, Daniela! Sounds like the old attitudes from the 1930's have carried through to current times! Thanks for the information and for watching!
Cyclists often think they're cars, without the speed or visibility. Thus the obtuse mentality and selfish riding habits they develop brings about ire from motorists.
....or at the very least, think twice before giving your kid a bicycle and telling him that it's all the same.
Vorsprug Durk Technik
Is this true or a hoax? Hitler being a vegetarian and a nature lover, one would think he would have loved bicycles.
From my research, it’s apparently true!
They do seem to go together. But the fact that he had a testicle shot off in WWI might also be a reason he didn't care for bikes. Can you imagine the pain?
@@20alphabet I thought of that too, didn’t have the "balls" to say it... 😂
@@flyerbluedog
Now that there's funny, I don't car who y'are!
@@20alphabet Indeed!
This is absolute poppycock.
Anything else that we love you can think of, like, 'He even hated precious baby kittens!' Oh, the Humanity! Oh! Such a tortured soul! Ohhhhhhhhhhh... That's pretty much anyone who watches TV anymore. Rise above, Western man.
Thanks very much for the insights, and thanks for watching!
It would be nice to think if Hitler took a different path in life that WW2 would not have happened...It still would have happened. Great story though.
Yeah, unfortunately you are quite correct, James! Thanks for watching!
wow
Thanks for watching, Deryk!
Based
I enjoyed this video, but it's hilariously mistaken. Just because you (we!) love bikes, doesn't mean that the Nazis hated them. There was room for bikes - and for cupcakes and steam engine trains too, under the Führer. I wouldn't want to miss bikes, cupcakes, or steam engine trains, but they're not incompatible with fascism as such, unfortunately. The video twists the facts in an almost satirical way. Hitler had to ride a heavy bike with no gears during WWI, so that why he must have hated them. Lol. There is a German vintage bike aficionados mag called Knochenschüttler that has some actual history of bikes and the bike industry during the Nazi era. Anybody interested should check it out. Google translate will help.
Thanks very much for the insights, J!
Oh yeah 😎. 20-30 years ago think 🤔 🙄 Swiss Army replaced their Military Bicycles 🚲 🚴♂️ 🚵♂️ 🚳 with Shimano Bicycles 🚲 The Military 🪖 had their soldiers take their Bicycles 🚲 home. Think 🤔 💭 maybe the Bicycles 🚲 were single speed back then 🤔 don't remember? 🤔 😉
What does all that mean?
I figured the Swiss army would have EVERYTHING on their bikes. :)