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1. This broadcast supplements an on-going series that dates to December of 1998.
2. The title of the program is derived from a key passage in the Nazi tract Serpent’s Walk (Randolph D. Calverhall; softcover, National Vanguard Books, copyright 1991, ISBN# 0–937944-05‑X.) Mr. Emory believes that the book, supposedly a novel, is a blueprint for the strategic policy Nazi elements are currently pursuing. In this regard, it would resemble The Turner Diaries, also published by National Vanguard–the publishing arm of the National Alliance, the most important American Nazi organization. The Turner Diaries was the model for Timothy McVeigh & Co. in the Oklahoma City Bombing, as well as the Nazi group The Order.
3. In Serpent’s Walk, the descendants of Hitler’s SS take over the United States in the mid-21st century, after going underground, building up their economic strength, and gaining control over the American media. This process is described in one of the book’s key passages. “About ten years ago, we swung a merger, a takeover, and got voting control of a supercorp that runs a small but significant chunk of the American media. Not openly, with bands and trumpets. . . . but quietly, one huge corporation cuddling up to another one and gently munching it up, like a great, gubbing amoeba.” (Serpent’s Walk, p. 42.)
4. By way of underscoring the impact that “opinion-forming media” can have on people, FTR-275 begins with discussion of attacks by Nazi skinheads on anti-fascist youth and bands in Russia. (“Russia: Moscow a Skinhead Battlefield” by Mina Sodman; Searchlight; #308; 2/2001; p. 34.)
5. Obviously, popular music exerts a profound influence on youth around the world. FTR-274 (among other broadcasts) highlights the growing influence of the Bertelsmann firm in the music industry. (Bertelsmann is one of the central focal points of this ongoing series.) Available evidence strongly suggests that Bertelsmann is part of the Bormann organization. When considering German corporations, it is important to remember that they are controlled by the Bormann Organization. This institution has perpetuated its power in an effective, clandestine, and deadly, Mafia-like fashion in the years since World War II. American corporations are driven by the profit motive, and coordinate policies on labor, environmental, marketing and taxation issues–they are otherwise relatively apolitical. In contrast, German corporations (under control of the Bormann group) function as coordinated elements of international economic and political control, not unlike the divisions in an army. Although they, too, strive to make money, profit is subordinate to the goal of German national hegemony.
6. Next, more of the scenario presented in Serpent’s Walk. Highlighting the importance of the Nazi-controlled media in revising history during the 21st century, the program underscores the denial of the Holocaust and the shifting of blame for World War II away from the Third Reich. (Serpent’s Walk, p. 43.)
7. In particular, the passages quoted stress the reshaping of the image of the Third Reich. “. . . we have media psychologists, ad agencies, and behavior modification specialists working on image changes. . . . Hard to get people to love death camps. . . . We don’t try. . . . We play those aspects down and stress the positive ones instead: the efficiency and organization, the dedication, and the heroism. People will buy that.” (Ibid.; pp. 42–43.)
8. That young people are open to perceiving “positive aspects” of the Third Reich is evidenced by the next item of discussion. (“Young Germans See ‘Good Side’ to Nazis” by Toby Helm; Daily Telegraph; 2/8/2001; accessed at www.lineone.net.)
9. “Image changes” effected by the work of the “media psychologists, ad agencies and behavior modification specialists” may, in fact, be taking hold. In particular, a number of young Germans (faced with the prospect of unemployment) have positive feelings about the Third Reich’s employment policies. (The problem of unemployment is particularly acute in the former East Germany. It should be noted that Austrian fascist Jurg Haider has lauded Nazi Germany’s “full employment” policies.)
10. A recently published book indulges in a subtle form of historical revisionism. (“Book on Holocaust as a Shakedown Starts German Storm;” New York Times; 2/8/2001; p. A13.)
11. The Holocaust Industry charges that the Holocaust has become an “extortion racket” that has been appropriated by “an American-Jewish elite.” (Idem.) Whether or not it was intentionally designed as such, this is the sort of gradual reshaping of history that Serpent’s Walk posits as being essential to the Nazi takeover in the mid-21st century.
12. In a move that will greatly enhance Bertelsmann’s capital reserves and facilitate its acquisitions of other companies, Bertelsmann is poised to control a prominent European broadcaster. (“Bertelsmann Moves to Gain Control of Broadcaster RTL” by Charles Goldsmith; Wall Street Journal; 2/5/2001; p. A18.)
13. Bertelsmann already controls 37% of RTL. The pending deal is described as “in line with its [Bertelsmann’s] strategy of controlling the businesses in which it is involved.” (Idem.)
14. The Bertelsmann deal to gain control of RTL will lead to Bertelsmann’s shares being publicly traded. (“Bertelsmann Puts its Faith in the Market” by James Harding; Financial Times; 2/6/2001; p. 15.) (The bulk of Bertelsmann’s stock is held by the Bertelsmann Foundation, which, in turn, is controlled by the Mohn family.)
15. In a complex transaction, the control of RTL was accomplished through an “equity purchase.” (Idem.)
16. While greatly increasing Bertelsmann’s capitalization, the deal will still leave the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Mohn family in control of the company. (Idem.)
17. One of the minority corporate partners in the Bertelsmann/RTL deal has significant capital participation in TotalFina Elf. (“Global GBL Falls for Bertelsmann’s Charms” by Dan Bilefsky; Financial Times; 2/6/2001; p. 18.) TotalFina Elf is, in turn, involved in the complex conspiratorial web involved in the CDU funding scandal.
18. Serpent’s Walk describes the Nazi/SS/Bormann takeover of media corporations as involving the process of “replacing executives, pushing somebody out here, bringing somebody else in there.” (Serpent’s Walk, p. 42.)
19. The American leadership of Terra Lycos has recently been replaced, after Lycos was acquired by Terra Networks of Spain. (“Davis Out in Lycos Power Struggle” by Leslie Crawford and Richard Waters; Financial Times; 2/2/2001; p. 16.)
20. The company’s American CEO was described as having “rubbed shoulders uncomfortably with his new masters and with Thomas Middlehof, the German head of Bertelsmann, whose company had thrown its weight behind the new Terra Lycos by promising it $1bn in advertising revenues.” (“Spanish Win Internet Bust-Up” by Richard Waters and Leslie Crawford; Financial Times; 2/2/2001; p. 16.)
21. The second side of the broadcast begins with an excerpt from FTR-245, detailing the activities of Deutsche Telekom, a German government-controlled mobile phone company. Mobile phones are seen as being central to the anticipated world of the internet and e‑commerce. As such, DT’s advance into the American mobile phone market figures prominently in this series on German corporate control over American media.
22. In order to resist legislation that would impede the firm’s purchase of VoiceStream and Powertel, Deutsche Telekom has retained the powerful Washington law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. (The Wall Street Journal, 7/21/2000, p. A9.)
23. In an excerpt from FTR-139, the program highlights the recent addition of Matthias Wissman, the treasurer of the CDU party in Germany (and a former transport minister) to Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. (Financial Times, 3/2/99.)
24. The program also notes that Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering had represented Swiss banks in a lawsuit filed by Holocaust victims against Swiss banks, as well as acting as counsel for German corporations being sued over their use of slave labor in World War II. (Idem.) This connection also suggests the presence of the Bormann group in the background of the lawsuits, as well as in the DT machinations. It should be noted that, as treasurer of the CDU, Wissman must have had first hand knowledge of the CDU funding scandal. (This scandal, as well, almost certainly involves the Bormann organization.)
25. Updating the discussion from FTR-245, the program highlights the latest developments in the DT/VoiceStream/Powertel negotiations. The FBI has filed a petition asking the FCC to hold off ruling on whether the deal is in the public interest. (“U.S. Works Out Security Issues with VoiceStream & DT” by Jeremy Pelofsky; [Reuters]; 12/20/2000.) It will be interesting to see whether the FCC (under the direction of Michael Powell, Colin Powell’s son) will approve the deal.
26. Noting, in turn, the involvement of CDU treasurer Wissman with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, that firm’s involvement with Holocaust-related lawsuits, the firm’s lobbying on behalf of DT and the Bormann organization’s control over corporate Germany, the coincidence of a recent lawsuit and the release of a Bertelsmann title assumes added significance. A suit was filed against IBM, and timed to coincide with the release of a book that documents IBM’s involvement with the Third Reich and maintains that the firm was involved with the Holocaust. (“Lawsuit Says IBM Helped Nazis” by Barnaby J. Felder [New York Times]; San Francisco Chronicle; 2/11/2001; p. A9.)
27. The counsel for the plaintiffs noted that “public relations strategies have been as important as legal arguments in their Holocaust suits.” (Idem.)
28. IBM’s involvement with the Third Reich is described as continuing virtually through the end of World War II. “Even as late as 1945, [Edwin] Black says, IBM execs in the US were in constant touch with their Nazi partners, smoothing over the odds and ends of a business alliance which had by that time been illegal for years.” (“IBM Implicated in Nazi Extermination of Jews” by Thomas C. Greene; The Register; 11/02/2001.)
29. Interestingly (and perhaps significantly) the Edwin Black book is being published by Crown books, a Bertelsmann subsidiary. (“Book Links IBM to Hitler” by Paul D. Colford; New York Daily News; 2/10/2001.)
30. One wonders whether there is, indeed, a Holocaust “extortion racket” (as charged in The Holocaust Industry) and whether the racket is being run by those who operated the gas chambers. This complex and hypothetical consideration will be explored in greater depth in FTR-278.
31. Next, the program sets forth efforts by Gruner & Jahr (Bertelsmann’s magazine subsidiary) to expand its operations in the U.S. (For more on the planned American expansion of Gruner & Jahr, see also: FTR-238.) In particular, Gruner & Jahr is expanding its purchase of business magazines. Fast Company is the latest Bertelsmann acquisition in this area. (“German Firm to Buy Fast Company Magazine” by Julia Werdiger [Bloomberg News]; San Francisco Chronicle; 12/19/2000; p. C7.)
32. The publisher of The New Yorker (David Carey) is set to become the president and chief executive of Gruner & Jahr’s newly formed business magazine group. (“Publisher Set to Step Down at New Yorker” by Alex Kuczynski; New York Times; 1/17/2001; pp. C1-C6.)
33. Barnesandnoble.com (half-owned by Bertelsmann) is forging ahead in the area of the publication of digital books. (“Digital Book Turf Battle Escalates Over Royalties” by David D. Kirkpatrick; New York Times; 1/4/2001; p. C1.)
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