In recent years I have been very conscious of words that might have a problematic past, and endeavored to insert better options in their place. Examples include: "Master Class, Master Bedroom, Mastery, Single Family Home, Exclusive..." and the list goes on. There is so much sitting right in front of us that continues a loaded dialogue. While many of us want a different reality, the energy of these phrases, words and imagery continue to echoe through time...until we decide to take a closer look, and call them out.
The most recent discovery, whilst appraising some vintage ski posters, which most of us living in ski areas take for granted as "just part of the decor", is that many of them came from the 1930s era Strength Through Joy Nazi propaganda program. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:
"NS Gemeinschaft Kraft durch Freude (German for 'Strength Through Joy'; KdF) was a German NSDAP-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany.[1] It was part of the German Labour Front (German: Deutsche Arbeitsfront), the national labour organization at that time.
Set up in November 1933 as a tool to promote the advantages of Nazism to the German people and internationally, it was also used to ease the process of the rearmament of Germany. Through its structure of organized events and promotion of propaganda, it was also intended to prevent dissident and anti-state behavior. By 1939, it became the world's largest tourism operator.[2]"
(Screenshot above credit to Pinterest post via Flickr)