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What happens when history’s darkest figure is dropped into today’s world, and people laugh instead of recoil in fear? Look Who’s Back by Timur Vermes is an incredible satire. And satire has always been one of the sharpest tools to process pain, provoke thought, and even spark change.

I have a lot of respect for creatives who can take a sensitive topic and make it funny without being disrespectful. This book in its execution reminded me of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, which is about a pair of producers that attempt to create a flop of a Broadway play so they don’t have to pay back their investors. The name of the musical, “Springtime for Hitler.” This also reminded me of JoJo Rabbit, the little boy who’s imaginary friend is Hitler and wants to serve in the 3rd Reich. Vermes like the others before him walked across a lake of thin ice, but through crafty storytelling made it across to create something unique and memorable.

 I’ll start with a summary of the book, introduce the author, we’ll look at influences for writing this, and break down key themes. 

Summary:

The year is 2011 and it’s not a typical day in Berlin. Adolf Hitler mysteriously wakes up in a park smelling of gasoline. He’s healthy and alert, but his mind is stuck back in WWII Germany. When people meet him they think he’s an incredible methodology actor and comedian parodying Hitler. Instead of being arrested, which is a valid point to bring up that I’ll share in a moment, he becomes a media sensation. Hitler stars in a comedy show, where his authentic behavior is seen as cutting-edge satire. Nobody catches on and realizes that he is the real Hitler. Instead, they laugh and follow him.

At the end, Hitler sees discontent, polarization in politics, and media obsession which he concludes is fertile ground to spread his ideas.

Author:

Let’s introduce our author Timur Vermes. He was born in 1967 Nuremberg, Germany. That in and of itself shows how much local history influenced Vermes. Quick detour and a history lesson. I double majored in history and it’s rare I get to put it to use and say I’m an authority. Buckle up.

Nuremberg during the Nazi era was known as the “city of rallies” and where Hitler’s massive demonstrations took place from 1927-1938 to glorify the movement and regime. It was in Nuremberg that laws were born to strip Jews of German citizenship and prohibit marriages between Jews and non-Jews. When you think of Nuremberg, think of it as the site where the seeds of Nazi Germany laid their foundation, and where symbolically the heads of the Nazi regime would be tried and executed. The postwar Nuremberg trials from 1945-1946 was seen as a reversal to the Nazi’s legacy. 24 leading Nazi officials would be charged with crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy. As a result, 12 of these men would be sentenced to death, 7 would serve prison sentences, and 3 were acquitted. 

With all this history in Timur Vermes backyard, I’m not surprised that as an author and journalist he pursued writing Look Who’s Back. Back to the author. Vermes studied history and politics at university and later became a ghostwriter for various books, many of which would be celebrity memoirs. Another interesting piece of the puzzle, this book is written like a celebrity memoir, but from the point of view of Hitler.  Look Who’s Back was published in 2012 and was his debut novel, quickly becoming an international bestseller and adapted into a 2015 Netflix film.

Let’s talk about Verme’s writing style. He’s known for incorporating sharp satire and humor to critique contemporary society. Especially when it comes to media culture and political complacency. I believe there’s a lot of potential for Vermes to expand this idea of taking a historical figure back from the grave, and putting them into the modern day world. If I were his publicist I’d recommend a Look Who’s Back series and universe. Book 1 would be Hitler, Book II could be Karl Marx, Book III Brigham Young (shoutout to my great-great-great grandfather), Book IV Che Guevara, and the list goes on.  

Key Themes

Look Who’s Back has several themes tied to its story. These are the power of the media, historical short term memory loss, populism, satire as a mirror, and identity. 

The power of media is a no brainer. How many people have become internet celebrities by accident? To name off a few choice characters, the Walmart Yodeling Boy, the Numa Numa Guy, Charlie from Charlie Bit My Finger, and Salt Bae. These are people who caught massive amounts of eyes and overnight became celebrities with a platform. The novel itself satirizes how TV, YouTube, and social media can transform dangerous figures into celebrities. To be clear, I’m not saying the Kardashians are dangerous figures,but they are relevant to this topic because they became famous as a result of their father defending OJ Simpson. He was in the news constantly, and they leveraged that attention on their family to build the Kardashian brand empire today. To tie a ribbon on this theme, the book questions how entertainment culture can blur the line between parody and propaganda.

Historical short term memory loss. Look Who’s Back illustrates how societies can quickly forget the lessons of history by allowing old ideologies to creep back in. This is extremely relevant today and you can see this in culture. It was Mark Twain that said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.” The casual acceptance of it’s a funny Hitler, becomes a critique of society’s tendency to soften extremism.

Populism and charisma. Vermes show how populist figures can quickly get traction through blunt, extreme, and authentic communication. This is similar to the style of “telling it like it is,” even when ideas are extreme. The book explores the psychology of why people might be drawn to authoritarian rhetoric. Why is that? People like strong personalities and authenticity. We’re drawn to shock value. Without naming any names, look at influencers out there who have a following but continue to be banned on platforms. Not that the platform is justified, case by case basis don’t make it a big deal in the comments.

Looking into a mirror of satire. As wild a story this is, it’s got a deeper meaning. This isn’t just about Hitler, it’s a critique about the world we live in. The novel questions whether our own society is immune to dangerous self serving demagogues. The answer to this is we have very little immunity. As much as we’d like to believe that extremism can’t get a footing in our society, it truly does take deep roots and grow.

Identity and authenticity. Hitler in the story has come back to life and is very real. Everybody doubts what they see and think his existence is absurd. The novel to me, is a warning. Hitler is just a symbol for dangerous individuals that exist today and creep into the waters of the mainstream flow. Whether it be on social media or television, dangerous people can spread toxicity. A common argument that I’ve heard is it’s just a performance or their way of getting attention. This plays on the theme of truth vs. performance in public life.

Takeaways

My biggest takeaway when looking at the author, the themes, and the context under which this was written is that this is a warning. It’s a warning that what happened in the past can repeat itself despite a different landscape. What do I mean?

I mean dangerous ideas, tyrants, and extremism have always found ways to gain traction and spread. Hitler rose to power by gaining followers through his charisma, popularity, blunt communication, and leveraging the media at that time. Look at This is history repeating itself. Hitler is like a virus, he used the same tools but in the modern-era. He starts small and moves his way up in the media. WWII is an extreme example, but it’s an extreme that everyone is familiar with. Germany has made strong advances to learn from it’s past. Side tangent, again it’s not often I can use my history degree. 

Germany has laws related to speech as a result of WWII. For example, Holocaust denial is considered a criminal offense that could result in 5 years in prison. The use of Nazi symbols in public has a maximum penalty of 3 years. Hate speech that incites hatred towards another is illegal and comes with heavy fines. Obviously, Nazi groups are banned by their constitution. I bring this up because Germany was scarred by WWII which continues to serve as a reminder today. 

In conclusion, I’ll leave a warning from the protagonist himself. “I was amongst my people, and they had not learned. They believed they were immune to me, when in truth they were feeding me.”