Adolf Hitler is the dictator of Nazi Germany and an important figure in the Wolfenstein series.
In the Wolfenstein series
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein
Adolf Hitler appears in Beyond Castle Wolfenstein as a main goal of an assassination attempt by the player inside his secret bunker (Wolf's Lair). The goal is to find a bomb and place it outside of the room where he is holding a meeting with officers. After that, the player has to escape, while the bunker is shown to be blown up. A "Wolfenstein Lore" section of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein manual refers to this, incorrectly attributing it to the previous installment in the series:
"Silas Warner's classic Apple II game, Castle Wolfenstein, was released in 1983. The game was far from a 3D shooter, requiring more stealth than gunplay. The player's mission was to infiltrate Nazi headquarters in disguise, plant a bomb outside the door to Hitler's bunker, and make it out before the bomb exploded."[1]
The events of Beyond Castle Wolfenstein, and its predecessor, Castle Wolfenstein, have no relation to any events depicted in the Wolfenstein games by Id Software later (although part of the same franchise[2]). This is not entirely true however, as the Spear of Destiny hintbook indicates that Beyond Castle Wolfenstein is concerned with an actual historical event (one of several attempts on Hitler's life, and actually an ultimately failed attempt at that, which Hitler survived). Id Software gained the rights to the original Wolfenstein franchise and many of the ideas in Wolfenstein 3D were based off of the previous games, and consulted Silas Warner before making Wolfenstein 3D (Silas Warner had little part in the sequel). Wolfenstein 3D's name is actually a nod to it both being in '3D' and also being the third game in the series.
Wolfenstein 3D
Hitler (also known as Mecha-Hitler or Armored Hitler) is the leader of Nazi regime, and boss of Episode 3 ("Die, Fuhrer, Die!") and the final boss of the original Wolfenstein 3D before the release of the Nocturnal Missions expansion pack. When the player first meets Hitler, he will be in a large mechanical suit that is armed with quad Chain Guns. After having around half of his HP taken away, the suit will fall off, and Hitler will jump out with dual Chain Guns.
While his sprites suggest he would cause more damage when armored, in fact he doesn't. The armor most likely is an excuse to give Hitler an amount of HP much higher than that of the other bosses. Both his forms combined have close to double the HP of Hans Grösse.
Hitler fires 5 bullets per volley in the two forms. After being defeated, he will talk before melting into a pile of blood and bone, triggering the ending.
In the 2nd Encounter episode of the Mac Family Hitler is always the ultimate boss. The censored SNES port replaced Hitler with Staatmeister (Adolf Trautmann in the Japanese version) who uses Hitler's sprite, though edited somewhat - he lacks the mustache, has a completely redrawn death animation, and has blonde hair. The paintings of Hitler in the SNES version were also changed, in the paintings Hitler (or Staatmeister in this case) had no mustache and no swastika armband.
Shortly after the game was released Wolfenstein 3D was given a overhaul in controversy since it included Hitler.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Hitler is briefly mentioned in Return to Castle Wolfenstein at the very end of the game: after BJ defeats Heinrich I, Heinrich Himmler is urged by an officer to hurry to Berlin, as "The Führer is expecting [his] arrival."}}
He may also be seen on propaganda portraits throughout the game, as well as in Wolfenstein.
Wolfenstein: Operation Nachtsonne/Fourth Reich
Mecha-Hitler in Wolfenstein (2009) graphic novel video part 1.
In Raven/Activision's history the war ended (roughly in 1945), but the Third Reich would rise again under an organization calling itself the Fourth Reich (or at least would call itself the Fourth Reich following the events in Isenstadt). Shortly before B.J. destroyed the S.S. Tirpitz, during his attempt to stop Operation Eisenfaust, he had fought Hitler in his bunker under the Reichstag in Berlin, shooting him in the chest wounding him, and leaving him for dead. The major defeat would be the beginning of the end of the war. Anton Kriege learned of Hitler's plans, and the Spear of Destiny, after looking into BG's past and learning of his missions with the Office of Secret Actions. Central Command still exists in Berlin, but it appears to have noticeably been weakened by the actions of the Allies and groups such as the Kraisau circle, to the point that the Third Reich (or its successors the Fourth Reich) are forced to try to battle and reconquer sections of its own country in Germany.
While Hitler's paintings still occupy positions of prominence in offices, manors, and/or old propaganda posters. There is strangely little mention of him, and never by any individuals. Himmler appears to be in charge (of at least the SS Paranormal Division) in Berlin, and Wilhelm Strasse appears to be both an individual in charge of "Central Command" (according to documents obtained during the Castle, Airfield and off his Zeppelin) as well as the true mastermind behind Operation Nachtsonne (which he oversaw from the Castle, and left Zetta to do most of the dirty work). With many believing Zeta was in charge, despite being Strasse's underling, there were rumors that Strasse was brought in by Central Command as Zetta's replacement. Strasse oddly did not have a picture of Hitler in his castle, but rather a rather ostentatious painting of himself (he was at least very egotistical) along with documents possibly linking him higher up into Berlin's Central Command, to suggest he may have more or less taken over the Third Reich in Hitler's place with Heinrich Himmler (although perhaps few may know Hitler was defeated & possibly dead, perhaps kept a secret even within the Reich).
Note: According to the producers of the New Order, most of the plotlines tied Wolfenstein 2009 may have been ignored. "...we asked him if the last Activision Wolfenstein game had any baring on their version to which he replied, "No it does not. We try not to include that game as part of our story. Personally, I think that Activision did a crap job." [1] In fact the designers claimed to be more of a fan of the original game in the series instead (Wolfenstein 3D).
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Little is known on the Führer in Wolfenstein: The New Order. His death in Wolfenstein 3D is based on a different timeline where BJ Blazkowicz kills him, ultimately leading to the end of WW2, so it is assumed he is alive in 1960. It is also suggested that Hitler is alive when one of the guards says "Heil Hitler" to BJ when passing through a checkpoint in London. If he is alive, he would be 71 years old during The New Order. This, of course, doesn't take into account that Hitler may have been in the final stage of terminal Syphilis or at least was In fragile health by 1945, and possibly near death already (of course, anything is possible with Strasse's medical and technical advances). Because he is never seen or heard in The New Order, his exact status is currently unknown.
Also, during Chapter 13, "Lunar Base", a Gold mask can be found which clearly resembles Hitler. This does not confirm whether Hitler is alive during the events of the game, but does indicate that he is still admired in this fictional world, be it dead or alive.
A newspaper may suggest he survived into 1946, or at least he was replaced with a new Fuhrer;
"I Want Peace" Says Fuhrer
,<blockquote>
Berlin, Jul 10, 1946 - The future of humanity is at
stake. In a rare interview exclusively for this newspaper,
discussing the war effort and the values that make the
German race so unique and superior, our beloved
Fuhrer delivers his vision for the world after the war.
"Make no mistake about it. I want peace for mankind,
and I am willing to fight to the death for it."
</blockquote>
Wolfenstein RPG
In Wolfenstein RPG, the paintings include Goatee Hitler, a parody of Hitler where his mustache has been moved to his chin. The Fuhrer can be punched for an amusing animations. Other than that there are few, if any, direct references to Hitler.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Return to Castle Wolfenstein manual, page 2
- ↑ From Sun Tzu to Xbox, Ed Halter, page 155