Norman Spinrad

Beyond this, the political allegory seems hopelessly mud-dled. The Dominators seem to stand for the world Communist movement; in the novel, the "Universalist Party"

seems a straightforward surrogate for the Communist Party, with its base and cynical appeal to the sloth of the lower classes.

Yet there seems to be something more to it, something bound up with the entirely inexplicable genetic obsessions of the novel. It is impossible to draw any viable parallel between the degenerated mutants that infest the world of Lord of the Swastika and anything in contemporary reality. Of course the world of Swastika is the product of an ancient atomic war; perhaps Hitler's depiction of the genetically deformed descendants of our own age is simply a cautionary note. But the Doms themselves seem to be a genuine paranoid element. It is hard to escape the conclusion that they stand for some real or imagined group that Hitler hated and feared.

There is some flimsy evidence that the Nazi Party was to a certain extent anti-Semitic. Thus there is the temptation to conclude that the Dominators are somehow symbolic of the Jews. But since Zind is obviously meant to stand for the Greater Soviet Union, in which anti-Semitism has reached such rabid heights in the past decade that five million Jews have perished, and since the Dominators, far from being the victims of Zind, are its absolute rulers, this notion falls flat on its face.

Despite the confusion in details, however, the funda-mental political allegory of Lord of the Swastika is quite clear: Heldon, representing either Germany or the non-Communist world, totally annihilates Zind, representing the Greater Soviet Union.

Needless to say, this particular political wish-fulfillment fantasy strikes a chord in the heart of every American at a time when only the United States and Japan stand between the Greater Soviet Union and total control of the globe. Further, the manner of victory also appeals to our deepest desires. Heldon destroys Zind without recourse to nuclear weapons. The heroic individualism of Heldon defeats the mindless hordes of Zind, i.e., the free men of the non-Communist world defeat the slave masses of Commu-nized Eurasia. Only the loathsome Dominators, the Communist surrogates, stoop to the use of nuclear weapons and it avails them nothing. Although such an outcome to the present bleak world situation seems impossible, it can-253

not be denied that it represents our fondest hope for world peace through world freedom.

Thus the mass appeal of this rather crudely written science-fantasy novel stands revealed as a unique combination of political wish-fulfillment fantasy, pathological fetishism and phallic obsession, and the fascination of watching a strange, morbid, and quite alien mind unselfconsciously displaying itself under the bizarre delusion that its most violent and perverse impulses, far from being causes for shame, are noble and uplifting principles righteously adhered to by the bulk of humanity.

Further, these diverse elements of visceral appeal tend to reinforce each other. The phallic fantasies imbue the unsophisticated reader with a sense of limitless force and potency, which makes the wish-fulfillment annihilation of Zind seem that much more plausible, thus enhancing the enjoyment of this political fancy. The identification of Zind with the Greater Soviet Union allows the unsophisticated reader to revel in the excessive violence without feelings of guilt. Too, the near-psychotic intensity of the violence allows the reader a catharsis, a momentary purging of his feelings of fear and hate toward the world Communist menace.

Finally, there is the total certainty which permeates the novel. Feric Jaggar is a leader utterly without doubts. He knows what must be done and how to do it, and he proceeds accordingly without a trace of error, misgiving, or remorse. Zind and the Dominators are the enemy of true humanity, therefore they are deserving of no mercy and any action taken against them is morally beyond reproach. In these dark times, who in his heart of hearts does not secretly pray for the emergence of such a leader?

Not only is Jaggar without doubts. Hitler himself writes in a manner which at least gives the impression that he, too, was totally convinced of everything he said and that any contrary views were utterly without foundation. For him, the military virtues, with their powerful overtones of phallic obsession, fetishism, and homoeroticism are simple, timeless absolutes, not to be questioned by writer or reader.

In these times when we are torn between our own civilized complexities and doubts and the need to confront an implacable foe not noticeably encumbered by excessive moral scruples, such an attitude, even coming from a 254

warped personality like Adolf Hitler, seems somehow perversely refreshing.