Eidos of the Third Reich in contemporary foreign horror films: the problem of classification

In this article, the phenomenon of the Third Reich eidos in modern horror cinema is examined on a fairly broad basis. Nazi Germany in the "corporeal-plastic intuitions" of Western and American directors is presented as predominantly charismatic, possessing truly indestructible power, endurance, grandeur, filled with a special demonic charm and embodying unity, fearlessness and selflessness - this is an all-conquering "death machine", in whatever guise it appears: zombies, werewolves, vampires, Frankenstein's monsters, etc. In domestic cinema, there are no similar images and films on this topic in the specified genre, since in Russia there is a special attitude towards the tragic events of World War II, the depiction of which in a fantasy-adventure canvas is ethically unacceptable. An attempt is made to classify the products of horror cinema on the above-mentioned topic: films based on indisputable historical facts (money and material values plundered by the German army in the conquered territories) and films based on theories of the “occultism of the Third Reich”. Both groups are united by a special poeticization of the image of Nazi Germany, which is often opposed by no less poeticized heroes, often American “superheroes”. This tendency, according to the author of the article, fits into the theory of the modern philosopher J. Baudrillard, who links the concepts of simulation of reality and simulacra, and represents anxiety regarding the adequate perception and assessment of the real events of World War II by subsequent generations, given the influencing nature of art as such.