What Does It Mean That Wolfenstein’s Protagonist is Jewish?

To be blunt, there’s more to the Holocaust than good guys and bad guys. There’s more to World War II than us and them, and amidst the million deaths there are hundreds of strange stories, odd coincidences and stunning revelations that reveal larger truths of cataclysmic point for humanity.

[NewMonday]

the character doesn't look Jewish or even Russian, the art design for the character is as German as can be.

[ArchangelMike]

It's not about the look. It's about the fact that his mother was Jewish and he was born Jewish according to the games cannon. You do know that there were German Jews right, along with Polish Jews and Russian Jews etc. Who would have looked German, Polish and Russian respectively.

I have no problems with BJ being Jewish, it's called 'poetic justice'.

[NewMonday]

yest but they still retain features from both family lines.

what I'm saying is that the lineage should be shown in the character design

artists think they can just change the skin/hair/eye colors and call him whatever they want but it's not that simple, they should also take into account jaw structure/nose shape/ forehead/ eyebrows/ eye slits/ cheeks..

[morganfell]

"yest but they still retain features from both family lines."

Not necessarily true. They have the genes of both parents but sometimes do not look to be of mixed ethnicity. A child may not exhibit the features of one of the parents yet can still produce offspring that carry diverse features.

Genetics does not consist of an exact blend of phenotypes, it is the mixing of discrete information bits. Children can often vary from the midpoint between two parents.

[Baka-akaB]

Being of jewish descent doesnt necessarily show in obvious discernable physical traits , for plenty people around the world

Anywya it's just a small backstory detail , to add even more righteousness to his cause

[NewMonday]

@morganfell

even if we take the Russian part alone.

blue eyes/what skin/ blond hare are common for Russians, but a wide jaw/ square cheeks/ and the shape of the nose and eyes designated for the character are less common.

i will give 2 examples of 2 approaches:

the cliched way: in Sleeping Dogs characters are supposed to look chines but most end up looking Korean.

the informed way: the Witcher2 is supposed to be based on Slavic mythology, and because the developers themselves are east erupean they knew how to make the characters look the part.

[ProjectVulcan]

Oy!

It doesn't mean much, it's just a backstory.

[morganfell]

NewMonday, I can't help what developers do and if they decide to always take one route in making game characters. I can only relate facts as they exist in the real world. In the real world offspring do not always present characteristics of both parents. That is a simple matter of science rather than game development creative choice.

And I am a fan of The Witcher and very familiar with it. I have been lambasted on this site for my praise of the first title and have read all the available novels as well. But that is only one version of the reality of ethnic traits and is offered with creative license.

[NewMonday]

@morganfell

I don't want to get too nitpicky on the subject

the character design just reminded me how western entertainment superficially views cultures.

[Anthotis]

It means that he shares collective guilt for the deaths of tens of millions of Eastern Europeans who died as a result of the actions of the Jewish run Soviet Union.

[Th4Freak]

From the Wikia:

William Joseph "B.J." Blazkowicz (Polish origin, pronounced "Blaz-ko-vitch") is the protagonist in every Wolfenstein game, with the exception of Enemy Territory. He is an American secret agent who works for the OSA (Office of Secret Actions) and performs important missions in Europe.

http://wolfenstein.wikia.co...

The author of this article doesn't know sh!t about this game, hes just fishing hits...

[thorstein]

Agreed. I don't get what NewMonday is saying. There is a "look" to being of a particular religion? I mean, clotheswise, certainly, but that isn't what was intimated.

Religious people don't "look" a certain way. Sammy Davis Junior was jewish. Dr. Oz is Muslim.

[NewMonday]

@thorstein

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[thorstein]

@NewMonday Wikipedia? It isn't a recognized source for academia. But, let's set that aside for a moment. Do you see in the article where the claims state "Citation Needed." That is because claims, such as yours, require evidence.

You cannot make claims without evidence to support them. This is a fallacious claim. Or are we to believe all Christians are inbred rednecks from 'merica?

[NewMonday]

@thorstein

dude, Jews are an ethnoreligious group, their religion is specific to their people, it is not the same as "open for all" religions like Buddhism, Christianity and Islam.

[morganfell]

Judaism is not specific to them. Plenty of people convert. My brother was a Buddhist (which isn't a religion at all) and converted to Judaism. He is called a ger.

[LackTrue4K]

"What do you mean, jew-don't know??"

[bienio]

Or Polish

[3-4-5]

Uhhh NewMonday - You realize there were/are a lot of German's who are also Jewish right ?

Some of them didn't even look that Jewish.

[MxRBrobaFett]

What new Monday is trying to say is he doesn't have a big nose so he can't be Jewish. Dumbest thing I've ever heard. And I have dark brown hair so my dad can't be full German because I don't have blonde hair

[Allsystemgamer]

Judaism is a religion. Not a race.

[whitefang1988]

Judaism is yes but Jews are a race, and what people are getting at is whether or not you think its a race or religion, the Jewish look still got you dragged out into the street in wwII and put onto the trains. People are born Jewish from their mother been Jewish. People choose to practice judaism or not.
Nowadays though a lot of people have had Jewish moms but not dads so they loose a lot of the that look, just look at people like scarlet Johansson or Kate Hudson, both Jewish.

[BelkingOfSony]

The new wolfenstein game is titled 'wolfenstein the new order'. 'The new order' can be interpreted as 'new world order' aka the thing the illuminati want. Illuminati is run by zionists and freemasons, and since zionists are what I would call 'fake heartless jews' then that would explain why the protagonist is a jew

[admiralvic]

I think you're reading way too much into it.

While I don't think it really matters on any actual level (see my other post), I read him being Jewish as simple writing.

Most people think of the Holocaust / jews being killed when they hear the word Nazi (or something to this effect. Hard to get the exact right words to explain it, sorry, but you surely know where I am coming from). So by making him Jewish, he has obvious reasons to dislike the Nazi's and obvious motivation to take them down.

[thorstein]

Any decent human being has obvious reasons to hate Nazis. It would be immoral to be otherwise.

[ArchangelMike]

Dude, way to jump off the deep end...

It's a game at the end of the day, not a social commentary on 'cults and conspiracies of WWII'.

No conspiracy at all, just the devs/writers making a game and adding backstory.

https://twitter.com/ThatTom...

[Activemessiah]

BekingOfSony is onto something... o_O

[Th4Freak]

Uhm, no, its called New Order because Nazis won WWII and they control the world.

[Sketchy_Galore]

What???!!?? When did.... I mean, how...?? What are we going to...?.......oooooh, you mean in the GAME? Phew, had me worried for a second or two there.

[admiralvic]

It means the exact same thing as him being born in the US or being Polish... nothing.

I mean, just because it's a detail, doesn't instantly mean anything. He could be black, Asian, blind, deaf, robot, female, gay, transgender, cyborg, Hitler from another universe, his own grandfather, frankensteins monster or any number of other things and it would change nothing.

[mcarsehat]

what does it mean? It means he's jewish...

[Moncole]

It means there if finally a jewish protaganist.

[wannabe gamer]

it means you are trying to use it for hits and nothing more

[ArtificiallyYours]

Sensitive internet crybabies have your day.

[RE_L_MAYER]

it means that he is jewish.......might be around the concentration camps story idk

[Kal853]

1/4 of my family tree was wiped out by the Nazis, so I enjoy any opportunity to shoot them back.

[Kal853]

How the hell can 2 people disagree?

[MWH]

the Holocaust is an excuse to execute.

[weirdo]

hitler sucks co••• in hell

[KingPin]

he's not all that bad. He did stop hitler for good at the end of the day. :P

[killzzo]

a death camp for Nazis

[Kuka300]

http://wolfenstein.wikia.co...

[Ogygian]

Author doesn't realise than Wolfenstein is an OTT FPS from the 90's.

If they want depth, they should go for something which sets out to provide it, such as the many arty indie games which exist.

[GentlemenRUs]

I have nothing against it, This is the WW2 Era we are talking about here.

[ThichQuangDuck]

If he was Palestinian now that would be a twist......

[MWH]

indeed, but then, a Palestinian wouldn't be killing Nazis.

[ThichQuangDuck]

Why wouldn't a Palestinian be killing Nazis? You do realize Nazis were aiming to kill all semites not just those of Jewish descent. Has anyone opened a history book?

[MWH]

@ThichQuangDuck

yes, it happens that I read.

the thing is, not everything you read is adamantly true. the fact is, history books can be altered to suit some societies and nations.

this is why becoming a specialized historian is not a walk in the park,, you don't become one by reading Wikipedia.

[ThichQuangDuck]

@segamon

So to you it would be unrealistic for someone hunted down by Nazis as well as the Jews and other minorities to kill the Nazis?

[MWH]

@ThichQuangDuck

I will not waste my time in a futile debate. assume what you want.

[Major_Glitch]

Mazel tov!

[AD705]

That just means he's going to sue and audit the shit out of the nazis lol.

[cheetorb]

It means f*ck nazis!

[Crazay]

It means he and Cartman can never be friends.

[Master of Unlocking]

"What Does It Mean That Wolfenstein’s Protagonist is Jewish?"

That he can afford bigger guns to blast the nazis?

(OK, I'm ->[])