Topic: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

I'm going to write this short story someday:

A guy builds a time machine to go back in time and kill hitler. When he finds the young man, a struggling artist, he can't bring himself to do it. So he buys a painting instead, and tells Adolf he has promise, but not to give up.
Then he heads back home, beating himself up, only to discover that Hitler became an influential artist who was a bit of an anti-semitic douchebag, but who didn't go into politics. WWII and Nazism was therefore averted.

Eh. It's probably already been done.

Alternately, a guy who works in a lab in which multiple time machines are being tested goes back in time to kill or stop hitler and realizes if he succeeds, somebody far worse will rise in his place. So he spends the rest of the story protecting hitler (and hating himself for it) from his colleagues, who keep trying to come back in time, since he apparently failed. While the first few attempts are kept secret from the future fuhrer, one of the hero's colleagues almost succeeds. The hero's sacrificial efforts to stop him produces a change in hitler, who does not ultimately go into politics as a result.
Of course, that means the worse dictator will eventually rise to power, but hey, not every ending can be perfect.

...it's probably also been done. Anyway, there's my brainstorm for the day.

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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

I like the second one.

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

I kinda lean that way myself.

Something about a person HAVING to defend Hitler to avert someone worse...it's a playground for tough questions.

Last edited by Writhyn (2015-05-15 20:07:33)

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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

If you've not seen this you'll probably get a kick out of it. It's a short story told as a forum post

http://www.abyssapexzine.com/wikihistory/

Extended Edition - 146 - The Rise Of Skywalker
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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

Another idea. You are a time traveler who goes back to stop Stalin. Historically he built up the USSR's military and rolled over Europe with almost no opposition, with a disarmed Germany no obstacle. You decide the best option is to build up Germany, so the war doesn't even GET to your homeland France. You find a small, unimportant political party with a charismatic leader and provide them with some future hints and support. With a platform of making Germany a great nation again, this Hitler guy wins the election. You go home, the problem fixed.

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

Wow. That's really, really interesting!

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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

Once you introduce time travel, there's no reason to assume OUR timeline is the correct one.

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

I operate on the assumption that there is only one actual timeline, and if someone goes back and changes anything, we will all remember things as having happened that way.
Basically, travelling back to change something is never going to happen. Because if someone were capable of travelling back to change something, they would know they wouldn't succeed, because otherwise they wouldn't be thinking of changing it, because it would have been changed in the past...........

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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

Ah the predestination paradox smile

You might want to check out a Spanish film with the English title of 'Time Crimes' nothing like your ideas but plays with this concept well

Extended Edition - 146 - The Rise Of Skywalker
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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

How did I miss this thread... I think Writhyn's 2nd and Invid's story are great. Write 'em!

Disclaimer: if you dislike the tone of a post I make, re-read it in a North/East London accent until it sounds sufficiently playful smile

Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

OF COURSE everyone likes the action-heavy concept over the moody, artsy, thoughtful idea wink

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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

In the 1st, Hitler doesn't choose to not be a bad person, he just does something different to what he would've otherwise done, and as a result never has to confront the terrible thing inside him. In the 2nd, he comes face to face with a value system that he might not have seen otherwise, and he gets the opportunity to change for real.

So the 2nd one is far more thoughtful!

Last edited by Herc (2015-05-20 18:29:03)

Disclaimer: if you dislike the tone of a post I make, re-read it in a North/East London accent until it sounds sufficiently playful smile

Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

http://i.imgur.com/1CC1GrR.png
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Re: Everyone goes back to kill Hitler

Writhyn wrote:

I operate on the assumption that there is only one actual timeline, and if someone goes back and changes anything, we will all remember things as having happened that way.
Basically, travelling back to change something is never going to happen. Because if someone were capable of travelling back to change something, they would know they wouldn't succeed, because otherwise they wouldn't be thinking of changing it, because it would have been changed in the past...........

Pssh. I got that figured out for my time travel TV series. The guy who picks the missions knows history. The travelers don't. Lots of fun implications.

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

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