The Aryan Socialist Union or White Socialist Union (白人社会主義団結党 Hakujin shakai shugi danketsu tō) was an American neo-Nazi political party which sought for more funding for its political activities. They were the antagonists of the "Das Wieder Erstehen Des Adlers" arc.
Appearance[]
Members of the ASU wore tan military uniforms with armbands of their group's flag on their left arms, and black boots. Being a neo-Nazi group, Caucasian people were the only people allowed to become members. Their flag resembles the Nazi flag with a red background and a white circle, but instead of a black Nazi swastika, the symbol is a zigzagging black arrow which is the symbol of the Sturmabteilung.
History[]
The white supremacist group was founded by Rachmann, and the group only numbered some dozens of adult men. Two ideologies that Rachmann opposed were Zionism and Communism, furiously claiming that they interfered with the Nazi order in WWII.[1] Because of the lack of funding, Rachmann sought out the help of Alfred, a former Schutzstaffel officer who promised to give them colossal funding and membership in the Anti-Communist Union granted that they passed a test.[2]
Das Wieder Erstehen Des Adlers[]
Finding out that a French telecommunications company discovered the wreckage of the U-234, a sunken WWII Nazi U-boat, Alfred wanted the Aryan Socialist Union to retrieve a painting known as "The Twelve Knights Led by Brunhilda" inside the sunken boat. The painting was supposed to be an artifact of significance for the group's possible rise in power, but Alfred had another motive. He gave the group a large third-party boat, the White Heather, to the ASU so that they could salvage the painting, also including anti-tank weapons and a huge stockpile of firearms for the group.
In the beginning, they went to the waters in the Indian Ocean where the U-boat was located, and the debris area was in dispute by several countries. Unknown to Rachmann, Alfred also hired Dutch and the Lagoon Company to retrieve the painting as well so that the two groups would clash and to test Rachmann's ability to fight the group. When they got to the area where the Black Lagoon had already arrived, a neo-Nazi radioed to Dutch and Benny about their affiliation. Checking out ship communications in the area, the neo-Nazis determined that the Black Lagoon was not a military boat but instead a pirate boat, so they fired anti-tank missiles at the PT boat without warning, scaring away the two pirates and keeping them at a distance.[3] After mocking the pirates for trying to pilfer the underwater grave site as well, Rachmann gave a grandiose speech to his men on deck about how they would reconquer an item that belonged to the "Aryan race." Crying, Rachmann proudly assigned Kruppen Feller as the leader to descend into a diving pod and retrieve the painting. Before they descended, the neo-Nazis held an onboard march while singing their group's anthem. Afterward, Kruppen Feller and his men slowly descended, soon using explosives to make an entrance hole into the U-234.
At the bottom of the ship, the neo-Nazis entered and were met with gunfire from Revy. Surprised that there were already fellow thieves inside, the neo-Nazis returned fire, with Kruppen Feller ordering John to flank right. In the chaos, Rock accidentally dropped the painting away from cover, allowing the neo-Nazis to get the painting. Although Revy killed two of the neo-Nazis, Kruppen Feller ascended with the painting, ordering Streicher to leave behind the other neo-Nazis since he considered them dead. Reporting to Rachmann, Feller was pleased to report the painting in his hands but warned him about the two pirates. Swimming up to the ocean surface, Revy was met by one neo-Nazi immediately using a heavy machine gun on her. Although Revy shot back, Rock pulled her into the water in order to trick the neo-Nazis that they got killed. Bragging that the pirates could not steal their treasure, Rachmann and his men prepared to set sail, and later that night Dutch picked up Revy and Rock.[1]
The same night, the ASU's ship stood still as the members celebrated their victory. In his office, Rachmann admired the painting while Blitz Stanford politely questioned why they used such abundant resources just to secure one painting. Smiling, Rachmann answered that their group's funder Alfred spoke about how the painting would bring meaning to their U.S. political party, adding that Alfred was a secretive man since he was wanted by "Zionists." While the neo-Nazis partied, Revy and Dutch went onto a small Zodiac motorboat to raid the White Heather and steal back the painting. While walking outside, a patrolman noticed the grappling hook on the railing, but before he could yell for help, Revy pointed her pistol at his head and shot him, alerting the neo-Nazis. In the anime, the neo-Nazis initially thought that the gunfire was celebratory, not hostile. Subsequently, both Revy and Dutch managed to kill many neo-Nazis on board, although Dutch was sidetracked when he noticed that Revy tried attacking the non-combatant civilian sailors of the White Heather. In the manga, Revy killed all the civilian sailors. As Dutch berated Revy on deck, the remaining neo-Nazis tried to sneak up on them, but both pirates turned their guns in opposite directions and killed their would-be attackers.
While Dutch went to look for Rachmann, Revy was confronted by an arrogant Blitz Stanford, who bragged about his customized Luger firearm. When Stanford began to explain the gun's features and declared that Revy should have been scared, the female gunslinger was not intimidated at all and shot him in the middle of his speech. Furious that she attacked him in a "dishonorable" manner, Stanford cursed Revy as a coward before she gleefully killed him. At the same time, Rachmann called Alfred to assure the latter that the assault on the ship would result in the ASU's victory, but Alfred was unconcerned with his apology. At that point once Revy killed Stanford, Alfred heard the gunshot over the phone and calmly assessed that the battle was over for Rachmann, who was terrified to see Dutch enter his office. Impressed that the African-American Dutch bested the white Rachmann, Alfred requested that he be put on the phone. The old man apologized to Dutch for putting on a "shameful display" of henchmen, and Dutch asked rhetorically asked him if he actually wanted something inside the painting and if he had the Lagoon Company office number. In the anime, Rachmann thought that the painting was a work of Adolf Hitler, but the artist was a much lesser-known name. Subsequently, Alfred confirmed Dutch's conclusions, relaying to him and Rachmann the history of the painting and its ulterior significance of containing financial capital accounts as well as hiring both sides to test Rachmann's capabilities, infuriating Rachmann.
In response to Rachmann's rage and accusation of betrayal, Alfred sternly reminded the neo-Nazi that he gave large financial backing and weapons to the Aryan Socialist Union and yet could not take on the small pirate company. When the SS officer called Dutch a racial slur, the latter jokingly retorted that he could just throw the painting into the sea. Unconcerned, Alfred concluded that he did not care what Dutch did with the painting so long as it was not discovered by other parties since the painting had the financial capital account numbers inside. In addition, Alfred then told Dutch that despite the racist contempt he held for his race, he held a small amount of respect for him. The old man even said that if Dutch was born as a white man, he would have given him an Iron Cross, but Dutch replied that he only wanted the money. Appreciating Dutch's upfront request, he finished the call by calmly wishing death upon Dutch and "inferior races," and Dutch in turn bid him good riddance, hanging up the phone. Immediately, Revy arrived and gave her pistol to Rachmann as an opportunity for him to commit suicide, but the distraught Rachmann instead turned the gun on Dutch only to discover that there were no bullets inside. Shocked, Rachmann remained frozen as the two pirates laughed and shot him dead.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Episode 05: Eagle Hunting and Hunting Eagles
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 06: Moonlit Hunting Grounds
- ↑ Chapter 05: Das Wieder Erstehen Des Adlers Part 1