Just when we thought that Sean-O’s brilliant sendup has brought the Hitler meme to its apogee of expression (”six million views”, Sean!), we now see the Chizik Controversy giving birth to not one, not two, but three videos based on that infamous scene from Downfall.

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Hitler.”

And that, of course, isn’t the end of it: Downfall is not the only video that is getting hitlered. Among the other “hitlers” are a lesson in dancing Moskau, some good old Andy Griffith episodes (there are more), and even Chico Buarque’s brilliant Cálice which we liked so much that we featured it. Sure, it wasn’t something you’d ever associate with US college football, but then a german dictator doesn’t immediately come to mind either, does he?

Finally, in related news: another Hitler video got hitlered. Does anyone have an idea of what this one is about?

So what does this all mean? It’s Christmas time, so in response to Virginia Heffernan’s excellent essay on hitlering we are tempted to say: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Hitler.” But, we disagree with your conclusion, Virginia:

How grim — how perplexing, how unsettling — that after more than 60 years of trying to cast and recast Hitler to make sense of him, we may have arrived at a version of Hitler that takes him exactly at his word.

How perplexing, how unsettling it must be for the spectre of the one-time would-be world ruler that in this internet age he might be remembered not as the face of evil unmatched in human history, but simply as a namesake for a new bookmarklet: Hitler It! (To add this bookmarklet to your browser’s toolbar in Internet Explorer, right-click the link above and select Add To Favorites, creating it under Links; in all other browsers, simply drag the link into your browser’s links toolbar. While watching a video at your favorite video website, click the bookmarklet and hitler the video!)

We can’t help but wonder how this development will change the course of life for our new 21st Century Adolph Hitler?

And what would Mike Godwin say now?