I'm no expert, but I think the general rule of thumb is that you can only make references to Nazism within Germany if it's depicted accurately and within historical context - no glorification, no propaganda, no denial, etc. Seems sensible enough. There would seem to have been some instances when even this doesn't hold, however - I've heard of cases where even aircraft and other militaria from that period held in museums have inexplicably had their original markings removed or painted over, for example, even though you can't get much more historically accurate than preserving genuine artefacts!
The instinctive reaction from the establishment would probably be that games are not an appropriate medium for covering such sensitive subjects; after all, in the mainstream (certainly back when IHNM was released), computer games are still very much viewed as frivolous toys, not as legitimate channels for artistic or intellectual expression. Personally, I rather feel that computer games are passing through a phase similar to that cinema (and, arguably, printing, recording, radio and also tv) went through in its first few decades; regarded as an inconsequential curiosity with no real weight, its true potential untapped. Certainly, much of it is quite inconsequential. Trash and toys will continue to be produced. However, just occasionally, a particular game, or even merely some small part of it, might shine with something brighter.
As for IHNM, it's tough to reach a verdict. On the one hand, the game is very impressionistic, and technically pure fiction - on the other, it hardly misrepresents Nazism. Concentration camps did exist, medical "experiments" were performed, Dr Mengele was a real person, and he and others did escape to South America. The game certainly can't be said to support Nazism in any way; but it does place you in scenarios, technically fictitious but based on history, where you are given the option to decide whether to have your avatar take such actions as would be compliant with the Nazi regime or ideology, or to resist it. Ultimately, however, this is a test of the player, just as in the story Am is testing Nimdok; I would personally argue that the game cannot be said to endorse Nazism in any way merely by presenting the player with such a choice. In fact, it is expressly passing that responsibility to the player; it neither condemns nor supports Nazism expressly, but rather takes a neutral stance and directly asks the player what they think about it (Ultimately, however, the player is penalised if they fail to take the moral option in this, or any other of the five scenarios, so while depicting Nazism and other situations without express condemnation, the game does implicitly condemn them; you can't win unless you reject the immoral option yourself)
Other such issues have been raised by much more recent games, though IHNM is perhaps the first known instance; Hitman, for example, has been condemned for allowing the player to empathise with an immoral (or at least amoral) avatar called upon to commit murder and other criminal acts; moreover, unlike IHNM, the game cannot be won without doing so. Similar controversy was raised over the Little Sisters in Bioshock where, again, the player is presented with the option to kill them or save them and take the resultant consequences - again, there is much more ambiguity here than in IHNM, as the results cannot be so easily divided into "punishment" and "reward", and hence implicit condemnation or support.
Ultimately, do games of this nature say "this is good and that is bad", or "you should do this and you shouldn't do that"? Or do they rather place you in a hypothetical situation and then ask, "What would you do?". Should the asking of such questions be forbidden? Might it even be dangerous to do so? If we cannot ask, or are not allowed to ask ourselves and others what we might do in such a situation, however unpleasant that process of empathy might be, can we ever know for sure that we wont do it again?
I should like to mention that this post is merely opinion; indeed, hardly even that - much of it has only been thinking aloud (or at least "thinking into the keyboard"). I have passively absorbed a little information about the current nature of Germany's stance on Nazism and its representation, misrepresentation and censorship, but I have not made an extensive study of the matter and I expect my knowledge to be very likely incomplete - I beg forgiveness if I have formed incorrect conclusions due to lacking information or evidence, and welcome correction.
Please do not, therefore, interpret this post as an explicit condemnation of Germany's current censorship laws, or indeed any definite stance at all. Much in keeping with the subject, I am making as few assertions as possible; I am trying merely to ask questions.
I also apologise for what was supposed to be a short post turning into a mini-essay, and not an entirely coherent one at that!
I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM
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