Many of us are probably familiar with Krampus now: The Christmas Demon of the Alps, the punisher of naughty children. It may be odd to Americans that demons played a role in the Holidays, but to some Europeans, especially Austrians, it actually makes perfect sense: Because he was so Holy and so learned, Saint Nicholas was believed, by tradition, to have cast out demons from the possessed, and then pressed them to help him with his causes. In fact, it is in these demons that was have the origins of Santa's elves.
But all demons have their enemies, and Krampus made some rather interesting ones: Nazis.
Nazi control over Christmas was hardly unexpected; in the Christmas of 1921, Adolf Hitler gave a speech about how the Jews crucified Jesus, and every Christmas afterwards, Christian imagery was removed from Christmas in Nazi Germany.
When the Nazis invaded Austria in 1938, they tried to purge all imagery of Krampus from Austria. What the Nazis exactly had against Krampus is somewhat unclear, but apparently, like most Holiday figures in Europe, he was perceived as being too Catholic.
But let's not kid ourselves: The Nazis were actually probably trying to purge Krampus because they were really naughty, and didn't want to get whipped by Krampus for all of their terrible deeds.
In the end, Krampus got his due: The Nazis were defeated, Austria was freed, and Krampus enjoyed more poplarity than he ever did before afterwards.
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