The plan discussed between Heusmann and Joe Blake, Atlantropa (incorrectly captioned as "Advantropa") was proposal by German architect Herman Sörgel for a dam at the Strait of Gibraltar to generate electricity, provide fresh water and lower the level of the Mediterranean Sea to provide land.
Nicole is the first character in the series to make a reference to "Germania". According to Hitler's plans, this would have been Berlin's new name had the Nazis won the war. In the alternate world of the series, it is possible that most characters living outside Germany simply kept using the city's old name, the new one simply not "catching on" yet, except for a select elite.
Nicole Becker drives a 1954 Kaiser Darrin 161 (commonly called a Kaiser Darrin or simply, a Darrin). The Darrin was produced in the United States by Kaiser Motors, and was the first production fiberglass-bodied sports car, beating the Chevrolet Corvette to the assembly line by about a month. The Darrin had doors which slid forward into the front fenders instead of hinging outward.
Kaiser Motors merged with Willys-Overland (manufacturer of the Jeep, as used by the US during WWII) in 1953, and changed the company name to Kaiser Jeep Corporation in 1963.
Kaiser Motors merged with Willys-Overland (manufacturer of the Jeep, as used by the US during WWII) in 1953, and changed the company name to Kaiser Jeep Corporation in 1963.
The "racial purity" tests Juliana is subjected to when she first arrives to the German Reich, as well as the equipment being used and the doctors' terminology were real. The Nazis had a whole system of genealogy tests, physical measurements and scales for skin, eyes and hair tones in order to determine whether an individual belonged to the top class, the "Herrenvolk" (Master Aryan Race), the bottom "Untermenschen" (subhumans) or anything in between. The tests for racial purity began to be compulsory for German citizens in 1935 following the Nuremberg Laws, and only ended with the Nazis' defeat in 1945. It is then logical that, in the world of The Man in the High Castle, these tests are regular procedure for everyone trying to migrate to the German Reich.
The name John Smith is the second most common name in the U.S. behind James Smith. John is the second most common first name for males and Smith is the most common surname in the U.S.