This is an answer to a thread that spiralled out of control, following a video about Mr Donald Trump's intemperate remarks toward protestors at his rallies. Though Mr Trump reminds me more of Il Duce than the Führer, I know the Nazi history better. This essay is not intended to castigate the German people for being more prone to racialism or violent prejudice than others.
In fact, greater Germany (Germany, Austria and Northern Switzerland) arguably had the greatest civilization on earth -- in the overall package of the arts, sciences, philosophy, education and literature -- in 1900. One would be hard pressed to foretell the subsequent fifty years.
Addendum 8/6/16: my take-away has remained that, under the right circumstances and stoking timely pre-judgements, what happened in Germany from 1933-45 could happen anywhere. The cult of personality blended with the politics of blame and / or revenge can be a very ugly business.
In fact, greater Germany (Germany, Austria and Northern Switzerland) arguably had the greatest civilization on earth -- in the overall package of the arts, sciences, philosophy, education and literature -- in 1900. One would be hard pressed to foretell the subsequent fifty years.
Addendum 8/6/16: my take-away has remained that, under the right circumstances and stoking timely pre-judgements, what happened in Germany from 1933-45 could happen anywhere. The cult of personality blended with the politics of blame and / or revenge can be a very ugly business.
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After this thread exploded, l thought long and hard about Mr Trump. His rhetoric and plain-spoken manner are seductive; I do agree with some of his points and sentiments on the state of the U.S. economy. And then I wondered what it must have been like as a middle-class, educated German (as I am now, as an American) in the 1930s who would have been frustrated with hyper-inflation followed by economic depression, both of which emphasized the national humiliation of being hood-winked by the 'Tin Jesus' at Versailles.
At first, I would have dismissed Hitler as a whacked out corporal tin-horn but, hey, the guy at least was raising points we needed to address. As the Nazis gained power in 1933, I might have thought: okay, the guy is a nut about the Jews but, hey, we need to re-build and he will be gone soon enough and that policy can't possibly stick. When the Nuremberg rally and laws came into reality in 1935, I might well have acquiesced by rationalizing: this won't last forever and maybe he knows something about Jews that I don't.
At first, I would have dismissed Hitler as a whacked out corporal tin-horn but, hey, the guy at least was raising points we needed to address. As the Nazis gained power in 1933, I might have thought: okay, the guy is a nut about the Jews but, hey, we need to re-build and he will be gone soon enough and that policy can't possibly stick. When the Nuremberg rally and laws came into reality in 1935, I might well have acquiesced by rationalizing: this won't last forever and maybe he knows something about Jews that I don't.
With the Anschluẞ, I might have been alarmed but might well have swallowed my doubts by thinking: okay the guy is aggressive. But at least our Germanic kin in Vienna can prosper like we are now, thanks to his political genius breaking the stranglehold of Rome. When Kristallnacht occurred, I might have capitulated by thinking: the guy has done great things and is an odd duck but it is his mob-frenzied supporters who are the crazy ones.
And as Hitler proceeded with his program -- evidently outlined in Mein Kampf (which I would have avoided reading because of an aversion to the personal manner of an author similar to the one of The Art of the Deal) -- l would have remained quiet because the Nazis had the guns and I had loved ones to protect. Damn shame about the Jews, to be sure. But, you know, where there is smoke, there is fire.
Maybe powerful Jews had really sought to undermine the fatherland during the Great War. With the invasion of Poland and the depredations of the Einsatzgruppen, I would have swept everything aside and delighted in the power of the monster, keeping in mind all those lovely news-reels of him playing with children or petting his dog. I would have felt vindicated as a German when he took down the rascals of Paris who had screwed us in 1918 and smashed the godless U.S.S.R. and its mass-murdering Stalin.
So, at what point did I become a Nazi sympathizer, if not a card-carrying member?
Maybe powerful Jews had really sought to undermine the fatherland during the Great War. With the invasion of Poland and the depredations of the Einsatzgruppen, I would have swept everything aside and delighted in the power of the monster, keeping in mind all those lovely news-reels of him playing with children or petting his dog. I would have felt vindicated as a German when he took down the rascals of Paris who had screwed us in 1918 and smashed the godless U.S.S.R. and its mass-murdering Stalin.
So, at what point did I become a Nazi sympathizer, if not a card-carrying member?
In 1932, when I thought Hitler was whacked but I did nothing to argue against his rise by hanging onto some of the things he said with which I agreed (e.g., re-industrialization)? 1935? 1938? 1939? 1940? 1941? When the good guys finally won, doubtlessly I would have said, "Oh no, I was NEVER a Nazi. I thought the guy was cracked but what choice did I have for he and his thugs had the guns and I had my loved ones under my care? Besides, I thought the poor Jews were merely being located elsewhere for their own protection. That made sense after Kristallnacht because we all thought the Jews were in danger."
The difficulty is that people compare Mr Trump with the Hitler of 1941 and not with the Hitler of 1930-1932 where Mr Trump is now by analogy (if indeed it is a valid one at all); that comparison with the Hitler of 1941 is absurd but not so with the Hitler of 1931. The point is: where does the politics of revenge lead? What will the President Trump of 2020 or 2024 be like? Frankly, I do not want to find out -- way too risky for me.
This thinking is not unique to me, admittedly a 'mugged liberal'. Governor John Kasich has been warning us for months of just such a possible progression toward depredation. He has far more the 'good faith' of a life-long conservative than do I; additionally, and to my knowledge only, he is not known for being dirty. I am proud that Presidents Bush as well as Governors Pataki, Bush and Kasich are not endorsing Mr Trump. Governor Kasich has the most to gain by doing so; I hope he stands by his beliefs.
