I understand the feeling of alarmism as US politics right now look like a zero sum game with no possibility of compromise from either side
But as a descendent of Nazi slaves whose entire families were murdered, I fail to see the similarities between a movement that had established concentration camps and declared its intention of genocide from day one, and the present day rule of idiots that is the United States
I think the fact that comparisons are thrown too easily to the point of cliche only make up for this sense of historical determinism that often makes things worse
If you remove holocaust from the WWII ... the nazi Germany was still supper awful. Holocaust was not the only thing going on nor the reason why WWII started.
Nazi were idiots too in a lot of ways. Being idiot in some sense does not make you not dangerous.
Even if you remove the holocaust from nazi germany, you are still left with a regime that created concentration camps for its own population and went on a mass killing campaign on its disabled population, converted a failed democracy into a completely totalitarian society and all of that without considering the war and its atrocities such as mass killings, slavery, kidnappings and probably any evil imagined
All of these are, a bit far from any action Trump has accomplished in the 4+ years he has been in office
which makes these comparison in my opinion be, both in extremely bad taste and dangerous as they trivialize history
Republicans were not sieg heiling then, they are doing it now. Having all that in mind, several members of Trump administration and republican party sieg heil openly and publicly. And praise and fund far right parties. That being said, Trump did wanted to shoot already protesters during his first term.
And talk about annexing foreign countries. And openly admire Russia while hating on democratic countries. And started their current rule by targeting opposition, removing protections from Fauci and other hated members, targeting law enforcement and regulators that investigated their crimes.
Time will tell, but the only ideology I see under the current Trump administration is shifting Internet trolling to real life, while the greatest political achievement is triggering the other side
I mean, I certainly hope you’re right, and I am wildly wrong. But I simply can’t imagine a scenario where the US isn’t damaged by this long term, in such a way that far right extremists don’t get further along in their agenda. But as you say, time will tell.
They’re not declaring it out loud, sure. But in private they are. I’m from Mississippi. I was privy to those private conversations. Blacks, Mexicans, LGBT people, atheists, feminists.. they would rather all these groups be dead, than have civil rights. So long as the group allows themselves to be oppressed, fine, but they aren’t, and that’s what has started to cause so much anger from the right wing. The telling thing about the stories below isn’t that individuals are violent, that has always been and always will be the case, but rather the reaction of the state. Gay panic defenses, pardon of Jan 6 rioters, calls for abortion to get the death penalty that are getting traction, etc.
Trump is an idiot, yes. But he’s a useful idiot. Vance isn’t a moron, nor are the Project 2025 think tanks. I think the fact that people are willing to dismiss all this as things not actually getting worse, is what allows it to get this bad in the first place. Again, I’m not saying it’s as bad as 1941 yet. But the optimism that it simply can’t happen in 2025 in America is entirely misguided.
> With regard to general populations, the overall consensus amongst historians appears to be that many were aware of a hatred towards the Jewry, but not insofar that a significant comprehension of the Nazis' genocidal policies was reached. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_of_the_Holocaust_i...
> With regard to general populations, the overall consensus amongst historians appears to be that many were aware of a hatred towards the Jewry, but not insofar that a significant comprehension of the Nazis' genocidal policies was reached. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_of_the_Holocaust_i...
Wikipedia is often hardly a good source for anything even slightly more controversial than the plot for a Pokémon episode
However the paragraph you are quoting regards the knowledge of the general population in german occupied europe, not in Germany
By 1939 more than half of the Jewish population had fled Germany, so they might have been on to something
I really think you are severely underestimating what life in Nazi Germany looked like, and overestimating the current brand of populist republican politics, which has exact replicas in the democratic party as well
> By 1939 more than half of the Jewish population had fled Germany, so they might have been on to something
That was not because of holocaust, that was because of general restrictions of their legal rights. And also, Germany had policy of trying to make those people leave.
Jews in Germany were largely immigrants living mainly in cities. Frequently refugees from Eastern Europe and their descendants.
> overestimating the current brand of populist republican politics, which has exact replicas in the democratic party as well
You started this thread with claim that Europe has far right problem now. Republican and consequently America politics is massively closer to it that European one ... or democrats.
You are correct about the original thread, I claimed Europe has a far-right problem. Keep in mind, Europe has far-right parties that are commonly actually descendants of the nazi/fascist parties of the thirties, not a descendant of the party that abolished slavery
However, I was giving it as an example of problems in Europe that might cause worries when choosing a country to live in, especially someone who is worried where Trump is taking the US. This worry translated to the US applies in my opinion to both extremities of the political system (Trump admin included)
However, I don't think what we see from Trump right now or in the future is in any shape or form close to the thirties, and I also want to believe that the far-right european parties will also be preoccupied with other (stupid) ideological goals
But as a descendent of Nazi slaves whose entire families were murdered, I fail to see the similarities between a movement that had established concentration camps and declared its intention of genocide from day one, and the present day rule of idiots that is the United States
I think the fact that comparisons are thrown too easily to the point of cliche only make up for this sense of historical determinism that often makes things worse