 Introduction and Pt. #1 by Wolf Terry We are living through a compressed timeline of Nazi Germany.
There is a new sort of tension in the United States and, surely, across the globe. A certain uncertainty felt between neighbors, in State Houses, in our Federal Laws, and amongst the judiciary branches. Divisive misinformation fueled by social media, Joe Rogan, and Fox News led to a virtual Civil War amongst the masses; droning ideas and ideals we thought had been put in the ground decades ago, only to be churned up by the iron fist of Christo-fascism bred in backwater counties and funded by megachurches. “How did we get here?” the White, upper-middle-class wonder, without understanding that here is where we have always been. Though many in our demographic have never once felt it, have been shielded by whitewashed history books, commercialism, and the rugged individualism instilled in each of us, we understand that we have been duped; lied to and blinded by the ever present push of achievement in our capitalistic culture. Meanwhile the headlines become bleaker and bleaker until, suddenly, denialism spreads across the modern day broadsheets of news networks. If only history had warned us. But it did. Joseph Goebells, the Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, under Hitler set democracy aflame through years of polluting the press and consumer markets; creating false images of idolatry for Hitler and handing out Ham radios to disseminate antisemitic propaganda . He set the scene and laid the groundwork for, what was then, the largest engine of misinformation of our time: The Nazi Party. Now, as Neo-Nazis reveal themselves by crawling out of their deeply embedded holes of American Democracy and their luxurious seats of power in technology, we can see that the time period between the 2008 election and today equates to the time period between WWI and WWII. When we strip the dates of the two timelines, it is shocking to see the mirror images of The Third Reich and Trump’s America. Ford bankrolled Hitler in a similar way that Musk bankrolled Trump. The Nazis made Jews the scapegoats of Germany’s economic downfall post WWI just as Conservative Republicans have made Middle Eastern, Mexican and South American immigrants the scapegoat for the consequences of late stage capitalism. Disabled communities, including the elderly, were considered a burden to society and were grouped in facilities for the “benefit of science and the future of Germany,” just as we see our disabled and elderly family members stripped of medicare, special education programs, social security–blurring the lines of scientific credibility and false claims of autism being linked to vaccines. These are just a few similarities. Below I have gathered facts regarding the rise of Germany’s Third Reich and Trump’s America and divided the similitudes into “Pillars” that support the multitude of evidence gathered within this theory. It is important to note that I am not a Historian. I am an autistic woman, whose special interest since the age of 7 has been Hitler’s Rise to Power and the Holocaust. While I have spent a lifetime absorbing as much information as possible regarding the time period between the end of WWI and the end of WWII, I have also used my degree in Theatre (from a dramaturgical and character study perspective), and my skills as a writer and science communicator to draw an accurate picture of what the world was like in said time era, and how it has informed the timeline we are grappling with currently. The connections I have made over the course of the past 8 years have not been enjoyable. It has not felt invigorating to know that I am living through what the world lived through 80 years ago. And yet, I will persist in my research and vocalization until I am silenced for it. We do not get to choose the times we live in, we only get to choose our response to the injustices we witness while we are still alive and free enough to do so. Pillar #1 Then: WWI Downfall and “The Jewish Question” Goebells and Hitler pose “The Jewish Question,” which had been simmering throughout Europe since the mid 18th century, regarding the status of European Citizenship amongst Jewish Peoples. Goebells had felt his career as a journalist in Germany had been ruined by favoritism of Jewish writers in Germany post WWI; whereas Hitler was keen to place blame on a group–any group, but particularly groups of people that held prominent positions of power within the Weimar Republic. The idea was to isolate Jewish People throughout all of Europe in order to gain back German dignity lost during WWI. The German Empire had lost WWI and had been required to pay reparations to Europe. Hitler, who had been minorly injured in battle during WWI spent months coalescing and brooding over the demise of Germany, which fueled a hatred for the leadership in the Weimar Republic. By alienating the group of leaders who held significant power during the fall of Germany–most of whom happened to be Jewish–Hitler, via his unique talent in public speaking as well as Goebbels writings, was able to twist widespread animosity toward the Jewish People in Germany and all of Europe. What started as a whisper in the early days of the Nazi Party, became a scream by the time Hitler claimed the place of Supreme Ruler. At the same time, Hitler and his sycophants were popularizing the Ham radio, branding it as a staple for the German home. This enabled Goebbels to move his propaganda into radio space as well as in print, featuring Hitler as the face and voice of German Nationalism. With the Weimar Republic slipping in favor, and Hitler’s small Nazi Party gaining followers, the collective mindset surrounding “The Jewish Question,” drifted into dangerous territory. Now: “Birthergate” and Normalizing Othering Trump asked to see Obama’s Birth Certificate as a rallying cry to other bigoted “good ol’ boys” during President Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008, thus readying the ground for mass deportations based on racist, nationalist ideologies. The US was in the middle of a recession, and hurting from 8 years of another Bush presidency, and the masses were beginning to uncover the truth about trickle-down economics (ie: it doesn’t work). Billionaires had a lot at stake, and anti-racism was not a prominent ideology in American culture, yet. Muslims had been demonized and racially profiled in every way shape and form throughout the media after the tragedy of 9/11, and the fact that a man with the middle name “Hussein” was running for president did not sit well with White men used to a certain amount of power on both sides of the political aisle. The easiest way to stew discontent was to latch onto the fears of White men in power and uneducated rural Americans; in other words, the men who start wars and the people they enlist to fight in them. “Birthergate,’ became the pavement upon which the Proud Boys, "Don't Tread on Me" Marine Veterans, and Back the Blue groups marched. When Obama was elected into his first term, the starry-eyed Democrats did not understand how deep the hatred brewed amongst the GOP. The split in American democracy and media-reporting became obvious, with Fox News on constant attack of the Obama administration–even when the policies put forth were full blown conservative–while outlets like CNN and favorite talk shows like GMA applauded the Obamas, and featured everything from their family life, their academic history, and their ethnicity as something to be fully celebrated. While Trump eventually ceded his claim against Obama’s American citizenship, the fire had already been started and 2016 was when it engulfed political media coverage as a whole. Trump had all of right-wing media on his side, as well as the wealthy elite who silently funded their own best interests. The war in Afghanistan had heightened the tension building amongst working class and upper middle class Americans, and even cartoons like South Park were poking fun at immigrants–particularly Middle Eastern and Hispanic Peoples. This media craze was similar to Goebbels propaganda and the Hamm radio, but exponentially greater due to advanced technologies. Stay connected for Pillar #2: Saviorism, Coups and Criminals Then: Nationalism, Persecution, and Anti-Abortion Laws; Now: Nationalism, American Exceptionalism and Pro-Life Indoctrination by signing up for Wolf's newsletter here
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