Courtesy of Know.Org:
A call to action:
I was born in Munich, Germany, in 1920. I lived there during the rise of the Nazi Party and left for the U.S.A. in 1938.
The main elements of the Nazi regime were the suppression of dissent, the purging of the dissenters and undesirables, the persecution of communists, Jews and homosexuals and the ideal of the Aryans as the master race.
The policies started immediately after Hitler came to power, at first out of sight but escalated gradually, leading to the Second World War and the Holocaust. Meanwhile most Germans were lulled into complacency by all sorts of wonderful projects and benefits.
What we see now in our country is very similar to the early days of the Nazi rule in Germany:
The Neo-Nazis and the KKK have become more prominent and get recognition in the press. We are all familiar with Trump's remarks against all Muslims and all Mexicans. But there has not been anything as alarming as the appointment of Steve Bannon as Trump's chief strategist. Bannon has, apparently, made anti-Semitic remarks for years, has recently condemned Muslims and Jews, and he and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the pick as national security advisor, advocate the political and cultural superiority of the white race. At the same time Trump is trying to control the press.
Thus the entire Nazi ideology is in place already in and around the new government. How far will it get? We can hope that our government of checks and balances will be more resistant than the Weimar Republic was. Don't count on it.
We have to counter this trend toward Fascism in every way we can. Being alert to all manifestations in word and action. Alerting our representatives and urging them to act. Writing to newspapers. Making our friends aware. Demonstrating when appropriate.
Franz W. Wassermann, M.D.
You know one of the rules for political writing is no Hitler comparisons.
However I think we are long past that being considered hyperbolic or unreasonable.
Donald Trump seems to have taken this country to a new time and place, but perhaps most concerning is that in Germany they would recognize it as an old time and place.
A call to action:
I was born in Munich, Germany, in 1920. I lived there during the rise of the Nazi Party and left for the U.S.A. in 1938.
The main elements of the Nazi regime were the suppression of dissent, the purging of the dissenters and undesirables, the persecution of communists, Jews and homosexuals and the ideal of the Aryans as the master race.
The policies started immediately after Hitler came to power, at first out of sight but escalated gradually, leading to the Second World War and the Holocaust. Meanwhile most Germans were lulled into complacency by all sorts of wonderful projects and benefits.
What we see now in our country is very similar to the early days of the Nazi rule in Germany:
The Neo-Nazis and the KKK have become more prominent and get recognition in the press. We are all familiar with Trump's remarks against all Muslims and all Mexicans. But there has not been anything as alarming as the appointment of Steve Bannon as Trump's chief strategist. Bannon has, apparently, made anti-Semitic remarks for years, has recently condemned Muslims and Jews, and he and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the pick as national security advisor, advocate the political and cultural superiority of the white race. At the same time Trump is trying to control the press.
Thus the entire Nazi ideology is in place already in and around the new government. How far will it get? We can hope that our government of checks and balances will be more resistant than the Weimar Republic was. Don't count on it.
We have to counter this trend toward Fascism in every way we can. Being alert to all manifestations in word and action. Alerting our representatives and urging them to act. Writing to newspapers. Making our friends aware. Demonstrating when appropriate.
Franz W. Wassermann, M.D.
You know one of the rules for political writing is no Hitler comparisons.
However I think we are long past that being considered hyperbolic or unreasonable.
Donald Trump seems to have taken this country to a new time and place, but perhaps most concerning is that in Germany they would recognize it as an old time and place.
