My husband stumbled on these. The “Don’t Be a Sucker” films are highly effective WWII films shown to soldiers, among others, that show fascistic speakers and point out the tactics they use to draw people in and divide them one from another. They point out how such speakers manufacture outrage against minority groups by demonizing them, creating a sense of grievance and a willingness to serve the fascists who will lead them in “taking care of the problem.” They show how mass gatherings lead to book burnings, etc, and the squelching of ideas.
Don't Be a Sucker
In fact, they are amazing copies of what is happening right now. And the title of these films is literally: Don’t Be a Sucker. Because their point is that the “little people” who join such movements are just fodder for votes and war to keep a small group in power, who couldn’t care less about them. They are highly effective, using stories of individuals and what happens to them, like “ordinary Germans” under Hitler, and how those who opposed him were wiped out or imprisoned until there was only one way to think that was allowed.
Just as important, they celebrate the diversity in the US and stress that all kinds of people are needed to do all kinds of jobs in America. They are clear as a bell and very moving. I linked to the one I especially liked.
I wish that Trump fans and other book-burners and anti-immigrant folks could just sit down and watch this one. Removing this framing of “us agin them” from our time and showing what it led to in WWII, pointing out that these were GOVERNMENT videos from WWII, a time when the US saved the effing world—and we did (not alone, of course)—might jig a worldview or two.
Anyway, I’m not on Twitter or Facebook anymore, but I think these should be better known. Share with others if you agree and can.