In Berlin, near remnants of the wall that once divided the city between East and West, the Topography of Terror Center documents the Nazi Party rise to power and the collapse of democracy in Germany during the 1930s. The shift from democracy to dictatorship took less than 18 months, from January 1933 to August 1934. The exhibit is powerful and frightening account of the past and a lesson for the present and future about the fragility of democracy.
In January 1933, Adolf Hitler was allowed to form a parliamentary government by President Paul von Hindenburg although his Nazi Party only held only a third of the seats in the German Reichstag or Parliament. Conservative politicians and corporate leaders thought they would control Hitler and exercise power through him. Socialist leader Kurt Schumacher dismissed Hitler as their “Dekorationsstück” (decoration). But Fascist groups marched through the streets in torch lit parades celebrating Hitler’s new position as Chancellor and the Nazi’s Machtergreifung, seizure of power. A month later the Reichstag building was destroyed by a suspicious fire and Hitler received unprecedented emergency power. Civil liberties were suspended, political opposition was silenced, and Germany started to slip into dictatorship. In August 1934, with the death of von Hindenburg, Hitler was both Chancellor and President, the unchallenged German Führer. Troops and officers in the German military and civil servants were required to swear an oath of loyalty, not Germany or its Constitution, but to Hitler.
One of the things most disturbing in the Topography of Terror exhibits was the distortion of language in anti-Semitic and politically repressive “laws” and Nazi propaganda. Attacks on German Jews were justified as “Abwehraktion” (defensive actions). Dissidents who questioned the regime were branded as “asoziale” (anti-social) or “staatsfeinde” (enemies of the state), which were grounds for imprisonment in a concentration camp. “Vorbeugungshaft” (protective custody) was not used to protect individuals, but to protect the government from people who criticized the Nazi state apparatus, policies, or ideology. There was a campaign to rid the nation of “Unnütze essen” (useless eaters).
To silence those who believed in human rights, facts, and truth, the Nazis established Committees Against the UnGerman Spirit at German Universities and launched “Die Zerschlagung der Gewerkschaften,” a campaign against trade unions. Ethnic minorities and protesters were dismissed as “Gemeinschaftsfeinde” (alien to the community), “Volksschädlinge” (pest to the nation), and “Bandenverdächtige” (suspected gang members). A Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion was established to prey on homosexuals and prevent women from terminating unwanted pregnancies.
In 1935, American author Sinclair Lewis published a novel It Can’t Happen Here about a demagogue who uses fearmongering, phony patriotism, and promises to promote traditional values to get elected President. Once in office, he uses a paramilitary force to impose a totalitarian government on the United States.
Can it happen here? Donald Trump was “elected” President with a minority of the popular vote. Since his election the Republican Party has worked to suppress voting by groups considered hostile. Campaign rallies stir his supporters into frenzies. Conservatives and business leaders thought they could control Trump or at least modify his extremes, but they clearly can’t.
Defensive actions are called for against an “invasion” of refugees and undocumented immigrants who are then interred in protective custody. Legal residents are threatened with expulsion if they apply for food stamps. Immigrants are branded as pests and gang members. Labor unions and women’s reproductive rights are under attack. The press and even some of his appointees are called enemies of the state if they question with his policies. Opposition is dismissed as “disloyalty.” Foreign governments are enlisted to undermine potential rivals. Meanwhile Donald Trump claims extraordinary power through executive action and fabricated emergency measures.
New York Times columnist David Leonhardt recently called Trump a “threat to virtually everything that the United States should stand for” and listed forty different types of Trump outrages. Another Times columnist, Charles Blow, argues “Donald Trump has discovered the pillars of this temple we call the American democracy are weak” and that he is trying to “topple them.”
The House of Representative is pursuing Articles of Impeachment even though two-thirds of the Senate will never convict and a Republican majority may not even permit the charges to come to trial. But it is important to document Trump’s illegalities going into the 2020 election and the danger of fascism to the United States. Trump’s “defense” so far is to attack anyone who questions his behavior as treasonous and criminal in an effort to delegitimize the process. He retweeted a message that threatened civil war if he is convicted and removed from office.
If Trump is reelected, can it happen here? You bet it can.
Eric Tait, Bob Anthony, and Alan Singer discuss impeachment and other topics on Media Watch.
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