I Finally Understand How Hitler Came to Power in Germany

 

I began studying the German language in college when I fell in love with a girl whose family had emigrated from Germany.  I was fascinated by the intellectual depth of her family and their culture.  My studies of German acquainted me with the incredible wealth of German accomplishment – philosophy, theology, music, science, literature, poetry.  I studied at the University of Bonn in 1974-75, while Bonn was the German capital.

Like all Americans of that era, I had grown up on a steady diet of war movies and television shows that depicted Germans as either sadistic Nazis or incompetent German soldiers.  When I studied in Bonn, the country had just begun to intensely study the Third Reich period.  One of the courses I took focused on the period up to Hitler’s installation as Chancellor.  The professor was excellent, and it was fascinating to witness the children of the Nazi period confront their parents’ history.

But even after intense study of the causes and events of the 20’s and early 30’s, I found it difficult to comprehend how a people with such intellectual and cultural refinement could possibly allow Hitler to come to power.  It just didn’t seem to make sense.

Now, upon seeing so many of my neighbors, friends and relatives cling to Donald Trump, even after the evidence of how deeply flawed and damaged he is has accumulated beyond any reasonable doubt, I finally understand how Hitler succeeded.

I am not saying that Trump is as bad as Hitler.  I believe he has many of the same traits – the narcissism, the lack of humility, the vindictiveness, the willingness to do or say anything to promote his own interests, the mendacity, the lack of any ennobling spirit.  I also do not doubt that Trump could become as evil as Hitler if he were given a similar set of circumstances.  But for now, he is inhibited, thank God, by a much more established set of laws and political practices that provide a bulwark against his authoritarian instincts.

Like Hitler, Trump is a man who an objective, unaffected observer would never choose to be a leader.  But between ignorance, cynicism, hunger for power, self-interest and indoctrination, close to half of the nation is willing, if not eager, to keep Trump in office.

Here are the different groups that fall prey to Trump’s appeal, just as they did to Hitler’s:

• The ignorant, whose blind nationalism, subliminal (or overt) racism,  and lack of comprehension and study of economic, social and political issues make them completely susceptible.  This group is mesmerized by the man, just as Germans were bewitched by Hitler.  Now, Hitler’s speeches seem ludicrous and comical, just as Trump’s speeches are incomparably idiotic to anyone not in his thrall.
• The fundamentalist and evangelical Christians, who are so fearful of changes in our culture and society that they are willing to make a pact with the devil himself to attempt a forced return to a mythical world that never really existed. 
• The cynical and self-interested, who recognize Trump’s character flaws but see in his policies financial gain for themselves and are thus willing to ignore them.  This includes all the billionaires and wealthy Americans who are so opposed to any brake on their accelerating good fortune, and so selfishly immersed in the worship of pure capitalism, that they eagerly take the risk of having a demagogue and charlatan as President.
• The power-hungry, whose access to power is currently predicated on loyalty to Trump.  Many of them castigated Trump during his ascent to power and surely still harbor dislike, if not outright detestation of the man.  But they meekly kowtow to him so that they can retain their positions of power, because power is their only desire.  And like the Weimar politicians who believed that Hitler was controllable, they convince themselves that Trump can only cause so much damage.

When do ‘good people’ turn into bad people?  Every human being has the potential for good and evil.  The good person, who is a wonderful friend and neighbor and treats his or her children with love and affection, and goes to church every Sunday, is the same person who stands in a mob opposing peaceful BLM protesters, face distorted with hatred, ready to fight or even kill.  The dark side of human beings is always close to the surface. 

The good Germans who welcomed Hitler with gleeful, patriotic fervor, believing he would ‘make Germany great again’; the good Germans who turned a blind eye because they thought his ascension would bring stability and financial advantage; the good Germans who supported him to keep their positions and power; they all became the bad Germans who set the world on a path of incomprehensible death and misery.

Those good-turned-bad Germans are not unique.  We are the same people, with the same potential for good and evil, walking the same thin line between love and hate, nobility and savagery.  Let us pray that enough of us have the strength, the wisdom and the courage to hold the line.