Did you study history at school?

If so, what did you learn about how Hitler came to power?
How was he democratically elected?
What signs of his intentions did he show before he was elected?

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DallasCowboysFan · 61-69, M

A major reason for his election victory is because he instilled pride in the German people and gave them hope. Germany is blamed for starting WW1 but it's not that black and white. Anyhow, after WW1, France removed entire industrial plants from Germany and moved them to France. They occupied Germany and citizens had to defer to French soldiers in public in their own country. Women were violated without repercussions. They lost Alsace Lorraine in western Germany, which was 80% German. They were expelled from their homes without compensation and sent packing to Germany. They lost the Sudetenland in northern Czech, territory to Denmark, and lost territory (Polish Corridor /Silesia ) to Poland even though the people were ethnic Germans.

The dude that led Poland ( I forget his name ) was liquidating ethnic Germans in Poland prior to Germany's invasion. If I recall 60k were killed. For 100 years it was their home and they were safe, now they were outcasts and being killed by Poland as a result of WW1.

France also removed gold and silver possessed by the govt. Without precious metals and something to base their currency on, they had hyperinflation and we know how that turned out.

So, along comes Hitler. He gave them hope, he motivated them, he created the idea of Germans being a family and when he was arrested and spent 6 months in Jail, he became a folk hero. Unfortunately, he also had a lot of free time on his hands and Hitler and Hess wrote Mein Kampf, spelling out his ideas and foundation for National Socialism.

Don't get me wrong I am not a neo Nazi. But it's good to look at things objectively. The treaty of WW1 caused WW2. Winning is good, but you need to be reasonable about reparations and not be vindictive. Otherwise you sow the seeds for 'payback'. People don't forget.

TheSirfurryanimalWales · 61-69, M

@DallasCowboysFan Excellent piece.

bijouxbroussard · F

@DallasCowboysFan But Hitler used Europe’s Jewish population as a scapegoat; how was murdering millions of them, Gypsies and other ethnic minorities justified in that revenge ? That part [b]is[/b] pretty much black and white.

DallasCowboysFan · 61-69, M

@bijouxbroussard It wasn't. But he did not tell them he was going to do that when he ran for election. He vilified the Jews but I am not sure that he was doing that when he ran for his first election in '32.

bijouxbroussard · F

@DallasCowboysFan He didn’t, but the fact that once it began so many were happy to participate in turning in their neighbors, watching people being taken away with no protest, is horrifying.

SW-User

@bijouxbroussard Don't 4get,we make the Nazis look like pikers compared 2 our almost total extermination of the Native Americans, those who survived were stuck on reservations in areas where there was no food or game or anything.

bijouxbroussard · F

@SW-User Oh, trust me, I haven’t forgotten. The entire eugenics program that Nazis like Mengele used with his experiments originated in the United States, where in the southern states horrific experiments and sterilization of African Americans were going on even [b]after[/b] WWII. There are people from my parents’ generation who are still distrustful of white doctors.

SW-User

@bijouxbroussard I can see why.

DallasCowboysFan · 61-69, M

@bijouxbroussard It wasn't just the U.S. Eugenics was popular in Canada, Britain and Russia. Probably many other places as well.

And it appears to be making a comeback with the introduction of DNA testing of unborn infants and the possibility of aborting a less than perfect child.

bijouxbroussard · F

@DallasCowboysFan But the Nazis have always given credit to the US for their program. And abortions are not performed without the mother’s specific [b]request[/b], and that is unlikely to change. Sterilizations were happening without the subject’s [b]knowledge[/b]. So it’s an entirely different scenario.

Elevatorpitches · F

@DallasCowboysFan good points!!

Elevatorpitches · F

@DallasCowboysFan ever see the film "Gattica"?

DallasCowboysFan · 61-69, M

@Elevatorpitches I have heard about it, but I don't recall seeing it.
I'll check it out.

DallasCowboysFan · 61-69, M

@bijouxbroussard Nazi ideology is not unique to Germany. The lifestyle and philosophy was popular during the depression. This was Madison Square Garden in NYC - 1932?

https://themindcircle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/nazis-madison-square-garden-6.jpg

bijouxbroussard · F

@DallasCowboysFan Trust me, I know. There’s been an American Nazi Party in existence in several forms for over 60 years. They’ve often been allies to the Ku Klux Klan. Their members are often seen at Trump rallies.

Elevatorpitches · F

@DallasCowboysFan they copied it from us, our art and advertising too...look at this satirical spot:[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3D0AltF4EE&t=1s]