Category: Hitler and Nazism

Topic Overview: In this paper, I hope to explore the parallels between Nazi Germany and the current administration in the United States. I will hopefully accomplish this by studying the martyrdom of Horst Wessel and comparing his death to that of far-right political activist, Charlie Kirk. In today’s world, we’ve seen governments of many different countries being overthrown in favor of far-right/conservative ideologies. Just a few days ago, Japan elected its first Female Prime Minister, but certain news outlets have discussed the fact that she has very fascist ideologies. Even in the US, we have seen the rise of the same ideologies in the popularity of the current MAGA movement. People are being censored to extremes, the media is being controlled under a tight leash, and our President is trying to promote himself as pretty much the sole leader of the country.

The big questions I wish to answer here are: Is Charlie Kirk the martyr for MAGA the way Horst Wessel was for Nazi Germany? What are the current administrative and legal parallels between the MAGA movement and the Nazi Party, if any? Is there any real threat in the bolstering of the Executive branch powers as we’ve recently seen, and is this a potential leeway into a totalitarian government? Is propaganda to be blamed for the devolution into what we call our government in the US today?

My potential source ideas would be The Holocaust Encyclopedia, Academic Journals discussing the Holocaust and Hitler’s rise to power, news articles discussing the current happenings in the Trump administration, and academic journals discussing the power of propaganda and its potential/past devastating effects.

Walking into the museum, I didn’t really know what to expect. During my K-12 education, we touched on the Holocaust multiple times in various world history courses, but I never knew just how extreme it actually was. The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that Germany had expanded into way more countries and territories than I had learned in school, and that concentration camps were found as far north as Norway and as far south as Africa. This was one of the first things the museum discussed when it came to the Nazi takeover of Germany and the following takeover of surrounding countries and even knowing this and using my previous knowledge from school, I wasn’t prepared for just how terrible the events of the Holocaust and those leading up to it were.

A heavy sense of sadness and grief seemed to flood my senses upon venturing further into the museum. Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I would read and even see in the videos and pictures throughout the installation, and I think that is a very important thing. So many people don’t understand just how severe the effects of the Holocaust were/are, and I think it’s very important for others to come to this museum so that they may further educate themselves on the topic. I knew that the Nazi’s didn’t like those with physical or mental disabilities, but I didn’t know that they ordered doctors and nurses throughout Germany to kill those with such disabilities in something that they dubbed the “euthanasia program.” Over 250,000 people were put to death in this program, including the elderly and children alike. I also learned that the Nazi’s would forcibly sterilize those who were mixed race with Jewish, which is just another addition to the atrocities committed in the name of a “perfect” nation.

It is so important to educate oneself, especially when it comes to major world events and issues such as mass genocide. Without going to the museum, I don’t think I would’ve ever learned about what happened and to the extent such events occurred. Even just being in the presence of the remnants and artifacts from the Holocaust had me filled with such an indescribable feeling of dread and an overall heaviness. The quotes from survivors practically moved me to tears as I saw a certain parallel being drawn with some of the mindsets of today. Specifically, the quote, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me” -Martin Niemöller.

We look at Nazi Germany and wonder how such a thing occurred and why so many people were fine with or even actively participated in the atrocities that happened, but we never ask ourselves if something like this can happen again. We like to think that we learn from history, but in reality, so much history is obscured by those who write the textbooks, and it’s obvious to me how much is obscured from the curriculum, considering how much I learned just from one museum trip compared to my 12 years in public school. I wish more about history were taught in schools, maybe then we wouldn’t be falling into the same patterns of history that we’ve come to know as bad, but we can’t even acknowledge when it’s happening to us.

Overall, the visit was very impactful on me and my view of the Holocaust. The things I learned and the patterns I recognized will definitely serve me positively regarding my understanding of history and human nature. I highly recommend everyone go to this museum, or even do their own research further into what happened, as we aren’t taught much about it in school.

Hitler:

Before I get too much into the context surrounding the piece of text itself, I’d like to discuss who Hitler was and what led him to write Mein Kampf. Hitler was born in Austria in 1889, which makes his statements in the chapters of Mein Kampf I read completely hypocritical. He attacks the idea of naturalization and becoming a citizen of a country one wasn’t born in, and yet he did the same thing himself. As a child, it appears that Hitler feared and disliked his father, while he was very much a mama’s boy, and he never made it past his secondary education (or middle to high school here). He found solace in creating art, so he applied and failed to get into the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna twice. After this seeming defeat, he got himself enlisted in the army during WWI by practically begging the King to do so after he failed his physical examination. He was actually awarded for his time in the military with both the first- and second-class Iron Cross for his bravery on the front lines.

After this, Hitler decided to take up the life of politics and joined the German Workers Party (later called the Nazi Party). He did so in 1919, and by 1920, he was promoted to creating propaganda for the group. After a few tussles with the leaders due to differences in ideals regarding the party’s true intentions, Hitler became the leader of the (now) Nazi Party in 1921. Hitler was then convicted of high treason in 1923 for his attempt to overthrow the current German Republic. He was sentenced to serve 5 years in prison, but ended up only serving 9 months.

Mein Kampf:

Hitler’s time in prison is what led to Mein Kampf being written. He began to work on this text while he was in Landsberg prison in hopes that it would create some revenue and bolster his political status once again. His first edition sold 10,000 copies, so a second edition soon followed, yet it wasn’t as popular. That was until 1930, when the Nazi Party won 107 seats in the German Parliament and then increased to 230 by the spring of 1932. By the end of 1932, almost 230,000 copies had been sold in Germany, and that number just continued to increase after he was appointed Chancellor in 1933, which increased the number to 850,000. Finally, by the end of 1944, over 12 million copies had been printed with special editions such as braille, an edition for newlyweds, and a special copy for Hitler’s 50th birthday. Obviously, this book was extremely influential in Germany, and it eventually led to what we know as the Holocaust. The hatred woven between the words of Mein Kampf led to the rise of Nazism and the overall death of 6 million Jews by the end of the Holocaust.

Today, this book is still considered extremely taboo and dangerous in many countries due to its dire effect on an entire religion and race. Austria, Poland, and the Netherlands have Mein Kampf outright banned, while Israel prohibits the distribution of the book. Germany also used to have the book banned, but in 2016, this decision was lifted, and now annotated editions are allowed to be circulated. France and Russia have certain restrictions still, and while the US and the UK don’t have set boundaries regarding the books’ distribution, many sellers keep this book off shelves due to its ethical concerns. Overall, this one text had extremely detrimental impacts on society as a whole, proving just how effective propaganda can be in times of stress and hardship. Due to high tensions in Germany after WWI, the people turned their backs on an entire group and blamed them for all of their hardships, just as Hitler had hoped for.

Chapter 3:

Hitler starts this chapter by breaking the German state into two current groups: Citizens and Aliens. He defines citizens as those who have their full civic rights either by birth or through naturalization, while aliens are those who “enjoy” these rights within another state. He then goes on to criticize Germany’s current immigration enforcement, stating that it’s too easy for one to be considered German, no matter where their country of origin is. He’s upset that race plays no part in the decision of whether or not someone can become a German citizen, and also states that Germany doesn’t have a care for their citizens’ health, as they don’t consider health status either during the naturalization process. Furthermore, he detests the fact that those who become German citizens through naturalization aren’t forced to do military service, yet they are still allowed the same rights as other German citizens.

As he’s laying out his different grievances with the current immigration system in Germany, he commends the United States for limiting its immigration based on health and, most importantly, race. Hitler then concludes that not only does Germany need stricter immigration regulations, but people need to be defined by three categories instead of the current two: citizens, subjects of the state, and aliens. Subjects of the state are defined as those who are born in Germany and are therefore subject to German laws, but who have not reached the state of citizenship. For men, citizenship comes only after military service, and whether or not they are found to be in good physical and mental status. For women, citizenship is acquired through marriage or by working if they deem themselves independent.

Overall, this chapter discusses his take on current immigration enforcement and how he thinks he could do better. It’s disturbing to see him commend the United States for our enforcement, and it’s even more disturbing to think about how he’d view our current regulations based on racial profiling, since it’s known he has a racial preference in his perfect country. Parallels can be seen with this hatred for those who aren’t “truly” German, and the Nationalism certain groups in the USA display today.

Chapter 4:

In this chapter, Hitler discusses how race is an important identifier for a man’s worth, but it cannot be based solely on race due to intellectual differences between those of the same race. This is also when he introduces his idea of an Authoritarian government, with a sole leader who controls everyone. He discusses how leadership should not be based on a majority vote, but on a man’s personality ruling alone. He attacks the ideas of the democratic system of voting, fair wages, and bridging the gap between the rich and poor, stating that these ideas are what create a weak society and government.

Most importantly, he hates the idea of a collective. He states that the individual is more important than the whole, and that inventions and ideas that have come to help those in the present are the work of a single man’s mind and not that of a collective. He then goes on to attack the Jewish people and how they are allegedly trying to dismantle the idea of the importance of the individual, and also attributes Marxism to the Jewish people and their ideals as a whole. (Let it be noted that while Karl Marx was ethnically Jewish, he was an atheist and had no Jewish education.) Going along with this idea of the collective being “evil,” he also attacks the idea of workers’ Unions and calls them a Jewish invention.

In this chapter, the idea of one ruler is the overarching theme. Hitler’s hatred for the collective mind and his emphasis on those individuals whom he deems intellectually superior for “inventing” can also be seen today within the United States. In the current administration we are under, it feels as though the collective of Congress has no power over the President anymore, and he seems to try to rule unchecked, just as Hitler did. The emphasis of Unions and collectives being “evil” can also be seen, with peaceful protests being called violent, and our president calling for the end of criticism against him. In today’s world, the collective is an idea many are trying to destroy, as it has been seen that the collective is actually able to do a lot more than a single individual when it comes to change.