The view was magnificent this morning, and was matched by a perfect temperature. The sky was an ocean of colliding blues, and below, the valleys were a verdant green, while a perfect white blanket of clouds lay over a pristine lake.
For some reason, I immediately started to cry while reading this piece. Steve, you have juxtaposed the beauty of the region with the ugliness of Hitler and his...can't quite find the right words here, sorry.
This is such a profound piece, made even more so by the very real possibility that history may repeat itself in our very near future. I gave up years ago on hoping that more republicans would demonstrate some courage and stand up to the evil forces that comprise trumpism (a few have, but not enough).
So, even though red states think they have managed to secure their voter tallies through all sorts of maneuvering and dishonesty, we MUST get the truth out to those whose only "news" source is FOX.
It is all about the messaging. Sorry again, I've gone off on a tangent...time to reread this terrific piece and to become emotional again.
Thanks for the photo and powerful piece from the Nazi Eagles Nest. It is happening here already, early stages, that’s why we must stop it asap. Thanks for continuing to remind us.
A truly chilling post. Beautifully written. People talk about "the rise another Hitler" but very few take the trouble to see how it actually happened. It could most definitely happen here, and in fact is happening before our eyes.
YouTube has a few documentaries about how the German government was fractured and various parties allied themselves with Hitler between the time he was released from prison and he July 1932 federal elections when there were 36 parties listed on the ballot. This diversity of parties made it challenging for any single party to gain a majority in the Reichstag. The Nazis were the largest, but not a majority.
Everybody wanted something specific. Militarists wanted the strongest military, nationalists wanted to return to Glorious Bismarck Germany, industrialists wanted the rebuilding of German industry. The sting of the slap that was Treaty of Versailles was still fresh on everyone's cheeks because German pride had been trounced in that train carriage.
And Hitler promised everything to everyone, lying through his teeth (much the way LBJ did in order to get the civil rights bill passed through the Senate). Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg,
Once in power he consolidated it by assassinating his rivals and creating a false flag "assault on the the rule of law" that he blamed on Communists.
We know the rest. While Speer was designing buildings to last a thousand years, Hitler was paying back all of the loans from the industrialists using the property he had seized from the Jews. He then use them as slave labour to build his war machine. Hitler followed his published playbook and murdered 6 million people in death factories glibly managed by people like Rudolf Höss. It took the combined forces of the United States, Britain, and 20 million Soviet soldiers to topple him.
What will happen next if people believe this horrible liar and elect him to be president? The chances are that he would stroke out pretty quick and whomever his successor is, as of now JD Vance, would then galvanise project 2025 to seat themselves into power permanently.
Nuclear arsenals make for tremendous leverage on the world stage.
Speaking of Hitler: today, to a friend's post about no reason for war on Facebook, I commented that I agreed and that my dad (z"l) and I had many disagreements about when or where war may be justified. In my post, I used Hitler's name - as in my father saying that it was a justified war to stop Hitler. FB put me on notice. Others posted to my post that similarly hate speech is allowed when it is done minus some letters: N-zis, or the hate toward LGBTQIA people calling them "f-gts" and like. How do we call out hate when social media uses AI that doesn't understand context?
AI is good at many things, such as instantly aggregating disparate data sources and extrapolating a general summary before putting it into grammatically correct language (whether or not it's what you were looking for depends on how you tweak your prompts, so it may take time).
But AI is terrible at context, and is only as good as its training models. There was an old adage in debate class that "whomever brings up Hitler first automatically loses the argument," which I think is what Facebook may be doing.
Personally, I deleted my account that I'd had since 2007 (close to 5000 "friends") because I got sick of the way it's set up. Like Napalm, the CIA, and he US China policy, it is yet another shitty thing to come out of Harvard.
Steve, a beautifully written essay! Your pictures show the peaceful beauty of the German Alps; while they also hide the ugliness of Hitler's ambitions, his idea of what the world should be like, and the headquarters where the evil ideas flowed free for a while. Just as your pictures are a mixture of beauty and evil; your essay, although beautifully written, also carries another message of warning and awareness of the evil that is present in our own beautiful country!
Steve, you were gifted with the talent of communication. Keep your words and ideas flowing, as you inform the American people about the truth, while you also warn us about the evil!
Sinclair Lewis's 1935 novel, It Can't Happen Here, was written in response to the rise of Euro-fascism. I read it when Trump was first running for office, and found it eerily prescient: as though Lewis had traveled through time, and then returned to craft his populist presidential character Buzz Windrip. While the writing isn't as strong as some of his other novels, I'd still recommend it. I'd also recommend his better known Elmer Gantry, about a religious conman that has many themes relevant to today.
Thanks, I've added it to my list. (So many books to read, I shall never die!)
One thing that really worries me, and I don't see mentioned often enough, is Trump's promise to pardon all of the 1/6 insurrectionists should he get back into office. With their appetite for violence, he will have a ready-made civilian force, more than happy to put on the brown shirts. Not to mention his plans to weaponize the actual military.
Benjamin Carter Hett's The Death of Democracy is a good chronicle of how the Weimar democracy was corrupted by Nazis who exploited its processes to achieve power and establish a dictatorship. Too little is written (or read) about how the horrors of Nazism became possible.
I’ve been there too to Hitler’s lair (which as I recall they forced existing land and home owners out in that area to get this “retreat”). And I have family that grew up in Germany as Hitler and the Nazis took power. They always told me “beware of the fanatics “. They told me that Germans seceded power to this small group who then proceeded to destroy Germany (and much more). They witnessed firsthand the death, suffering, cruelty, and destruction that Hitler brought upon Germany with his empty promises. Today , drive through almost any German town, small or large, and you’ll find on the platz a monument with names of all the men from that town who were killed in WWII in service to Hitler’s fascist despotism. That’s why for me, I have a hard time understanding any American’s mindset willing to give up democracy and hand power to Trump and his MAGA fascists. I guess they don’t know any history, or don’t care. They are more dangerous than most Americans can fathom. But older Germans know, and many can’t understand why so many Americans are willing to follow someone who talks and acts like Hitler did.
Sobering on steroids, Steve, with crystal clarity. Trump MAGA fascists tout their eyes wide shut and their minds openly closed. Lamentably, much of the mainstream American media follows suit. As William Faulkner wrote in ‘Light in August’, “Memory knows before thinking remembers.”
Wow, that is a really powerful piece.
When Steve Schmidt talks (or writes), I listen. He’s one of the very best anti-Donald and anti-maga political commentators.
This piece is beautifully written and captivating. You’ve made a lot of things clearer. Thank you!
Thank you Steve. We are in a very dangerous situation and we wonder how many Americans understand what a fascist state looks like.
It's happening HERE. Now. Open your eyes America!
For some reason, I immediately started to cry while reading this piece. Steve, you have juxtaposed the beauty of the region with the ugliness of Hitler and his...can't quite find the right words here, sorry.
This is such a profound piece, made even more so by the very real possibility that history may repeat itself in our very near future. I gave up years ago on hoping that more republicans would demonstrate some courage and stand up to the evil forces that comprise trumpism (a few have, but not enough).
So, even though red states think they have managed to secure their voter tallies through all sorts of maneuvering and dishonesty, we MUST get the truth out to those whose only "news" source is FOX.
It is all about the messaging. Sorry again, I've gone off on a tangent...time to reread this terrific piece and to become emotional again.
Where else can you post this, Steve?
Thank you. jane
I forwarded this email to several people. It deserves to be widely read.
Thanks for the photo and powerful piece from the Nazi Eagles Nest. It is happening here already, early stages, that’s why we must stop it asap. Thanks for continuing to remind us.
A truly chilling post. Beautifully written. People talk about "the rise another Hitler" but very few take the trouble to see how it actually happened. It could most definitely happen here, and in fact is happening before our eyes.
YouTube has a few documentaries about how the German government was fractured and various parties allied themselves with Hitler between the time he was released from prison and he July 1932 federal elections when there were 36 parties listed on the ballot. This diversity of parties made it challenging for any single party to gain a majority in the Reichstag. The Nazis were the largest, but not a majority.
Everybody wanted something specific. Militarists wanted the strongest military, nationalists wanted to return to Glorious Bismarck Germany, industrialists wanted the rebuilding of German industry. The sting of the slap that was Treaty of Versailles was still fresh on everyone's cheeks because German pride had been trounced in that train carriage.
And Hitler promised everything to everyone, lying through his teeth (much the way LBJ did in order to get the civil rights bill passed through the Senate). Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg,
Once in power he consolidated it by assassinating his rivals and creating a false flag "assault on the the rule of law" that he blamed on Communists.
We know the rest. While Speer was designing buildings to last a thousand years, Hitler was paying back all of the loans from the industrialists using the property he had seized from the Jews. He then use them as slave labour to build his war machine. Hitler followed his published playbook and murdered 6 million people in death factories glibly managed by people like Rudolf Höss. It took the combined forces of the United States, Britain, and 20 million Soviet soldiers to topple him.
What will happen next if people believe this horrible liar and elect him to be president? The chances are that he would stroke out pretty quick and whomever his successor is, as of now JD Vance, would then galvanise project 2025 to seat themselves into power permanently.
Nuclear arsenals make for tremendous leverage on the world stage.
Speaking of Hitler: today, to a friend's post about no reason for war on Facebook, I commented that I agreed and that my dad (z"l) and I had many disagreements about when or where war may be justified. In my post, I used Hitler's name - as in my father saying that it was a justified war to stop Hitler. FB put me on notice. Others posted to my post that similarly hate speech is allowed when it is done minus some letters: N-zis, or the hate toward LGBTQIA people calling them "f-gts" and like. How do we call out hate when social media uses AI that doesn't understand context?
AI is good at many things, such as instantly aggregating disparate data sources and extrapolating a general summary before putting it into grammatically correct language (whether or not it's what you were looking for depends on how you tweak your prompts, so it may take time).
But AI is terrible at context, and is only as good as its training models. There was an old adage in debate class that "whomever brings up Hitler first automatically loses the argument," which I think is what Facebook may be doing.
Personally, I deleted my account that I'd had since 2007 (close to 5000 "friends") because I got sick of the way it's set up. Like Napalm, the CIA, and he US China policy, it is yet another shitty thing to come out of Harvard.
The parallels are all there, and all very frightening.
Steve, a beautifully written essay! Your pictures show the peaceful beauty of the German Alps; while they also hide the ugliness of Hitler's ambitions, his idea of what the world should be like, and the headquarters where the evil ideas flowed free for a while. Just as your pictures are a mixture of beauty and evil; your essay, although beautifully written, also carries another message of warning and awareness of the evil that is present in our own beautiful country!
Steve, you were gifted with the talent of communication. Keep your words and ideas flowing, as you inform the American people about the truth, while you also warn us about the evil!
Thank you, Donna.
Steve
I think the overwhelming majority of Trump followers rarely set foot outside their own home town.
Or even their own basements.
Is that where Trump got “basement dwellers” from?
...except to commit acts of hate. See this New Yorker article, also posted separately in comments I made https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/08/26/infiltrating-the-far-right
Sinclair Lewis's 1935 novel, It Can't Happen Here, was written in response to the rise of Euro-fascism. I read it when Trump was first running for office, and found it eerily prescient: as though Lewis had traveled through time, and then returned to craft his populist presidential character Buzz Windrip. While the writing isn't as strong as some of his other novels, I'd still recommend it. I'd also recommend his better known Elmer Gantry, about a religious conman that has many themes relevant to today.
If that rings a bell with you then you should read Facts and Fascism by George Seldes. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6763929-facts-and-fascism
It's scary how relevant what was written in 1943 is to what's happening today.
Thanks, I've added it to my list. (So many books to read, I shall never die!)
One thing that really worries me, and I don't see mentioned often enough, is Trump's promise to pardon all of the 1/6 insurrectionists should he get back into office. With their appetite for violence, he will have a ready-made civilian force, more than happy to put on the brown shirts. Not to mention his plans to weaponize the actual military.
Benjamin Carter Hett's The Death of Democracy is a good chronicle of how the Weimar democracy was corrupted by Nazis who exploited its processes to achieve power and establish a dictatorship. Too little is written (or read) about how the horrors of Nazism became possible.
What a wonderful essay. Most can see clearly only in hindsight. Also loved the golden elevator (escalator) that I never knew about
I’ve been there too to Hitler’s lair (which as I recall they forced existing land and home owners out in that area to get this “retreat”). And I have family that grew up in Germany as Hitler and the Nazis took power. They always told me “beware of the fanatics “. They told me that Germans seceded power to this small group who then proceeded to destroy Germany (and much more). They witnessed firsthand the death, suffering, cruelty, and destruction that Hitler brought upon Germany with his empty promises. Today , drive through almost any German town, small or large, and you’ll find on the platz a monument with names of all the men from that town who were killed in WWII in service to Hitler’s fascist despotism. That’s why for me, I have a hard time understanding any American’s mindset willing to give up democracy and hand power to Trump and his MAGA fascists. I guess they don’t know any history, or don’t care. They are more dangerous than most Americans can fathom. But older Germans know, and many can’t understand why so many Americans are willing to follow someone who talks and acts like Hitler did.
Unbelievable…
www.tomthedemocratist.com
Sobering on steroids, Steve, with crystal clarity. Trump MAGA fascists tout their eyes wide shut and their minds openly closed. Lamentably, much of the mainstream American media follows suit. As William Faulkner wrote in ‘Light in August’, “Memory knows before thinking remembers.”
Thanks Steve for speaking so clearly on the present danger to our democracy!!!