Thank you for this. I was born in 1954 and grew up in France reading and hearing about the years before and after Hitler came to power. Ever since 2015 when you know who announced that he was going to be president, I have had the awful feeling of being thrown back into the thirties in Europe. I fear for my grandchildren but I want to keep hoping that we can keep our democracy.
Thanks, Marie-Helene. One of he many awful things about the MAGA movement is how recently it was that the Nazis were in power, and how everyone in the States, if not the world, knew what they were and what they did. And still: here we are.
“You don’t whistle against an ocean.” Sure feels like we are whistling against an ocean of authoritarian lies, but when it comes down to it, is anything ever really in vain?
Another excellent Sunday morning read Greg! Timing is everything in this world, let’s make damn sure that we are all ready for what comes next, preferably with our boots to the necks of fascism!
There are many parallels. As a Jew, the child of a member of the French Resistance and concentration camp survivor and of a refugee, both originally from Austria, it has been hard since Trump arrived on the political scene not to be acutely aware of them. There is an interesting difference, though, that you touch on. As you say, Germany in the 1920s was experiencing real economic distress both because of the Depression, which was not restricted to the US, and because of the reparations demanded by the Treaty of Versailles. Economically, at least, there is no parallel between the desperation that the Germans (and many Americans) felt at the time, and now. Yet, somehow, among those with whom he resonates, Trump and his ilk have exploited the feeling of "we aren't getting everything we want all the time" to a degree that Hitler was able to do with people who really had nothing.
There is a paradox, too. Similar circumstances gave the Germans Hitler and us Roosevelt. Now, Germany, despite a rise in the right, remains a staunchly democratic country while here our democracy is being eroded albeit by a minority that games the system. It makes me wonder whether the darker side of winning, even in a truly righteous cause, isn't that it permits us not to feel that we need to learn the lessons of history.
I agree, Frank. Our economic conditions are very different from Germany in the 1920's. However, the right wing is trying to convince their followers that it is just as bad, if not worse. So if a person is caught up in right wing media, they may feel they have no choice but to follow that train of thinking. Larry Kudlow admitted that he was wrong about what would happen to the economy during the Biden administration. On Fox News no less! “Mea culpa...I was wrong about the slowdown and the recession, so was the entire forecasting fraternity...the Fed, everyone was wrong,” said Kudlow". One grain of truth that will perhaps get through.
"Americans are childish in many ways and about as subtle as a Wimpy burger; but in the long run it doesn't make any difference. They just turn on the power." — Tom Wolfe
Thanks for this insightful response, Frank. I hadn't thought of that, but you're right -- the post-WW1 Germans really were in a terrible place, with legitimate gripes. MAGA are the snowflakes of the world. Disgraceful.
And I'd never thought of FDR that way, either, but he circumstances did put him in power (and he was criticized by his detractors back then for being a dictator). I just got some books sent to me about FDR, including one just about the year 1932. This is a sign I should read them next.
Thank you for the reminder and the inspiration, Greg! I am currently reading a book set in a small village in 1600’s England. Along comes a “Witchfinder” to rid England of all “Witches”. He says he’s been sent by Parliament (but that is a lie). He uses fear to divide the people of the Village and to convince them that their neighbors are really "Witches". This act of division brings to the surface all of the Villagers' insecurities. Everyone is suspicious of each other. Fear and panic consume everyone. He tortures the people he accuses of being Witches with very little oversight. He’s really just a weak little man who only feels powerful when he is terrorizing other people. Several people choose to stand up to him and not allow him to terrorize them and in that strength, they expose him for the weak, sadistic person that he is. Stay strong fellow readers! The truth always comes out in the end. Truth is what will end the sadist’s reign of terror.
Perfect analog for these times, Gail. This has been a terrible week for Trump so far. I generally hate when people say that, especially when they gloat about it, but this week is up there...
Not to oversimplify the MAGAt folk, but it appears from my somewhat limited perspective that they are, in some ways, an almost unholy alliance of the haves and the have nots. On the one hand, there are those who are not readers, learners, or educated people - and this is by choice as well as intellectual ability - and they are consumed with anger and a need to act out and act back against their perceived enemies (most of us.) On the other, there are the well-educated and deliberately manipulative, greedy and ambitious types, those who have figured out how to game the system and USE the folks who show up at rallies and scream their hatred and who send their meager amounts to fund the so-called billionaire and his many lawyers and his well-dressed mannequin - the one who passes for a wife in absentia. It's almost like the users + the used, the abusers + the abused, the predators + the preyed upon. And I realize this is stereotyping to the point of being ridiculous. Just a thought on a Sunday.
Thanks, Ellen. It's not stereotyping; it's a pretty honest take on it. Historically, the peasants -- the bottom of the economic ladder, the ones who didn't have anything, and who would benefit the most from revolution -- always supported the king.
There are times when trying to comprehend the incomprehensible is so exhausting. For example in the day after the $83.3 million verdict against 45 over 35,000 people donated an average $75 to assist a man who Forbes claims his net worth to be in excess $2.6 billion and per 45 has some $400+ cash on hand. The FEC says he spent $50 of PAC money on legal fees, money from political donors, the uber rich and not so rich folks money.
This is the scariest part of the MAGA madness. People not much different from most of us other than their political beliefs are willing to part with their money to express loyalty to the most mentally challenged person on earth. These are the same folks who are smart enough to recognize that the price of energy, gas for their cars, food for their bellies are way above where they were a couple of years ago. This despite more of them have jobs and their paychecks are better. They discount the good and revel in the bad.
The Weimar Republic suffered due to war reparations mandated by the Treaty of Versaille. There was real agnst in the country. No comparison to USA 2024. Yes comparisons may exist between Deutschland pre WWII and the US but the dissimilarities are stark, for me rendering the comparisons null.
MAGA-ites are caught in a cult like madness whose mantra is hate thy neighbor simply because you can. They revel in anti government hatred because, hearkened to Reagan, Government is the problem. In the MAGA world the undefined THEY must be despised and beaten. The best way to achieve this, elect a hard man who will look after you, will never let you down. Somehow they believe 45 is that gift from heaven despite a history of ME and only ME, one who has let down anyone who ever got close to him, one who calls killed in action patriots losers. One who couldn’t be more different than your typical MAGA-ite.
The point, we can look to history for answers but this is not realistic. Incomprehensible in today's world does exist. Only when more rationale folks vote than MAGA-ites vote to make 46 number 47 can we move on while the incomprehensible remains incomprehensible.
Old Man, we actually do have to look at our history. This past week, twenty-five award winning historians have signed onto one of the many amicus briefs sent to Scotus. They have all agreed that the language in the 14th Amendment Section 3 is written exactly as the Founding Fathers intended. That is a significant number of individuals who are arguing that the justices who have touted they are “originalists”, better follow their beliefs. Unprecedented that the country witnessed a premeditated power grab by a public who were convinced by a deranged power hungry man-child to commit insurrection.
I read that brief after being advised to by another Substack, and it got me off the fence about whether Trump should be on ANY ballot in the US. He should not. He betrayed the US the minute he decided that court rulings were invalid, the voters' wishes were invalid, the LAW was invalid, and he tried to keep the presidency for himself. An insurrectionist should NOT be allowed to run for or be installed into any office in the land.
Thanks, Old Man. I suppose societies always have this type of person, this subset, easily cultified, and the key is to never allow their cult hero to get into power. It never fails to amaze me that the piece of legislation that gave Hitler dictatorial powers was called The Enabling Act.
After finishing, "The Crown," which I loved, although they might have spent a little too much time and angst on Diana, I decided to tackle, "The Man in the High Castle," another show I'd heard so much about, but had never seen. "High Castle" could not have come at a better time for me as we move inevitably to the 2024 election. Basically, it's about what would have happened if Germany and Japan had won World War II instead of the Allies and takes place starting in 1962. It's, of course, an entirely different "America," and without spoiling too much, it's revealed that the American Nazis in charge were ordinary, everyday Americans before losing the war. Some had moved quite high in the food chain after they decided that the Nazis were here to stay.
I will soon be 66, so I doubt that if Trump is re-elected, America will get to the "High Castle' level anytime during what remains of my lifetime, but it could, eventually. There are already many deluded "patriots" looking for SOMETHING that they're not finding within themselves, or within anyone that doesn't think like them. It isn't much of a stretch to see the "smarter" ones being in control in a New America. I don't worry about only that, but that this will actually be the most important election in our history, because my greatest fear is that Trump wins and we don't even GET real elections anymore. But even though that's negative thinking, I think we have to remind ourselves of the things that could happen and not take our foot off the gas, even for a minute over the next 274 days.
I saw this this morning. This is a woman that took part in the "convoy" to the southern border this week, and FINALLY came to some realizations. I'd normally feel sorry for her, but I'm not anywhere close to THERE yet: https://twitter.com/i/status/1753214919007207657 As I said elsewhere, I can't wait to see Frances McDormand do this speech in the movie.
By the way, I highly recommend, "The Man in the High Castle." It's on Amazon Prime. Excellent show!
How far are you along in "High Castle"? My suggestion is to stop after S2 and pretend the next season was never made -- like how I only acknowledge the first Indiana Jones movie. It's so so SO good. And if we say that S2 is the end, it nails the landing. Rufus Sewell, so good. Joel de la Fuente. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Love it.
Oh no, I watched it until the bitter end, but you're right, it could have stopped after two seasons and been just fine. I liked the storyline, but after S2 it got all science fictiony, which was fine, yet didn't comport with what had come before. I like science-fiction but was MUCH more interested in the people and situations in the new America than anything else. That was some ASTOUNDING set design and cinematography. But that ending! Just, WHAT?? Who are you people?? And whatever happened to Ed and Jack? A pretty major character just disappeared. No Joe Blake in the other world? Why not? Juliana found everybody else pretty easily! Lots of plot holes that normally wouldn't bother me, but in this show they did. LOVED all the same actors you mentioned, in addition, the Himmler character, who was delightfully over-the-top, and as soon as Childen's weirdo Japanese geisha fetish was thankfully written out, the relationship between him and Yukiko. Stephen Root is also ALWAYS welcome! Hitler was a bore, as is ours!
I should add though that even with all that, it's still, OVERALL, an excellent show. It got an 8/10 from me on IMDb.
Now, I'm into a rewatch of "Fargo." I still haven't seen S4 or S5 and decided to start at the beginning.
One more observation: In "High Castle," when I heard "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," having only heard it before in "Cabaret," I thought, "was that REALLY a Nazi song?" So, I looked it up, and no, it was written for "Cabaret" by Kander and Ebb -- both men Jews. It is still, in almost ANY context, one of the most chilling songs I can think of.
Thank you for this. I was born in 1954 and grew up in France reading and hearing about the years before and after Hitler came to power. Ever since 2015 when you know who announced that he was going to be president, I have had the awful feeling of being thrown back into the thirties in Europe. I fear for my grandchildren but I want to keep hoping that we can keep our democracy.
‘On Tyranny’ 📖 by Timothy Snyder has also been published in a beautiful graphic edition, illustrated by Nora Krug. This book is my favorite.
Coming from a family of courageous WWII Resistance fighters, I fight on to protect democracy and freedom with my pen - sharper than the sword. ✌🏻
Evil prevails when good people fail to act. https://open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p/on-tyranny?r=pr5a7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&comments=true
Yes I love this book.
His book is fantastic. No surprise he's been the staunchest defender of Ukraine.
Yes, he’s also supporting https://u24.gov.ua/ Ukraine 🇺🇦 🌻
Thanks, Marie-Helene. One of he many awful things about the MAGA movement is how recently it was that the Nazis were in power, and how everyone in the States, if not the world, knew what they were and what they did. And still: here we are.
Berlin’s disused war bunkers.
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0h6h8jb/berlin-s-disused-war-bunkers
Next we take Berlin ✌🏻
Now that song will be in my head all day. Which is a good thing! REM does a great cover of it.
Imagine how happy our troops were when they took Berlin 😊
Next we take Moscow …
Leonard Cohen 🎶 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JsvRcZiFj8g
I really appreciate what you do Mr. O. Well writ story. We have to fight for good government.
Bad governance = unhappy people. Good governance = happy…
Keep on teaching us. Billserle.com
Thanks, Bill!
Wonderful and wonderfully appropriate piece, Greg. Thank you.
Thanks, Krysti!
You're welcome!
“You don’t whistle against an ocean.” Sure feels like we are whistling against an ocean of authoritarian lies, but when it comes down to it, is anything ever really in vain?
Rick, I think you may have solved my title problem for the Sunday Pages anthology...
And no, nothing is ever in vain, ever.
I've seen the parallels for years now. Frightening, because when I meet a MAGA type, I feel I am "whistling against an ocean."
It's really a perfect phrase.
Another excellent Sunday morning read Greg! Timing is everything in this world, let’s make damn sure that we are all ready for what comes next, preferably with our boots to the necks of fascism!
Thanks, Patrick. Down with MAGA!
Well said. Thank you.
Thanks, Cal!
There are many parallels. As a Jew, the child of a member of the French Resistance and concentration camp survivor and of a refugee, both originally from Austria, it has been hard since Trump arrived on the political scene not to be acutely aware of them. There is an interesting difference, though, that you touch on. As you say, Germany in the 1920s was experiencing real economic distress both because of the Depression, which was not restricted to the US, and because of the reparations demanded by the Treaty of Versailles. Economically, at least, there is no parallel between the desperation that the Germans (and many Americans) felt at the time, and now. Yet, somehow, among those with whom he resonates, Trump and his ilk have exploited the feeling of "we aren't getting everything we want all the time" to a degree that Hitler was able to do with people who really had nothing.
There is a paradox, too. Similar circumstances gave the Germans Hitler and us Roosevelt. Now, Germany, despite a rise in the right, remains a staunchly democratic country while here our democracy is being eroded albeit by a minority that games the system. It makes me wonder whether the darker side of winning, even in a truly righteous cause, isn't that it permits us not to feel that we need to learn the lessons of history.
I agree, Frank. Our economic conditions are very different from Germany in the 1920's. However, the right wing is trying to convince their followers that it is just as bad, if not worse. So if a person is caught up in right wing media, they may feel they have no choice but to follow that train of thinking. Larry Kudlow admitted that he was wrong about what would happen to the economy during the Biden administration. On Fox News no less! “Mea culpa...I was wrong about the slowdown and the recession, so was the entire forecasting fraternity...the Fed, everyone was wrong,” said Kudlow". One grain of truth that will perhaps get through.
Yes. I call it American Expectationalism. We expect that we have the right to anything and are easily led to feel cheated when we don't get it.
"Americans are childish in many ways and about as subtle as a Wimpy burger; but in the long run it doesn't make any difference. They just turn on the power." — Tom Wolfe
Thanks for this insightful response, Frank. I hadn't thought of that, but you're right -- the post-WW1 Germans really were in a terrible place, with legitimate gripes. MAGA are the snowflakes of the world. Disgraceful.
And I'd never thought of FDR that way, either, but he circumstances did put him in power (and he was criticized by his detractors back then for being a dictator). I just got some books sent to me about FDR, including one just about the year 1932. This is a sign I should read them next.
Thanks again for sharing this.
Thank you for the reminder and the inspiration, Greg! I am currently reading a book set in a small village in 1600’s England. Along comes a “Witchfinder” to rid England of all “Witches”. He says he’s been sent by Parliament (but that is a lie). He uses fear to divide the people of the Village and to convince them that their neighbors are really "Witches". This act of division brings to the surface all of the Villagers' insecurities. Everyone is suspicious of each other. Fear and panic consume everyone. He tortures the people he accuses of being Witches with very little oversight. He’s really just a weak little man who only feels powerful when he is terrorizing other people. Several people choose to stand up to him and not allow him to terrorize them and in that strength, they expose him for the weak, sadistic person that he is. Stay strong fellow readers! The truth always comes out in the end. Truth is what will end the sadist’s reign of terror.
Perfect analog for these times, Gail. This has been a terrible week for Trump so far. I generally hate when people say that, especially when they gloat about it, but this week is up there...
Fear mongering against Enemies Within is ever a feature of authoritarian personality cult systems. Der Auslanders of our times are Hispanics
Right, Defendario. Which is why the spike in antisemitism always heralds fascism.
Not to oversimplify the MAGAt folk, but it appears from my somewhat limited perspective that they are, in some ways, an almost unholy alliance of the haves and the have nots. On the one hand, there are those who are not readers, learners, or educated people - and this is by choice as well as intellectual ability - and they are consumed with anger and a need to act out and act back against their perceived enemies (most of us.) On the other, there are the well-educated and deliberately manipulative, greedy and ambitious types, those who have figured out how to game the system and USE the folks who show up at rallies and scream their hatred and who send their meager amounts to fund the so-called billionaire and his many lawyers and his well-dressed mannequin - the one who passes for a wife in absentia. It's almost like the users + the used, the abusers + the abused, the predators + the preyed upon. And I realize this is stereotyping to the point of being ridiculous. Just a thought on a Sunday.
Thanks, Ellen. It's not stereotyping; it's a pretty honest take on it. Historically, the peasants -- the bottom of the economic ladder, the ones who didn't have anything, and who would benefit the most from revolution -- always supported the king.
Love the collage art on the cover.
Yes, & chillingly, magaAmericans do resemble the Germans of pre Third Reich (also painted by George Grosz).
And Weimar, too, was inclusive and cool and artsy and thought they had it figured out. What's German for "woke?"
Perhaps “freiheitsliebend” or just “wach”? Google translated my thoughts…
There are times when trying to comprehend the incomprehensible is so exhausting. For example in the day after the $83.3 million verdict against 45 over 35,000 people donated an average $75 to assist a man who Forbes claims his net worth to be in excess $2.6 billion and per 45 has some $400+ cash on hand. The FEC says he spent $50 of PAC money on legal fees, money from political donors, the uber rich and not so rich folks money.
This is the scariest part of the MAGA madness. People not much different from most of us other than their political beliefs are willing to part with their money to express loyalty to the most mentally challenged person on earth. These are the same folks who are smart enough to recognize that the price of energy, gas for their cars, food for their bellies are way above where they were a couple of years ago. This despite more of them have jobs and their paychecks are better. They discount the good and revel in the bad.
The Weimar Republic suffered due to war reparations mandated by the Treaty of Versaille. There was real agnst in the country. No comparison to USA 2024. Yes comparisons may exist between Deutschland pre WWII and the US but the dissimilarities are stark, for me rendering the comparisons null.
MAGA-ites are caught in a cult like madness whose mantra is hate thy neighbor simply because you can. They revel in anti government hatred because, hearkened to Reagan, Government is the problem. In the MAGA world the undefined THEY must be despised and beaten. The best way to achieve this, elect a hard man who will look after you, will never let you down. Somehow they believe 45 is that gift from heaven despite a history of ME and only ME, one who has let down anyone who ever got close to him, one who calls killed in action patriots losers. One who couldn’t be more different than your typical MAGA-ite.
The point, we can look to history for answers but this is not realistic. Incomprehensible in today's world does exist. Only when more rationale folks vote than MAGA-ites vote to make 46 number 47 can we move on while the incomprehensible remains incomprehensible.
Old Man, we actually do have to look at our history. This past week, twenty-five award winning historians have signed onto one of the many amicus briefs sent to Scotus. They have all agreed that the language in the 14th Amendment Section 3 is written exactly as the Founding Fathers intended. That is a significant number of individuals who are arguing that the justices who have touted they are “originalists”, better follow their beliefs. Unprecedented that the country witnessed a premeditated power grab by a public who were convinced by a deranged power hungry man-child to commit insurrection.
SCOTUS is on the verge of lapsing into irrelevance. We only survive when we collectively believe in the power of law, and its honest application.
I read that brief after being advised to by another Substack, and it got me off the fence about whether Trump should be on ANY ballot in the US. He should not. He betrayed the US the minute he decided that court rulings were invalid, the voters' wishes were invalid, the LAW was invalid, and he tried to keep the presidency for himself. An insurrectionist should NOT be allowed to run for or be installed into any office in the land.
Thanks, Old Man. I suppose societies always have this type of person, this subset, easily cultified, and the key is to never allow their cult hero to get into power. It never fails to amaze me that the piece of legislation that gave Hitler dictatorial powers was called The Enabling Act.
Books with art.
For my great grandkids i gave them among many
THE LAST TREE
A seed of hope
By Luke Adam Hawker
After finishing, "The Crown," which I loved, although they might have spent a little too much time and angst on Diana, I decided to tackle, "The Man in the High Castle," another show I'd heard so much about, but had never seen. "High Castle" could not have come at a better time for me as we move inevitably to the 2024 election. Basically, it's about what would have happened if Germany and Japan had won World War II instead of the Allies and takes place starting in 1962. It's, of course, an entirely different "America," and without spoiling too much, it's revealed that the American Nazis in charge were ordinary, everyday Americans before losing the war. Some had moved quite high in the food chain after they decided that the Nazis were here to stay.
I will soon be 66, so I doubt that if Trump is re-elected, America will get to the "High Castle' level anytime during what remains of my lifetime, but it could, eventually. There are already many deluded "patriots" looking for SOMETHING that they're not finding within themselves, or within anyone that doesn't think like them. It isn't much of a stretch to see the "smarter" ones being in control in a New America. I don't worry about only that, but that this will actually be the most important election in our history, because my greatest fear is that Trump wins and we don't even GET real elections anymore. But even though that's negative thinking, I think we have to remind ourselves of the things that could happen and not take our foot off the gas, even for a minute over the next 274 days.
I saw this this morning. This is a woman that took part in the "convoy" to the southern border this week, and FINALLY came to some realizations. I'd normally feel sorry for her, but I'm not anywhere close to THERE yet: https://twitter.com/i/status/1753214919007207657 As I said elsewhere, I can't wait to see Frances McDormand do this speech in the movie.
By the way, I highly recommend, "The Man in the High Castle." It's on Amazon Prime. Excellent show!
I’ve been meaning to watch "The Man in the High Castle." Thanks for the recommendation!
How far are you along in "High Castle"? My suggestion is to stop after S2 and pretend the next season was never made -- like how I only acknowledge the first Indiana Jones movie. It's so so SO good. And if we say that S2 is the end, it nails the landing. Rufus Sewell, so good. Joel de la Fuente. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Love it.
Oh no, I watched it until the bitter end, but you're right, it could have stopped after two seasons and been just fine. I liked the storyline, but after S2 it got all science fictiony, which was fine, yet didn't comport with what had come before. I like science-fiction but was MUCH more interested in the people and situations in the new America than anything else. That was some ASTOUNDING set design and cinematography. But that ending! Just, WHAT?? Who are you people?? And whatever happened to Ed and Jack? A pretty major character just disappeared. No Joe Blake in the other world? Why not? Juliana found everybody else pretty easily! Lots of plot holes that normally wouldn't bother me, but in this show they did. LOVED all the same actors you mentioned, in addition, the Himmler character, who was delightfully over-the-top, and as soon as Childen's weirdo Japanese geisha fetish was thankfully written out, the relationship between him and Yukiko. Stephen Root is also ALWAYS welcome! Hitler was a bore, as is ours!
I should add though that even with all that, it's still, OVERALL, an excellent show. It got an 8/10 from me on IMDb.
Now, I'm into a rewatch of "Fargo." I still haven't seen S4 or S5 and decided to start at the beginning.
One more observation: In "High Castle," when I heard "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," having only heard it before in "Cabaret," I thought, "was that REALLY a Nazi song?" So, I looked it up, and no, it was written for "Cabaret" by Kander and Ebb -- both men Jews. It is still, in almost ANY context, one of the most chilling songs I can think of.