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Trump and Hitler - a comparison

SLD

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Hitler and Trump - a comparison

I read an article basically saying how dare you compare Trump to hitler! Hitler was a genocidal maniac and Trump isn’t. The problem is that Hitler in 1933 wasn’t a genocidal maniac either. That came 8 years later in 1941 and only picked up in 1943, ten years after Hitler came to power.

Had you accused Hitler of being what he became in 1933, you would’ve been laughed out of the room. But the signs were there. No one recognized them. Will Trump do the same with undocumented immigrants playing the part of the Jews? Effectively try to exterminate 11 million people?

Most would say no. But I’m tired of predicting that Trump will moderate his behavior. He’s proven time and again to go beyond the bounds of decency. I would not put it past him to effectively implement concentration camps for undocumented immigrants and to round up both immigrants and citizens in such a campaign.

Will he go so far as to kill such people? I don’t know. I just know that the holocaust didn’t happen overnight. It was built via small steps at a time. Starting with a boycott of Jewish businesses shortly after Hitler took power and after he was able to secure a suspension of civil rights in March of 33.

But how did he do it? Simple. He used violence and the threat of it to establish himself as the one person who could bring order. And he did it without ever winning a majority in the Reichstag. His share of seats peaked at 44% in March 1933. He then just co-opted the other right wing parties. He managed to co opt the Catholics into his government through the concordat. He got the trade unions behind him via a promise to have a May Labor Day holiday that they had always wanted. He arrested thousands of communists and social democrats. He raided their offices with his storm troopers and simply looted their funds. He pressured other right wing parties to either dissolve or join him. He even threatened a blood bath against them if they resisted. Other leaders simply were murdered on suspicious circumstances. By July 1933 all other parties were outlawed.

He also ruthlessly purged every state and federal offices of any dissenters. But he didn’t stop there. He also took over every local club that you can imagine. Ladies clubs became subordinate to the party. Every single national voluntary association was brought under his control. By July 1933 the only two independent organizations were the churches and the Army. To save their jobs people joined the Nazis en masse. The Brownshirts tripled in size.

All non Nazi newspapers were brought under control or forced to fold. Journalist unions were placed under Nazi control - voluntarily.

Hitler consolidated power a year later in the Night of the Long Knives when he simply swept away the SA leadership having them shot without trial or mercy. He did that because he was threatened by Hindenburg and Field Marshall Bloomberg that if he didn’t the Army would take over. Such an action had never taken place in hundreds of years of German history, the out and out murder of hundreds of people, with no trial, no court martial, just line them up and shoot them. Yet it met with overwhelming approval by the German people. On July 13th, 1934, Hitler addressed the Reichstag, saying, “And every person should know for all time that if he raises his hand to strike out at the state, certain death will be his lot.” Anyone who dared to criticize was immediately arrested. And they loved him for it.

Could Trump do the same? Presently there are laws prohibiting the termination of public employees for political purposes. There are appeal rights through Boards and Courts that are supposed to protect federal employee rights. A significant change in the law would be required to implement his vision. Democrats would filibuster but Trump might demand an end to it and the Republican Party may fall into line. The threat of crossing Trump may be too much for them to resist. A complete repudiation of all civil servant protections though may be unconstitutional based on present rulings.

But Trump officials could effectively undermine those rights regardless. He could fire quite a few and expect the rest to fall in line. It takes money and time to file these claims. When you find yourself unemployed you won’t be able to pay an attorney even if you are likely to win. The mere threat of termination will undeniably cower many into line. It already does in fact.

Trump could challenge previous constitutional protections through to the Supreme Court. Those decisions are from the 80’s. None of the judges from then are around. The conservative court may indeed undermine some of those protections. But I think it would be reluctant to completely overturn them. I think even conservative judges will jealously guard their own power. I hope so.

The question then is whether he could undermine the 2026 midterm elections. Hitler used a lot of violence to destroy all other parties. He ransacked offices and looted funds and property. He jailed en masse opposition leadership. Trump probably can’t do that. People in Berlin supported Hitler. People in DC and Northern Virginia will take to the streets. Protests and resistance would be key to stopping him if he attempted to do anything that Hitler tried. Hitler had an organized paramilitary ready to do his bidding. Trump doesn’t. At a minimum any takeover will happen much slower than in Germany.

Control over the media is also difficult in a diffuse media. There wasn’t even television back then, much less the internet. Only radio and newspapers. Journalists voluntarily submitted their union to Nazi leadership. There are no journalist unions now.

But Trump could consider threatening broadcast licenses. He already silenced the Washington Post and the LA Times both of which are controlled by billionaires with other assets they need protecting. Expect them to continue to toe the line. The New York Times is not controlled by such but by its original family and it’s their only real asset. The Guardian is also independent.

But Trump may try to control them through internet access. He could force Google and Facebook to lower their rankings in search engines. What if he forced Zuckerberg to censor opposition newspapers by threatening antitrust action? Same with Google.

Can Trump have a night of the long knives in America? Maybe there’s a crisis, a manufactured one, and Congress refuses to act. Will he sweep in and arrest Democratic leaders, shooting some? Probably not. There’s no SS equivalent that would do his bidding. But we cannot be complacent. The only way to truly stop him is to protest him, to force him back and in cities throughout the country. The power of the people can be a sufficient deterrent. If he knows he will meet resistance, he will back away. Hitler was no dummy. He paid close attention to what people were saying and thinking. He modified his policies where necessary.

I don’t expect a true night of the long knives style coup. It’s more the slow roll of autocracy, like Putin. Perhaps he just lets open violence against his opponents to go unchecked and uses the power of the pardon or simply failing to investigate. He hopes others will fall into line. Will they? That’s a real unknown.

Will he ultimately turn to genocide, this time against 11 million “illegal” immigrants instead of Jews? I don’t think he would. But I doubt anyone was saying that about Hitler and the Jews in 1933. I think it is fair to compare the two. You can be offended. Fuck ‘em.

I will close this essay with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." We may need his example to guide us in the years to come.
 
Hitler and Trump - a comparison

I read an article basically saying how dare you compare Trump to hitler! Hitler was a genocidal maniac and Trump isn’t. The problem is that Hitler in 1933 wasn’t a genocidal maniac either. That came 8 years later in 1941 and only picked up in 1943, ten years after Hitler came to power.

The Ermächtigungsgesetz, which disempowered and effectively abolished the Reichstag was enacted in 1933. The Nürnberger Rassengesetze came in 1935. So he didn't tarry long.

And he did it without ever winning a majority in the Reichstag.
While that is true, it is also a common thing in multiparty parliamentary systems. The current German government was composed of three parties until very recently (it is now, and until the next year's election a two party minority government) where the biggest party (SPD) got 25.7% of the vote and 28% of the seats.

In any case, the comparison seems paranoid to me. And btw, the Night of the Long Knives was an internal NSDAP purge. The victims were also Nazis. And it happened in 1934, one year into his rule.
 
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Though there some similarities, there are also significant differences. Hitler was a war hero, intelligent, in his physical and mental prime in 1930s.
He was charismatic, a great speaker, and politically smart, having experience in the 1920s, and he actually went to prison.
 
There will always be similarities and differences. There are more than enough similarities that the US should be wary of Trump and Project 2025 and the entire Right Wing agenda. Too much wariness will be safer than too little oversight. Trump has already demonstrated that he is more than willing to flout traditional American political boundaries of conduct. How far he is willing to go is undetermined.
 
Trump doesn't have to be Hitler. The Nazis in the party just have to convince him to sign any law or executive order they want, telling him that "it will be HUUGE, No one else could have done it, you will be loved by millions". Last time the people in the White House would distract him so they could ignore his worst ideas and orders. This time it will be so they can do worse than what even Trump might be willing to do (which isn't a whole lot). And if he gets to be too much of a liability, then can 25th amendment him, as it wouldn't be too hard to make a case he is unfit. Let him take the blame, and use that as cover while furthering their agenda and making it harder to remove them from power.
 
Trump doesn't have to be Hitler.
THIS THIS AND THIS! Enough with the Hitler. Trump isn't Hitler. Trump is a Mussolini like puppet that now has a competent team of puppeteers behind him.

Trump only pretends he has a grand vision of America., rather he only has concepts of a grand vision of America.

Trump's greatest threat to our democracy is fulfilling the right-wing dream of returning America to pre-1950s regulation and effectively paralyzing the Government by replacing competency with loyalty across the board. IE the biggest threat is the reclassification of Government workers. In 2017-2020, the inertia or the system and the incompetence of his Administration held him back. Now the Heritage Foundation sees their opening.

So let's worry about the stuff Trump can actually do to harm America and stop needless analogies. He isn't Hitler, the GOP aren't the Nazis. He is Trump and the GOP are a bunch of anti-government true believers who grew up with Limbaugh and don't care the harm to the country that comes from dismantling the Federal Government, just to save the wealthy a few billion more in taxes.
 
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And he did it without ever winning a majority in the Reichstag.
While that is true, it is also a common thing in multiparty parliamentary systems. The current German government was composed of three parties until very recently (it is now, and until the next year's election a two party minority government) where the biggest party (SPD) got 25.7% of the vote and 28% of the seats.

In any case, the comparison seems paranoid to me. And btw, the Night of the Long Knives was an internal NSDAP purge. The victims were also Nazis. And it happened in 1934, one year into his rule.
I think the critical thing to note that is that Trump isn't leading a movement. And the movement... they already won. The discussion above about Nazis is one of ascension, where as the GOP have already won and their goal isn't a vision but rather of dissembling. The reversal of Chevron was the big one and now corporations are getting in line to let SCOTUS assume its new role in environmental regulations. Harris winning would postpone things a little. With the trifecta, who knows what they'll aim to disassemble.

And then we have the reduction of Civil Rights in SCOTUS. One case at a time.
 
Hitler and Trump - a comparison

I read an article basically saying how dare you compare Trump to hitler! Hitler was a genocidal maniac and Trump isn’t. The problem is that Hitler in 1933 wasn’t a genocidal maniac either. That came 8 years later in 1941 and only picked up in 1943, ten years after Hitler came to power.

The Ermächtigungsgesetz, which disempowered and effectively abolished the Reichstag was enacted in 1933. The Nürnberger Rassengesetze came in 1935. So he didn't tarry long.

And he did it without ever winning a majority in the Reichstag.
While that is true, it is also a common thing in multiparty parliamentary systems. The current German government was composed of three parties until very recently (it is now, and until the next year's election a two party minority government) where the biggest party (SPD) got 25.7% of the vote and 28% of the seats.

In any case, the comparison seems paranoid to me. And btw, the Night of the Long Knives was an internal NSDAP purge. The victims were also Nazis. And it happened in 1934, one year into his rule.
No. Not all the victims were internal Nazis. Many were ordinary citizens who merely objected. Several army generals as well. He sent a message to anyone who would dare oppose him that would be their fate.

Perhaps I am being paranoid. But eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. I have little doubt he, and his cronies, would evolve into a genocidal maniac if we let him. The one thing that makes me hesitant to see this future is that I think we will resist.
 
Democratic governors and AGs prepare for battle with Trump administration

Democratic governors and attorneys general are beginning to build a Resistance 2.0, talking tough and promising new laws and legal battles as they seek to insulate their states from the conservative policies they expect President-elect Donald Trump to implement.

And already, Trump is firing back — an early preview of the consequential court, regulatory and political fights that now loom in 2025 and beyond.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday called state lawmakers into a special session later this year in a bid to protect the state’s progressive policies on issues like abortion rights and climate change from the incoming administration and Republicans who won US Senate control and could also hold the majority in the US House. “The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom said in a statement.

In a Truth Social post Friday, Trump said Newsom — who he called “Newscum” — is “trying to kill our nation’s beautiful California.” He said homelessness and grocery prices are out of control in the state, and said he will demand changes to the state’s voting laws to require voter identification and proof of citizenship.
 
Democratic governors and AGs prepare for battle with Trump administration

Democratic governors and attorneys general are beginning to build a Resistance 2.0, talking tough and promising new laws and legal battles as they seek to insulate their states from the conservative policies they expect President-elect Donald Trump to implement.

And already, Trump is firing back — an early preview of the consequential court, regulatory and political fights that now loom in 2025 and beyond.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday called state lawmakers into a special session later this year in a bid to protect the state’s progressive policies on issues like abortion rights and climate change from the incoming administration and Republicans who won US Senate control and could also hold the majority in the US House. “The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom said in a statement.

In a Truth Social post Friday, Trump said Newsom — who he called “Newscum” — is “trying to kill our nation’s beautiful California.” He said homelessness and grocery prices are out of control in the state, and said he will demand changes to the state’s voting laws to require voter identification and proof of citizenship.
This blue states should prepare ordinances of secession. Enough of this nonsense.
 
Trump is an empty suit. It’s the multinational corporate money. They want to run things their way. No worker protection. Dump all negative externalities on the commons. Etc…. Identity politics and immigration are just wedges.
 
This blue states should prepare ordinances of secession.
I think you meant articles of secession?
AZ elected Gallegos over Kari The Trumpsucker Lake. Tells me this round was more about Dems fucking up than anything else. Seceding would certainly not fix that.

Maybe they/we can stop fucking up, and get enough ground back in 2 years to keep the apricot from burning the whole place down before trumpsuckers break the spell they’ve been under and realize what a shit-for-brains selfish turd they’ve been worshiping.
 
This blue states should prepare ordinances of secession.
I think you meant articles of secession?
AZ elected Gallegos over Kari The Trumpsucker Lake. Tells me this round was more about Dems fucking up than anything else. Seceding would certainly not fix that.

Maybe they/we can stop fucking up, and get enough ground back in 2 years to keep the apricot from burning the whole place down before trumpsuckers break the spell they’ve been under and realize what a shit-for-brains selfish turd they’ve been worshiping.
I believe they were called ordinances of secession by the original secessionists.

Whatever, that does not matter. Lincoln argued that secession was unconstitutional, but that the states could all peacefully agree to dissolve the compact, so that would be the first route to try. But, as it happens, I disagree with Lincoln, and with the 1869 Supreme Court decision that foreclosed secession. The Constitution does not mention secession, and the 10th amendment clearly says that any powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people. It seems very clear that since the power to deny secession was not given to the federal government by the Constitution, then that right is reserved for the states to decide.
 
We aren't seceding... move on.

You are probably right, but anyone is free to advocate for it, and if enough people do, it will become a live option against fascist tyranny, as it should be.
 
We aren't seceding... move on.

You are probably right, but anyone is free to advocate for it, and if enough people do, it will become a live option against fascist tyranny, as it should be.
It is reactionary and silly, and it will extrapolate to not taking what you are saying seriously.

You’re entitled to your opinion. I do not share it. I do not think any nation is carved in stone for all eternity, nor should any nation be.
 
We aren't seceding... move on.

You are probably right, but anyone is free to advocate for it, and if enough people do, it will become a live option against fascist tyranny, as it should be.
It is reactionary and silly, and it will extrapolate to not taking what you are saying seriously.

You’re entitled to your opinion. I do not share it. I do not think any nation is carved in stone for all eternity, nor should any nation be.
Well, it is only kind of an opinion. Reactionaries get ignored when they get all reactionary.
 
We aren't seceding... move on.

You are probably right, but anyone is free to advocate for it, and if enough people do, it will become a live option against fascist tyranny, as it should be.
It is reactionary and silly, and it will extrapolate to not taking what you are saying seriously.

You’re entitled to your opinion. I do not share it. I do not think any nation is carved in stone for all eternity, nor should any nation be.
Well, it is only kind of an opinion. Reactionaries get ignored when they get all reactionary.

“Reactionary” is your characterization. The real reactionary idea is that nations and states can never change their configurations, even peacefully at times, like Czechoslovakia did in splitting into two separate nations after the end of the cold war. Yours is the same reactionary idea that King George used to justify a war against colonial independence. Anyway, if this idea bothers you so much, as it seems to do, feel free to ignore it.
 
Secession = reactionary even if you think you are right.

And that ignores the minor problem of it isn't particularly feasible. What is the plan, the Non-Contiguous Blue States of America?

You are allowed to post whatever reactionary, but non-violence stuff you want here. The others are free to tell you it isn't constructive, viable, or intelligent.
 
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