Why would women vote for Trump? A hint from history: why did women vote for Hitler?

[DFW]

Fascinating study from a trove of lost essays by German women who supported the Nazi movement during its rise to power--and yes, there IS a parallel made at the end to today's America. Well worth the read!

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-did-women-vote-for-hitler-long-forgotten-essays-hold-some-answers?utm_source=pocket-newtab

[JI7]

1. White Hetero Xtian women voted for Trump . Trump ran as a white supremacist

[Squinch]

11. There are a lot of white hetero Christian women who didn't, though. I think you need to add

another qualifier to that list to make it more accurate: white hetero Christian women who are in some way (usually financially) completely dependent on a white hetero Christian man.

[JI7]

18. Yes, the ones that blame Hillary for taking away their husband's jobs

[Squinch]

19. Exactly. Or blame their husband's black or female boss for taking his job. Their identities are

defined by their husbands' or potential husbands' status, so they willingly buy into the "persecuted white man" shtick.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Important differences between us and Weimar Germany...

Germany was much harder hit by the Depression than we were. They also were hit with massive inflation, and a large number of their most productive males were killed or disabled in WWI. The demands made on Germany by the Versailles treaty were seen as punitive; punishing Germany for the War to End All Wars.

That, combined with a relatively short history of democracy and the fear of the Soviets on their eastern border made for strange bedfellows in the German elections.

There are always some of either gender who will become disciples, but there are also those who analyze the options and go for the "least bad" choice-- weak and ineffective democrats, Soviets on the border, or Nazis who just might put people back to work. Few had much of an idea that Hitler would really start another war, or death camps. The German bankers and industrialists let it be known that they believed they could control him once in office.

We aren't in that much trouble yet, and I still have hope only a small portion of the population falls for his bullshit.

[murielm99]

3. This is a very well-written and thoughtful

36,000th post. Thanks.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Thank you.

[raccoon]

13. I second that. I think the hyperinflation they went through

In the 20’s had to be very demoralizing. Heck, the high inflation the US experienced in the 70’s was demoralizing
Then there was that awful recession in the early ‘80s.
People were being laid off, having their hours cut, nobody was hiring.

[DFW]

5. While it's true that there are historical differences, many of the attitudes ring onimously familiar

Also: the fact that the Trump campaign is taking many hints from Göring's Nürnberg interviews is worthy of attention.

Actually, Republicans have been taking Göring's statements to heart for many years. No one WANTS war, you have to CREATE enemies. Instead of Jews and Communists, the Republicans have immigrants, "liberals" and socialists. And, as Göring points out, it doesn't matter if you are a democracy, a dictatorship or a monarchy. The principle is the same, and it works. Make people fear something (anything), and convince them that you are the only one who can save them.

But even so, if you read the essays of the women in the article, their reasons were anything but monolithic, and the varied reasons for supporting the Nazis mirror some of the same reasons you will hear today for supporting Trump, a candidate who logically will do none of them any good.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. No question that Trump has minions well schooled in propaganda, and the GOP has...

had them for years. And rightwing mouthpieces have been ruling the airwaves for years.

My point is that even with the parallels with 1930s Germany, we are still a well developed and fairly healthy country and we don't really have much of a chance of falling into that sort of chaos. Germans were desperate back then, we aren't that bad off.

(At least I hope we don't fall for the bullshit)

[empedocles]

16. Like your analysis. We have a well developed, and more broadly educated country - without the

German 1920's devastating experiences.

Even though Germany was doing relatively well in the1930's, the cultivated hate against Jews, French, English, Polish, gypsies - seemed to have helped a lot.

[traitortrump is good at cultivating hate, and corruption - however trump is far less competent than the '30's Hitler].

[Squinch]

12. I'm definitely hearing the echo.

[kentuck]

7. The parallels are definitely there.

<snip>
Summarizing Abel’s findings, historian Ian Kershaw wrote in his book on Hitler’s rise to power that they showed that the “appeal of Hitler and his movement was not based on any distinctive doctrine.” He concluded that almost a third of the men were attracted by the indivisible “national community” – Volksgemeinschaft – ideology of the Nazis, and a similar proportion were swayed by nationalist, super-patriotic and German-romantic notions. In only about an eighth of the cases was anti-Semitism the prime ideological concern, although two-thirds of the essays revealed some form of dislike of Jews. Almost a fifth were motivated by the Hitler cult alone, attracted by the man himself, but the essays reveal differences between men and women in the reason for the enthrallment with the Nazi leader.

[smirkymonkey]

8. Interesting. Their female idiots back then in Germany sound very similar to our female idiots

in the US today. None of them gave a particularly compelling reason other than fear and racism.

[Laha]

9. Fascinating and illuminating read

Thank you

[mucifer]

10. This paragraph from the article got me:

For men, the cult of personality appears to center around Hitler as a strong leader charging toward a Germany which defined itself by those it excluded. It’s not surprising that women, on the cusp of exclusion themselves, were less captivated by this component of Nazism. Rather, the women’s essays tend to refer to religious imagery and sentiment conflating piety with the Hitler cult. The women appear to be moved more by Nazism’s proposed solutions to problems such as poverty rather than the supposed grandeur of Nazi ideology in the abstract.

[raccoon]

14. Another thing was the appeal of Hitler as a male. "Power is

The ultimate aphrodisiac.” I remember seeing a documentary where a young german woman was mooning over a picture of him. That’s the reason Eva Braun was kept a secret.

[empedocles]

17. Power is addictive

[Fyrefox]

15. Disturbing and compelling reading...

There are a number of interesting if disquieting parallels here. Just as one woman quoted regarded Hitler as a "God-given fuhrer and savior," so do a disturbing number of Christan evangelicals regard Trump as "God's chosen instrument." While I'm always left scratching my head over women who ardently support a known and admitted serial sexual abuser, Trump is adept at setting up common enemies, and instilling fear and loathing of them among his supporters, who even if unsure about his policies love his attitude!

[TomVilmer]

20. I once met a woman...

... and do not remember that species as being superior in thoughts and rationality, compared to the common dumb men I know. So yes, the females voted for Hitler as much as the German male did. Even though if highly educated.

I noticed this research is based on only 30 essays written by women, and on material from an contest with generous prizes from the Nazi Propaganda Ministry. There might have been a lot of BS answers, from people only doing it for the money.

That might explain the essay from a woman who replaced the star on her Christmas tree with a photograph of Hitler surrounded by a halo of candles. But there are lunatics in all circles, so why not?

[DFW]

21. I'm not sure we're starting out from the same place here.

This was not research trying to prove some point, using only the essays.

It is a study of the essays, themselves, which were lost for a period of time. Therefore, it is not trying to prove a point using only these essays. It is a study of them as one group, far from homogeneous, and what their writing reveals.

[Midnight Writer]

22. Remember J R Ewing from the TV show Dallas?

This fictional character was portrayed as a total asshole, but somehow became a nationwide "sex symbol".

Remember Luke and Laura from General Hospital? The nation was enthralled by this fictional "romance" that was consummated when Luke raped Laura.

Remember that great nostalgic movie Grease? The smart, beautiful, sweet girl with a fantastic future in store completely erased her personality so she could be with the crude, crass, ignorant bully. The movie was a popular smash and is considered a classic today.

Now consider the question. Why would women vote for Trump?

[DFW]

26. Well, actually, I don't remember most of those.

I have been living in Germany for many years, and usually do not watch US TV. I did hear of Dallas and Grease, but never saw a full episode of "Dallas" (probably shouldn't admit that, being from Dallas), and hated "Grease" so much, that I gave up after the first few minutes. No idea what General Hospital was. Some series, I presume?

[Hekate]

23. KnRnBookmark

Will read later.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

24. It gets worse.

Female guards in Nazi concentration camps

Aufseherin [ˈaʊ̯fˌzeːəʁɪn] was the position title for female guards in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. Of the 55,000 guards who served in Nazi concentration camps, about 3,700 were women. In 1942, the first female guards arrived at Auschwitz and Majdanek from Ravensbrück. The year after, the Nazis began conscripting women because of a shortage of male guards. The German title for this position, Aufseherin means (female) overseer or attendant. Later female guards were dispersed to Bolzano (1944–1945), Kaiserwald-Riga (1943–44), Mauthausen (March – May 1945), Stutthof (1942–1945), Vaivara[1] (1943–1944), Vught (1943–1944), and at other Nazi concentration camps, subcamps, work camps, detention camps, etc.

Female guards were generally from the lower to middle class[2] and had no relevant work experience; their occupational background varied: one source mentions former matrons, hairdressers, tramcar-conductresses, opera singers or retired teachers.[3] Volunteers were recruited via advertisements in German newspapers asking for women to show their love for the Reich and join the SS-Gefolge ("SS-Retinue", a Schutzstaffel (SS) support and service organisation for women). Additionally, some were conscripted based on data in their SS files. The League of German Girls acted as a vehicle of indoctrination for many of the women.[4] At one of the post-war hearings, Oberaufseherin Herta Haase-Breitmann-Schmidt, head female overseer, claimed that her female guards were not full-fledged SS women. Consequently, at some tribunals it was disputed whether SS-Helferinnen employed at the camps were official members of the SS, thus leading to conflicting court decisions. Many of them belonged to the Waffen-SS and to the SS-Helferinnen Corps.[5][6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_guards_in_Nazi_concentration_camps

[WhiskeyGrinder]

25. White women are both a tool and a weapon in the system of white supremacy.