How similar is our situation to Germany of the 1930s really?

[pokerfan]

Timothy Snyder is a professor of history at Yale University and the author of numerous books of European history.

http://international.sueddeutsche.de/post/157058066625/we-have-at-most-a-year-to-defend-american

You use the Weimar Republic as a warning example.

I wanted to remind my fellow Americans that intelligent people, not so different from ourselves, have experienced the collapse of a republic before. It is one example among many. Republics, like other forms of government, exist in history and can rise and fall. The American Founding Fathers knew this, which is why there were obsessed with the history of classical republics and their decline into oligarchy and empire. We seem to have lost that tradition of learning from others, and we need it back. A quarter century ago, after the collapse of communism, we declared that history was over – and in an amazing way we forgot everything we once knew about communism, fascism and National Socialism. In this little article for Slate, I was trying to remind us about things that we once knew.

How similar is the situation between Germany of the 1930s and today’s United States?

Of course, not everything is similar. Some things are better now than they were in the 1930s but some things are worse. The media is worse, I would say. It is very polarized and it is very concentrated. In Germany before the state shut down German newspapers, there was authentic variety that we don’t have now. People in the 1930s generally had longer attention spans than we do. On the other side, the United States is a larger country, with pockets of wealth distributed widely, and it is more connected to the world. The main advantage that we have is that we can learn from the 1930s. Again, it’s very important to stress that history does not repeat. But it does offer us examples and patterns, and thereby enlarges our imaginations and creates more possibilities for anticipation and resistance.

(More at link above....)

[murielm99]

1. There are many differences.

Germany had lost a war. Their government collapsed. They were supposed to pay reparations, but could not pay much. Later, there was hyperinflation. The people were genuinely destitute. The Depression was worldwide.

We have nuclear weapons now. We have social media. We can be more creative in our resistance.

[cemaphonic]

4. Weimar was really unstable too

Lots of paramilitary gangs running around, street fighting between Nazi and Communist supporters.

I'd say a closer parallel would be 70s-80s UK. Economic malaise and a sense that they were losing their pre-eminent status in world affairs led to a reactionary government and harassment of immigrants that were "taking their jobs" and "diluting their culture."

They even had desperate coal miners willing to accept anything from someone willing to tell them their jobs were coming back (spoler alert: nope!)

[Pachamama]

2. Good article & interview with a Professor who understands European History - he gives us 1 year to

....save our democracy....

That isn't very long....he praises and stresses the importance of the protests and making our voices known. Not so much to convince Trump supporters, but to send a very clear message to the "regime" that is engaging in "Regime Change" that we are on to them.... We can slow them down.

Scary...I think many of us feel the similarities and know this is not "a drill"....

[Duppers]

3. K & R