Echoes of Weimar: United States And Fascism

A major shock hit America when SCOTUS repealed Roe v Wade. And the warning signs blared with continued republican fueled organized assault on LGBTQ+ people in mostly conservative-leaning states. These attacks on democracy, championed by far-right radicals, follow an era of greater progressive tolerance amidst war and economic instability.

The situation in America is eerily familiar. It’s happened before in the short-lived Weimar Republic. The now-defunct government was legally usurped by the would-be fascist dictator Adolf Hitler in 1933, transforming the republic into Nazi Germany.

The Weimar Republic arose from the ashes of World War 1, which impacted the economy as inflation tore through the nation in the early 20s, leaving a majority of its citizens impoverished. Years later, when The Great Depression hit in 1929, the already poverty-stricken citizens were desperate to climb out of the hole their fragile government had dug for them.

Unhappiness breeds malcontent. Enough of the public was ready to embrace political change leading to a major victory for the Nazis in 1930, becoming the second-largest political party in the nation. Two years later they were the majority party.

America also went through its version of economic upheaval, beginning on September 11, 2001, with the organized religious extremist attack on the World Trade Centers and Pentagon. 88% of Americans felt a strong desire for war in the Middle East following the attacks, according to a Gallup poll. This war became a major factor causing the Great Recession of 2008. Americans felt the destabilizing effects of this economic downturn for many years after it officially ended in 2009. Some felt impacted by the recession as late as 2020.

By 2016, Americans were dissatisfied with their political options following the recession and never-ending war. They collected around an unusual figure who sidestepped normative political expectations. Trump won the 2016 election, despite losing the popular vote, and this event ignited a wave of hatred across America. The FBI reports that hate crimes surged by 20%, primarily at the hands of white supremacists. Radical discourse continued until culminating in the January 6th, 2021 Capitol Insurrection, Trump’s petty attempt to retain power after an embarrassing defeat.

As I said before, unhappiness breeds malcontent and this loss for Trump and his supporters only furthered the divide between parties in the following years. The Covid-19 Pandemic triggered more economic upheaval that left Americans more dissatisfied than ever before. In 2021, that number was 68% of the nation. In the wake of economic and social turbulence, a record rise in extremism occurred on both sides of the political aisle, with the far-right, white supremacists leading the charge.

It’s easy to see parallels between war, recession, and inflation that both republics experienced, but the comparisons don’t end there. During the Weimar Republic, LGBTQ+ communities flourished better than in the past. Starting in the early 1900s, Germany saw a surge in academic interest, research, and education on LGBTQ members of society. This research helped their public acceptance and tolerance. In 1919, Magnus Hirschfeld, in his pursuit of group equality, opened the Institute for Sexual Science, which aided the LGBT community and women. Homosexuality remained illegal, but authorities took a more tolerant stance than in years past. This cultural achievement could be considered the first LGBTQ movement.

America’s fight for LGBTQ+ rights, the second major LGBTQ movement mirrors the culture that developed in the Weimar Republic, and then some. It was just in 2015 that all 50 states gained the right to same-sex marriage through a SCOTUS ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges. After decades of civil rights efforts many formerly silent members of the LGBTQ+ community finally felt safe enough to come out, doubling from 3.5% in 2012 to 7.0% in 2022. The victory is most evident in its impact on the newest generations, with 1 in 5 persons in Generation Z identifying as LGBTQ+.

Unfortunately, much in the way that the blossoming LGBTQ+ movement at the end of the Weimar Republic felt push-back from far-right political groups, it’s also happening in America and trans people are the far-rights primary target.

Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation

Data collected from ACLU

As of March 07, 2023, 5 states have introduced anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have yet to advance.

• Florida
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• New Jersey
• Texas

As of March 07, 2023 35 states advanced anti-LGBTQ+ bills.

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

As of March 07, 2023 6 states have passed anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

• Arkansas
• *Florida (“Don’t Say Gay” bill not listed on ACLU database as anti-LGBTQ+ for reasons unknown, but the bill did pass into law.)
• Mississippi
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Utah

In total, as of March 07, 2023, 384 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in a majority of U.S. states. This does not include bills attacking other issues unrelated to LGBTQ+, such as voting rights, reproductive rights, religious freedom and so much more.

Women’s Rights

While women in the Weimar Republic were not gifted much individual liberty, they certainly fared better than under the boot of authority that would replace it in 1933. In the Weimar Republic, women held roles in government, worked outside of households, and exercised their ability to vote. But the seeds of toxicity, much like in America, were planted deep and ready to take root. After 1933, with the Nazis in power and Hitler appointed as Chancellor, conditions for women regressed.

The Nazis sought to destroy the progress made and revert society to the traditional ‘nuclear family’. The idyllic Nazi household was one where marriage was between only a man and a woman, where wives were subordinate to husbands and had little to no bodily autonomy. After 1933, contraceptives were limited, abortion access restricted and the penalty for illegal abortion was … death.

America is closer than you might think to that harsh reality. Over a dozen states have restricted abortion, affecting tens of millions of women. Recently, a bill in South Carolina proposed to punish abortions with the death penalty. Thankfully, it was struck down. But will there be a time when a similar bill passes? The proposal is strong evidence of the rot infecting American conservative politics.

Access to contraceptives and birth control may be on the chopping block too. A Texas judge ruled against the ability for youth to have access to birth control, a ruling that in conjunction with restrictions on abortion will result in many teenage parents and potential deaths. The judge’s reasoning is highly suspect —

“The use of contraception, just like abortion, violates traditional tenets of many faiths, including the Christian faith plaintiff practices.” — U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk

It’s unclear if other states or SCOTUS will seek to limit or ban contraceptives and birth control, but if I had to place my bets … it’s coming.

Evangelical Christianity

The Texas judge justified his views based on his Christian faith. In the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany, far-right political views and Christian values went hand in hand. In 1933 the Bavarian Protestant Church issued a statement to all German Protestants —

“A state which begins once again to govern according to God’s command may expect not just the applause but the joyous cooperation of the church. With thanks and joy the church perceives how the new state protects against blasphemy, represses immorality, upholds discipline and orderliness with a stronger hand. It calls for fear of God, holds marriage holy, wants to know that youth are spiritually educated, and it brings the role of the fathers once again into honor, while warm love for Volk and fatherland is no longer scorned (verfremt), but enkindled in thousands of hearts.”

Protestants at the time comprised 40 million members, double the number of Catholics in 1933. The vast majority of German citizens were protestant Christians. The connection between Nazism, traditional values, and Christianity is quite clear. The desire for a Christian state was prominent in the minds of Christian conservatives then, just as it is now in America. Hitler used this religiously motivated sentiment to his advantage. In 1928 he confirmed the National Socialist as a Christian movement —

“We do not tolerate anyone in our ranks who offends the ideas of Christianity, who stands up to a dissident, fights him, or provokes himself as a hereditary enemy of Christianity. This movement of ours is actually Christian.” — Adolf Hitler

There is debate on whether Hitler sought to rid Germany of Christianity or wanted a Nazified version of Christianity. Critics point to the former as evidence that the Nazi Party was in fact not Christian. Even if we assume this was Hitler’s end goal, it doesn’t change the fact that what Nazi leaders planned in secret was very different from what the Christian German public actively believed due to the propaganda the Nazi officials distributed.

The Christian public believed the Nazi Party aligned with their values. Hitler told them what he knew they wanted to hear, in order to achieve power. And once he did, even after his atrocities began, even after the churches withdrew some support of the Nazis, many Christians still turned a blind eye to the rampant antisemitism, and later, the outright persecution of Jews and other minorities.

Here in America, far-right Christians have been vocal about their desire for Christian theocracy. Lately, Christian Nationalism has been a topic of discussion. American Christians of the MAGA variety are insistent that America is a Christian nation that has lost its way. It’s why they wish to make it “great again”. Much like how Hitler used the desire for a nation enthralled in Christian values to persuade German Christians to follow his National Socialist movement, American political leaders on the right used the same rhetoric to promote a new far-right movement. As one would expect, anything that undermines those Christian values, becomes a target of far-right extremists, whether by physical violence or through toxic political commentary that perpetuates further hatred.

What’s next?

There is some idea of what’s coming. SCOTUS has spoken of desires to overturn same-sex marriage, limit contraceptives, adjust voting rights, and the ability of state courts to set federal election rules. That’s just what they are willing to be upfront about. Is that the likely end goal? I’m doubtful.

In the past 12 months, a number of anti-trans bills flooded conservative-leaning states. Left-leaning Floridians were already disturbed by the newly introduced “Don’t Say Gay” laws, limiting the ability of teachers to educate children on the fundamentals of social life and human biology. Not exclusive to Florida, book bans and burns have swept the nation. The targeted material is largely ‘left leaning’. Florida also recently passed laws that effectively remove black history from the classroom, alienating 15% of the Florida populace.

The CDC reports that in 2021 42% of “students felt persistently sad or hopeless and nearly one-third (29%) experienced poor mental health.” Further insight demonstrates a possible connection to the recent wave of right-wing extremist views in the last decade. The CDC elaborates further on the data-

“These feelings were found to be more common among LGBQ+ students, female students, and students across racial and ethnic groups.”

Is it correlation or causation? Is it just a coincidence that those attacked by right-wing ideology experience the most suffering in our society?

More recently, a bill in Florida sought to ban the entire democratic party. This is similar to the banishment of political opposition under Hitler’s chancellorship in 1933. Whether the bill is likely to move forward or not, the very fact that it was introduced at all should alarm us about the mentality held by many conservative Americans. It’s a warning of the potential future to come.

Another recent bill introduced required any person writing or blogging about Florida officials, namely the governor, to register with the state, report their activity, or face fines; a clear violation of the first amendment. Lately, it seems like Florida is ground zero for the rise of fascism. Americans better pay close attention to what happens next in this state.

Much like Trump, Adolf Hitler wasn’t considered a competent, sane, or reasonable figure before gaining power. He was a jest until he took control. Some described him as a joke. In an interview with Dick Cavett, Orson Welles referred to the Nazis as —

“… a tiny little party of cranks.”

He admitted that he met Hitler--

“The man sitting next to me was Hitler. And he made so little impression on me that I can’t remember a second of it. He had no personality whatsoever. He was invisible.”

It’s not unreasonable to laugh and roll your eyes at the absurd, hateful rhetoric stemming from right-wing political commentators. Talk of theocracy, nationalism, violence, bans, and their obsession with the culture war, it all seems a little bit like fantasy. What they’re saying could never happen here. Not in America! Not to us. It’s human nature to underestimate others and overlook the warning signs of ideological rot. We want to feel safe and not worry about what is happening around us.

Sometimes, it feels better to ignore people when they launch into bizarre, hateful, and ignorant rants. When confronting this dialogue, we experience disbelief, but dismiss it because we convince ourselves that those opinions are isolated to a small percentage of society. Add to it all the other stressors in life, especially as a majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and it’s not unusual to feel like we just can’t make time for issues that seem too extreme and cartoonish to be threatening. And yet … here we are.

We do need to take it seriously. We must pay attention. We ought to take conservatives at their word and take political action to prevent further decay. There were plenty of warning signs in the Weimar Republic that went ignored. Hitler himself laid out his plans directly in an interview with Dorothy Thompson in 1931, two years before his appointment to Chancellor —

“I will get into power legally,” he said. “I will abolish this parliament and the Weimar constitution afterward. I will found an authority-state, from the lowest cell to the highest instance; everywhere there will be responsibility and authority above, discipline and obedience below.” — Adolf Hitler.

The writing was on the wall and too few took it seriously. In America, Trump has just vowed retribution against his enemies if he is re-elected in 2024. He doesn’t have the guile of Hitler and most likely lacks a grand plan to accomplish his vague notion of vengeance, but he does have millions of loyal supporters and they’re willing to do anything he tells them. January 6th, 2021 proved that. Trump is a bitter, angry, old man with little left to lose. If he vows revenge, it’s worth considering that he means it. Even if Trump doesn’t earn the nomination, the danger of fascism doesn’t vanish. It will continue with new blood and potentially in more capable hands. All the warning signs remain. We aren’t out of the woods if Trump loses.

The Weimar Republic failed because of weak leadership and the inaction of those who held power to stop it. America has a deep gaping wound rooted in historical prejudice and hatred, heavily influenced by and carried on from generation to generation at the behest of Christianity. If the wound in this country is left untreated, it will fester and spread until it consumes all social and economic progress made over the last century. We must reflect on humanity’s past and learn from our mistakes or risk once again opening the doors to fascism and authoritarian rule.

Originally published by me on Medium.