ETERNAL VIGILANCE

A VOICE FROM NAZI GERMANY

A Survivor shows parallels between Naziism and trends in the U.S.

© 2004 by G. Edward Griffin

One of the most important realities of our time is that there is little difference between Communism, Naziism, Fascism, Fabianism, Socialism, and what is now being sold to the American people as Americanism. All of these systems are a single phenomenon. They are but variants of an ideology called collectivism. (For an analysis of collectivism, see The Chasm elsewhere in the Issues section of this site. This becomes crystal clear when one compares what is now unfolding in the United Sates with events that occurred in Nazi Germany. The parallels are chilling.

Several years ago, The Reality Zone released an audio presentation on this topic called Lesson from Austria, the personal testimony of Kitty Werthman who saw Hitler’s rise to power in her country. (Available at http://www.realityzone.com/audarvoliii.html ) Werthman reminds us that Hitler was eagerly welcomed by the Austrian people because the Nazis promised free health care, retirement income, unemployment benefits, guaranteed wages, free nursery care, equal rights for women, gun control to reduce crime, and other enticements that now are a part of the political scene in all countries.

Now, we have a powerful statement from another survivor of the Nazi system who shows the continuing parallels that have developed after 9-11, particularly the introduction of so-called homeland security and the glorification of war. The following testimony appeared as a letter to the editor at www.truthout.org dated January 9, 2004. My commentary is included at the end.

The Bush Hitler Thing

Dear Sir,

My family was one of Hitler’s victims. We lost a lot under the Nazi occupation, including an uncle who died in the camps and a cousin killed by a booby trap. I was terrified when my father went ballistic after finding my brother and me playing with a hand grenade. (I was only 12 at the time, and my brother insisted the grenade was safe.) I remember the rubble and the hardships of ‘austerity’ - and the bomb craters from Allied bombs. As late as the 1980s, I had to take detours while bombs were being removed - they litter the countryside, buried under parking lots, buildings, and in the canals and rivers to this day. Believe me, I learned a lot about Hitler while I was growing up, both in Europe and here in the US - both my parents were in the war and talked about it constantly, unlike most American families. I spent my earliest years with the second-hand fear that trickled down from their PTSD - undiagnosed and untreated in those days.

I’m no expert on WWII - but I learned a lot about what happened in Germany - and Europe - back in those days. I always wondered how the wonderful German people - so honest, decent, hard-working, friendly, and generous - could ever allow such a thing to happen. (There were camps near my family’s home - they still talk about them only in hushed conspiratorial whispers.) I asked a lot of questions - we were only a few kilometers from the German border - and no one ever denied me. My relatives had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about the war - they still haven’t forgotten - I don’t think anyone can forget such a horrible nightmare. Among the questions I asked:

Why didn’t you do anything about the people in the camps?

Everyone was terrified. People “disappeared” into those camps. Sometimes the Nazis came and lined everyone up, walking behind them - even school children - with a cocked pistol. You never knew when they would just shoot someone in the back of the head. Everyone was terrified. Everyone was disarmed - guns were registered, so all the Nazis had to do was go from house to house and demand the guns.

Didn’t you see what was happening?

We saw. There was nothing we could do. Our military had no modern weapons. The Nazis had technology and resources - they just invaded and took over - we were overwhelmed by their air power. They had spies everywhere - people spying on each other, just to have an ‘ace in the hole’ in case they were accused - and anyone who had a grudge against you could accuse you of something - just an accusation meant you’d disappear. Nobody dared ask where you had gone - anyone who returned was considered suspicious - what had they said, and who did they implicate? It was a climate of fear - there’s nothing anyone can do when the government uses fear and imprisonment to intimidate people. The government was above the law - even in Germany, it became “every man for himself.” Advancement was possible by exposing “traitors” - anyone who questioned the government. It didn’t matter if the people you accused were guilty or not - just the accusation was enough.

Did anyone know what was going on?

We all knew. We imagined the worst because the Nazis made ‘examples’ of a few people in every town and village. Public torture and execution. The most unspeakable atrocities were committed in full view of everyone. If this is what happened in public, can you imagine what might be going on in the camps? Nobody wanted to know.

Why didn’t the German people stop the Nazis?

Life was better, at first, under the Nazis. The war machine invigorated the economy - men had jobs again, and enough money to take care of their family. New building projects were everywhere. The shops were full again - and people could afford good food, culture, and luxuries. Women could stay home in comfort. Crime was reduced. Health care improved. It was a rosy scenario - Hitler brought order and prosperity. His policies won widespread approval because life was better for most Germans, after the misery of reparations and inflation. The people liked the idea of removing the worst elements of society - the gypsies, the homosexuals, the petty criminals - it was easy to elicit support for prosecuting the corrupt, “evil” people poisoning society. Every family was proud of their hometown heroes - the sharply-dressed soldiers they contributed to his program - they were, after all, defending the Fatherland. Continuing a proud tradition that had been defeated and shamed after WWI, the soldiers gave the feeling of power and success to the proud families that showered them with praise and support. Their early victories were reason to celebrate - in spite of the fact that they faced poorly armed inferior forces - further proof that what they were doing was right, and the best thing for the country. The news was full of stories about their bravery and accomplishments against a vile enemy. They were “liberating” these countries from their corrupt governments.

These are some of the answers I gleaned over the years. As a child, I was fascinated with the Nazis. I thought the German soldiers were really something - that’s how strong an impression they made, even after the war. After all, they weren’t the ones committing war crimes - they were the pride of their families and communities. It was just the SS and Gestapo that were “bad.” Now I know better - but that pride in the military was a strong factor for many years, only adding to the mystique of military power - after all, my father had been a soldier too, but in the American army. It took a while to figure out the truth.

Every time I’ve gone back to Europe, someone has taken me to the “gardens of stone” - the Allied cemeteries that dot the countryside. With great sadness, my relatives would stand in abject misery, remembering the nightmare, and asking “Why?” Maybe that’s why they wouldn’t support the US invasion of Iraq. They knew war. They knew occupation. And they knew resistance. I saw the building where British flyers hid on their way back to England - smuggled out by brave families that risked the lives of everyone to help the Allies. As a child, I had played in a basement where the cow lived under the house, as is common there. The same place those flyers hid.

So why, now, when I hear GWB’s speeches, do I think of Hitler? Why have I drawn a parallel between the Nazis and the present administration? Just one small reason - the phrase “Never forget.” Never let this happen again. It is better to question our government - because it really can happen here - than to ignore the possibility.

So far, I’ve seen nothing to eliminate the possibility that Bush is on the same course as Hitler. And I’ve seen far too many analogies to dismiss the possibility. The propaganda. The lies. The rhetoric. The nationalism. The flag waving. The pretext of “preventive war.” The flaunting of international law and international standards of justice. The disappearances of “undesirable” aliens. The threats against protesters. The invasion of a non-threatening sovereign nation. The occupation of a hostile country. The promises of prosperity and security. The spying on ordinary citizens. The incitement to spy on one’s neighbors - and report them to the government. The arrogant triumphant pride in military conquest. The honoring of soldiers. The tributes to “fallen warriors.” The diversion of money to the military. The demonization of government appointed “enemies.” The establishment of “Homeland Security.” The dehumanization of “foreigners.” The total lack of interest in the victims of government policy. The incarceration of the poor and mentally ill. The growing prosperity from military ventures. The illusion of “goodness” and primacy. The new einsatzgrupen forces. Assassination teams. Closed extralegal internment camps. The militarization of domestic police. Media blackout of non-approved issues. Blacklisting of protesters - including the no-fly lists and photographing dissenters at rallies.

There isn’t much doubt in my mind - anyone who compares the history of Hitler’s rise to power and the progression of recent events in the US cannot avoid the parallels. It’s incontrovertible. Is Bush another Hitler? Maybe not, but with each incriminating event, the parallel grows - it certainly cannot be dismissed. There’s too much evidence already. Just as Hitler used American tactics to plan and execute his reign, it looks as if Karl Rove is reading Hitler’s playbook to plan world domination - and that is the stated intent of both. From the Reichstag fire to the landing at Nuremberg to the motto of “Gott Mit Uns” [God is with us] to the unprovoked invasion and occupation of Iraq to the insistence that peace was the ultimate goal, the line is unbroken and unwavering.

I’m afraid now, that what may still come to pass is a reign far more savage and barbaric than that of the Nazis. Already, appeasement has been fruitless - it only encourages the brazen to escalate their arrogance and braggadocio. Americans support Bush - by a generous majority - and mass media sings his praises while indicting his detractors - or silencing their opinions completely. The American people seem to care only about the domestic economic situation - and even in that, they are in complete denial. They don’t want to hear about Iraq, and Afghanistan is already forgotten. Even the Democratic opposition supports the occupation of Iraq. Everyone seems to agree that Saddam Hussein deserves to be executed - with or without a trial. “Visitors” are fingerprinted. Guilty until proven innocent. Snipers are on New York City rooftops. When do the Stryker teams start appearing on American streets? They’re perfectly suited for “Homeland Security” - and they’ve had a trial run in Iraq. The Constitution has been suspended - until further notice. Dick Cheney just mentioned it may be for decades - even a generation, as Rice asserts as well. Is this the start of the 1000 year reign of this new collection of thugs? So it would seem. I can only hope that in the coming year there will be some sign - some hint - that we are not becoming that which we abhor. The Theory of the Grotesque fares all too well these days. It may not be Nazi Germany - it might be a lot worse.

SL | Wisconsin


Commentary by G. Edward Griffin

As we approach the 2004 presidential election, there is an increasing crescendo of anti-Bush sentiment that appears to be motivated, not by concern over the loss of our freedom, but by a revulsion against our war in Iraq and a partisan drive to replace a Republican president with a Democrat. It is an age-old ploy: Focus on the evils of the leader and hope that people will not look too carefully at the man who is preparing to replace him. In this case, the Democratic hopeful, Mr. John Kerry, is a card-carrying collectivist exactly like Mr George W. Bush, but the voters are not supposed to think about that. They are expected to be so alarmed over the performance of the Bush Administration in Iraq that they will be blinded to the fact that, for decades, both political parties have followed exactly the same long-range agenda. It is to expand government at home and to merge the U.S into a so-called New World Order based on the model of collectivism. Voters are led to believe that, by choosing between the Democratic and Republican parties, they have a choice. They actually think they are participating in their own political destiny; but that is an illusion. To a collectivist theoretician like Professor Carroll Quigley [President Clinton’s former teacher at Georgetown University], it is a necessary illusion to prevent voters from meddling into the important affairs of state. If you have ever wondered why the two American parties appear so different at election time but not so different afterward, listen carefully to Quigley’s approving overview of American politics:

The National parties and their presidential candidates, with the Eastern Establishment assiduously fostering the process behind the scenes, moved closer together and nearly met in the center with almost identical candidates and platforms, although the process was concealed as much as possible, by the revival of obsolescent or meaningless war cries and slogans (often going back to the Civil War). … The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ”throw the rascals out" at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy. … Either party in office becomes in time corrupt, tired, unenterprising, and vigorless. Then it should be possible to replace it, every four years if necessary, by the other party, which will be none of these things but will still pursue, with new vigor, approximately the same basic policies. [Taken from Tragedy and Hope, by Carroll Quigley, pp. 1247-1248. Available at http://www.realityzone.com/tragedy.html


We must understand this perspective when appraising the parallels between Naziism and the ideology that now is embraced by most government leaders in the Western world. It has nothing to do with individual leaders, their campaign rhetoric, or their personal style. Collectivism is the culprit, and we will not recapture our freedom by merely switching back and forth between candidates selected by political parties all of which are dedicated to collectivism. We must have leaders who will stand against collectivism in all its forms and who will declare for individualism, as summarized in The Creed of Freedom. (See The Creed of Freedom elsewhere on this site.)


G. Edward Griffin

April 25, 2004