Member-only story
“I Would have Prevented Hitler’s Rise”
Oh, would you have? Will you do it now?
Even the most lax student of history knows what was happening in Germany in the 1930s. Adolf Hitler, taking advantage of post-World-War I depression, a desire to blame some scapegoat for the country’s troubles, and possessing a speaking style targeting feelings rather than facts, had come to power. Over that decade, at first slowly, then rapidly and nakedly, he curtailed democracy, invaded abutting nations, and began to strip Jewish citizens of rights, property, and eventually, their lives. He raised squads of heavy-booted devotees ready to strike down anyone who dared to defy him in public and humiliating ways.
Too many Germans failed to take him seriously. Some uneasy Jews, sensing coming catastrophe, sought safety elsewhere. Other citizens, Jews and non-Jews alike, were concerned, but fooled themselves into complacency. They were going to get through whatever was going to happen. How bad could it be?
At the same time, in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and other unexpected U.S. places, American acolytes designed their own versions of Nazi uniforms, drilled on campgrounds, broadcast hate messages over the radio, and stole munitions from armories. Several U.S. Senators and Congressmen, despite their oaths of office and claims of patriotism, aided and…
