rob in cal
Jr. Member
Posts: 1,985
|
 |
« on: March 16, 2016, 11:25:44 AM » |
|
There is much to find offensive/creepy/weird etc about Donald Trump, and this post is not meant to explain or justify him for that. But, as someone who studies a fair amount (my wife would say way too much) about the inter-war period in Europe, I'd like to lend my two cents to the debate about whether the Donald is Hitler/Mussolini 2.0
Of course we are talking about two historical figures both dead for 70 years from different counties than the US so obviously one can't exactly compare the Donald's politics with theirs. However, there are a few issues where one can make some comparisons or contrasts, so lets give it a go.
First off, the elephant in the room, anti-Semitism, or more accurately, anti-Jewishness. This was obviously a driving motive behind a huge plank of the Nazi (not Italian fascist movement however) ideology. Where does the Donald come down on the issue. Well, this being the Donald its hard to tell exactly but we know he claims to be the most pro-Israel candidate out there, and perhaps as a function of this has basically said all Islam is against us, which would seem to indicate a pro-Israel attitude. Then there is the intriguing fact that not one, but two of his kids have married Jews, and his oldest daughter Ivanka has converted to Judaism. For the next American fuhrer, the Donald is remarkably ecumenical.
Second, feelings about the Slavs. Another central idea of Nazism was dominating/taking over Eastern Europe and, as an end goal, a big chunk of cis-Ural Russia, to create living space for the German people. Hitler showed some flexibility toward some Slavic countries, (there were Croatian and Slovakian units fighting alongside the Germans on the eastern Front) but basically he wanted them at best to have subordinate puppet states under German domination. Concerning the Czechs he famously said that they would be assimilated and or expelled over the next hundreds or years. He also seemed to relish the idea of a war starting over Czechoslovakia in 1938.
In sum, he had disdain for Slavs in general and felt that Germans should dominate their lands, if not worse. Where does the Donald come down on this issue. Well its 2016 in the US, not central Europe in 1938 so these issues aren't really relevant, but not one, but two of his three wives have been lovely Slavic women, with Ivana being a Czech to make matters even more ironic. I don't
think the real Fuhrer would approve of the Donalds choice in spouses.
Third, the Russian issue. Basically the Nazi vision was that Germany should conquer a huge chunk of western Russia, killing or expelling the leadership class and possibly allowing a Russian state on the other side of the Urals. Joseph Stalin, outside of the marriage of convenience of the Hitler Stalin pact of 1939-1941, was Hitler's top enemy. The Donald, OTOH, seems to have warm feelings toward Putin, thereby reversing a top Nazi era policy. This too, represented a big part of Nazi ideology, and once again the Donald is not following through.
How about the intriguing issue of birth control, which ties into Nazi demography fears and hopes. Basically the Nazi regime actually did tolerate it up until 1940 or so, and even after that did in fact allow the sale of condoms. Goebbels mentions this in his diary, that Himmler pushed for a ban on it in 1940 I believe due to the losses in wartime requiring a higher birth rate. Goebbels wasnt' happy about it, due to morale concerns. Once the Hitler regime took power, it did crackdown on doctors providing abortions, and a big plank of the movement was to increase the German birthrate, in which the regime was somewhat successful. The Donald on this issue? Well, we do know for one thing that he's the only GOP candidate for President who on the debate stage talks fondly of planned parenthood. The Donald fails the fuhrer test again.
Enough of history, how would a modern day American fascist rule. Well, I would argue that one key component of fascism was expansionism, Lebensraum for Germany, and for Italy the Meditteranean as Mare Nostrum (our sea). I could see a true American fascist talking about the union of the US and Canada, and turning the Caribbean into an American lake, with the US running things, but no-non-whites allowed to live in the US-Canadian living space. I would imagine an American fascist viewing the whole western hemisphere as part of the US lebensraum, or at least an area that should be under total US domination. I don't see the Donald talking about any of this.
An American fascist would likely support a US military build-up which the Donald and many other US politicians support, but they'd also probably want a draft, to instill military values into American men, and the Donald fails on this one.
The Donald envisions a re-industrialized America, and to hearken back to our historical comparisons Hitler fantasized about a vibrant German peasantry and if anything a smaller industrial population, as he viewed a healthy peasantry as the bedrock of the nation, and was suspicious of urban populations with their cosmopolitanism and smaller families.
On immigration an American fascist would want no non-white immigration, and while the Donald does talk about the wall, he also talks about nice big gates in the wall, and talks about his support for legal immigration, with no discussion about going back to the pre-1965 European centric immigration law. He at some points talks about less legal immigration, but then other times seems to backslide on the issue, so while he's certainly less pro high immigration than Clinton, Sanders on those on the left, its hard to say if he's even on Jeff Session or Steve Kings level in terms of supporting much less legal immigration.
I would say in terms of personal life there does seem to be a comparison that somewhat fits between the Donald and maybe Mussolini ( a substantial appetite for affairs with women) and if there is a comparison with lifestyles Goring would probably fit the Donald comparison much more than Hitler. I think the Donald would find Hitler a low energy loser. Imagine the Donald interviewing Hitler in 1914, when Hitler was a marginally employed draft dodger from the Austro-Hungarian army just scraping by in Munich. He'd probably say, get off my show, your fired, your a loser and will never amount to anything.
Anyway, these are just some random thoughts that occur when I ponder the question of Trump= Hitler, yes or no? To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, " Donald, I've studied a lot about Hitler, I 've seen his speeches, I know people who lived under Hitler, even two groomsmen at my wedding lost relatives because of him, and Donald, your no Adolf Hitler."
|
