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StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)

65. Hitler and Goebbels and Himmler, etc. didn't start out as the Hitler, Goebbels and Himmler we know

Fri Feb 5, 2021, 10:55 PM

Feb 2021

They started out as political leaders who promised to "shake things up," make the country great again, and protect the "real" patriots from "others" who were threatening to take away their way of life. They didn't start off with concentration camps or extermination or any of the horrors we associate with the Holocaust. They started off with much of the type of language and behavior we watched Trump and his crowd engage in.

And looking back, many people wish they had recognized the danger Hitler posed and stepped in and fought to stop him before they went down the slippery slope.

So while the Hitler comparisons often are overused, when it comes to Trump, they are not misplaced. We were on a very dangerous path and people needed to know that this could have gone a very bad way - and by the time the comparisons are obvious, it would be too late.

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Before you throw out the next Nazi, Hitler, Goebbels slur... [View all] WarGamer Feb 2021 OP

Welcome to DU! As far as your post, nah. Comparisons can and should be made. (Nt) FreepFryer Feb 2021 #1

Mike Godwin said it's fine. Alacritous Crier Feb 2021 #2

Welcome to DU. Thanks for your concern. Ferrets are Cool Feb 2021 #3

ditto. CurtEastPoint Feb 2021 #6

Double ditto denbot Feb 2021 #30

That piece was written in 2018, Ms. Toad Feb 2021 #4

Excellent point. cwydro Feb 2021 #35

@1:51 meadowlander Feb 2021 #5

Nice :) (Nt) FreepFryer Feb 2021 #28

Thanks so much for joining so you could let us know the error of our ways. Without you we would Squinch Feb 2021 #7

Nazis didn't begin their evil with the Holocaust. Hermit-The-Prog Feb 2021 #8

That's what I was thinking, too Leith Feb 2021 #19

Most at DU may know of the book "They Thought They Were Free" PufPuf23 Feb 2021 #49

Ex-actly. PCIntern Feb 2021 #34

Thank you, Hermit! Cha Feb 2021 #75

We had survivors warning us about the threat of trumpism. Hermit-The-Prog Feb 2021 #85

Oh Yes We Did! & Yes it Does! Mahalo for the Cha Feb 2021 #87

Celerity just posted one you might enjoy ... Hermit-The-Prog Feb 2021 #90

I hadn't.. TY! It looks Cha Feb 2021 #92

+1, the right thing to do is to call out parallels uponit7771 Feb 2021 #89

Exactly PatSeg Feb 2021 #100

the similarities are the rhetoric and violent behavior and attempt to take over the government msongs Feb 2021 #9

Repubs have set up concentration camps, and thrown thousands of children in them. lagomorph777 Feb 2021 #20

We're not there yet. Turin_C3PO Feb 2021 #10

Yes, this doesn't feel like a stretch: meadowlander Feb 2021 #17

I get, I think, what she's saying, Butterflylady Feb 2021 #11

Republicans are fascist. They have no regard for human life and only seek to enrich themselves. onecaliberal Feb 2021 #12

Welcome to DU. ZZenith Feb 2021 #13

Nope. We have to call these people what they are before they have the opportunity Aristus Feb 2021 #14

I commend your response to the OP rusty fender Feb 2021 #112

And ignore that odd mole on your back that keeps growing. Don't compare it to cancer. Midnight Writer Feb 2021 #15

"Nazis" are a very fringe element in America, but regarding the threat of fascism... AntiFascist Feb 2021 #16

This isn't worth a long response: Mike 03 Feb 2021 #18

Sort of, but its hard to think of the Weimar Republic as a "functioning democracy" Klaralven Feb 2021 #22

the largest minority party nazis staged political disobedience to keep govt from functioning so msongs Feb 2021 #23

Starting in 1930. Klaralven Feb 2021 #24

I think we're justified in saying thucythucy Feb 2021 #21

Also, throwing children into concentration camps. lagomorph777 Feb 2021 #25

PreHolocaust Germany is what Trumpism gets compared to blm Feb 2021 #26

You just wanted to talk about Hitler and Nazis n/t leftstreet Feb 2021 #27

Good point GusBob Feb 2021 #98

Or could be because DU users mention Nazis and Hitler 300 times a day? WarGamer Feb 2021 #105

300 times a day! Holy shit! Wow! GusBob Feb 2021 #118

Thanks TheFarseer Feb 2021 #29

j'ever notice how people post and then a ton of folks comment/rebut and not one peep from OP CurtEastPoint Feb 2021 #31

Well, I Sure Did! ProfessorGAC Feb 2021 #33

He's a new guy, give him a chance FakeNoose Feb 2021 #39

thanks... WarGamer Feb 2021 #46

I'm here... was gone most of the day. WarGamer Feb 2021 #42

They clearly and repeatedly signal their intentions, so I say: believe them struggle4progress Feb 2021 #32

This. Buckeye_Democrat Feb 2021 #63

Godwin: "By all means, compare these shitheads to the Nazis. dalton99a Feb 2021 #36

Mike Godwin is literally a human meme. WarGamer Feb 2021 #43

And don't think for one minute that Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #37

If I were your History Professor WarGamer Feb 2021 #44

I would probably ask you if you got your history degree Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #50

I don't care if you have no respect for me, that's cool. You don't know me. WarGamer Feb 2021 #55

I know nothing about her and I didn't come here Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #58

You are just full of 'appeals to authority' logical fallacies aren't you. Celerity Feb 2021 #67

yawn obamanut2012 Feb 2021 #38

you will not like this Celerity Feb 2021 #40

It's not about like/dislike WarGamer Feb 2021 #45

I tend to roll with the other replies who think it's fine, as many of the trumpian hordes are actual Celerity Feb 2021 #47

yeah... WarGamer Feb 2021 #53

This message was self-deleted by its author Celerity Feb 2021 #59

I know ALL ABOUT that. WarGamer Feb 2021 #61

you are arguing semantics, and we use the term NEO nazis for a reason Celerity Feb 2021 #64

correct... it's about semantics. That's the purpose of the article. WarGamer Feb 2021 #66

I disagree with your premiss and your conclusions. nt Celerity Feb 2021 #68

thanks for the discussion, I truly appreciate it. nt WarGamer Feb 2021 #70

You should make this an OP Celerity PufPuf23 Feb 2021 #76

And again - Nope. GoneOffShore Feb 2021 #95

Nobody's insulting them any more than you are insulting the families Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #52

I didn't even comment about COVID-19 WarGamer Feb 2021 #54

And before they did those things, Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #56

Actually I would say Sean Hannity was more the Goebbles of the Trump administration. Initech Feb 2021 #41

Sometimes a metaphor is a metaphor. Also, if a current wingnut's orientation is extended to its UTUSN Feb 2021 #48

I sit now about 12ft from the armbands of 12 Nazis killed by my father. Maru Kitteh Feb 2021 #51

You're 100% correct. WarGamer Feb 2021 #57

Yup, that's exactly what I think Victor_c3 Feb 2021 #60

This is the first post in this thread agreeing with Dr. Frieberg. WarGamer Feb 2021 #62

Hitler and Goebbels and Himmler, etc. didn't start out as the Hitler, Goebbels and Himmler we know StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #65

Devil's Advocate here... WarGamer Feb 2021 #69

No one is comparing Trump to early Hitler simply because he promised to shake things up StarfishSaver Feb 2021 #77

Well said. n/t Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #71

this is a political message board with obvious bias and we are not here to be lectured and talked demtenjeep Feb 2021 #72

People die. Their ideas don't. Solly Mack Feb 2021 #73

I'm skeptical of how she folds the objection to "Nazis" into the objection to "The Holocaust" fishwax Feb 2021 #74

Your post presents an interesting dilemma. canetoad Feb 2021 #78

"was the worst concerted, act of genocide during the 20th century" EX500rider Feb 2021 #79

I didn't realise it was so many canetoad Feb 2021 #80

That was not, by definition, genocide Spider Jerusalem Feb 2021 #82

Ivanka is Leni Riefenstahl? Silent3 Feb 2021 #81

I'm watching a program by Malcolm Nance produced in 2020 called "Unfit" on a channel called... Hekate Feb 2021 #83

"first they came" Demonaut Feb 2021 #84

See, here's a thing about DU members you may not know: many of us have family connections to... Hekate Feb 2021 #86

Exactly. tavernier Feb 2021 #99

I agree, 100% WarGamer Feb 2021 #104

Who thinks Ivanka is Leni Riefenstahl? Ivanka has no talent at all. Crunchy Frog Feb 2021 #88

But that was a throwaway line canetoad Feb 2021 #91

Your first post, and you want to control content and terminology here. VOX Feb 2021 #93

I certainly expected a different reception. WarGamer Feb 2021 #103

I'll bet you did. Here's the thing: MineralMan Feb 2021 #106

So are you saying that Dr. Frieberg is wrong? WarGamer Feb 2021 #107

From that writer's perspective, no doubt. MineralMan Feb 2021 #108

thanks for the discussion, I truly appreciate it. nt WarGamer Feb 2021 #109

Nope - but thanks for your concern. GoneOffShore Feb 2021 #94

Nope. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, Roisin Ni Fiachra Feb 2021 #96

Wow!! So different people have different opinions!! I'm shocked. WarGamer Feb 2021 #102

Saying two things are comparable is not saying they are exactly the same. Captain Stern Feb 2021 #97

Welcome to DU! PatSeg Feb 2021 #101

Slur? Comparison maybe. jalan48 Feb 2021 #110

I agree with Dr. Friedberg nt. Mosby Feb 2021 #111

I suggest you watch "Rise of the Nazis" rusty fender Feb 2021 #113

lol... WarGamer Feb 2021 #114

Exactly! rusty fender Feb 2021 #115

the "lol" WarGamer Feb 2021 #116

Before you further accuse us of misusing history, perhaps you should see this propaganda film... Hekate Feb 2021 #117

Much as I repudiate Trump he cannot be accused of mass murder. NT anamnua Feb 2021 #119

Half a million COVID victims might beg to differ... Hekate Feb 2021 #121

This is a serious stain on his record. anamnua Feb 2021 #123

We feel the republic is in extremis Hekate Feb 2021 #124

Who bears responsibility for the 740k+ deaths in Europe? WarGamer Feb 2021 #125

You really want to play devil's advocate, don't you? I'm not that interested, as we just had a devil Hekate Feb 2021 #126

I'm certainly not going to defend Trump. His response was putrid. WarGamer Feb 2021 #127

You pride yourself on historical accuracy... AntiFascist Feb 2021 #120

Thanks. I'm saving the article & its reference to the book this time around. nt Hekate Feb 2021 #122

Good points Dem2 Feb 2021 #128