An Emergency Article

Trump, Nazis, and the Fascist Threat

When I first joined the Army Reserve years ago, I was struck by the fact that at the entryway to my then-unit’s armoury, there were lists of names— all of the unit’s fallen from both World Wars. Hundreds of names, all killed fighting tyranny in Europe. Fighting fascism and Nazism.

As a professional who has lived and studied war and military history his entire adult life, this resonated with me. I know what happened in Germany and Italy in the 1920s and ’30s, all leading towards the catastrophe of 1939-45, and I am horrified by the recent trend to normalize and praise Nazi Germany.

Watch a YouTube video on Nazi Germany, even one from reputable historians. Then read the comments. They’re littered with praise for the Nazis and for supposed German superiority. Many say things like, “we fought the wrong enemy,” and favourably compare Hitler’s regime with today’s democratic governments. There are entire fan groups for Hitler’s Wehrmacht (armed forces), and re-enactors can be found parading around in SS uniform. To anyone with even a passing knowledge of the realities of Nazi Germany, it’s nauseating. Our education system, with its lack of focus on modern history, has exacerbated this situation.

So, let’s be clear:

• Hitler built his “economic miracle” using conscripted labour and a massive rearmament program.

• Hitler telegraphed his odious intentions in Mein Kampf and proceeded to carry them out almost exactly.

• Germany was the aggressor in the Rhineland, Austria, Memel, Czechoslovakia (twice), and Poland. In every case, his so-called “peace offers” and diplomacy were disingenuous attempts to mask military activity.

• Hitler’s generals were bribed by the prospect of a rearmed Germany, lulled into complacency by their initial victories in 1939-42, and ultimately cowed by Hitler’s police state. Some were convinced Nazis, others too cowardly to admit that their “oaths” were meaningless in the face of mind-boggling criminality. A few stood up to Hitler and attempted his assassination.

• Hitler hated the Jews with a vengeance and pursued their destruction from the very beginning of his time in power. This began with the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, accelerated as the war approached, and ultimately resulted in the Final Solution, where six million Jews, Romani, homosexuals, and political opponents were murdered in an obscene industrial process. Hitler himself spoke repeatedly and openly of the extermination of the Jewish community.

• The much-ballyhooed Wehrmacht and Waffen SS were defeated by a combination of Allied technology, tactical innovation, industrial prowess, and tenacity. Germany was heavily defeated on both the Eastern and Western fronts, with a finality rarely seen in the history of modern warfare. Germany could produce a jet fighter with slave labour, but was reduced to making uniforms out of wood pulp.

I raise these points because of what I’m seeing in the US this week. To me, it is beyond doubt that Donald Trump is a textbook fascist looking for his very own cult of personality. He believes a leader should have unrestrained power and obviously prefers a system where corporations have unrestricted influence and control. I’ve believed this for quite some time, since his first term in office when he was restrained by his staff and outside advisers. This time, he won’t be as restrained and will feel free to give rein to his worst impulses.

It’s natural then, that Trump finds things to like about Nazi Germany. Of course, his knowledge is completely superficial and likely gained from watching movies (Trump doesn’t read), but he’s almost certain to appreciate what he sees as blind obedience to a leader’s will. After all, that’s exactly what he’s after—power and authority without restraint. He praises Hitler’s generals for their obedience, yet likely can’t name a single one. His fascism is entirely innate and ego-driven. Trump likes the trappings of Nazi Germany—the parades, the cult of personality, and the grovelling obsequiousness towards Hitler—because that’s what he wants.

But what he’s done with his comments is to further normalize Nazism with all its odious trappings and attitudes. The Wehrmacht fanboys are more likely to be Trump supporters now, and Trump’s policies are even more likely to echo back to Hitler’s. After all, we’re already hearing talk about how immigrants are “poisoning the blood of the nation” and other such Hitlerian nonsense.

Is Trump a Nazi? No, not really. But he is a fascist, and he says things eerily similar to early Hitler speeches. This is dangerous enough in my books. Trump’s vision for the US should be of deep concern to anyone who believes in liberal democracy; Canada could find itself dealing with an authoritarian oligarchy on its borders very soon.

Canada is certainly not prepared for what could be coming and need to develop a serious strategy for dealing with a Trumpist US *now*. Not “convening”, not “sunny ways”, and certainly not a weird attempt to adopt Trumpist rhetoric while retaining a wide appeal. It’s time to stop the political games and name calling and think of our democracy first - no matter where you live and vote.