Our Weimar Republic

American Thinker ^ | 2/26/2014 | Bruce Walker

[rktman]

There are, however, some chilling suggestions in politics and government today that draw memories of the last days of that failed German republic. Consider two of the most notorious changes in the German nation as it moved from Weimar Germany to Nazi Germany: the destruction of the sovereignty of state governments and the replacement of the national legislature with unchecked executive power.

[rktman]

Hmmmmm. Unchecked executive power...... Might, "I have a pen and a phone and I'm not afraid to use them", be slightly familiar to somebody. Does the "lyin' king" telling the state govs that he doesn't trust them to do what "he" wants/needs done at a state level. Odd eh?

[skinkinthegrass]

!

[Travis McGee]

[ameribbean expat]

Re-read chapter three (”Waiting for Hitler”) in Paul Johnson’s work from the early 1980s “Modern Times”. Bonechilling. Moreso given what country is poised at the epicenter this time around.

[Travis McGee]

The decadence and nihilism of Weimar Germany helped set the stage for the Nazis.

The decadence and nihilism of modern America makes Weimar Germany seem like Mayberry.

Something evil this way comes.

[ameribbean expat]

From the NY Times’ 1983 review:

“There are 20 closely-packed chapters in the book, and I must content myself with a modest selection to convey its riches. The chapter titled ‘’Waiting for Hitler’’ is a perceptive and knowledgeable account of the Weimar Republic and the constantly escalating tensions between the traditionalists and the modernists in it. Moreover, as Mr. Johnson writes, by the end of the 20’s, ‘’the syphilis of anti-Semitism had reached its tertiary stage.’’ Hitler’s appeal, especially among youth in the universities, lay in his being the ‘’romantic’’ type of leader which Johnson distinguishes from the ‘’religious’’ type personified by Lenin. Lenin was essentially a rigorous and puritanical thinker whose appeal for revolutionary change had a kind of religious fervor. Hitler’s approach was artistic: He conjured up visions for the Germans, right down to architectural details, of what the Third Reich might look like rather than what its political principles would be. ‘’Hitler’s artistic approach was absolutely central to his success. Lenin’s religious type of fanaticism would never have worked in Germany,’’ Mr. Johnson writes.”

[GOPJ]

Maybe you could post some of that...

[rellimpank]

—IIRC, in this book , another facet of the Hitler rise to complete control is explored—the takeover and perversion of the German judicial system—(federal judgeships, anyone)—

The Third Reich: A New History by Michael Burleigh

[ameribbean expat]

Although it’s the revised edition, Chapter three begins at p. 103:

http://archive.org/stream/ModernTimes_305/42024947-19032115-Johnson-Paul-Modern-Times-the-World-From-the-Twenties-to-the-Nineties-Revised-Edition-Harper-Collins-1991_djvu.txt

[Trapped Behind Enemy Lines]

IMHO, a comparison of the path we are currently on is more comparable to that of ancient Rome than it is to pre-war Nazi Germany or the Weimar Republic.

[Gritty]

The path we are on is exceedingly dangerous. If it isn’t checked, and soon, we are headed for tyranny.

[bandleader]

The Weimar Republic was an easy mark for Hitler and his stooges primarily because of the unconscionable reparations exacted against Germany by The Versailles Treaty!!These”Reparations”were exacerbated by The Great Depression!!A creation of Roosevelt and”Smoot-Hawley”tarriffs!!!These actions”set the table”for Adolf Hitler!!!!Now we have our own version of Hitler in Obongo!!!!!

[Bigg Red]

‘’Hitler’s artistic approach was absolutely central to his success.

***
Wow! Good catch. The parallels are so scary.

[GOPJ]

Another fascist boss, the Venetian financier Giuseppe Volpi, created a specta- cular industrial belt at Mughera and Mestre on the mainland. He also, as Minister of Finance, revalued the lira, which became a relatively strong currency. 181 Train, postal and phone services all markedly improved. There were no strikes. Corruption continued, perhaps increased; but it was less blatant and remarked upon. In Sicily, the Mafia was not destroyed, but it was effectively driven underground. Above all, there was no more violence on the streets. Some of these accomplishments were meretricious, others harmful in the long run. But taken together they looked impressive, to foreigners, to tourists, to many Italians too. No Utopia was emerging in Italy, but the contrast with hungry, terrorized Russia was striking. To those north of the Alps, who rejected alike the Bolshevism of the East and the liberalism of the West, the Italian renaissance seemed to offer a third way.

So, the trains really did run on time... Great link expat - interesting stuff...