History of Sorts

The general consensus is that once you introduce Hitler into a debate or an argument, you have lost that argument. Even though I subscribed to this opinion—my view has changed.

I believe not comparing some current far-right politicians to Hitler is a mistake. For example, despite what Putin thinks, he has become a far-right dictator following a similar path as Hitler from 1936-1939. However, Putin is not the only one.

Hitler didn’t start as a dictator—he gradually became a dictator. He started his campaign with legitimate political means. He also knew how to tap into the zeitgeist of the German population in the 1920s and 1930, referring to mainstream conservative German civilians. They feared their values were slowly eroding, although—there was no clear evidence. It was the perception of the time.

German citizens believed their concerns and fears were not listened to or addressed by politicians. Hitler did listen. He devised most of the Nazi policies based on those fears.

The far-right and far-left movements are basically the same but—not in name. Both are emerging globally, at the moment, for doing the exact same thing as Hitler. If you convey that in a debate today, you are immediately dismissed.

We should listen to all opinions, and if there are concerns, be they real or just a perception, they need to be addresses and not dismissed.