Welcome Back, 1930s

Nearly a century later, we're back where we started

30 January 1933 is perhaps one of the most infamous dates in history, marking the beginning of Adolf Hitler’s chancellorship of Germany. Nineteen months later, he would announce his position as the all-encompassing Führer. Fast forward 91 years, and Donald Trump has won the 2024 US presidential election after right-wing sentiment swept across America. To directly compare any modern figure to Hitler is fairly extreme, yet an alarming number of similarities between the socio-political climate of 1930s Europe and our current world have become apparent. For example, both of these leaders had successful second attempts at claiming power despite run-ins with the law: one was arrested for a failed political revolt, the other was impeached twice. Trump’s twisted carrot-and-stick approach also has echoes from the past. The carrot is the promise of the restoration of greatness, the tricky cult of personality that makes a man appear as a divine leader who is destined to save his country. The stick is the dismissal of past events and governments to heighten the current leader’s superiority. 

During the 1920s, Germany saw intense economic hardships following the expensive loss of World War I, including hyperinflation and the Great Depression as a result of the Wall Street crash. Hitler was able to use this to his advantage by fuelling hatred toward Germany’s previous leaders. Today, Biden’s economic decisions are frequently brought up by Trump, using the same strategy of directing blame toward those who came before him. These same concepts are used for unpredictable events; the loss of WWI and the financial after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic both created mass surges of emotion, particularly desperation, after which faith was put into the politician who could promise glory for their country the loudest. However, fearmongering has continued beyond political campaigns. 

Once in power, both men were able to blame an unforeseen event on their opposition: the Reichstag fire, the plane crash over the Potomac, the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Moreover, immigrants were often blamed for these incidents, further fuelling an ‘us and them’ mentality. Trump’s rampant crackdown on those deemed ‘illegal aliens’ carries bitter echoes of the aftermath of a Nuremberg rally, where Jews in Germany were stripped of their citizenship and ordered to move abroad. In both cases, immigrants have been wholeheartedly blamed for a country’s failings, despite war, illness, and financial chaos producing the real reason for national decline. If we are to truly learn anything from this, then it is important to recognise who we are listening to and to consider their potential biases. Famously, Hitler was an excellent speaker and would often change the content of his speeches based on the demographic of his current audience. 

As is still the case today, powerfully emotive language took precedence, forcing credibility to be marginalised. Next time you hear a speech or official comment, think about the emotional drive behind it. For instance, if a certain leader’s rhetoric is largely made up of extreme hyperboles, sharp contrasts and wildly unreliable statements, then it quickly becomes easy, even convenient, to believe. Cults of personality can quickly become sinister, and as we’ve learnt from history, if something sounds too good (or far-fetched) to be true, it likely is. 

Our political climate may not be as new as we think it is. Exceeding charisma, scapegoats, fearmongering, and propaganda have managed to come back into international style after a 90-year hibernation. Yet, we have an advantage over those in history: hindsight. From the 1930s, we know what the results are of an incredibly tense political climate, which is fueled by fear and misinformation. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial that we learn from the past and recognise certain patterns. By paying attention to the news, utilising trustworthy sources, and considering the implications of what someone says before immediately believing it to be true, we may be able to prevent historical overlaps. Keeping common sense in mind and listening to history, be it through lectures or a TV documentary, affords us the choice to be unlike those in post-WWII Germany, whose complicity in the brutal National Socialist scheme was reckoned only too late.

Illustration from Wikimedia Commons