“Say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it’s an ethos.”
Walter Sobchak from the movie “The Big Lebowski“
I think anytime anyone starts to use the words Nazis and Hitler as some sort of reference point in any situation they should stop. Disengage mouth. Whatever you where about to say, make as some sort of observation or association to, compare and contrast to, or make a general opinion, or bloviate on about the Naizs and Hitler it should be swallowed and properly evacuated from your mind and body. Do not regurgitate or cogitate on it or even think about mentioning it because it is going to get you in trouble. Particularly, if you are about to make some sort of comparison and contrasting about Nazis to the present day. It will never work. There tenets or ethos do not fit anything. Nazis do not have a place in the modern world any more than a buggy whip has a use in rush hour traffic.
There is this huge fascination with Hitler and Nazis. Walter Sobchak is probably right that the Nazis had an ethos. American Heritage Dictionary says that an ethos is “the disposition, character, or fundamental values peculiar to a specific person, people, culture, or movement.” By that definition Hitler and his fellow fascists have created continual character-cultural upheaval in historical interpretation.
It is always perplexing, but not surprising, how easily people fall into the Nazi abyss. Numerous politicians and celebrities have jumped into this historical black hole. It is a place where intellect and understanding go to die. That is as far as I am going to go in my Nazi comparing and contrasting. It is way too easy to get sucked into the void. And there never is a good explanation as to why you decided to go there. In most cases it ends up as half-witted apology for being historically challenged and somewhat ignorant.
A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.
Because no light can get out, people can’t see black holes. They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes. The special tools can see how stars that are very close to black holes act differently than other stars.
NASA.com
We are fortunate not to have to deal with black holes at this time in our human existence. It is, unfortunate however, that we still have to deal with Nazi ideology and its ability to squeeze intelligence into a tiny space. A good example is former President Trump’s take on Hitler and his relations with his officers. In their book, The Divider, published online by The New Yorker, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser recount how, Trump brought up a comparison to Hitler and his generals. According to The New York Times, “The excerpt depicts Mr. Trump as deeply frustrated by his top military officials, whom he saw as insufficiently loyal or obedient to him.”
The Times of Israel reported that the “Former US president Donald Trump clashed repeatedly with his generals over his desire to hold a huge military parade in Washington, DC, lamenting that they weren’t showing the same devotion that he claimed Hitler enjoyed.”
“I swear to God this holy oath
Wehrmacht Oath of Loyalty to Adolf Hitler
that I shall render unconditional obedience
to the Leader of the German Reich and people,
Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces,
and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared
to give my life for this oath.”
Trump was after a Fourth of July grand spectacle on the lines of Roman Triumph that would make France’s Bastille Day look like a Little League opening-day parade. According to excerpts, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Paul Selva suggested it was not such a good idea to have a grand military review: “it’s what dictators do.”
According to The Israel Times, “Trump grew “frustrated.” He felt “the generals were not exhibiting blind loyalty to him.” He asked his Chief of Staff, retired Marine Corps general John Kelly: You fucking generals why can’t you be like the German generals?” A reference to Hitler’s Wehrmacht generals of World War II.
Trump should have stopped his comparison and stepped back from the abyss. It was too late. The Nazi black hole was now sucking all of the light, intelligence out of the room, and in particularly Trump’s brain. Nobody is immune. It does not matter if you are an Ivy League graduate or a plumber’s helper, there is no vaccine for this sort of absurdity. Kelly’s response reveals just how little Trump knew about the Nazis when, Kelly told Trump, “You do know that they tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off?”
This sort of imbecility is not constrained to one party or even one continent. Politicians from both parties have said stupid stuff interpreting current events and then comparing them with Nazi ethos and imagery. Politicians have compared border detention facilities to concentration camps, vaccines to the identifying yellow star worn by German Jews. Others have said “while I don’t agree with Hitler, you have to admit what he accomplished in his lifetime is impressive.” There is so much wrong with that statement I cannot begin to comment except: the black hole. One Tennessee state politician saw Hitler as a rags to riches success story of true inspiration. Hitler, rising from homelessness to greatness. The brainless politician did not stop there but continued on saying that living on the street “it’s not a dead end.” That homeless people can draw inspiration from the life-and-times of an Austrian vagabond. “They can come out of these homeless camps and have a productive life.” I am not sure how productive Hitler’s life was but then I guess it is how you view a productive life and “impressive” accomplishments.
And then there are people who have handlers like the British monarchy. For instance in 2005 The Sun reported, along with a photo, that Prince Harry was at a party dressed in a Nazi “uniform… under the headline ‘Harry the Nazi.'”
“The Duke was later photographed wearing the uniform at a party causing public outrage, according to royal biographer Robert Lacey.” You think?
“Many observers, however, missed the point: obviously the 20-year-old Harry wasn’t really a neo-Nazi, as one Labour MP alleged….The lad was naughty, not a Nazi.” There is no point to be made. Stupid is a better description. I do not think it was gravity that squeezed the gray matter between his ears to a point of “what was I thinking?” He wasn’t. And I do not think anybody, even the Brits, considers the House of Windsor a citadel of intellect.
What people tend to forget is the death struggle taking place between Britain and the Nazis in World War II. Winston Churchill spurred on the his country telling them that they would fight on the beaches, on the landing grounds, in the fields, streets and hills:. To paraphrase Churchill we shall never surrender…into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule.
There really is no comparison or contrasting National Socialism ethos. It’s a warped understanding of Social Darwinism: racial superiority, ethnic cleansing and biologically improving the human race with selective beliefs on human existence. It has a complete contempt for democratic principles based on the rule of law.
National Socialism and Hitler stand alone in history. And, yes, they need to be studied and understood not compared to. Unless it is to Stalinism.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/inside-the-war-between-trump-and-his-generals
mystoryorhistory 