Below are the words of world-renowned poet Kalen Dion on what the typical German was thinking when Hitler came to power in the early 1930s.

I know it’s impertinent to compare the United States under Trump to the Third Reich, but I challenge the reader to deny that there are legitimate parallels here. Below Dion’s piece I have made a few comments.

Nazis didn’t realize that they were “Nazis.” Of course, they were aware that they were affiliated with the Nazi party. But they did not see themselves as the genocidal extremists that they were. They saw themselves as patriots. Defenders of their nation. Acting out of love of country. Rather than a hatred of others. Loyalty was considered a moral duty.

They believed they were restoring order. Not dismantling democracy. The takeovers of the institutions. The loyalty tests as a barrier to entrance for military and government jobs. Exclusively appointing judges aligned with party values. These were all seen as necessary corrections to chaos. Corruption. And moral decay.

They saw their country as besieged by internal conflict. They believed that their greatest threat came from within. Political opponents. Intellectuals. Journalists. Cultural figures undermining the nation. These were seen as their greatest enemies.

They saw themselves as the victims. Despite holding and seeking ultimate power. They understood themselves as persecuted. Silenced. And unfairly targeted by elites. Courts. The media. And cultural institutions.

They saw immigrants as an existential threat. They framed immigration as an invasion. Lawless. A destabilizing force. And part of an international conspiracy to destroy the German way of life.

Joeseph Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of propaganda, created a moral inversion of exclusionary policies. Discrimination. Deportation. And repression was seen as protective. Defensive. And ethically justified.

They saw alignment with the party as alignment with the nation itself. Party loyalty was national loyalty. Opposing the party was seen as treasonous.

They believed in a coordinated leftist conspiracy. A vast interconnected plot involving leftists. Universities. Cultural institutions. Media. And political elites. They thought the left intended to seize power and corrupt society.

They were obsessed with cultural degeneracy narratives. Sexuality. Gender non-conformity. And changing social norms were framed as evidence of moral decay. Something they believed was engineered by the left.

They saw themselves as truth tellers. That they alone were willing to say what everyone knew but was afraid to speak out loud. It reinforced their sense of courage and moral clarity. Even as they used their sense of morality to marginalize and oppress.

They believed time was running out. That the decisive action was immediately necessary to prevent national collapse.

They believed the law was corrupted and weaponized by their enemies. Vigilante action was therefore justified. This belief was used to justify events like the night of long knives and the night of broken glass.

There was a fusion of personal and political identity. An attack on the movement was an attack on them personally. Their values. Their families. Their way of life.

They believed that social institutions had been captured. Courts. Schools. The media. Civil service. These were supposedly controlled by ideological opponents. And made them illegitimate and corrupted. The Lügenpresse… the “lying press”… was treated as “fake news”. The state was the only source of authority. Everything else was seen as non-credible.

They framed themselves as the protectors of the youth. Children were said to be under attack by immigrants. Left us. Educators. And gender ideology. This made their extreme measures feel necessary. One of Hitler’s first actions when he took office was to burn down Berlin’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Science), an LGBTQ+ and transgender rights research center.

The idea of meritocracy was used to elevate loyalty over competence. This directly led to Hitler’s downfall.

Competent military officials were dismissed. Party loyalists were installed. This was all treated as merit-based.

And lastly, they believed that history would vindicate them. They saw themselves as misunderstood. Victimized. Persecuted. And they believed that the future would see them as heroes. And that any action was justified, no matter how atrocious, as a means to an end.

Indeed, there are a great number of parallels here.

Trump supporters do believe that they are oppressed by immigrants, liberal judges, schoolteachers bringing politics into the classroom, wokeness, the acceptance LGBTQs, elites, mainstream media, etc.

Trump has surrounded himself with people whose only qualification is their loyalty.  In many cases, it would be impossible to find more incompetent people to head key government positions, e.g. Pete Hegseth, RFK, Jr. and the people who lead the DoE and the EPA.

As I was taught as a child, I continue to believe that, although many of German citizens felt this way, most were interested only in living their lives: doing their jobs and raising their children.  If I’m correct, this differs greatly from today’s U.S., where there are virtually zero apolitical Americans.  If you’re not a Trump supporter, you understand that our president is a criminal sociopath, and you want him gone.

I’m not a historian, and I can’t swear this true, but since Trump appeals to the meanest and least intelligent Americans (and some rich greedy bastards), I’m willing to bet that the demographics of Hitler supporters are similar, if not identical.  I would be shocked to learn that Germany’s doctors, authors, scientists, philanthropists, and college professors stood behind den Fuhrer.

Parallels Between Nazi Germany and American Life Today