I think you could go several more generations if the country owns up to its history. I don’t expect any real uprising of Nazism in Germany for at least a few more generations, because they make a point to acknowledge the horrible tragedy and teach newer generations about what happened.
The problem that the iconography changes, and the malevolence below the surface is eternal and subtle.
Germany learned to suppress hate speech, so now it’s banned. Problem solved! Except now there’s an academic who wants to speak on Israel’s crimes, who isn’t allowed in the Schengen zone to speak at the Hague. See, we solved hate speech.
Similarly, a lot of how it’s being attempted in the US would be immediately recognizable to someone who lived through the last time. And, in fact, some holocaust survivors spoke in 2016 about the gut feeling of fear they got from starting to see the similarities, with a certain amount of hesitation because of anyone on earth they absolutely understand the gravity of the accusation.
If Trump was getting up with Nazi flags and going after Jews, it would be recognizable. He’s making his own version of the American flag, though, and going after Hispanics, and pretty much no one is around by this point who really understands what it all means. Even the people who recognize it in an academic sense are a pretty small minority. Most people think it’s just a presidential election; they’re talking about polls and debates, or about erosion of democratic norms, and not about death camps and mass graves. That’s because they weren’t around the last time.
I think you could go several more generations if the country owns up to its history. I don’t expect any real uprising of Nazism in Germany for at least a few more generations, because they make a point to acknowledge the horrible tragedy and teach newer generations about what happened.
The problem that the iconography changes, and the malevolence below the surface is eternal and subtle.
Germany learned to suppress hate speech, so now it’s banned. Problem solved! Except now there’s an academic who wants to speak on Israel’s crimes, who isn’t allowed in the Schengen zone to speak at the Hague. See, we solved hate speech.
Similarly, a lot of how it’s being attempted in the US would be immediately recognizable to someone who lived through the last time. And, in fact, some holocaust survivors spoke in 2016 about the gut feeling of fear they got from starting to see the similarities, with a certain amount of hesitation because of anyone on earth they absolutely understand the gravity of the accusation.
If Trump was getting up with Nazi flags and going after Jews, it would be recognizable. He’s making his own version of the American flag, though, and going after Hispanics, and pretty much no one is around by this point who really understands what it all means. Even the people who recognize it in an academic sense are a pretty small minority. Most people think it’s just a presidential election; they’re talking about polls and debates, or about erosion of democratic norms, and not about death camps and mass graves. That’s because they weren’t around the last time.