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The people who subscribe to this and similar substacks are responsible, informed and engaged citizens who will Never Forget. Our parents fought the war and understood the threat, Today, that history tends to be condensed to 1940-45 and the Holocaust. When Trump is compared to Hitler, you dont have to immediately jump to the end of the story where more than 6M people were murdered. I think its more instructive to look at the rise of Hitler and Nazism following the end of WWI. How they were initially seen as a bunch of thugs and clowns, but were persistent about consolidating power using democratic means, using violence, using grievance politics to get the public to look the other way, and on and on...

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Thank you!! I was thinking the same thing but could not put it as well as you have...

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Trump is not Hitler. Thank you Captain Obvious. (Sorry Chris, I really like you even if we disagree at times)

It would be helpful to examine the true meaning of that statement.

Right now, today, and for the recent past, he certainly is not Hitler.

Unfortunately, the base reason he's not is not because he doesn't want to be him, but because he hasn't been able (yet) to consolidate the levers of power to be him. If you, or anyone else, can honestly look at ICE gearing up (and I just read that the agents have been told to dress as menacing and scary as possible) and not see a direct historical line between today and Nazi Germany, then you are not watching the right stuff.

All the signals and signs are there, the dots have been placed on the diagram, and all you need to do is connect the zigs and zags and a swastika appears.

Of course the target has changed (for now) and its not the Jews, its the ILLEGAL ALIENS, but we got 4 (or more) years to look forward to Herr Stephen Miller in charge. You don't think there is a reason that Bolton and Pompeo have lost their security teams? A hit on either of them would serve to scare any other GOP folks who might even THINK of crossing the dear leader.

If you didn't study every word Mary Trump wrote and says, you need to. We have an extremely disturbed man in charge. He's not backing down now, especially with millions of Americans proud to have a "powerful leader" in charge.

All the elements are there, and everything is falling into place. Check out the guy on Long Island who deputized his own "private" security team of civilians to be in place in the event the local police aren't quite up to the job of enforcing their doctrines.

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You know, I actually got the chills reading your comment. I already knew what I was going to say, but I thought I would read a few first. Your thoughts mirror mine. Granted, The Supreme Leader in the White House is not Hitler, but his words and actions portend a future Hitler. The signs are there. The mistake is we tend to normalize him and his actions, and frighteningly, each layer insidiously builds upon the prior one so it also becomes normal. And look who he surrounds himself with now...these are scary times, and you can't count anything out. He has shown his cruel, uncompassionate intentions and has found a strong following throughout our country. They are given a place to stand by until called. Scary indeed...

In the meantime, what's the price of eggs today...

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ok, Trump is not Hitler (I guess), but he is a man of deep Nazi sympathies, and his words and actions over the years reinforce this ("immigrants are poisoning the blood of Americans"). He is constantly communicating and signaling this to his base, and they get it. The only people who don't get it are pundits and American politicians.

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Chris - Thank you for this post - supremely meaningful and worthwhile.

One of the most memorable, meaningful, and gut-wrenching trips in my lifetime was when I was able to visit Auschwitz, and see first hand what human beings are capable of doing to other human beings. I tear up, even now, simply thinking about it. We must NEVER forget.

And unlike Musk's recent (Wednesday?) comments in which Musk urged attendees of a far-right rally in Germany to “move on” from “past guilt.”, we must not overlook the past. While it is not "our" guilt to carry, it is up to us to remember, and ensure we never allow other human beings, regardless of where they are from or their backgrounds, to be treated anything like that again.

Thank you!

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That was very well said!

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I compare Trump to Hitler because I am afraid he is working towards concentration camps and maybe mass murder. Not possible? What happens if he rounds up thousands, maybe millions for deportation, but the countries refuse those he wants to deport? Trump never admits his mistakes, so….

Save this one for Friday: Why do you think mass murder can’t happen here, or is at least very unlikely?

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As the child of Holocaust survivors, I’m not as optimistic that Trump and his lackeys are not trying to create a Nazi-like society where only certain people are acceptable. This is the history of the Jewish people for thousands of years. This is only the beginning; same as Germany in 1930.

The fact that the mild reaction to Musk and his full-throated acceptance of the Nazi way is beyond troubling.

I have little confidence that the rest of the Republican Party can stop Trump and Musk.

Maybe it won’t be Jews this time, but with the rabid antisemitism that pervades this country, and Trump’s embrace of antisemites, it is within the realm of possibilities. I’m curious what the reaction of supporters like Miriam Adelson or Mark Zuckerberg or any of the other extremely wealthy Jewish donors is if this turns out to be the beginning.

There is an old saying, “a Jewish person always knows where their passport is.”

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Agree with some of the other commenters here (milked and stayed) that while Trump isn’t Hitler (Chris is right - any comparison minimizes the Nazi atrocities), there ARE disturbing overlaps

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Aargh - damn autocorrect! “Milked and stayed“ should be “implied and stated” 😮

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And here I thought "milked and stayed" where some new Gen Z terms I am not familiar with (like 'brat' or 'tea') 🤣🤣🤣

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Sorry about the levity on a very somber topic. I agree with your comment.

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Thats ok Sandy I was going to say I liked milked and stayed better.. We need humor It helps the soul and the attitude

Besides this is what got us in this mess in the first place Obamas humorous monologue on Trump at the national press club Do you realize he never went again

Heck they even got Karl Rove to do some rap

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When I say holes in the Swiss cheese lining up, there are two major events which change the course of world history. First, when Mitch McConnell refused to allow Obama to make his supreme court pick. By not allowing Merrick Garland onto the court, we paved the way for the first of Trump's pics, and we also gave Biden the opportunity to pick a very weak and ineffective attorney general.

The next hole in the Swiss cheese was when Ruth Bader Ginsburg decided not to retire when Obama had to Senate. That gave them another Supreme Court justice. If she had died just three months later, the court would be entirely balanced.

I ain't no historian, I didn't even go to college, but I could tell you those two circumstances changed history and allowed this to happen. Can you imagine how constrained Trump would be if he didn't know he had immunity for all official actions?

Anything and everything he does today is completely immune from prosecution. There are no guard rails on his official activity. He is using that to full advantage.

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Chris, I strongly encourage you to read The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland -- the true, riveting story of Rudolf Vrba, a Jewish prisoner who broke out of Auschwitz to warn the world of what was happening only to find very few wanted to listen. A powerful, well written book that should be mandatory reading, especially now. The creation and precision of the Nazi systems is particularly frightening, and parallels to what's happening today are unmistakable.

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This is a brilliant recommendation, Jill. I agree that The Escape Artist is a must-read. I found it unputdownable. Its author, Jonathan Freedland, is both a thriller writer (under a nom de plume) and a senior political columnist at The Guardian. I met him when he was promoting The Escape Artist, which is at one and the same time a deeply researched work of non-fiction and an incredibly tense page-turner. As you mention, Vrba’s firsthand testimony about the horrors of Auschwitz after he escaped was generally dismissed or ignored.

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As a Jewish person, I feel compelled to remind people that autocrats ALWAYS have more than one target - people who oppose them and any group that followers already hate or fear. Hitler killed lots of other people.

From the Auschwitz.org website:

Historians estimate that around 1,1 million people perished in Auschwitz during the less than 5 years of its existence. The majority, around 1 million people, were Jews. The second most numerous group, some 70 thousand, was the Poles, and the third most numerous, about 21 thousand, the Roma and Sinti. About 15 thousand Soviet POWs and some 12 thousand prisoners of other ethnic backgrounds (including Czechs, Belorussians, Yugoslavians, French, Germans, and Austrians) also died there.

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I don’t agree that there’s a huge gap between Hitler and Trump. I consider it minimization. This week, attacks were made on the hard earned gains of people of color. It was an insult to those who marched with, advocated for and lost their lives to white supremacists in the 1950 and ‘60’s plus a warning to those who would mirror their courage and conviction today. Those horrors similar to those experienced in Auschwitz, were a part of routine living for those in black communities. So many Jewish American citizens joined us in those times because they knew it was much the same as they had endured in the camps. The same sick philosophy and psychology. You might feel differently had you viewed a family member after a brutal rape and murder. Many of us don’t talk about the atrocities publicly, yet I and others alive in those days have not forgotten and never will. The brutality of it is stunning, life altering. The internet photos of Emmett Till are a testimony of that fact. To have seen it in person leaves an indelible impression of the dangers of underestimating the intent of those who embrace racism. Some who have not survived those times lack an appreciation of how violent and depraved racists actually are. After the release of the J6 criminals and police convicted of merciless acts, encouragement given them and assorted haters that Trump sanctions, that he would again send them out to enforce his bigotry with no consequences to any of them is a clear warning. My experience and wonderful Jewish friends who stood in the shadow of such peril, taught me well. They knew that hate and racism may vary by group, method and degree but it is basically the same and motivated by the same perverted mentality.

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Chris--Thank you. As the number of survivors of the Holocaust lessen day by day, its very important the filth and destruction of Hitler and the Nazi regime is taught in schools and to adults. We must never forget. I will leave the discussion and comparisons of Trump and Musk for another day. Today is the day to remember the liberation of Auschwitz.

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Although there are certain readily observable characteristics and behaviors that beg for the Hitler comparison as the most handy, I agree with you Chris, that it is not particularly useful. It feels dramatic, and causes such immediate reactions (mostly eye rolls) from his supporters or those undecided about him that it slams the door on any further discussion. The people you want to convince of this will NOT hear your opinions and arguments once you invoke the name “Hitler.” It is self-defeating. Yes, the fears about what Trump and the MAGA crowd will do are very real. Let’s communicate them in a way they can possibly be heard and acted upon.

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Granted, trump is not yet like hitler at his worst. He’s heading in that direction. Nothing will ever reduce the meaning and the horror of the sacrifices made by one million victims of the nazi regime. That remembered horror is the impetus behind the fear that trump is heading down a similar road of abuses. Hopefully, he can be stopped before his plans come to fruition. Hopefully there are enough who remember history to prevent another evil man like Hitler accomplish his goals.

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In June, when Eisenhower returned to the United States following the German surrender, he was asked by reporters about whether publishing stories and photographs of Concentration Camps had been a wise idea. Eisenhower responded, "I think people ought to know about such things."

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I'm still shocked and confused on those that deny this ever happened. Especially with all the evidence out there. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

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