The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

The Reichstag Fire and Kristallnacht Pogrom Analogy

Dennis Prager has written a perceptive article, The ‘Good American’, on the current reactions to the mob invasion of the Capitol as roughly the same way as the Nazis used the Reichstag fire:

“On Feb. 27, 1933, exactly one month after the Nazis came to power, the German parliament building, the Reichstag, was set ablaze. The Nazis blamed the fire on their archenemy, the communists, and used the fire to essentially extinguish the Communist Party and its ability to publish, speak or otherwise spread its message. Using the Reichstag fire as an excuse, the Nazis passed the Enabling Act, a law that gave the Nazi chancellor, Adolf Hitler, the power to pass laws by decree -- without the Reichstag.”

This was the beginning of the End of Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Justice in NAZI Germany, as Hitler utilized this power to silence and crush any opposition to his despotism. Much like Italian Fascist Mussolini stated, "We do not argue with those who disagree with us, we destroy them", so it is for all despotism, for despotism cannot thrive nor survive if opposition is allowed to occur.

This was followed several years later by the Kristallnacht pogrom, a successful attempt to demonize German Jews:

“Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November Pogrom, was a pogrom against Jews carried out by SA paramilitary forces and civilians throughout Nazi Germany on 9–10 November 1938. The German authorities looked on without intervening. The name Kristallnacht ("Crystal Night") comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets after the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues were smashed. The pretext for the attacks was the assassination of the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old German-born Polish Jew living in Paris.”

A demonization that was the beginning of the ideological foundation that led to the Holocaust which murder over six million Jews, and almost as many other persons that the NAZI regime labeled as undesirables.

And today, we are beginning to see the suppressing of all those that are opposed to Progressive/Leftist ideology, or those who supported or served with President Trump. This suppressing has been occurring in the last few decades by the actions and tactics that I have written in my “Terminology” webpage; “Progressives/Leftists, Mainstream Cultural Media, Mainstream Media, Political Correctness, Cancel Culture, and Wokeness”. Much of the Progressives/Leftist policies and positions are based on “The Biggest Falsehoods in America”, and we must become more informed and knowledgeable about these falsehoods to resolve these problems in America. The manifestations of this suppression are that President Trump has been booted off Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. Shopify has booted MAGA merchandise from their stores. Many other conservative voices and commentary have suffered similar fates. The alternative Parler social media application has been banned from the Apple and Android marketplace. Other Big Tech suppressions have increased since the election of Joe Biden, as I have outlined in my article, "Who Needs Government Suppression When You Have Big Tech Suppression?". The problems of “Modern Journalism” have accelerated to the point where most journalism today is propaganda for Progressive/leftist and the Democratic Party, leaving no voice for alternative policies and positions. While it may be legal for these organizations to restrict the people and content of those people and organizations that they allow to utilize their services, it also poses the ethical and moral questions as to their appropriateness in doing so. There is also a danger, as when a large number of people feel that their voices are being suppressed they become frustrated, angry, and then rebellious against their suppressors, which leads to the breakdown of "A Civil Society".

As the NAZI’s used the Reichstag fire as an excuse to crush opposition to their rule, and then the Kristallnacht pogrom to eliminate those that they deemed undesirable, so are the Progressives/Leftists utilizing the mob invasion of the Capitol to crush their opposition. Is it possible that another Kristallnacht may be forthcoming to eliminate their opposition? I say this because a few dozen violent protesters, out of many thousands of peaceable protesters, are being utilized to "Demonize, Denigrate, Disparage (The Three D's)" all of those who supported President Trump, as well as blaming President Trump for inciting the violence. Despite President Trump addressing the peaceable crowd and saying, "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard" (italics added), they claim President Trump was inciting violence, much like the NAZI’s claimed that the Communists were responsible for the Reichstag fire, and the Jews and other undesirable people were responsible for corrupting German society.

These Progressives/Leftists are utilizing this mob invasion of the Capitol to further suppress the free speech rights of all those who opposed their policies and positions. Those that engage in this suppression cloak themselves in moral righteousness and intellectual superiority. As they believe themselves more intelligent, better educated, and morally superior, they are, of course, always correct, and their actions are thus justified. Those that reserve the determination of moral rightness to themselves or like-minded persons are themselves immoral, as they are intolerant of any moral convictions or actions that are contrary to their own. Their retort that they will not tolerate the intolerant is to make them intolerant, which means that they should not tolerate themselves. This intolerance should not be accompanied by suppression, but by the persuasion of the erroneousness of the policy and positions with whom they disagree. They should remember that no side is morally right nor intellectually superior, and diversity of opinion makes for a better resolution to the problems besetting America. They also need to remember that there is no Free Speech unless there is Free Speech for all. They should also remember that conformity can only be imposed upon a subjugated or subservient people.

As always, we should remember that:

“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.”
  - Edmund Burke

And, unfortunately, it appears that today in America we are repeating the tragic mistakes of NAZI Germany in suppressing all opposition to Progressive/Leftists opinions. As has been said:

“Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty.”

and

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.”
- Edmund Burke

We, therefore, must  become more vigilant and proactive in defending our “Freedoms, Liberties, Equalities, and Equal Justice for All”, not only for those that we agree with, but more importantly for those with whom we disagree with.