With each and every election, politicians and political commentators compare the policies of their political opponents to those of past politicians. Unfortunately, this year, we are seeing many comparisons made to that of infamous dictator and mass murderer Adolf Hitler.
History classes around the world have discussed how a democratic system fell prey to a dictatorship and how nationalism spiraled out of control to allow the most infamous genocide in history to occur. Meanwhile, every student thinks to themself that, given the opportunity to go back in time, they would help the Jews — that they would have fought back against the rise of Nazi Germany, or they would have attempted to stop Hitler.
On the ballot, we have Donald Trump, a right-wing nationalist with undertones of racism, anti-Semitism and anti-Islamic sentiments, among other complaints. Trump’s rise has beginnings comparable to that of Hitler: both started out as a fringe candidate who used nationalism and fear to rise to the top; both used fear of immigrants to garner support; and both have support from white supremacy groups.
Donald Trump even garners support from former Imperial Grand Wizard of the KKK David Duke, Neo-Nazi organizations and other Alt-Right organizations throughout the country.
Trump has legitimized hatred as a mainstream idea; Trump has normalized Islamophobia and anti-immigrant ideas; Trump has allowed and encouraged hate groups to continue their work to “make America white again”; Trump has openly spoken in favor of white supremacy ideas on social media and at his rallies.
In more than 200 years of American elections, there have been almost no other candidates who have presented as truly terrifying a threat to our country and the world around us.
The United States of America has only faced one challenge to our democracy even comparable to Trump: Andrew Jackson.
President Jackson destroyed the Federal Bank of the U.S., deported and murdered hundreds of thousands of Native Americans and crippled American trust of the court system by purposefully undermining its decisions.
President Jackson’s treatment of the Native Americans was nothing new for the time. Hatred of these people had grown and the government mistreated them. The hatred of the Native Americans in the 1840s is comparable to the Islamaphobia and anti-Semitism of today.
Being a Jew in the modern era involves ducking and hiding from white extremists both in the U.S. and in Europe. The State Department details how anti-Semitism and Islamophobia drastically increased in 2015, when Trump began running for president. Donald Trump has incited violence and hate toward American citizens that he views as lesser than him. Thanks to him, white supremacy has reared its ugly head in the GOP this election cycle.
As an American Jew, I have had the opportunity to talk to Holocaust survivors. Their stories of survival should invigorate America to act now.
The rise of Nazi Germany should serve as a warning, not a model for what modern America should become. When you walk through the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C., you see the writings of Hitler, but you could easily imagine that Trump’s name was on the walls instead; you see his speeches, you see his hate, you see his plans for the U.S. outlined in this history. The only thing currently missing from Trump’s policies is a Final Solution.
This Nov. 8, I urge my fellow Americans to continue to fight for a better America and cast their ballot for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Every decision you make will alter history. Will you fall into the clutches of demagoguery and fascism, or will you stand against oppressors and fight for freedom? Here is your chance to show what you would have done in Nazi Germany.
Issac Weiss, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at IWeiss20@wooster.edu.