The Horror, The Horror

[The One]

This documentary of the horrific rise of the Third Reich is from the History Channel. While I am against coercion in any form, I would like to see every high school and college student watch this. Better yet, every voting citizen should have to watch it to vote!

Those who believe this period was an aberration of history, something that can never repeat, are sadly mistaken. History is replete with similar horrors. Unfortunately what played out in Germany is in the nature of man. Man with unrestrained power is capable of anything. Not all men, of course, but the worst. Friedrich Hayek discussed in “The Road to Serfdom,” why the worst always rise to the top.

Germany was not some backward, ignorant country. They were the most cultured country in the world. They produced the best scientists, literature, music, engineers, etc. They also produced one of the greatest evils of the world — Adolf Hitler.

If there had not been a Hitler, someone else as evil would have filled the vacuum. Without the Rule of Law, it can happen anywhere in the world, including the US.

Hitler was appointed Chancellor with only 37% of the vote. Fifty-two days later, he was dictator! Then the horrors truly began. This video is the story of how this terrible transition in Germany occurred

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3uae07DTY8

[kingmonkey]

On first reading of the topic title, i thought that i was about to see a clip of Brando in apocalypse now........

For as long as i remember i've always had a fascination with the Nazis in germany. Although that sounds taboo..... what i mean to say is that history had always fascinated me as a boy and in later in life. The topic of WWII and the rise of the nazi party in germany has always interested me.

It has always intrigued me how one person and his ideas came to seduce a whole nation. It still to this day perplexes me. Its very easy to view the topic in naive and simplistic terms and blame just one person and his evilness for the whole turn of events. One level it is true that Hitler was the primary driving force behind the movement. But the scary thing is just how quickly and how effectively his dominance over the people came to be. On watching this video it is clear that many people bought hook line and sinker the whole package and were whipped into frenzy by the whole thing.

The scary thing is just how easily people are seduced, led and manipulated by leaders. The idealist amongst us wishes to say such an evil regime will never reign again and crimes against humanity can surely never happen again. But history has shown us that such crimes are possible and likely to occur again via, the examples that spring to mind are the genocides that happened in Rwanda and cambodia.