The death of justice

I have been reading “An Honorable Defeat: A History Of German Resistance To Hitler 1933-1945” by Anton Gill, published in 2014 by Endeavour Press LTD.

One question raised when studying the phenomenon of the Nazi takeover of Germany in the 1930s and the horrors that followed is why did the German people allow this to happen to their country? The simple explanation is the Nazis were a reaction to the treaty ending World War I. The terms of that treaty were so severe and damaging to Germany, they bred anger and a desire for retribution. Germany’s military had been a pride of the nation, and the treaty’s restrictions on it left Germany with a small shell of a military. Secondly, the huge ongoing financial punishment awards to the victorious nations of World War I caused the destruction of Germany’s economy.

The Nazis were a small political party who appealed to many because they promised a reversal of Germany’s financial conditions and a return of national pride. These promises did not sound extreme, and, in fact, they are similar to promises made by politicians all over the world. Adolf Hitler recognized the anger in Germany and appealed to that emotion. He directed that anger toward the WWI Allies, and he appealed to the common anti-Semitic prejudices by claiming a fictitious plot by Jews to destroy Germany. The fact the Jewish citizens of Germany were suffering equally from the same collapsed economy as the non-Jewish citizens was ignored because it gave Germans a target for their anger.

Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party continued to gradually gain political power by appealing to the national anger in Germany. As Hitler climbed in political power he began to whittle away at the rights of specific groups. Even as this was happening, author Gill says, “enough powerful people did not take him seriously, and part was due to the related fact that they did not see him for what he really was.” His unconstitutional and illegal actions were defended by the claim his actions were legal because Hitler made the laws. Goring said that “justice and the will of the Fuhrer are one and the same.”

That defense of political actions should be fair warning to other nations of what may come.

Jack Dragoni who resides in Chaffee, served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam.