Germany is Unafraid to Face Its Past; America Must Be Unafraid to Face our Present.

Last spring, I stood on the infamous Nazi parade ground in Nuremberg as a local tour guide explained why the site remained largely intact but neglected.  

“It remains undestroyed so we never forget, she explained. It stays ugly, so we always remember.”

There is no comparison to the singular horror of the holocaust and the Nazi regime. I am not comparing Trump to Hitler, though his hand-picked VP once did so, I assume he’s OK with it. On that rainy Nuremberg day, however, the striking parallels of the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany and the actions of the US President and the GOP’s Project 2025 – their far-right handbook for dismantling democracy and undermining social welfare – were unmistakable. 

I asked the talkative guide how long it took for the German people to openly discuss their past. She and other locals replied that it happened when young people began questioning their parents. For years, post-war Germans would deny any recognition or support of the fallen regime,  much like GOP politicians will deny their fealty to Trump once his failures are fully exposed.   

After WWII, German citizens eventually reclaimed their freedoms, re-embraced free speech, and banned attacks based on racial, religious, or ethnic backgrounds. These same bans are currently under siege by Germany’s far-right AfD party. Yes, that is the pro-fascist group saluted by Elon Musk and publicly praised by the two highest-ranking Trump sycophants, JD Vance and Marco Rubio.

Much as the German fascists controlled all government and judicial systems and stifled dissent, the Trump/Vance/GOP squad seeks to privatize the USPS, the Social Security Administration, VA services, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Medicare. It is now evident that DOGE was never designed to root out actual fraud and waste, but to consolidate power, disable operations, and privatize government services favorable to the wealthy. Its own existence was the fraud. DOGE cost taxpayers far more than it saves, may have cost actual lives, and put at great risk the loss of privacy rights for millions.

As journalist Bill Kristol observed: “It’s heartening that today the leaders of the two major parties in Germany are unequivocally anti-Nazi and anti-fascist. It’s horrifying that today the president and vice-president of the United States of America are not.”

Looking more closely, Germany’s 1933 Editor’s Law required journalists to recite only approved views to work. Today, the White House and Pentagon press pools are limited only to journalists who toe the party line.   

But wait, there’s more. The Reich’s fascist ideology denigrated other races and cultures as inferior and homosexuals as “enemies of the State.” Echoing this doctrine, the White House declared recognition of only two sexes and continues to target the transgender community. At the same time, Trump’s competence-challenged cabinet expands its shameful whitewashing of American history.  

It took nearly a generation for the German people to acknowledge their failure to act when it mattered. America must act now.  

Now that the far right, faux Christian, white nationalist MAGA extremists and the GOP lemmings have banded together to dismantle the pillars of American freedom, it falls to all of us who believe in democracy and the rule of law to speak out and hold them accountable from now until the next elections. Protest loudly and peacefully. Demand that your representatives and senators protect your freedom and your rights – or replace them.

Do not forget that the current occupant of the White House was recently asked, “Don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States?” His answer: “I don’t know.”   

We do know. He won’t. We must.