The Tea Party is not the Nazi Party

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About a month ago, a friend of mine, a fellow writer and someone I really respect, created a graphic. This graphic compared the beliefs of the Tea Party with the beliefs of the Nazi party. The graphic went viral. People loved it, it was picked up and shared all over the Internet, accompanied by comments like “Truth hurts!” and “WOW!”

When I lived in Chicago, I had the honor of meeting two Holocaust survivors. They had escaped when they were teenagers, found their way to America, and eventually married. Both were experts in their chosen fields, and had made a extraordinary life for themselves. And they both had numbers tattooed on their forearms. Neither would ever have them removed, they told me, because they never wanted to forget what they lost under Hitler’s regime, nor what they had won-their freedom.

When we, anyone, compare a current politician to Adolf Hitler, or a current political group or party to the Nazis, what we are really doing is minimizing the events that took place under Hitler and the Nazis. No one else is Hitler. No other party is the Nazi party.

Dr. Josef Mengele was a medical officer at Auschwitz and the chief medical officer of the main infirmary camp at Birkenau. Mengele was a monster, a man who wielded immense power over who would live and die in both concentration camps. He performed horrific medical experiments on children, especially twins, and pregnant women. Mengele reputedly tried to change eye color with chemical injections, murdered sets of twins in order to dissect their bodies and would vivisect pregnant women before sending them to the gas chambers. After the end of WWII, Mengele fled to South America. He was hunted up until his death in 1979.

In 1935, Adolf Hitler presented the Nuremberg  Laws to the Reichstag. The laws banned marriage between Jewish and non-Jewish Germans and forbade the employment of non-Jewish women under the age of 45 in Jewish households. These laws also deprived “non-Aryans” of the benefits of German citizenship. It was at this time that Hitler introduced his early eugenics program, dubbed Action Brandt, targeting children with physical and developmental disabilities. Hitler would later authorize a euthanasia program for adults with serious mental and physical handicaps. These laws and programs were the beginning of the Holocaust.

The chief architects of the Holocaust, or as it was called by the Nazis, “Final Solution of the Jewish Question,” were Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich. Concentration camps were built, and plans were moved forward to eliminate undesirables from Germany. On February 22nd, 1942, Adolf Hitler was recorded saying to his associates  “we shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews”. Historians estimate that between 1939 and and 1945, the SS (Schutzstaffel meaning defense echelon or elite guard) were responsible for the deaths of between 11 and 14 million people, including 6 million Jews. Many were killed in concentration camps, while others were murdered during mass executions in ghettos and towns, and others died of illness and starvation while working in labor camps.

That is the Nazi party. That is the legacy of Adolf Hitler. When we compare the Tea Party to the Nazi party, what we are doing is twofold. We are elevating the Tea Party to a place in history that it will never hold and we are dishonoring the memories of those who survived the Holocaust, those who lost loved ones to the Nazis and members of the military, from so many countries, who fought so bravely to stop Adolf Hitler and his monstrous plan.

Are there similarities? Yes. One of the first things Hitler did when he came to power was dismantle unions. Hitler’s ideas on educating children are almost identical to the bizarre ideas of the Texas GOP. However, a few fascist ideas does not equate the Tea Party with the Nazi party. Tom Metzger is a Nazi. George Lincoln Rockwell was a Nazi. Card carrying members of the Nazi party. Could there be Nazis in the Tea Party? Probably, but even that does not equate the one with the other.

The Nazi party was a specific group, with a specific leader and a very specific goal. They weren’t all over the place, some more radical than others, confused about the role of government or spewing shoddy history. They were focused, they were determined and they were evil. And when liberals or conservatives begin comparing modern politicians or political groups to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party, it makes me incredibly sad. I remember speaking to that brave couple in Chicago, and I remember their voices, the hands that trembled at the memories no one should live with, much less experience as a child. And I remember her, with her rich, black hair and her simple wedding band, grasping her husband’s hand and telling me the story of their escape.

The Nazis were Nazis. Hitler was Hitler. Let us stop diminishing and demeaning the events of the Holocaust and the memories and pain of the victims and the survivors by comparing everyone with whom we disagree to a political party whose only goal was world domination by a “master race.”

Thank you to Wikipedia and The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website.

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About Post Author

Erin Nanasi

Erin Nanasi is an avid underwater basket weaver, with a penchant for satire and the odd wombat reference.
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Jason Clark
10 years ago

I would prefer using the term Fascist to Nazi, but even so…

Firstly, we already dishonour the lost lives of almost half of the holocaust victims, by often promoting it as a Jewish only holocaust and forgetting about them. Jews were the underlying focus of the Nazi’s overall hate for Communism/Socialism. They believed Communism had its roots in Judeo-Bolshevism. So, although the Tea Party may not have yet blamed Socialism on an underlying ethnic group, it is quite apparent that they despise it, and the extreme right will resort to violence and acts of terror, in reaction to it.

Secondly, there are numerous racists and bigots in the right wing parties, promoting racial purity, that do resort to violence and murder. There are thousands of hate crimes annually, and dozens of white supremisist groups. People that might be in favour of another holocaust, are still out there. We shouldn’t ignore that they’re there, on the extreme right, along with the Tea Party. The closer the extreme right gets to power, the closer they do. And, even if only a minority are spouting anything about a superior race, all are spouting rhetoric about a superior country.

Thirdly, reducing the Nazi party to just perpetrators of a psychotic holocaust totally ignores all the important aspects of how they came to power, and how they were able to manipulate a nation. If you don’t focus on how they came to power, who they aligned themselves with, and how they used propaganda to manipulate opinion, then you’ve learned nothing from history. You leave the door open for psychotic liars to gain power. How these kinds of people achieved power is THE most important thing to focus on, NOT what they did once in power…then it’ll be too late.

The Nazis were backed by major industrialists, media moguls, and the Christian right. They used propaganda, lies, and extreme nationalism to manipulate all those around them. They spouted hate, fear, and bigotry. This IS the Tea Party and far right of American politics, today. They are so mentally deficient that many actually believe Fascists/Nazis were Communist/Socialist Atheists, ignoring all evidence to the contrary. They are total nut jobs that should be openly rejected by all of society, but instead have major corporate and media backers.

11 years ago

As an only child, I have to say it’s pretty cool to have brothers now. 😀

Anonymous
11 years ago

Erin you are very hateful.

Reply to  Anonymous
11 years ago

Back off there anonymous, no hate here, just opinions.

Holte Ender
Reply to  Jimmy James
11 years ago

You’re a nicer guy than I am Jimmy James.

Holte Ender
Reply to  Erin Nanasi
11 years ago

Wouldn’t worry about Mr./Ms Anonymous Erin, seems like he/she just wanted to say something impolite. You don’t have to justify your words to anyone like that.

Reply to  Holte Ender
11 years ago

Here! Here!!

11 years ago

“Nazi” is one of the most misused words, ‘Soup Nazi’, ‘Grammar Nazi’, kinda takes the sting out of it when used in a humorous way. But, you don’t have to wear the uniform, fly the swastika or even know about the Holocaust to carry hatred in your heart. A lot of Tea Party folks carry so much, they can’t hide it. It peppers their everyday language. A sentence here, a short comment there, and if you’re willing to listen, or let it be known you feel the same way, the rhetoric goes up a notch. You find out who they hate and what should be done with them. Sorta like Nazis.

11 years ago

I refrain from calling the TP “Nazis.” Instead, I prefer “fascists.” There is a difference. One is a specific political party; the other is a political philosophy. Being pretty well versed in the history of that time, I fully believe that what we’re seeing today is not unlike much of what happened in 1930s Germany. To deny it, to deny that the TP wouldn’t dare go as far as what occurred during that period falls under the “we didn’t think it would happen here” mentality. Those who lived, lived to regret it.

Holte Ender
Reply to  Leslie Parsley
11 years ago

I agree Leslie – The National Socialists (Nazis) were the political vehicle which carried Hitler to power, once there he applied his fascist philosophy on dissidents, Jews, Slavs etc. He really hated the Soviets with a passion, which suited the USA, they hoped he would turn on Moscow first, but Britain and France forced Hitler to look west and eventually fight on two fronts.

Living in the deep south, I run into Tea Party people occasionally, much to my chagrin, and they are as hateful as any group I have ever come across. They might not be Nazis, but bad things could happen if they ever get real power.

Collin Hinds
11 years ago

Spot on, Erin.

Bill Formby
11 years ago

Nothing will ever compare to the holocaust or the shame brought onto an entire nation like Hitler and the Nazi Party did to Germany Erin. You are absolutely right and their is certainly nothing close to that in this country. There is a great deal of frustration right now with certain groups of people by other groups of people but thankfully this is a political war which can, hopefully, be won by the good guys (by our definition) through political tactics.

Anonymous
11 years ago

The fact of the matter is precise: the tea baggers sometimes pass themselves off as nazis and seem to be proud of it. If they aren’t doing that they are calling Obama a nazi. Sometimes people bring stuff on themselves.

Reply to  Anonymous
11 years ago

But the photo of Glenn Beck, Photo Shopped into an SS uniform was not done by the Tea Party. And that’s my point. It’s both sides that are doing this, not just the left or the right. And both sides need to stop. In the 3 years I have been covering the Tea Party, only one like minded politician was found to have actually dressed up as a Nazi officer for some historical reenactment, as he called it. To their credit, some Tea Party events have tossed Stormfront.org people out on their ear. As I stated in the article, there are similarities. But to continue to do this, demean the actual suffering Holocaust survivors, victims and members of so many of the world’s armies went through defeating Adolf Hitler is simply wrong. No matter which side you’re on.

Jason
11 years ago

I agree with everything you say, Erin. I think what liberals tend to find disturbing is the amount of things the tea party has in common with the nazis. I would hope that no liberal actually thought that any person was as evil as hitler and the nazis. If anyone does, they need a history lesson, of which you just provided. Great article.

Marsha Woerner
11 years ago

Thank you, Erin!
People throw around “he’s a Nazi” or “it’s just like the Holocaust”, belittling both the subject of their tirade and the whole Hitler/Nazi/Holocaust concept. I hope that there is never anything comparable to the Nazis and the whole World War II regime. NEVER! It wasn’t just the Jews that were targeted, although certainly the Jews were a big target in their own right, but ALL who didn’t fit in the little box that Hitler defined as optimal were subjects. And the terror was worldwide! Thus the escalation to a “WORLD War”! To equate the Tea Party to Nazi status both minimizes the true threat that the Tea Party holds for American society, and at the same time reduces the terror of the Nazis in one breath. I think that, in general, MOST people know that there is no current group representing the same threat as the Nazis and the 3rd Reich did, but they use the term to invoke a fear in modern America. When used in this manner, World War II and the atrocities that he held are totally belittled! We throw around the term Nazi in such a casual manner: “She’s just a grammar Nazi”; “Don’t be a health Nazi”; etc. At the same time is we are trying to express extremism, we are totally forgetting the true depth of the horror.
I guess all of this is just to say, “Thank you for recognizing that, the term Nazi used to indicate an extreme idea is totally inappropriate.” I hate the Tea Party, but to use the term Nazi’s to describe them dismisses the threat that they hold for America. By using such an obvious over representation, we allow people to say to themselves “we all know that they aren’t the same” and, as a part of it, “we can therefore totally dismiss”.

Reply to  Marsha Woerner
11 years ago

Absolutely and perfectly stated. Thank you, Marsha.

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