Who Goes Nazi?

Has anybody here ever seen this amazing article from 1941? really interesting. She describes a variety of people at a cocktail party and explains why each would or would not go Nazi.


Sadly, it is now behind a pay wall. But one character in particular reminds me of someone from today.

"Mr. D is the spoiled only son of a doting mother. He has never been crossed in his life. He spends his time at the game of seeing what he can get away with. He is constantly arrested for speeding and his mother pays the fines. He has been ruthless toward two wives and his mother pays the alimony. His life is spent in sensation-seeking and theatricality. He is utterly inconsiderate of everybody. He is very good-looking, in a shallow, conceited way."

j brown's body said:

Has anybody here ever seen this amazing article from 1941? really interesting. She describes a variety of people at a cocktail party and explains why each would or would not go Nazi.

Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson

harpers.org

Sadly, it is now behind a pay wall. But one character in particular reminds me of someone from today.

"Mr. D is the spoiled only son of a doting mother. He has never been crossed in his life. He spends his time at the game of seeing what he can get away with. He is constantly arrested for speeding and his mother pays the fines. He has been ruthless toward two wives and his mother pays the alimony. His life is spent in sensation-seeking and theatricality. He is utterly inconsiderate of everybody. He is very good-looking, in a shallow, conceited way."

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Who of us has got a mother who pays all our fines?

Parlor games from 1941 miss the point.

History is the story of the victors. What civilians thought about the Nazis was twisted, and what we think now about the Nazis is twisted. All that matters is the rise of the Nazis: the Beer Hall Putsch, Kristalnacht, the burning of the Reichstag, the SA intimidating the Bundestag into supporting the Nazis who only won 41% of the vote.

The 6th January riot was your Beer Hall Putsch. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Ug make hammer said:

Parlor games from 1941 miss the point.

History is the story of the victors. What civilians thought about the Nazis was twisted, and what we think now about the Nazis is twisted. All that matters is the rise of the Nazis: the Beer Hall Putsch, Kristalnacht, the burning of the Reichstag, the SA intimidating the Bundestag into supporting the Nazis who only won 41% of the vote.

The 6th January riot was your Beer Hall Putsch. Nothing more. Nothing less.

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The article focuses on personality traits that could predict who would become Nazi.

j brown's body said:

Has anybody here ever seen this amazing article from 1941? really interesting. She describes a variety of people at a cocktail party and explains why each would or would not go Nazi.

Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson

harpers.org

Sadly, it is now behind a pay wall. But one character in particular reminds me of someone from today.

"Mr. D is the spoiled only son of a doting mother. He has never been crossed in his life. He spends his time at the game of seeing what he can get away with. He is constantly arrested for speeding and his mother pays the fines. He has been ruthless toward two wives and his mother pays the alimony. His life is spent in sensation-seeking and theatricality. He is utterly inconsiderate of everybody. He is very good-looking, in a shallow, conceited way."

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This reminds me of someone

j brown's body said:

Has anybody here ever seen this amazing article from 1941? really interesting. She describes a variety of people at a cocktail party and explains why each would or would not go Nazi.

Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson

harpers.org

Sadly, it is now behind a pay wall. But one character in particular reminds me of someone from today.

"Mr. D is the spoiled only son of a doting mother. He has never been crossed in his life. He spends his time at the game of seeing what he can get away with. He is constantly arrested for speeding and his mother pays the fines. He has been ruthless toward two wives and his mother pays the alimony. His life is spent in sensation-seeking and theatricality. He is utterly inconsiderate of everybody. He is very good-looking, in a shallow, conceited way."

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Harper's used to be a respectable magazine.

Bullseye said:

Harper's used to be a respectable magazine.

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Not sure what you mean? When is the last time you read Harper's? You feel it's gone down hill from the time this article was written?

Ug make hammer said:

Parlor games from 1941 miss the point.

History is the story of the victors. What civilians thought about the Nazis was twisted, and what we think now about the Nazis is twisted. All that matters is the rise of the Nazis: the Beer Hall Putsch, Kristalnacht, the burning of the Reichstag, the SA intimidating the Bundestag into supporting the Nazis who only won 41% of the vote.

The 6th January riot was your Beer Hall Putsch. Nothing more. Nothing less.

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Ehhh actually lots of times the losers write the history. The confederates rewrote theirs.

Hmm i think this misses out on the utter banality in which the system came into place but overall is very good.

j brown's body said:

Not sure what you mean? When is the last time you read Harper's? You feel it's gone down hill from the time this article was written?

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It's been a while, granted - back when I was a loonie leftie.

I was just going to make a thread on this article. Glad I searched first.

The character studies were prescient, perhaps universal, but I found the author's conclusion to be the most interesting part of an excellent article:

Kind, good, happy, gentlemanly, secure people never go Nazi . . . . But the frustrated and humiliated intellectual, the rich and scared speculator, the spoiled son, the labor tyrant, the fellow who has achieved success by smelling out the wind of success--they would all go Nazi in a crisis.

Those who haven't anything in them to tell them what they like and what they don't--whether it is breeding, or happiness, or wisdom, or a code, however old-fashioned or however modern, go Nazi.

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For me, a person's insecurity seems to be the key. Privileged, but too insecure to admit it. Spoiled, but downplaying it. Monetary selfishness. The love to bully. The love of the bully.

The wishy-washy who don't believe in anything could be used as well . . . and then cast aside first.

If someone wanted to start an authoritarian party, they'd do their best to frighten, frustrate, and humiliate those people.

And then promise to take the fear, frustration, and humiliation away.