The hated Weimar Republic had to go....that goal....all the main parties agreed upon. Hitler's Nazi party....with its own press....and complete with its own paramilitary Sturmbteilung....(Brownshirts)....(which greatly outnumbered Germany's army)....(and eventually superceded by the SS after Hitler no longer needed the Brownshirts)....but still fell short of a majority in the government....seemed the only choice in getting rid of the Republic. German president Hindenburg ultimately.....after a lot of negotiations in closed door sessions....named Hitler Chancellor....and astonishing to everyone who witnessed it....the next 100 days literally transformed Germany.
Peter Fritzsche's book....Hitler's First 100 Days....When Germans Embraced the Third Reich....documented seemingly everything going on from newspaper reports and letters and diaries....to songs and theater productions and film. Germany....once torn apart....became united....which is the entire basis of this book....focusing on 100 days....but providing a sizable introduction on how Germany came to where they were in late 1932. Let us hope and pray that America never 'unites' as did Germany after Hitler took power.
Previous to Hitler's being named chancellor Germany was every bit as divided as we are today....even more.....as they were fighting regularly in the streets. The communists and socialists hated these new 'conservative' parties.....and these parties hated the communists just as much....but one thing towered above all of this.....the Weimar Republic had to go....and now it was finally gone! Something new and exciting and great replaced it! What exactly that was they could not have known in detail....but they did come quickly to believe that Hitler was the one who could lead Germany back to greatness. A patriotism exploded out of the political division. Within those 100 days the Nazis....through that excitement.....seemed to convert most everyone......and therein is the astonishment to historians as they look back on it.
The Storm Troopers.....the SA....went after the communists first.....and with unbridled vengeance.....murdering and arresting and incarcerating. The red flags that were once everywhere in the communist enclaves disappeared. Then they went after the socialists. Let me segue to Martin Niemoller's famous quote in poetic form.....
"First they came for the the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me."
This is exactly what happened and Fritzsche's book details all of it....but as these persecutions progressed a remarkable thing happened.....the German people bought into the thought of greatness returning to Germany through National Socialism. They were now united in this nationalistic and ethnic unity. The opposition not only physically disappeared....but disappeared in the general psyche of the people. The people came to love this horror of a man.....Hitler.....and eventually paid a much steeper price than even the that of the Treaty of Versailles.
As I read through this book.....so very slowly....contemplating how the divide between socialism and nationalism was so similar to what we are experiencing today....I saw very clearly the last 100 year agenda of communism in America....not that that was new as I have published on this over the entire eleven years of these posts....but I saw it in contrast to a large but still minority fervor of National Socialism. Just as the Bolsheviks had in Russia....the minority National Socialists.....as opposed to those more moderate....wrangled their way into power....and then purged everyone....even their own who they were not certain of 100% loyalty. Even the Brownshirts....who essentially put Hitler in power....were purged.
Folks....these are human phenomena.....actions that we humans are very capable of if there is no sure foundation in God. They do not have to share ideologies....indeed they can differ greatly in ideology....and they can differ greatly in degree....but follow the same wide path. Right now we in America are experiencing a similar horror from the communist agenda of the past 100 years. If I seem less aghast than most in recent posts it's because I saw this coming and posted on it for years. We need to make sure that we do not become nothing but reactionaries. We need to be vigilant that a powerful minority does not hijack what conservatism has been in America. We need to do what Germans did not do....see that we had departed from God....humble ourselves....and return to Him with our hope and utter dependence.
CBN......Pat Robertson's network....has been reporting on a revival of sorts emanating from all the division in America. We need to be very careful here also for a false revival....ecumenical in nature....and an essentially cross-less Christianity can emerge....just as a distorted patriotism can lead to tyranny.
Addendum: The following in no way sends a message about personalities! God does not work like this. Peter Fritzsche's book did not enter into modern day scenarios. It is rather a description of what happened in Germany over those 100 days. I bring this up here solely because of the draining the 'swamp' aspect....that we hear today....and not the name and perceived name involved in this quote. Here it is..... Fritzsche at times addressed how film and plays were used by the National Socialists to further put forth their message. He quoted banners that hung on theaters.....and this one that hung outside one particular movie....."Go and Drain the Scandal Sump, Hitler Is Our Trump." The issue of any importance here is that the Germans also were seeking to drain a swamp.....or in this case a sump!
NOTE: I have another post on this topic....titled A Very Natural Temptation.....only a few posts below this.
