James Veverka: Hitler replaced Weimar Germany's constitutional republic

To The Daily Sun,

Mark Ogilvie's letter, "Trump's America is not like Germany's Weimar Republic," contains historical errors. German fascism in the 1930s was not Weimar Germany. In 1919, Germany became a constitutional republic in the city of Weimar. Like many nations, it had rising crime, political violence, and serious economic problems which culminated worldwide in the Great Depression. But it was one of the most liberal democracies in Europe. Berlin was the most progressive and culturally diverse city in Europe and was its gay rights capital. The democratic reforms of the Weimar Constitution reduced police powers, protected civil liberties, guaranteed a fair trial, and limited government powers.

German democracy and civil liberties ended when Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor in January of 1933. Parliament immediately passed the Enabling Act of 1933, giving Hitler broad powers to act outside the Constitution and parliamentary control. Nazi crime propaganda was influential. Police were given sweeping powers to repress any opposition. Police could again use measures like protective custody, preemptive and arbitrary arrests without evidence. Post-Weimar Germany censored all political opposition and criticism of the police. Like Benito Mussolini's fascism, Germany eliminated "leftist" threats. Hitler proclaimed that the press was the enemy of the people and systematically dismantled Germany's independent judiciary. In 1936, the "Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion" was created to systematically prosecute homosexuals and enforce Nazi "moral laws." Racism and anti-immigration were central to the Nazis. The Nazi platform of 1920 stated, "Any further immigration of non-citizens is to be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans who have immigrated to Germany since Aug. 2, 1914, be forced immediately to leave the Reich."

Is Donald Trump's America like Weimar Germany? Of course not, because Weimar Germany was a liberal democracy and Trump is a fascist attacking our Constitutional precepts and civil liberties.

James Veverka

Laconia