Hitler never let go of his grievance that Germany would have won World War I. While it was obvious to the rest of the world, along with Germany's generals, that the country had run out of reserves and was being overwhelmed by the late entrance of the United States into the war, Hitler repeated the lie of betrayal at every opportunity--even after he took control of Germany's government in 1933. It's a lie that bears obvious similarities to Trump's about a stolen election. Despite dozens of court rulings to the contrary, Trump repeated the lie prior to the January 6 insurrection and during the speeches and tweets that day; he and his supporters continue to repeat it, to the extent that polls show something on the order of two-thirds to three-fourths of Republican voters believe it to be true. Moreover, in overseeing a Republican party intent on suppressing the vote in dozens of states via restrictive new voting laws, Trump and the Republicans are remaking our election system, and increasing the likelihood of minority rule; for example, Georgia's newly enacted voting law gives the Republican-dominated legislature the power to remove officials of the state's certifying board, thereby setting up the possibility of canceling out the majority vote following an election.
Hitler reveled as well in the failed coup, with the November anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch becoming a time of important celebration for Hitler, even after he became Germany's Fuhrer. He had the graves of some of the Nazis killed during the November 9 march dug up and the remains reburied with high honors. It was no accident that Kristallnacht, the burning of Jewish shops and synagogues around Germany, occurred on November 9, 1938. Trump has suggested a similar ongoing celebration of the January 6 coup attempt with his carefully crafted and haunting Tweet the night of the failed insurrection: "These are the things that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long... Remember this day forever!"
The power of lies and grievance are strong. Since Trump appears incapable or unwilling to shift from his stance that the insurrection he fomented was a moment of glory to overturn fraudulent election results, it will be up to Republicans to remember their original outrage over the invasion of the Capitol and support an exhaustive bipartisan investigation of how and why it happened. Then, once the probe confirms the insurrection was intended to violently disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, Republicans need to reverse their backing of voter suppression efforts, and help make January 6 a day of national mourning and remembrance.
(Article changed on May 22, 2021 at 12:55 PM EDT)
(Article changed on May 22, 2021 at 1:05 PM EDT)
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