February 20, 2017 – More attacks on the press are being hurled by the new president and his administration trying to discredit and ultimately silence the media who report on the presidency and his activities. By the efforts of fact manipulation by the president and his associates, one must ask, What does such a franchise seek to gain by such actions? For answers to such an unprecedented and unrelenting tirade by this new leader against the press, we must look to history. When we do so, we see the historical underpinnings of misinformation, suppression of ideas and censorship of information that parallel actions taken by the Nazi regime leading up to WWII.
One major example of suppression of ideas and intimidation lies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. In May 1933, the idea of silencing those with differing beliefs took place at the first “book-burning” having its origins in Germany. At that time, Nazi’s had infiltrated universities and those who had attended were being indoctrinated in Nazi dogma. As a result of indoctrinating the youth, books that were burned to promote nationalism against any writings that was considered “un-German.” What the book burning symbolized was intolerance for ideas that were antithetical or believed contrary to Nazi cultural ideals. The effect was the earliest form of “censorship” that scholars have found to be an outgrowth of political, religious and/or cultural beliefs–that is, books by select authors were seen as either anti-Nazi or did not sufficiently promote Nazi doctrine. According to records at the Holocaust Museum, the the “burning of books under the Nazi regime on May 10, 1933, is perhaps the most famous book burning in history.”
Moreover, the Holocaust Museum documents confirm that same year, “Nazi Germany wanted all professional and cultural organizations to adopt the Nazi ideology and policy (Gleichschaltung). Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, began an effort to bring German arts and culture in line with Nazi goals. The government purged cultural organizations of Jewish and other officials alleged to be politically suspect or who performed or created art works which Nazi ideologues labeled “degenerate.””
Accordingly according to Holocaust documents “On April 6, 1933, the Nazi German Student Association’s Main Office for Press and Propaganda proclaimed a nationwide “Action against the Un-German Spirit,” to climax in a literary purge or “cleansing” (Säuberung) by fire.” Moreover, these “local chapters” were put in place “to supply the press with releases and commissioned articles, offer blacklists of “un-German” authors, sponsor well-known Nazi figures to speak at public gatherings, and negotiate for radio broadcast time.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum archives.
As we have seen in the US in recent days is the unsettling voices that want to change the human spirit to demonize ideas of helping others who have been oppressed toward the inward movement of nationalism. That is, when a nation turns its sites “inward” it creates an illusion of superiority among its core supporters–while scapegoating others believed to be a deterrent to the spread of nationalism sentiment. This appears to be the playbook of the Trump administration–everyone else including the media are seen as the harbingers of doom and destruction by the administration and their nationalism philosophy. The stifling of speech–the condemnation of the media, I submit are not that far astray from the book-burning that took place in Germany in 1933. Intolerance was the beginning of the Nazi foothold–resistance was seen as the enemy of the state. Let America not follow that same intolerant paradigm to that same cruel fate.
Currently right before us, we see our First Amendment under attack–our freedom of speech, or the press, of religious freedom under attack–reminiscent of regimes that came, persevered and failed. To combat this global atrocities, similar rules as ours have been put in place by the United Nations to ensure freedom of speech of those around the world–so that Nazi-like suppression of ideas and speech could never again make a foothold anywhere in the world. The United Nations has put forth the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 19, which states as follows:
“Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
With freedom of speech at its core–let our nation, our people and its leaders learn from those who came before–who gave their lives in pursuit of freedom. Adopt the lessons of the past, and move with positive strides to cast off of oppression–and nationalist ideas that have proved detrimental to the future of ideas, invention and learning. The human experience transcends the bounds of oppression and ignorance, but to do so, we must embrace the past, so as not to repeat it. Free speech is not a past arcane or foregone concept–it is boldly embodied in our historical past–it must continue to be in our future–and it will always serve to be a check on our three branches of government. And for a president and an administration to vilify our freedom of speech and inquiry of the press when it does not suit them–rocks the very foundations on which our country was based–and by doing so, reflects an intolerance for differing ideologies and viewpoints–reminiscent of the book-burning and censorship embraced by the Nazi regime over eighty years ago.
