Don’t let it happen here

By Dina Butcher

dina.wtba@midconetwork.com

In 1938, when my parents were living in Germany, my father — along with 30,000 other Jewish men — was rounded up by Nazi Stormtroopers during an event known as Kristallnacht. He was taken to a concentration camp and performed forced labor until some relatives were able to secure his release. Shortly after this horrible experience, he began planning to bring his family to the United States. His mother, sisters, and several other relatives stayed in Europe and were later killed in Auschwitz.

The story is painful to tell, and I never tell it without a heavy heart. I also try to avoid using it to make observations on present-day events, governments, or politics. I do this because there are few times throughout human history that can compare to the Holocaust. Also, when it is used too often or without meaning or appreciation, it lessens the depth of depravity and horror that was the Holocaust.

But I’ve been watching with more and more concern what is transpiring in American politics. I am seeing clear parallels to what happened in Italy and Germany in the 1930s. I have held these concerns for a number of years, but events over the past few months have been setting off alarms that have almost left me trembling when I watch the news.

One presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has called immigrants “vermin,” “scum” and “animals” and has accused them of “poisoning our blood” for some time now. A book published many years ago contained this passage: "All great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning." That book was “Mein Kampf.”

Recently, these attacks have ramped up. Trump recently claimed that Haitians are rampaging through the streets of Springfield, Ohio, and eating pets, which has put the people of Springfield in terrible danger. He followed that up with claims that the Congo was emptying its prisons and sending all their criminals to the United States and that Venezuelan gangs have taken over a city in Colorado. None of these things are true.

This former president has also started claiming that people who oppose him are “mentally deficient.” This comes after reports from a relative of Trump’s who said Trump once mused that maybe people with severe disabilities should just die. This belief was actually put into practice in the 1930s and 1940s in my parents’ home country.

In addition to these disturbing lies and beliefs, Trump has now threatened to jail anyone he deems an opponent. He says he will use the military to deal with the “enemy from within.” This includes election workers, donors, members of the media, elected officials and even voters. A number of his close followers are more than willing to make this happen.

Oh, and he has already said Jews will be to blame if he loses.

When Donald Trump uses language to dehumanize us, his goal is to make it easier to turn against each other. When he sows distrust in our elections and in our institutions, his goal is to turn Americans against their government and against democracy.

He is tearing at the very fabric of our country.

Many of you may support Mr. Trump because you believe he is the only option if you are “pro-life.” I would encourage you to reconsider. I have worked with conservatives and progressives and find they are both pro-life. Progressives simply don't believe they have the wisdom to make such difficult choices for a young girl who has been raped or a woman who knows she will lose her child during or immediately after childbirth and that her own life is in danger. These same progressives support full funding for “pro-life” programs such as WIC, Headstart, Social Security, Medicare, and many others.

When my father was picked up during Kristallnacht, it was his friends who did it. You see, at a certain point, you lose your defenses to lies and deception. Things you think you could never be a part of instead sweep you along like a strong current. My father’s friends, who had been good and decent people, were now willing participants in one of the ugliest chapters in human history.

Don’t let this happen here.