We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds: we have been drenched by many storms; we have learnt the arts of equivocation and pretence; experience has made us suspicious of others and kept us from being truthful and open; intolerable conflicts have worn us down and even made us cynical. Are we still of any use? – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A few years ago my husband and I watched a moving documentary about one of my heroes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you aren’t familiar with his name, I’ll explain him in my own basic words (with apologies to historians everywhere). Mr. Bonhoeffer lived in Germany during the rise of Hitler. He was the son of a prominent professor and an intelligent, university educated mother, a well-respected family. He was a member of the main protestant church in Germany, the Evangelical Church and he was a pastor. During the rise of Nazism, he lived in America, visiting churches and learning volumes from American black churches. He returned to Germany in 1939 stating, “I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. . . I shall have no right to take part in the restoration of Christian life in Germany after the war unless I share the trials of this time with my people.”
And that’s when the streusel hit the fan for Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He became a Nazi resister and earned the ire of many, if not most, of his heretofore devout church friends, friends who believed that patriotism was linked to godliness, and who allowed their churches to become part of the Nazi agenda.
Jim and I watched the documentary, watched interviews with people who lived through that era, watched film of Hitler’s rousing speeches. We heard men and women explain how they were “taken in” because of Hitler’s rousing promises of a better life for them, the superior race.
Bonhoeffer was killed for his resistance, of course.
The SS doctor who witnessed Bonhoeffer’s death later described him as a man “devout . . . brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds . . . I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.” Bonhoeffer sent a message to his friend George Bell that said, “This is the end, for me the beginning of life.”
All of that is to say this: two people had a justifiably strong reaction to my evocation of the idea of Hitler in my last essay. One person is a personal friend and one is someone I’ve never met. Both writers made excellent points.
Cathy wrote, You had me agreeing with every single word until Hitler made an appearance. I understand what you’re saying and I think that I agree with you, but I think that Jack (the first commenter) was right on.
I read just earlier this week about Godwin’s law. Here’s a little snippet from the conversation:
‘By 2007, The Economist had declared that “a good rule in most discussions is that the first person to call the other a Nazi automatically loses the argument.” And in October 2007, the “Last Page” columnist in The Smithsonian stated that when an adversary uses an inappropriate Hitler or Nazi comparison, “you have only to say ‘Godwin’s Law’ and a trapdoor falls open, plunging your rival into a pool of hungry crocodiles.”‘
I really, really like what you have to say – and I agree with you. Just be careful with the Hitler analogy. I think that you’ll lose some people once you bring him into your argument.
Using the name “Hitler” is a conversation stopper. Cathy is right. My grandmother used to do this kind of thing to me.
“I prayed for you last night and God told me you shouldn’t wear your skirts that short,” she’d say.
It’s hard to argue with God, or at least it’s hard to argue with an old country Lithuanian grandmother who believes she speaks for God. It’s also unfair and dangerous to pull Hitler into any conversation about today’s politics. I was wrong.
Even so, I am suspicious of the GOP’s recent demagoguery and I hope you are too.
This quote: If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. is often, especially on the Internet, attributed to Karl Rove, but actually Joseph Goebbels said it.
Think about that.
