What does the accusation "literally Hitler" mean?
The 8 minute video can be put on 2X speed and it loses none of its message. It shows the World War 2 casualty counts as a visual, that is, as piles of human bodies.
In total, Mao and Stalin killed as many of their own people as died in World War 2.
So accusing somebody of being "literally Hitler" should not a cheap, throw-away accusation to make when you are losing an argument.
Hat-tip to Lucas for the link to the video
Compared to Stalin and Mao when it comes to killing Hitler was a rank amateur. Stalin and Mao were communists...not Nazis. But the people in control LOVE communists. So they turn a blind eye to all the evil communism is responsible for.
ReplyDeleteBut if you point out what “group” started the communist revolution in Russia you get crucified. Patton was right, we fought on the wrong side.
DeleteJust wow
ReplyDeleteHoly Hitler its hot out today. Woody
ReplyDeleteInteresting graphic, but I'm not sure all of those numbers are correct. Not trying to be picky, just some of them seem 'off'...
ReplyDeleteThey used an all-in number that included civilian casualties. Civilian casualties include deaths due to bombing, fire, war-related-diseases like typhoid and cholera, exposure due to loss of housing or being refugees and starvation.
DeleteAgreed! "Literally Hitler" is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I would caution against handwaving any comparisons to Hitler. Hitler and the entirety of German forces during WW2 are often dismissed as wholly-evil, which excuses one from analyzing what actually went down. In reality, most of the "Nazi" people were like you and me - they probably thought they were doing the right thing for their country at first. Have you heard Hitler's speeches translated into English? In a vacuum, they're inspiring, and exactly what the scorned people of Germany wanted to hear.
Hitler didn't immediately seize power like some other dictators, he rose to power and slowly eroded the institutions that kept in check. He did so by winning over the people who became radicalized. At that point he hadn't done the Holocaust, but he was on his way - would we not have been able to criticize him in those moments?
It's important to realize that we live in the same world that Hitler's rise was able to happen in. We are still the same biological creatures prone to group-think and radicalization.
Do we have to wait for someone to do The Holocaust before we can draw comparisons to Hitler? I would think not.
Stay vigilant, stay principled, and hold fast to the idea of checks and balances.
I totally agree with your last paragraph and your third-to-last paragraph.
ReplyDelete"Hitler did not immediately seize power..." is debatable. He (through his party) granted himself unparalleled power through the Enabling Act on March 23, 1933 which was quite early in his arc-of-power.
There has been much speculation about when he flew into insanity. Some identify the Battle of Stalingrad and Operation Torch when the Third Reich's fortunes of war shifted. Some others suggest that he started using amphetamines because they made him "feel sharp". The speculation is that it made him totally irrational.
You're right - that's an artifact from the editing room. I originally wrote "Hitler did not *forcibly* seize power" and then was conflicted on the wording. I kinda muddied the waters there - the point was to highlight that it wasn't like a violent coup, but an abuse of the existing systems to consolidate power. I may be wrong about this, but I suspect many German citizens justified this act in their heads at the time. Which is where comparisons to modern day might come into play. I see a concerning amount of people willing to throw our principles and institutions to the wind if it furthers their agenda.
Delete
ReplyDeleteHilter's body count was limited only by his capacity to do so.
After the invasion of Russia, the plan was to starve 30 million to death over the winter. From there, it would not likely stop until he ran out of the means to do so. Like Stalin, if he didn't have an enemy he would invent some. LM
In a career of 15 years if you only knew how many people I dealt with who totally ruined their lives and totally became other people after trying methamphetamine.
ReplyDeleteIt would allow them to justify behavior.
In the small piles, they look like bodies. The larger piles hide the individuals. I wonder if that means, the more you kill, the less personal it becomes?
ReplyDeletesam
It is also linguistically stupid. If you are literally Hitler, then you have to be born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau, Upper Austria. The town has a population of 16 000 now, so there were probably more than one birth on that day, but it will not cover the list of people that are described in that way.
ReplyDeleteOne of my many pet peeves. The word “literally” is used quite figuratively nowadays.
DeleteAm I the only one who thinks, "Ya know, you are *literally* misusing that word, when you describe (insert name here) as 'literally Hitler'". "
ReplyDelete