The long history of American Nazism — and why we can’t forget it today

 

As Americans consider the aftermath of the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol and contemporary struggles over voting reform in Congress and at the Supreme Court, many wonder about the fate of our democratic republic. The principles Americans are supposed to hold dear — voting rights, equality, freedom — appear imperiled.

But Americans’ commitment to democratic participation has always been contested. Even during World War II, as the United States mobilized to defeat Nazi Germany and portrayed itself as an “arsenal of democracy,” Americans remained divided about who deserved to be treated as a full citizen. In an era when restrictive nationalist and authoritarian movements took power across Europe and Asia, even explicit appeals to Nazism attracted adherents in the United States.

Remembering the history of American Nazis is important because it shows us that great threats to our institutions come not only from outside, but from inside the republic itself.  (more...)

The long history of American Nazism — and why we can’t forget it today