Modern Britain and Nazi Germany: Closer Than You May Think?

The recent success of the British National Party (“BNP”) in securing their first ever seats in the European Parliament is perhaps of only fleeting interest to the majority of British people. However, those with an interest in history might be tempted to look a little closer into this event, and draw some corollaries between this, and the rise of Hitler’s Nazis in Germany in the 1920’s and 30’s.

In post-First World War Germany, large numbers of the German populace were feeling the effects of the war and the resultant peace treaty, which saddled Germany with massive reparation payments to their former enemies, loss of territory and the dismantling of their armed forces. The inevitable economic consequences of this were severe, including high unemployment and uncontrollable inflation. People naturally looked for someone to blame, and Hitler gave them what they wanted. The Jews were an easy target; they were perceived (in error) to be wealthy, almost to a man. They were seen to be aligned with the Communists who were shouldering much of the blame for Germany’s defeat in the war. Hitler took hold of an underlying feeling of anti-Semitism (not uncommon throughout much of Europe at the time), and mobilised this to drum up mass support for the Nazi movement. After Hitler became German Chancellor in 1933, Jews were subjected to discrimination, restriction of movement and profession, deportations, slave labour and ultimately murder, on an unprecedented scale. While it must be stressed that not every German turned a blind eye to the treatment of their Jewish neighbours (and none of us can say how we would have reacted in that situation), the German nation in general stood by and watched (and sometimes assisted in) the mass extermination of millions of people for no reason other than their creed.

Some people reading this may think that murder of such a large group of people, or other such discrimination, is unlikely to occur in modern-day Britain. And you are probably right. But I would urge you to think carefully before dismissing the notion entirely. Yes, the BNP is a small, fringe group which does not currently appeal to the greater body of British voters. But neither did the Nazi’s! After a slow start, they gradually increased their share of Reichstag (parliament) seats, but never actually secured a majority. This did not prevent Hitler seizing the Chancellorship in 1933, through what was essentially a “power-sharing” deal brokered by the other political leaders hoping to contain Hitler by keeping him close. I don’t need to explain what a catastrophic failure this plan was! The point is, that given the right circumstances (such as an economic downturn, unemployment, lack of faith in government………. sound familiar?) any party which plays on these issues and gives the voting public a suitable scapegoat is going to win support.