Before diving deeply into this history, I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not support Hitler or the Nazis. My intention is to encourage critical thinking and, hopefully, provide insight into the patterns we’re seeing today.
Most people don’t realize that what we’re experiencing today with transgender rights and hyperinflation isn’t new to the world. Douglas Murray argued that whenever a civilization undergoes a gender identity crisis, it’s a sure sign of that society’s collapse.
There are multiple historical examples of this, but the closest resemblance is what occurred right before Hitler gained control of Germany. Before Hitler took over, the LGBTQ+ and transgender community was thriving. But the economy was not, hyperinflation was soaring out of control. The pioneer behind the movement for transgender and LGBTQ rights was none other than Magnus Hirschfeld, a trailblazer in gender and sexuality studies and an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights.
Does any of this sound familiar? The Nazi regime viewed the LGBTQ+ community as a threat to their ideology of traditional gender roles and heteronormativity. Destroy the men, make the women men, and confuse the children. They saw homosexuality as a “vice” and a “degenerate” lifestyle that needed to be eradicated.
In May 1933, just months after Hitler’s rise to power, Nazi students and stormtroopers raided the Institute for Sexual Research, looting its library and burning over 20,000 books on sexology, gender studies, and LGBTQ topics. It’s ironic considering that these topics now flourish in our schools, not just in colleges.
This event, known as the “Book Burning of the Institute for Sexual Research,” was a devastating blow to the LGBTQ+ community and marked the beginning of systematic persecution of queer individuals in Germany. The Nazis also targeted the Institute’s founder, Magnus Hirschfeld, who was Jewish and gay. He was forced to flee Germany and died in exile in 1935.
The persecution of the LGBTQ+ community under the Nazi regime was brutal and widespread. Homosexuals were arrested, imprisoned, and sent to concentration camps, where they were subjected to forced labor, torture, and murder. Many were also forced to undergo “conversion therapy” or “aversion therapy” in an attempt to “cure” them of their homosexuality.
To be fully clear, I would never condone such behavior towards gay or transgender people. However, I bring attention to the similarities we’re facing today. People are entitled to live however they wish, as long as it doesn’t impact me, my children, or any children in general.
During this period, Germany was experiencing an economic crisis and hyperinflation in the early 1930s, leading to a devaluation of the currency. This economic crisis weakened the Weimar Republic and contributed to the rise of the Nazi Party, which promised to restore Germany’s economic and national pride. Are you starting to see the parallels?
I’m not saying this is exactly where we’re headed, but it’s a real possibility. The famous quote by George Santayana comes to mind: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
All I’m asking is that we look through history, the history we now know from this article. What conclusion do we come to? Leave a comment below and let’s bring this into the collective consciousness.
About the author : Spencer Harris
