The Holocaust, Fascism, and the Fragility of Freedom

The Holocaust marks one of the darkest chapters in human history, resulting in the deaths of over six million Jews and millions of others, including disabled individuals, LGBTQIA+ people, Roma and Sinti communities, political prisoners, and countless others deemed “undesirable” by the Nazi regime. It was an industrialized genocide unparalleled in scope and brutality, orchestrated by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party after they rose to power in 1933. Hitler’s vision for a so-called “Thousand-Year Reich” was underpinned by ideologies of racial superiority, antisemitism, and ultranationalism, which laid the groundwork for the systematic oppression, exclusion, and eventual extermination of entire groups of people.¹

From the moment Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, the Nazi Party began dismantling democratic institutions and consolidating power. The Reichstag Fire in February 1933 served as a pretext for the suspension of civil liberties through the Reichstag Fire Decree, which targeted political opponents, especially Communists.² Shortly after, the Enabling Act of March 1933 granted Hitler dictatorial powers, allowing him to bypass parliamentary procedures and cement his control over the German state.³ These actions were coupled with the creation of the first concentration camps, such as Dachau, originally designed for political dissidents, but later expanded to include Jews, Romani people, and others.⁴

The Holocaust did not occur in isolation; it was a product of broader geopolitical and economic contexts. European colonialism, capitalist interests, and complicity from various international actors played a role in enabling the Nazi regime. Early on, Zionist organizations controversially engaged with the Nazis through agreements like the Haavara Agreement (1933), which facilitated the migration of some Jews to Palestine in exchange for the transfer of Jewish-owned capital to Germany.⁵ Critics argue that it inadvertently legitimized the Nazi regime and their policies in its early years.

The Nazi regime leveraged propaganda to normalize its policies and dehumanize marginalized groups. The Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, led by Joseph Goebbels, flooded German society with antisemitic and ultranationalist rhetoric. One of the most infamous films of the Nazi era, Jud Süß (1940), portrayed Jews as conniving, corrupt, and dangerous, reinforcing harmful stereotypes.⁶ Similarly, the newspaper Der Stürmer, edited by Julius Streicher, featured grotesque caricatures and sensationalized stories accusing Jews of everything from ritual murder to economic sabotage.⁷

Alongside Nazi propaganda, some Zionist factions promoted narratives that aligned with Nazi policies under the belief that Jewish emigration to Palestine would serve the Zionist cause.⁸ Zionist organizations encouraged Jewish communities to abide by Nazi laws, seeing compliance as an opportunity to solidify the Jewish national project in Palestine. In some cases, Zionist leaders urged Jews to move to ghettos, arguing that isolation would strengthen communal identity and autonomy under Jewish leadership.⁹

This propaganda was instrumental in garnering public support for the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which stripped Jews of citizenship and prohibited intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews.¹⁰ These laws institutionalized antisemitism and laid the legal groundwork for the atrocities that would follow.

Notably, some historians and researchers argue that certain Zionist policies in the early 20th century, particularly within the Yishuv (the pre-state Jewish community in Palestine), implemented racial classifications that paralleled broader racial sorting systems seen in Europe at the time.¹⁰ The Zionist movement in its effort to solidify a Jewish national identity, developed systems of sorting and categorizing Jewish identity based on lineage, religion, and ethnicity, which some scholars suggest influenced or reflected elements of the racial sorting systems later adopted by the Nazis.¹¹

Meanwhile, Western nations, including the United States, implemented restrictive immigration policies, such as the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act, which prevented many Jewish refugees from escaping the genocide.¹³ The indifference to the plight of European victims underscores the failure of the global community to respond effectively to the rising threat posed by Nazi Germany.

Adding to this complexity, some Zionist leaders actively lobbied against allowing Jewish refugees to settle in countries like the United States, arguing that such resettlement would detract from the ultimate goal of directing Jewish migration to Palestine.¹³For example, David Ben-Gurion, a prominent Zionist leader, stated in 1938, “If I knew that it was possible to save all the children in Germany by transporting them to England and only half by transporting them to Eretz Israel, I would choose the second,” reflecting the prioritization of the Zionist project over broader resettlement efforts. ¹⁴

Today, as the world approaches the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the specter of fascism looms once again. Auschwitz, where over 1.3 million people were imprisoned and 900,000 were murdered upon arrival,¹⁵ stands as a grim reminder of the consequences of unchecked hate and authoritarianism. Survivors returning to Auschwitz for commemorations may be doing so for the last time, yet their warnings remain tragically relevant. The slow erosion of democratic norms, the rise of far-right extremism, and the scapegoating of marginalized groups mirror the conditions that led to the Holocaust.¹⁶

Countries across the globe are grappling with the resurgence of authoritarian movements. In France and Germany, political instability has emboldened far-right parties, while in the United States, democratic institutions face significant challenges.¹⁷ The re-election of leaders with authoritarian tendencies signals a potential shift toward fascism, with calls for mass deportations, censorship of political opponents, and media manipulation echoing tactics employed by the Nazis in the 1930s.¹⁸These parallels, far from being hyperbolic, serve as urgent warnings. History teaches us that the road to genocide begins with incremental steps: the erosion of rights, the demonization of “others,” and the concentration of power.¹⁹

The Holocaust is not merely a historical event but a cautionary tale for the present. It underscores the fragility of democracy and the ease with which hate can be weaponized under the guise of nationalism and economic revival. The world’s failure to heed the early warning signs in the 1930s allowed the Holocaust to unfold. In today’s globalized society, where the United States remains a superpower, the rise of fascism in one nation threatens to cascade across the world stage.²¹

As this series delves into the Holocaust and the politics surrounding it, the responsibility to confront the warning signs of history rests with all of us. The lessons of Auschwitz demand vigilance against the forces of hate, authoritarianism, and indifference, for the cost of inaction is a future that may echo the horrors of the past.