Question about the Weimar Republic and molly-coddling of Oregon protesters

[KingCharlemagne]

It's been a long time since I studied the history of the Weimar Republic but I have vague memories that local police in Weimar coddled NSDAP (Nazi) brownshirts while lowering the boom on their left-wing opponents (Communists and Socialists), thereby further emboldening the Brownshirts.

Is this memory borne out by the historical record and, if true, does it shed light on the molly-coddling of the thugs currently going on up at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon?

I was part of Occupy Los Angeles and vividly remember the 'special treatment' OLA and Occupy Oakland occupiers received at the hands of the local constabulary. To see these noveau brownshirts rubbing our noses in their scofflaw-ism and suffering no visible consequences angers me deeply.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Yes, yes it is

[KingCharlemagne]

2. I was prompted to ask upon reading that a Trump campaign

official had either formally or informally associated himself with the seditionists. This would lend further weight to the comparison between the Oregon seditionists and Nazi brownshirts, although I do not wish to belabor the analogy.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Oh I went there a while ago, before this ahem "fun" started

http://reportingsandiego.com/2015/12/10/donald-trump-is-a-fascist/

[Warren Stupidity]

3. At this point I'm starting to wonder if

the government is unsure of the loyalty of any forces deployed against these fuckwits.

[KingCharlemagne]

6. That is some seriously scary shit and really does

remind me of the waning days of Weimar.

[2naSalit]

4. I agree with all of the above. nt

[KingCharlemagne]

7. One shameless self-kick for the weekend readership. - nt

[dairydog91]

8. Kind of.

The NSDAP (and the Steel Helmets, and the Freikorps) were frequently coddled. The Freikorps especially because it served as an extension of Germany's *limited* post-war military.

On the other hand, the Weimar Republic did have hate speech laws which were sometimes enforced. The problem was that their enforcement against a couple prominent Nazis (I think Hitler himself may have been tried at one point) didn't do much except provide martyrs for the Nazi cause. Germany was such an explosive powderkeg that it may have been doomed to go off at some point. If memory serves, it had gone through a major growth pulse in the late 1800s, going from "a" European power to "the" continental European power. Huge growth in industrialization and scientific progress, formation of massive industrial powerhouses like Siemens. Also blatant horse-trading politics and corruption, especially by the huge firms. By WW1 it was also a huge ground power, though decidedly second banana to Great Britain in terms of naval power. After WW1 the country was humiliated and economically wounded. The military had fallen apart and the Freikorps functioned as a sort of paramilitary extension. The economy was often awful. There was horrendous inflation in the years immediately after the war and the Great Depression pretty much killed the credibility of the Weimar Republic.

[KingCharlemagne]

9. Hitler was prosecuted and convicted for his failed 1923 Munich 'Beer Hall

Putsch.' While in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf.

I had memories that police in Weimar looked the other way when it came to Nazi lawbreaking, much as LE is looking the other way with the Oregon seditionists.

[dairydog91]

10. Goebbels was prosecuted, I think.

At least a public speaking ban in Berlin at one point. The police in Weimar also reflected regional views of the Nazis. Berlin was not a Nazi stronghold, and the police cracked down at times. Rural areas in southeast German often had more indulgent police forces.

[KingCharlemagne]

11. ah, that makes sense. Northern Germany had much more

Communist and Socialist support, given its industrial base.

Not to belabor the parallel unduly, but this is rural Oregon, not Portland or other urban centers.

Thanks for your annotation and perspective!

[backscatter712]

16. Julius Streicher was prosecuted for his rantings in Der Sturmer.

Last edited Sat Jan 9, 2016, 06:02 PM - Edit history (1)

He got prosecuted a few times during the Weimar years for anti-semitic rants in his paper, including things like the Blood Libel.

He and his fellow Nazis responded by pulling a Donald Trump and turning his trials into circuses. He rarely got more than a slap on the wrist.

[smirkymonkey]

12. Interesting. I never thought of the parallel, but you have a

point. I am afraid this country is inching closer and closer to fascism every day.

[KingCharlemagne]

14. In fairness to history, I think the Oregon seditionists bear more

resemblance to a Weimar freikorps than to the infamous Briownshirts. (I don't think we have seen the latter make an appearance just yet, save for nascent strands at Trump rallies.)

Still disturbing to see the republic threatened by nihilistic brigands like these seditionists in Oregon. (Traditional Marxist analysis would describe them as lumpenproletariat.)

[jwirr]

13. Not sure what the answer is but I do know that both the

Oregon terrorists and many police officers are rw.

[Rex]

15. Authoritarians recognize each others stink.

They feed off it.