Nazism is an abomination, not a term of casual abuse
USING the word “Nazi” as a term of casual abuse trivialises the unspeakable horrors perpetrated by the real Nazis and insults their victims, writes Dvir Abramovich.
Opinion
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IT is the mother of all thoughtless analogies, comedic punchlines and cliches, tossed around carelessly and with infinite flexibility. And although we should know better, in today’s climate of hyperbole and cultural stupidity, anyone can be, or is, Hitler. It seems that Hitler mania and delirium know no bounds and are an equal-opportunity slur.
Nazis, who represent the ultimate evil and conjure horrific visions of suffering and depravity, are appearing in our culture with disturbing frequency and obscenely littering our public square. We have soup Nazis, grammar Nazis, eco-Nazis, femi-Nazis, nico-Nazis, health Nazis, jazz Nazis, ticket Nazis, lunchbox Nazis and traffic Nazis, to name but a few. The real Nazis must be delighted with these distortions.
I get why people are tempted to introduce Nazis into a discussion, why the appeal of invoking and exploiting this imagery is so powerful. The Third Reich embodies a unique historical evil and is a convenient metaphor for illustrating the concept of right versus wrong. It’s a cheap trick that packs a punch as a scare tactic, is hard to beat for shock value and is guaranteed to work as a sensational headline generator.
It’s also an effective instrument in demonising and smearing anyone with whom you disagree. I acknowledge sometimes people use the term “Nazi” to describe a person who is strict and uncompromising. But there is a world of difference between such types and the human horror and unspeakable crimes of the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s.
Nazi and Hitler analogies are revolting and repugnant, and belittle the indescribable atrocities carried out on an industrial, monstrous scale. Ask a Holocaust survivor and they’ll tell you that none of the comparisons today match or even come even close to the immensity of the terrors and barbarity of Hitler’s Germany.
Such a lazy reliance on irresponsible analogies makes a mockery of the slaughter of millions and is insulting and painful to victims and survivors.
It also dishonours the enormous sacrifices made by those who fought to defeat the Nazis. The problem is that when you remove the historical associations and meaning from the Holocaust, you make it hard to impart the timeless and universal lessons of this tragedy to current and future generations. Such trivialisations also make it easier for Holocaust deniers with their lies and claims of Jewish conspiracies.
I have repeatedly spoken out against this kind of vile and ugly rhetorical device. Whether it is politicians, academics or celebrities, I denounce them for their misguided and revolting equations and for their disregard for the truth. There is no excuse for public figures to play the Hitler card, to misuse this supercharged and insensitive language as a blunt tool to score political points.
If you feel the urge to reference Hitler to stir the emotions and inflame the debate, or to win an argument, you are way out of line.
Think about the systematic extermination of innocents, including more than one million children, about the emaciated figures staring from barbed wire, about the children torn from their mothers and pushed into the gas chambers, about the crematoriums in Auschwitz, the death marches, mobile killing units, ghettos, about the Roma, the mentally handicapped, homosexuals and others who were executed for being “different” — and then stop and ask yourself whether Nazi analogies are appropriate.
During this year’s Republican presidential race a host of commentators, opponents and comedians have rushed to equate Donald Trump with the Fuhrer.
I shouldn’t have to say this, but although the billionaire businessman has said some troubling things and his ideas have rattled many as dangerous and bigoted, he is no Hitler.
The shoddy comparisons and name-calling are not connected to reality or the facts. Trump is not an anti-Semitic, butcherous dictator a with “Final Solution” to eradicate an entire race; he does not possess Hitler’s genocidal objectives; he has no authority over paramilitary henchman and storm troopers like Hitler did.
As one who has devoted his life to fighting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, I’ve had enough.
So let’s retire and bury, once and for all, the improper Hitler and Nazi references.
Dvir Abramovich is Chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission.
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