Thread by @waitmanb

[Thread] On Trump's appropriation of Nazi symbols (yes, really)

It looks like others (@IwriteOK) have brought this up, but, the Trump campaign is using an unmistakably #Holocaust image for political purposes, so, let's talk about this.

m.facebook.com/17711562198405…

Here is the detailed ad info from @facebook. It didn't last long but looked to be a hit in...Texas.

(h/t to @MFrancisWrites who included this in his Medium article )

FB Ad data: bit.ly/2NbiYmd
bit.ly/2BheGXR

The ad was created (or placed) for the Trump campaign by @RedCurvSolution, a conservative fundraising and management firm run by a former Romney campaigner.

@TomCottonAR was a client...so that's fun.

If you click on the triangle, it takes you to a "petition" to get the Trump to call antifa a "terrorist organization."

Bonus: You get to be on a list of names he sees.

(Narrator: he won't see your name.)

True Dear Leader energy here.

So, about this triangle: the history.

The triangles were standardized in 1937-1938 to clearly identify prisoners by their "crimes."

(For a great scholarly & accessible read on concentration camp history, see Wachsmann's KL)

amazon.co.uk/dp/0349118663/…

See here the original Nazi scheme (1936) and the meanings of the triangles.

Longer discussion here

encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/art…

These markings were neither neutral nor benign. They visually codified a tiered system of oppression even within the already oppressive camp system. LGBT and so-called "asocial" prisoners were identified by their triangles and tormented more than other prisoners.

Wachsmann ⬇️

Conversely, "career criminals" with green triangles often received slightly better treatment or positions of authority.

All things being equal, Jews came in for worse treatment.

The SS intentionally used categorization to divide prisoners.

Note that another particularly insidious aspect of the triangle choice was that it could be overlaid on a yellow triangle for a Jewish prisoner, thereby creating (and mocking) a Star Of David.

So, this would be a political prisoner who was also Jewish.⬇️

"Political prisoner" in the Nazi world was a very broad category consisting of communists and socialists but also essentially anyone whose views differed from the fascist worldview (democrats and liberals would be included in that as well). They were a diverse group.

Often, they did not get along, bringing their ideological differences into the camp. But often, particularly in camps in Germany, they organized effective resistance.

So, back to the Trump campaign's use of this image. There has been no official statement (nor is there likely to be.) We can speculate about the level of historical awareness in Trumpworld and the depth of meaning here, but it's fair to say they knew what this was.

After all, conservatives have been quick to embrace concentration camp victim symbology (even as they parrot antisemitic rhetoric).

It's hard not to see the use of the red triangle as an attempt to paint antifa as "political enemies" and to insinuate that they should and will meet the same fate as enemies of the Nazis.

This is fully in line with Trump's recent comments about dominating the streets.

It also draws upon a historical connection in which Nazi paramilitary forces were encouraged to violently target political opponents (while political opposition was still possible).

(No, I am not claiming we live in Nazi, Germany. But I didn't choose the symbol. 🤷‍♂️)

This is just another brick in the wall of threats of violence the Trump administration has been building of late.

Moreover, as the shooting in NM shows, these threats are no longer theoretical, but very real and injurious.

theguardian.com/us-news/video/…

And so we continually see that symbols matter and they send messages that may rapidly gain unintended (or intended) meanings that result in very real blood being shed.

As always, be a responsible consumer of #history. Symbols don't arise from nowhere; they have a history.

And they have consequences.

Support your local historian and punch your local #Nazi (metaphorically, of course, unless they hit you first.)

#twitterstorians

P.S.- I meant to include this in the thread as I think it is important in the context of #PrideMonth.

The LGBTQ community reappropriated the Nazi camp symbol for gay people (the pink triangle). They chose this in part as a way to reclaim power.

time.com/5295476/gay-pr…

I can't help but think that the Trump campaign's use of a different triangle (but with similar meaning) can be seen as further evidence of the homophobic and intolerant nature of the administration.

Update: Apparently Facebook took down the ad. So, yay?

https://twitter.com/waitmanb/status/1273668626357370881?s=20