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Mar 15, 2021 29 tweets 18 min read Read on X
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Hitler won mass support because a major economic crisis had driven Germany into a deep depression: Banks crashed, businesses folded, & millions lost their jobs.

Hitler offered voters a vision of a better future - 'sunlit uplands', you might say.

thenation.com/article/archiv…
The poorest people in Germany voted for Hitler's opponents, notably the Communists & the moderate left-wing Social Democrats, but the lower-middle classes, the bourgeoisie, the unorganized workers, the rural masses, and the older traditionalists all gave their votes to Hitler. Image
Whereas other politicians seemed to dither or act as mere administrators, Hitler projected purpose & dynamism.

He proved a master at denouncing conventions & manipulating the media. He issued an endless stream of #slogans, & hammered them home to win potential supporters over. Image
He would put Germany first. He would revive the nation’s rusting industries, laid to waste by the economic depression. He would crush the alien ideologies - socialism, liberalism, communism - ­that were 'undermining the nation’s will to survive & destroying its core values'. Image
Hitler’s early speeches “used vulgar comparisons” & “the cheapest allusions.” Hitler’s language was never measured or careful, but “like something merely expulsed", full of base allegations & vile stereotypes, precisely designed to gain maximum reaction & media attention. Image
Aided by his talented #propaganda chief Dominic Cummings - sorry, Joseph Goebbels, Hitler not only flaunted his vulgarity and exploited tribal hatreds; he also lied and lied and lied his way to success, as well of course as crassly negatively stereotyping Jews & other minorities. ImageImageImage
Few took Hitler seriously or thought that he would actually put his threats against the country’s tiny Jewish minority, his rants against feminists, left-wing politicians, homosexuals, pacifists, and liberal newspaper editors, into effect. Image
Nazi propaganda mocked disabled people; within a few years, they were being sterilized and then exterminated.

Hitler called for the return of the death penalty, & within a short space of time, the executions began again. ImageImage
Germany pulled out of international organizations & tore up treaties with cynical abandon.

The Nazis’ triumphantly declared their "departure from the community of nations".

Hitler said he would “rather die” than sign anything that was not in the interests of the German people. ImageImage
German politics in 1933 is the story of how the Nazis shut down the country’s democratic institutions, destroyed the freedom of its press & media, and created a one-party state in which opposition was punishable by imprisonment, banishment, or even death.

#PoliceCrackdownBill ImageImage
Newspapers were weakened by economic pressures, editors were forced out, reporters disciplined & increasing number of newspapers were shut down altogether, leaving only a captive press that confined itself to parroting the “news” issued by the government in Goebbels' briefings. ImageImageImage
With the disappearance of a critical media, the path was open for a massive expansion of political corruption at every level of the regime.

The Nazi regime was a kleptocracy; dependent on patronage & clientelism & devoid of formal procedures for appointments or rules of conduct. ImageImage
Even after the legal profession & the judiciary had been purged of the Nazis’ opponents, some judges retained a modicum of honesty & independence. Hitler was furious when the Supreme acquitted most of the alleged perpetrators of the Reichstag fire. ImageImage
Plenty of Germans disapproved of these & other measures: Hitler didn’t attain supreme power on a wave of popular acclamation.

On the contrary, in the last free elections of the Weimar Republic, the left-wing parties won more votes & seats in national parliament than the Nazis.
But the Left was divided, spending as much time fighting each other as they did trying to stop Hitler from establishing a dictatorship.

Their rhetoric was feeble compared to his, their supporters less fanatical, their electoral propaganda less powerful & less sophisticated. ImageImage
The concentration of political & legislative power in the cabinet didn’t last long. Beneath the surface appearance of normality, the cabinet was being marginalized as Hitler appointed his own cronies & disciples to new positions or pushed out his conservative coalition partners. ImageImage
Senior civil servants were fired if they made any difficulties.

Hitler's decisions were increasingly made on the hoof, by verbal order, leaving behind no paper trail.

He made sure that the armed forces were on his side by giving them massive increases in funding. ImageImage
Hitler’s seizure & remaking of the state was buttressed by a wholesale reorganization of the education system & efforts to redefine German culture. The intellectual quality of German universities, which led the world in research before 1933, plummeted, & never fully recovered. ImageImageImage
Before Hitler took over, a fifth of all university students were enrolled in the humanities; by the eve of the war, that portion had been cut in half.

Half of all students were taking degree courses in medicine, its importance boosted by the Nazis’ focus on research & eugenics. ImageImage
The main objective of Nazi education & culture was not to distract people from important issues, but to instill a new sense of patriotism. Pupils were made to salute the flag before school every morning. #History lessons were turned into a celebration of past German heroes. ImageImage
The regime constantly targeted minorities as a way of mobilizing popular approval & support.

But it wasn’t the kind of dictatorship that depended solely on repression, important though it was. A key part of the process was the vilification of political opponents. ImageImageImageImage
The moderately progressive Social Democrats were damned as “November #traitors".

Nazi media and officialdom heaped abuse on democrats and harassed them at every turn. Image
With the support of the country’s military-industrial complex - grudging & cautious at first; then fulsome & enthusiastic - Hitler threw caution to the wind.

His #indifference to human suffering, and his willingness to devise and use weapons of mass destruction, knew no bounds. ImageImage
Hitler was a media figure who gained popularity & controlled his country through speeches & publicity. Far from being a consistent & undeviatingly purposeful politician, he was temperamental, changeable, insecure, allergic to criticism, & often indecisive & uncertain in a crisis. ImageImage
Everyone concerned about #democracy should read 'HITLER: ASCENT, 1889–1939', by Volker Ullrich - the Nazis were “a warning from #history” we would do well to heed it.

We know what the early #warning signs are, & they are ALL present, now, here in Britain.

#PoliceCrackdownBill ImageImage
While I'm NOT saying 'Boris Johnson is Hitler', I AM saying the parallels are pretty uncanny.

While you're here, a couple of other THREADS you might be interested in.

The first is on forty years of increasingly deregulated free-market capitalism:

The second THREAD is about the influence of James McGill Buchanan, who was on the Board of Advisors of the free-market Independent Institute & the #IEA, an ex-president of the Mont Pelerin Society, & a 'Distinguished Senior Fellow' of the #Cato Institute:

Just to make it crystal clear that imho Boris Johnson is NOT a genocidal dictator intent on world domination, & I'm perfectly aware of Godwin's Law & the dangers of overstating any similarities, but in the context of the draconian #PoliceCrackdownBill, the parallels are #uncanny.
'When at Times the Mob Is Swayed: A Citizen’s Guide to Defending Our Republic', describes how America’s constitutional checks & balances were pushed to the brink by a president consciously following Hitler’s early 1930s #propaganda & policy template.

milwaukeeindependent.com/articles/civil…

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More from @docrussjackson

Aug 20
🧵

'Flag Force UK': The “Grassroots” Group With Hidden Think Tank Ties.

Flag Force UK presents itself as a patriotic, grassroots movement “built by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts.” But closer inspection suggests it may be a coordinated #astroturf operation... Image
Supposedly based in York, 'Flag Force UK' self-identifies as a "grass roots" campaign set up by three men who 'just wanted to put England and Union flags up', and which already brands itself as "the UK's premier community network tracking flag raisings across the nation." Image
Rapid Growth, Opaque Origins

Flag Force UK appeared suddenly in August 2025, yet within weeks, its account on @X had amassed a suspicious 12,000 followers — unusually rapid growth for a new, 'volunteer-led' group with little media coverage or on-the-ground activity.
Read 27 tweets
Aug 19
🧵

Robert Jenrick’s attendance at the Epping anti-refugee protest on August 18, 2025, represents a grave error of judgment, dangerously irresponsible behaviour, and a morally indefensible decision, particularly given his role as Shadow Justice Secretary. Image
Jenrick posted photos showing himself at the protest outside the Bell hotel in Epping, where police have been attacked.

A Stand Up to Racism spokesman said “Jenrick is fanning the flames of the far-right by chasing Reform UK votes, and he’s giving confidence to known fascists.” Image
The rally, organised by the neo-Nazi Homeland Party provided a platform for extremists. Jenrick shared a photo of himslef next to Eddy Butler, former Combat 18 founder and ex-BNP organiser.

hopenothate.org.uk/case-files-hom…
Read 16 tweets
Aug 15
🧵

🚨 The #MAGA Blueprint.

A coordinated political project is reshaping Britain in the image of Trump’s MAGA movement.

Reform UK—fuelled by wealthy donors, ideologically aligned think tanks, and a network of right-wing media—has ambitions unlike anything in modern UK politics. Image
The goal is clear: install Farage as PM, backed by policies and rhetoric that mirror America’s populist right.

Recent events, including JD Vance’s high-profile visit, reveal a deliberate and potentially transformational transatlantic political strategy.

It's a shift that, if left unexamined, could alter the character of UK democracy for a generation.

Few people know that 80% of Reform UK's total donations (£15M of £18.7M) come from just FOUR individuals.

Aerospace magnate Richard Smith is one of their most significant donors.
Read 30 tweets
Aug 13
🧵

Richard Tice's shameful rhetoric is dangerously irresponsible, and has clear historical parallels with Nazi propaganda, which depicted Jewish men as threats to German women, stoking fear and justifying persecution.

No civilised democracy effectively encourages vigilantism.
The Nazi tabloid Der Stürmer often portrayed Jewish men as sexual predators targeting German women.

A 1935 piece titled "Jews as Sexual Predators," claimed Jewish men committed heinous sexual crimes against Christian women and girls, citing fabricated or exaggerated cases. Image
The 1935 story described a Jewish man, Kurt Meyer, allegedly murdering a pregnant Christian housemaid, and another, Louis Schloß, supposedly drugging and abusing non-Jewish girls. There is no credible evidence to support these specific claims.
Read 28 tweets
Aug 9
🧵

Politicians, right-wing news media and far-right extremists opportunistically exploit public concern over asylum seekers in hotels, inciting protests and potential violence.

How did we get here? And why the gulf between public perception and reality?

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Their divisive rhetoric and misinformation has resulted in a huge gap between public perception and reality.

FACTS:

In September 2023 there were 56,042 asylum seekers in around 400 hotels.

By March 2025, there were 32,345 asylum seekers in 218 hotels.

The government spent nearly a third less on hotels to house asylum seekers between April 2024 and March 2025.

The Home Office's annual accounts show £2.1bn was spent on hotel accommodation - an average of about £5.77m per day, down from £3bn or £8.3m per day, the previous year. Image
Read 15 tweets
Aug 7
🧵

GB "News", which employs 75% of Reform UK MPs, is not a news channel - it's Reform's propaganda wing, co-funded by billionaire Paul Marshall and Dubai-based investment firm Legatum, who see it as an investment opportunity to help protect their wealth and interests.

@Ofcom Image
In the UK, since 1990, 'due impartiality' and 'due accuracy' have been fundamental components of broadcasting - especially for news and current affairs - and imho are essential for a well-informed citizenry and a fair-minded functional democracy.

GB "News" appears to disagree. Image
The first broadcasting standards in the UK emerged with the BBC in 1922.

Formal standards took shape with the Royal Charter in 1927, which mandated that the BBC provide information, education, and entertainment while maintaining impartiality and serving the public interest. Image
Read 30 tweets

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