Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Oh well, just reading some scandalous words from 1941

If it's from 1941, then Anne Frank and her sister were still very much alive when this piece ran! I just thought of that.

"Who Goes Nazi?" by Dorothy Thompson

https://harpers.org/archive/1941/08/who-goes-nazi/

It is SO CREEPY to read how some people were before they knew how badly the Nazis were treating people.

"I grin bitterly to myself, thinking that if we ever got into war with the Nazis he would probably be interned, while Mr. B and Mr. G and Mrs. E would be spreading defeatism at all such parties as this one. 'Of course I don’t like Hitler but . . .'

Mr. J over there is a Jew. Mr. J is a very important man. He is immensely rich—he has made a fortune through a dozen directorates in various companies, through a fabulous marriage, through a speculative flair, and through a native gift for money and a native love of power. He is intelligent and arrogant. He seldom associates with Jews. He deplores any mention of the 'Jewish question.' He believes that Hitler 'should not be judged from the standpoint of anti-Semitism.' He thinks that 'the Jews should be reserved on all political questions.' He considers Roosevelt 'an enemy of business.' He thinks 'It was a serious blow to the Jews that Frankfurter should have been appointed to the Supreme Court.'

The saturnine Mr. C—the real Nazi in the room—engages him in a flatteringly attentive conversation. Mr. J agrees with Mr. C wholly. Mr. J is definitely attracted by Mr. C. He goes out of his way to ask his name—they have never met before. 'A very intelligent man.'”

~ Dorothy Thompson in 1941

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