![]() In fact, some thirty-one states at one point had compulsory sterilization laws on the books. Those with various conditions that placed them beyond the boundaries of the “healthy” members of the community were felt to be holding the nation back, consuming resources that should go to those who could best put them to use.Įugenics-the “science” of improving the race through selective breeding-appeared to provide the solution for those concerned about the danger of “useless eaters.” Advocates in Great Britain and the United States initially developed it to its furthest extent. In addition to a new belief in the superiority and inferiority of races, there also developed concerns over more and less “valuable” members of individual races or nations. During the late nineteenth century, ideas emerged to challenge the Enlightenment belief in equality. The ideas that inspired Hitler’s policies toward the disabled were by no means new. And if that’s the case, they would not know about the role it played in the evolution of Hitler’s murderous policies toward Jews and others he considered outside his desired national community. ![]() Those who see important parallels between Donald Trump’s America and Germany under Adolf Hitler (a comparison that is unfortunately not nearly as far-fetched as it once might have seemed) may not know about the tragic fate that befell tens of thousands of disabled people during the Third Reich. But his disdain for the handicapped should also receive serious attention. Most people associate Donald Trump’s bigotry with groups such as Mexicans, African Americans, women, Muslims, and Jews, to name a few-and with good reason. That’s why it’s critical to pay attention now, to be alert to any efforts to de-value, to denigrate any group, because any group is a potential target. What happens after that we can’t foresee. The danger at present is exclusion-the marginalization and potential removal of various groups of people beyond the boundaries of Trump’s national community. In writing this, however, I do not mean to imply that the President’s horrible comments will lead to gas chambers in our immediate future. At a campaign rally in November 2015, he mocked New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski in disgustingly crude fashion. Of course, this was not the first expression of Trump’s disdain for the disabled. Instead, the targets for this program were German Christians -those with various physical and mental conditions that designated them, in the regime’s terminology, “life unworthy of life.”Īs a historian of modern Germany, I felt compelled to write about this after seeing Donald Trump tell a crowd of Paralympic athletes visiting the White House on April 27 that it was “tough” to watch “too much” of the Paralympic games. The population targeted for extermination in this case was not German Jews. What I’ve just described was not the Holocaust. Afterward, the bodies were removed and burned. Once they were all inside, the doors were sealed and carbon monoxide gas was released into the chamber until all were dead. Upon arrival, they were told to undress and then led into a room designed to look like showers. First, they were transported to special facilities. They were people he considered undesirable and dangerous. Meanwhile, Joe Biden called Trump an “absolute fool” and said his refusal to wear face masks is “stoking deaths.Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, Adolf Hitler began a program that involved the selection of a particular group of people for extermination. President Donald Trump: “Oh, OK, because you want to be politically correct. Jeff Mason: “I’ll just speak louder, sir.” President Donald Trump: “Can you - can you take it off? Because I cannot hear you.” Why would I ever do a thing like that? And your second question was? I couldn’t hear you.” They’re inside, they don’t wear masks, and so I thought it was very unusual that he had one on. President Donald Trump: “Biden can wear a mask, but he was standing outside with his wife, perfect conditions, perfect weather. ![]() Trump’s comment came a day after he shared a tweet mocking Joe Biden for wearing a mask during a Memorial Day event in Delaware. President Trump accused a reporter of trying to be “politically correct” for wearing a face mask during a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday.
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