Local opinion: History is echoing loudly — can we hear it?

History does not always repeat itself, but it often rhymes. The early 1930s in Germany, after Hitler’s rise, show how democratic institutions can be dismantled from within. While the United States remains a democracy in 2025, parallels between Hitler’s tactics and Trump’s rhetoric and actions are striking.

When the Reichstag burned in 1933, Hitler used the crisis as a “Communist plot” to justify repression. Marinus van der Lubbe, who confessed to arson, was irrelevant to Hitler’s narrative. Trump’s “fire” was metaphorical: his false claims of a “stolen election” in 2020 culminated in the J6 attack. Like Hitler blaming Communists, Trump scapegoated Democrats, election workers, and his vice president, undermining trust in democratic processes.

After the fire, Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to issue emergency decrees suspending civil liberties, speech, assembly, and press freedoms vanished overnight, justified as protection. Trump called for invoking the Insurrection Act, deployed federal forces against protesters in Los Angeles using Title 10, and openly praised authoritarian leaders who silence dissent. His threats to prosecute opponents and alter the Constitution echo Hitler’s legal manipulations to dismantle democracy from within.

Trump’s continued escalation in Los Angeles reflects a deepening authoritarian impulse. Following protests over policing, he not only deployed the National Guard under federal authority but also authorized the use of U.S. Marines in a domestic law enforcement capacity, an unprecedented move in modern times. His administration’s refusal to comply with court-ordered police reforms, paired with threats to withhold federal funding from cities rejecting his “law-and-order” demands, reveals a deliberate attempt to override local autonomy and impose federal control. These actions echo historical patterns of militarized crackdowns on dissent and are chilling in their implications.

A modern echo of Hitler’s Enabling Act is Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes a provision barring federal courts from enforcing contempt citations unless bonds are posted. Legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky explains this would render many court injunctions unenforceable, weakening judicial independence. Like Hitler’s law bypassing constitutional checks, this provision threatens the judiciary’s role as a coequal branch of government.

The March 1933 Hitler, pushed the Enabling Act, granting unchecked power and overriding the constitution. Today, Trump’s attacks on judges, prosecutors, universities, and civil servants echo Nazi efforts to control or abolish independent institutions. His push to purge federal agencies mirrors the Nazi policy of Gleichschaltung, forcing ideological conformity.

Hitler criminalized dissent under laws like the Malicious Practices Act, punishing government criticism. Trump similarly attacked the free press, a pillar of democracy. He repeatedly called media “the enemy of the people” and encouraged lawsuits to intimidate critical outlets The White House barred the Associated Press from events after it used “Gulf of Mexico” instead of Trump’s preferred “Gulf of America,” ignoring a court order restoring access. Trump’s daily social media assaults on journalists, along with pardons for those convicted of attacking reporters during the January 6 insurrection, embolden violence against the press.

Politically motivated FCC investigations, led by Chair Brendan Carr, co-author of the Trump-aligned “Project 2025,” target major media companies like CBS, Disney, Comcast, NPR, and PBS. These actions intimidate and silence critics. Trump also sued outlets including CBS and Gannett to suppress unfavorable coverage. His efforts to defund and delegitimize public broadcasting and his attacks on the press reflect an authoritarian desire to control information and silence dissent.

By July 1933, Germany was a one-party state after banning opposition. Today, Trump commands near-total loyalty within the Republican Party, silencing moderates and making primaries loyalty tests. This shift makes bipartisan compromise nearly impossible and entrenches an extremist wing prioritizing Trump over country.

Critics may say comparing Trump to Hitler is exaggerated. The point is not that Trump is Hitler, but that his tactics, delegitimizing elections, scapegoating minorities, weaponizing fear, dismantling institutions, and demanding loyalty over law, follow an authoritarian playbook.

The lesson from 1933 Germany is that democracies erode gradually, chipped away by leaders exploiting crises, sowing division, and bending laws. America is not there yet, but if Trump’s vision prevails, the risk is real. Vigilance, civic engagement, and commitment to constitutional values remain essential to preserving democracy.