Marc Cooper“It would be a mistake to paint Mr. Hitler’s supporters with a broad brush as they defy conventional political categories. Hitler has successfully tapped into a sense of anger, frustration and fear of terrorism that runs across ideological lines. That resentment is felt nationwide but is particularly strong among the nationalist conservative movement from which Hitler has emerged.
“While some critics have likened Hitler’s rhetoric to the ultra-nationalist government of Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, the Fuhrer, as the Austrian-born artist prefers to be called, is cutting his own political path.”
“His supporters say they are tired and suspicious of the two traditional political parties that have dominated German politics since WWI, the leftwing Social Democrats and the conservative Nationalists. And they accuse the current Weimar leadership of being weak in the face of the Bolshevik threat.
“Hitler has not hesitated to lay the blame for the country’s current economic and political crisis not only on Communists, but also Poles, Slavs and Jews. When he recently called for the extermination of all Eastern European Jews. referring to them as “lice,” a rally of supporters in Nuremberg loudly chanted: “Ger-Man-EE! Ger-Man-EE!”
“Hitler s a new kind of politician,” says Prof. Schmucko Schlong of Heidelberg University. “He has channeled the frustration of the German people into a new kind of political movement.”
In terms of his recent comments about Jews and Slaves, Prof. Schlong added: ” I think it fair to say he has flirted with racism and a certain strain of anti-semitism but it would be an error to ascribe those sentiments to his supporters. His followers don’t pay much attention to his actual policy proposals,” says the professor. “They are more attracted to his brash style and tone.”
Hitler’s meteoric rise has upset many in the Nationalist establishment. “He’s a bit of a loose canon,” said conservative leader Count Van Papen. “But I doubt seriously he will make it past the Munich primary and his followers will return to the Conservative fold.”
— with Donald J. Trump.