Kitty Werthmann grew up in Austria. She survived the occupation by the Nazis. She survived the forced socialism there. I want you to read this article. Here are some quotes:
Hitler nationalized (socialized) the banks, health care, automobile production, education, and more.
Does that sound familiar? Like something happening today?
Werthmann said they had prayer in school and religious instruction, but “this all stopped overnight” once the Nazis took over. Instead of praying, they started singing praise songs about the state.
I’m reminded of all those YouTube videos surfacing of young children in our schools being led in song praising Obama.
Werthmann said that if a doctor prescribed a medicine not on the government-approved list, the government would take the cost of the medicine out of the doctor’s salary.
Welfare became a “huge apparatus,” said Werthmann. Everyone had access to subsidized housing, food stamps, heating subsidies and many other benefits until everyone–regardless of salary–reached the prescribed standard of living.
“That’s called socialism,” she said. Werthmann cited the exchange between Joe the Plumber and Presidential Candidate Obama about “spreading the wealth” as a sign that it’s already begun here.
Yes indeed, it has. Oh, and after the Nazis required everyone in Austria to register their firearms — and crime didn’t diminish — they confiscated everyones’ firearms.
Her advice:
“Keep your guns,” said Werthmann. “And buy more guns. And make sure you have plenty of ammunition.”
Unfortunately, history does have a tendency to repeat itself.
4 Responses to “Lessons From Austria”
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on 13 Nov 2009 at 2:17 pm # PhilaBOR
Excellent article. Thanks for blogging it. There are many who are awake in this country, but many who are asleep. Let’s hope the pendulum swings hard the next two elections.
on 14 Nov 2009 at 7:41 am # Daniel
I’m shoving that pendulum as hard as I can.
on 15 Nov 2009 at 9:07 pm # Brendan
Hitler was violently opposed to socialism, communism, anarchism, and liberal democracy- he viewed them as “Jewish” and despised everything that these movements campaigned for, especially trade unions, voting rights, racial equality, etc. The reasons Hitler “socialized” or “nationalized” institutions in Nazi Germany and other Nazi ruled countries comes out of a different idea of government and political theory than what the socialists stood for. To equate the two like the Austrian lady is doing is very misleading… Nazism, i.e. National Socialism has the word “socialism” in the title but the meaning is different. If that Austrian lady made her statements in Europe she would never convince anyone…only in America.
on 16 Nov 2009 at 6:39 am # Keith
Brendan,
I have to disagree with you.
Nazi-ism and fascism are, like marxism, collectivist ideologies. they put the nebulous idea of “the people” before the individual, and actively persecute the individual with the excuse that it is for the “greater good”.
There are differences, sure; Marxism favoured people based on class, and identified itself internationally, fascism identified people on nationality, and defined itself as classless.
We could argue for ever more about whether fascism was “right wing” or “left wing”, but trying to apply the seating plan of the pre revolution French parliament (party of court vs party of merchants) is pointless, and the fascists proclaimed themselves as a “third way” between communism and capitalism.
As to origins
They come from exactly the same place! Benito Mussolini was “Duce” (leader) of the Italian Marxists before WW1 destroyed any hope of an international socialism. His Fascism was a nationally based socialism. he remained in correspondence and mutual admiration with Vladimir Lennin, Leon Trotsky, Woodrow Wilson and FDR.
Nazi-ism was a peculiarly German iteration of the fascist-progressive theme. Actual Fascism was never racist (Musolini’s wife was Jewish, Jews were over represented in his party and he more than once put Italian forces into harms way to protect jews.
I don’t think the simillarities between your current regime and Hitlers are coincidence. I think there is a dangerous overlap
Keith