All democracies are perishable: Hitler's rise to power as a warning about the present

"The appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 is surely the 20th century event currently being most thoroughly examined by historians, though experts are not only looking to the past, but also to a present shaken by the rise of the far right in numerous countries and, above all, by the authoritarian drift of the United States under Donald Trump."

"Historical comparisons are always complicated: Weimar was shaken by the endemic violence of the Nazis, but also of the Communists. After the 1929 financial crisis, poverty was extreme, and the elites feared the contagion of the Soviet revolution."

"Very few parties believed in democracy in 1930s Germany, when an irreversible process began that would end with the Nazis in the chancellery. The world is different now, and yet too many threads link the past to our present."

Johann Chapoutot's 'Les Irresponsables' explores the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the ascent of Adolf Hitler. It raises critical questions about responsibility for Hitler's rise and the potential for similar events today. The book highlights the historical context of extreme poverty, political violence, and the failure of democratic institutions in 1930s Germany. Chapoutot draws parallels between past and present, particularly in light of the current rise of far-right movements and authoritarianism in various countries, including the United States under Donald Trump.

Read at english.elpais.com