Who Goes Nazi?

In August, 1941, Harper’s Magazine published an essay by journalist Dorothy Thompson entitled, “Who Goes Nazi?” The essay walks the reader through descriptions of the various attendees at a fictional dinner party and speculates about which of them would “Go Nazi” given the proper social or political circumstances.

Some historical background

To put the article into context, by August of 1941 World War 2 had been raging in Europe for nearly two years. However, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and America’s entry into the war, was still four months away (on December 7, 1941).

It is important to note that not all Americans in the 1930s and 40s were anti-Nazi. Indeed, some prominent Americans, most notably Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford, were very much pro-Nazi. Lindbergh was isolationist and wanted to keep the United States out of the war. Ford made money selling vehicles and airplane engines to both sides. Both men were avowed racists.

So, in 1941, just before the US entered the War, the question of who, in your social circle, was a Nazi, or liked what Nazis stood for, or was simply a follower type who would fall obediently in line under Nazi rule, was both interesting and timely.

An updated version

In 2019, Current Affairs published an updated version of Thompson’s essay. This article, entitled “Who Goes Nazi? Office Edition,” by Lyta Gold, is set in a fictional “white collar corporation in a gentrifying liberal city.”

Gold says that “Who Goes Nazi?” is “a game you can play with your friends and acquaintances.” Though she cautions one to “play it in your own head, not out loud.” Gold defines the rules of the game as: “Look around a group and ferret out who would go Nazi under the right conditions, and who never, ever would, no matter what.”

As soon as you decide to play this game, you realize that Thompson was correct when she described the game as “interesting and somewhat macabre.” Perhaps you are sitting quietly in a break room watching your work colleagues, perhaps you are at a large family gathering. You may even try it at church. This game gives you a unique lens through which to view the people around you.

The different types of Nazis

Nazism has nothing to do with race and nationality. It appeals to a certain type of mind.

Dorothy Thompson

Thompson describes three types of susceptible people: “The born Nazis, the Nazis whom democracy itself has created, [and] the certain-to-be fellow-travelers.” She also suspects that these types of people are created by an imbalance in their education and training. She says of the Nazi, “His body is vigorous. His mind is childish. His soul has been almost completely neglected.”

Rather than list any names I may have come up with in my own playing of this game, I will, instead, list the types of people that I personally believe would “Go Nazi.”

The first of these types is the bully. Merriam-Webster defines a bully as “a blustering, browbeating person especially one who is habitually cruel, insulting, or threatening to others who are weaker, smaller, or in some way vulnerable .” This sort of person is a natural Nazi, what Thompson would call a “born Nazi.”

The second is the selfish type, the kind of people who ruthlessly seek power and gain. These people range from the exploitative opportunist to the simple thief. They seek immediate profit and have no consistent principles. This group is the one that Thompson refers to as “the Nazis whom democracy has created.” They are the calculating capitalists who come to see Nazism as a way to make even more money.

Third we have the empty people. These are the people who have no anchor in life. They may be lonely, immature, or less-educated, but they are easily tempted by the Nazi ideology because it provides a focus to their lives – a sense of belonging and purpose. This is Thompson’s “certain-to-be fellow-travelers” group.

The frustrated and humiliated intellectual, the rich and scared speculator, the spoiled son, the labor tyrant, the fellow who has achieved success by smelling out the wind of success—they would all go Nazi in a crisis.

Dorothy Thompson

What about everyone else?

Then there are those who will be intimidated into complacency. This is a much larger group than the actual Nazis. When the bullies take power, they place loyalists, not professionals, at the head of the various departments of the government. The top experts are pushed out immediately. The long-term career people gradually leave out of disgust. That leaves only those who are willing to step up and declare their loyalty and those who choose to remain quiet and try to keep their heads down.

Once the regime is fully in place, everyone who is not an enthusiastic supporter wishes for nothing more than invisibility. They don’t want to be noticed at work, at the market, at church, and especially, at home. The Nazis will have control of the government, the media, the military, the police, the schools, and the hospitals. Respect for people and property will be gone. Civil rights will not exist.

Any bully who joins the party, especially one who puts on the uniform, will feel empowered to intimidate, steal from, and do many worse things to, anyone. All they will have to do is accuse their victim of some made up crime. These enforcers will be supported by unnamed, nosy, vindictive, informants (usually your neighbors or co-workers) whose “information” will not be verified. The accusation alone will be enough to convict.

Believe me, nice people don’t go Nazi. Their race, color, creed, or social condition is not the criterion. It is something in them.
Those who haven’t anything in them to tell them what they like and what they don’t-whether it is breeding, or happiness, or wisdom, or a code, however old-fashioned or however modern, go Nazi.

Dorothy Thompson

Where does this leave the Latter-day Saints?

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 13:34

One person who would never, ever, have “gone Nazi” is Joseph Smith. He would have recognized the evil behind it immediately. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ should be immune to the seductions of Nazism.

1. The teachings of Jesus clearly discourage behaving like a bully. So true Saints aren’t “born Nazis.”

2. The Book of Mormon warns strongly against becoming caught up in the pursuit of power and gain. So the Saints should not be among the selfish “created Nazis.”

3. The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ provides a strong and sure anchor for one’s life. No member of the Church should be among the “empty people” who need a strong ideology like Nazism to give them purpose.

Sadly, the Church DOES contain bullies, opportunists, and easily-manipulable people. I am afraid far too many of us would “Go Nazi.”

Actually, in the age of Trump, many already have…

Photo Note: Yes, that is Rolfe and Liesl from the film The Sound of Music. Earlier in the film he had promised to take care of her (“You are Sixteen, Going on Seventeen”). At this point he has joined the Nazi party, has a snappy new uniform, and feels important. He believes he has outgrown childish things like friendship, integrity, family, and love.

Sources: Dorothy Thompson, “Who Goes Nazi?,” Harpers, August, 1941.
Lyta Gold, “Who Goes Nazi? Office Edition,” Current Affairs, June 6, 2019.
James Hardy, “Nazis and America: The USA’s Fascist Past,” History Cooperative, September 14, 2016.
George Packer, “The President is Winning His War on American Institutions,” The Atlantic, April 2020.