Do we actually learn from history?

by Marie-Louise Jensen.

I spent a part of May revising history GCSE with my youngest son. His in-depth topic was Germany 1918-1945. It was a familiar topic to me having studied German at university. But it was a timely reminder of the mechanics of the rise of fascism. This followed a pattern that has been repeated many times and places in the world in adapted forms. After his failed coup (the ‘Putsch’) Hitler realised he needed to take power democratically. And he did so. These are the steps:

1)      The country is in difficult economic times. You promise recovery but say it will be tough.

2)      You appeal to people whose interests are not served by voting for you by scaremongering about foreigners. You do a lot of scapegoating generally.

3)      You divide and rule by setting different sections of society against one another.

4)      You tell your people the health service and the state cannot afford the burden of the weak and disabled in these difficult times.

5)      You take control of the most of the media to present your version of events and you intimidate the rest.

6)      You take control of education, especially history, focusing on nationalism and teaching of former glory.

7)      You say that young people would benefit from military discipline.

8)      You smear and undermine the opposition by every and any means at your disposal. Removing their funding works well, as does blaming them for things that go wrong.

9)      You intimidate those who would protest by heavy policing.

Hitler’s rise to power was as simple as this. The world is a different place now, but I wonder, looking at it like that, how many people are comfortable with how far down that road we in Europe and especially in England have travelled recently? Or whether we will continue to travel along it secure in our own complacency that we have learned the lessons of history?

Myself, I fear it is above all those in power who have properly learned the lessons that history has to offer. And I'm fairly sure that how much further along that road our leaders will travel is entirely dependant on how far we are willing to follow them.