I shouldn’t need to tell you that the first Nazi book burning was against an institute of transgender health, but we’ve already forgotten.
I shouldn’t need to explain that, after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, one of his first decrees was to crack down on gay and trans movements in Germany, eventually leading to the ransacking of over 25,000 books in the “Institut für Sexualwissenschaft” [Institute for Sexual Research]. It should be common knowledge. But we’ve already forgotten.
It should go without saying that, in the years following Hitler’s eventual rise to dictatorship through the bastardisation of German law, trans and queer people were barred from public life, forcibly detransitioned, and killed in concentration camps, but we’re already beginning to follow in their footsteps. We’ve already forgotten.
It’s the 80th anniversary of VE Day today. The national commemorative holiday, which marks the historic unconditional surrender of Germany in the lead-up to the end of World War II, is a deeply complex spot of the UK’s calendar that should act as a just celebration of the end to a deeply brutal war that claimed the lives of millions, and a reminder that such atrocities should never be repeated – Lest we forget those who fought to curb the tide of fascism in Europe.
Yet, as I witness the festivities and crowds of people, rightly honouring the brave people who gave their lives protecting us from the terror of the Axis powers and their deeply hateful regimes, I feel a sense of bittersweet remorse. It feels like we’ve already forgotten what days like VE Day and Rememberance Day are about.
Less than a century following the end of World War II, Europe and, indeed, the world, is plummeting back into a blood-red sea of authoritarianism and conflict of which it is difficult to escape. Far-right and fascist factions are on the rise in multiple countries, including Germany and Italy, bigoted rhetoric against marginalised groups is becoming a louder part of the global conversation, and war has broken out yet again.
Seeing the shower of Union Jacks litter themselves across the nation at a time when the UK government, like it or not, is repeating many of Germany’s failures by attempting to systemically erase trans people’s existence both from public record and in public life feels unfittingly wrong. We’ve focused so much on the defeat of the Nazis, we’ve forgotten how they rose to power.
The fascist party which consumed Germany in the 1900s didn’t take the Reichstag in a day. It took Hitler years of work muscling himself into the conversation for the German public to even respect him. In the early days of his political career, Hitler was a joke among Germans; his proselytising and band of fringe followers were ridiculed for their beliefs, but they managed to force their way into political influence through stunts like the Munich Putsch.
Sure, Hitler and his fascist followers used elements of force, such as the fire of the Reichstag and the Kapp Putsch, to push their influence on the masses, but it’s vital to remember that Hitler was elected. A mixture of economic distress and national uncertainty left Germans desperate, and, eventually, he seemed like the answer.
VE Day should be a time for us to remember this. It should be a chance for the general public to remind ourselves that fascism is a more complicated beast than red armbands and roman salutes, and it should be a moment for the nation to take stock of our politics to ensure nothing like the atrocities of World War II happen again.
The remarkable pace at which we have failed our own motto – lest we forget – choosing instead to use periods like VE Day as a patriotic shouting match over how great Britain is for its part in ending World War II is part and parcel of the issue. Pretending that the modern world is immune to fascism is exactly how fascism has been allowed to proliferate.
It’s not too late – there are reportedly estimated to be 220,000 holocaust survivors still alive across the globe today, and just under 70,000 British World War II veterans. We can learn from them and listen to their stories, not just about the atrocities of the brutal conflict, but in witnessing how it came to be.
As of right now, our unwillingness to understand the circumstantial fragility of Germany, which led it on a path to horrific acts of torture and abuse, and how it relates to our own economic and political situation means we have already forgotten. It took us less than a century to forget, and we need to think about that.
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