The Damned

The middle and lower classes, so-called, ultimately flocked to the message of fascism, not just in Germany but even earlier, in Italy in the ‘20s under Mussolini. For a class of people who had little or less than in the past, who felt powerless, the allure of fascism was intense and compelling. But what of the intellectual class, of the already powerful capitalist members of society, what of the artists for whom fascism might lead to straited circumstances and censorship? How did they respond to a government that conceivably promised less control for them, in legislation, in industry, in the arts? Why not lead the call to remain a republic, to turn away from fascism, to educate the country on the dangers that might lie ahead? The takeover of Germany by the Nazis was relatively bloodless, mostly accomplished through the manipulation of democratic norms. Why was a beaten nation post-WWI in 1918 lulled into a world-wide conflagration a mere twenty years later? How had the leaders of Germany, in industry, in government, in the arts, failed so badly to rally the people to remain rational and democratic, leading to another decimation of Germany as a people and a nation?

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