How Hitler Conquered History
He’s our go-to historical analogy. Has something been lost as a result?
By Alec Opperman and Jeanette Moreland
That Adolf Hitler is a focal point for political rhetoric is taken for granted in the United States. There’s an internet law about it, and drawing stubby mustaches on pictures of the president has been an American pastime since at least George W. Bush. Whether any of these comparisons are apt or misguided is beside the point. Hitler is a favorite talking point for pundits of all political persuasions, and the question we’re here to ask is: why?
Hitler’s image, or rather, the hatred of that image, has become more than just a guiding force in politics. Vice even called Hitler “The Biggest Pop Star of Them All.”
The easy answer would be, “because he killed a bunch of people, stupid.”
But the larger question is: does political discourse naturally congeal around one monolithic figure of evil? And is this one-stop shop for describing political evil stunting our understanding of the world?
How Hitler Conquered America
During World War II, in conjunction with the Office of War Information, Hollywood made scores of patriotic pro-war movies and television programs to help the war effort.
