I was born a few years after WWII, And since around adolescence,

[raccoon]

And since around adolescence, I’ve been interested in Nazi Germany.

Little did I know…

[Ocelot II]

1. Me, too. And I've wondered for years how so many citizens

of a supposedly civilized, first-world country could be brainwashed by a vicious demagogue into accepting fascism. I guess we're finding out in real time.

[RKP5637]

4. Same here, it seemed inconceivable to me that an educated population could fall for fascism.

And now it seems we're watching history repeat. Many have values antithetical to the US democracy ... yet call themselves patriots and saving the country. It's a mind twister.

[doc03]

7. I was born in 48, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that

the USA could go down the fascist rat hole.

[cyclonefence]

2. We grew up with fathers (and mothers) who had risked their lives,

many of them teenagers (my father was 19 when he was dropping bombs over Germany--he asked his college to graduate him early, and such was the patriotic feeling at that time, not only did Marshall graduate him at the beginning of his senior year, but gave him a B+ average!) themselves, and I know I grew up with a hatred of anyone who would endanger my father's life.

He wouldn't talk about the war--he said "I didn't kill anybody"--yeah right. Those B-17s dropped bombs all by themselves.

I think our generation grew up with very personal feelings about Nazis. My dad, an ardent Democrat, often expressed admiration for General Eisenhower's parading German villagers who lived near the death camps through the camps, forcing them to see what they all denied knowing anything about.

I think this experience is what makes these Neo-Nazis so gut-wrenching to us.

[mitch96]

3. "personal feelings about Nazis. My dad, an ardent Democrat," Same here

My old man was at Normandy shelling around the beach from a heavy cruiser.
He HATED the Nazi. A classic ANTIFA
Lost all of his remaining european family to the nazi. Old hate takes a long time to die.
He refused to allow me to buy a volkswagen or a Ford.. Was not pleased when I married a girl of German decent..
I always had a fascination about WW2 and what happened. The lead up to the war was pretty interesting also. If you listen to Maddow's "ULTRA" pod cast you get a sense of how the elected officials wanted a government like Nazi Germany.
Very business friendly..
M

[MarineCombatEngineer]

5. Like you, I was born just 2 years after the end of WWII,

my 3 favorite history subjects are WWII because of my father's experience, Vietnam and the Gulf War because of my experiences with those 2 events in my life.

I agree about Nazi Germany, little did we know at that time.

[Chainfire]

6. I am a boomer too.

I have read and studied for decades about the war, and the lead up to the war, wondering how in the world people could fall for such nonsense. Now I get to live it.

It is really a pretty simple explanation of human psychology; hate sells.

[SoBlueInFL]

8. I'm in Gen X but my father also fought in WWII. r/o

He lied about his age and first fought in the Pacific theater and was sent to Europe when he reenlisted.

Nearly all of my great aunts and one grandmother worked in munitions plants. One great uncle was a riveter (ships) and other family members worked providing food for the troops. My mother walked the country roads with a wagon picking up scrap metal for the war effort.

The amnesia Americans seem to have about the danger of Fascism is sickening. No one can tell me that no one alive today has any memory of their parents or grand parents telling them about the sacrifices made to defeat Fascism and Nazism. I'm actually glad my father and father-in-law are not alive to witness this crap. They would be horrified.