America’s '' Nazi Type'' racial violence was not a reflection of European fascism. In many respects, it pre-dated it—and exceeded it in scale relative to population. [ History demands honesty. ]
History Needs Re-Examination—Especially World War II I want to be absolutely clear at the outset: Hitler and the Nazi regime were catastrophic crimes against humanity. Their defeat was necessary. There is no revisionism there. But acknowledging that truth does not absolve other societies—especially the United States—from examining their own historical proximity to fascism, racial terror, and mass dehumanization. History is not a morality play with permanent villains and permanent saints. It is a diagnostic record. And if we refuse diagnosis, we repeat the disease. The Uncomfortable Near-Miss: American Fascism in the 1930s What is rarely taught—at least honestly—is how close the United States came to legitimizing homegrown authoritarian movements in the interwar period . The German-American Bund, Father Charles Coughlin’s mass radio movement, the Silver Legion (Silver Shirts), and other openly fascist organizations operated legally, publicly, and at scale throughout the 193...