Over the past few years, we have been hearing many varieties of Trump-focused controversies. One popular critique has been a comparison of Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Does this comparison have any validity? Many have brushed off this critique as too extreme. However, there are some interesting parallels between the two "leaders".

Nationalism.

Trump's motto for his campaign has been, "Let's make America great again!" A popular meme has been a picture of Donald Trump with the caption "Let's make Germany great again!" This was never the slogan of Hitler's campaign (I mean, obviously, it is in English, not German). However, the idea behind his campaign was similar. That isn't necessarily bad, however. Ronald Reagan's campaign was based off of this same slogan. So why am I talking about it if it isn't a problem?

Extreme nationalism can be extremely dangerous. In a historical context, nationalism was a major cause of World War 1. So why are Americans so caught up in nationalism? Why do we buy into this slogan? What is so different about how our country is right now than how it was in the past? What "greatness" are we trying to recapture? That time when African American students weren't allowed to go to the same school as white students? Our country was never perfect and it never will be. But Donald Trump would love to convince you that it once was and that it would be again-if he won the presidency. Basically, he is making a promise that he certainly can't keep. Hitler also rose to power by feeding off of Germany's anger by promising, essentially, that he would make Germany strong again. Nationalism was a major cause of World War 2, as well.

Let's continue, shall we?

Prejudice.

The relationship between Hitler's prejudice against Jews and Trump's prejudice against Muslims has been covered a million times in a million different ways. The connection between Hitler's antisemitic platform and Trump's xenophobic platform is intriguing. Instead of rehashing it all out myself, I think I'll let Anne Frank's stepsister tell you about it.

Militarism.

One of Hitler's main policies was that he was going to rearm and expand the German military (which broke the Treaty of Versailles, made after World War 1). Essentially, Hitler was promising that Germany would be able to protect itself from all of its enemies through militaristic means. Trump has the same idea. However, he has much less knowledge regarding the military. Regardless, he insists that the solution to fighting ISIS is to "bomb the hell out of" them (which is illogical considering that ISIS is a terrorist group and not a country itself, but that is a completely different subject). We can only assume that Trump's answer to any problem regarding foreign policy would be "bomb 'em." Essentially, Trump is promising that America will be able to protect itself from all of its enemies through militaristic means. When we look at the effects of militarism in Germany, though, we see the start of World War 2.

Disregard for foreign policy.

Trump has suggested on numerable occasions that Mexico is going to pay for a HUGE wall between Mexico and the US. Mexico, of course, has refused the idea. Hitler, on the other hand, promised to stop paying the reparations to Britain and France defined in the Treaty of Versailles. What do these ideas have in common? They both show that disrespect to other countries and would be detrimental to foreign policy relations.

Willingness to commit war crimes.

This could also be phrased as a disregard for human life. We are all familiar with the tragedies of the holocaust. But have we thought about the similarities that would arise with Trump as president? He has suggested committing war crimes against innocent Muslims when he suggested murdering the families of terrorists. He hasn't opposed ideas to forcing American-Muslim registration. He has no compassion for refugees. Already, Trump's comments about Muslims (and other ethnicities) have affected the way children are treating each other. Hm, I wonder what kind of effect Nazi Germany had on its youngest generation?

The Frenzy Effect.

Many people are under the impression that because Trump doesn't use a teleprompter, his speeches are more genuine. This is simply not the case. His lack of notes or teleprompters indicates the unreliability of his facts, his (lacking) capacity for speaking, and his mindless repetition of certain themes (nationalism, prejudice, and militarism). The most troubling issue regarding Trump's speeches, however, are the effect they have on his audience. How easy is it to get kicked out of a Trump rally? It's as easy as wearing a Bernie Sander's hat. Trump doesn't have the same oratory skill that Hitler had, but he uses similar tactics, like repetition, to work his audience into a "frenzy." With both men, their spectators are no longer thinking rationally, they are overcome with nationalistic emotion. In other words, people don't follow Donald Trump and they didn't follow Adolf Hitler because they agreed with their policies. They follow the emotion that they felt when they heard the two men speak.

But they aren't that similar... Right?

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

Pastor Martin Niemoller