They Thought They Were Free (1955)
4 hours ago
- #Moral Complicity
- #Totalitarianism
- #Nazi Germany
- The text discusses the gradual habituation of the German people to being governed by surprise and secrecy under the Nazi regime.
- It highlights the widening gap between the government and the people, masked by temporary emergency measures and patriotic allegiance.
- The narrative emphasizes how continuous changes and crises kept people too busy to think about fundamental issues or the regime's growing authoritarianism.
- It reflects on the difficulty of recognizing the regime's incremental steps towards totalitarianism, comparing it to not noticing corn growing until it's overhead.
- The text explores the psychological mechanisms that prevented resistance, including uncertainty, fear of standing alone, and the lack of a single shocking event to mobilize opposition.
- It recounts personal stories of individuals who realized too late the extent of their complicity and the moral compromises they had made.
- The narrative concludes with reflections on the consequences of inaction, the burden of self-deception, and the shame of realizing one's role in the regime's atrocities.