Despite all their ideological duplications, overlaps, resemblances and affinities in the areas of religion, politics, and economics, Hitler and the Bushites have significant differences on what can be broadly labeled social issues. Interestingly enough, with respect to some issues Hitler projected a more advanced, progressive stance than the Bushites or actually performed more in accord with his preachings and promises. Examples are not hard to find.
Nepotism is defined
as favoritism shown to relatives, especially in the appointment to desirable
positions. Considering the fact that the father of George W. Bush
was President of the United States and his brother is governor of Florida,
the specter of nepotism, payoffs, or political IOU’s is hard to discount,
and the degree to which this brings into question the integrity of GWB’s
political career vis a vis that of Hitler who had no relatives in public
life is a matter of concern.
Hitler did not hesitate
to lay down stringent guidelines in this regard such as:
It
must therefore be an absolute and fundamental principle of National Socialism
that office in neither Gau, State, nor Party is hereditary.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 535
If GWB did not inherit his office, the process by which it was obtained certainly has the appearance of the nearest approximation.
Closely associated
with nepotism is cronyism an area in which GWB is even more vulnerable
than Hitler in light of the numerous financial crimes perpetrated by his
Intimate friends and allies. Webster defines cronyism as favoritism
shown to close friends, especially in political appointments to office.
To that can now be added favoritism toward financial contributors.
Hitler had much to say regarding this issue that Bush would be prudent
to espouse and employ. Unfortunately GWB has failed to follow or
heed his mentor’s teachings when warranted and cronyism provides one of
the more prominent and egregious examples. Hitler said there should
be NO favoritism. Will Bush be equally adamant? Can Bush be
equally obdurate:
I'm
convinced of the necessity of the Fuehrer's not having protégés
and not admitting any system of favoritism around him. I myself have
never had recourse to it. I owe it to my job to be absolutely deaf
in that respect. Otherwise where would we go?
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 208
Hitler outlined specific
guidelines as to the relationships that should exist between all Party
members and the business world which the Bushites and their predecessors
have meticulously ignored. So, being the absolute dictator that he
was and assuming he enforced his pronouncements, who has the better record,
Hitler or Bush? The Fuhrer sharply severed all connections between
business and politics by issuing declarations that would make hundreds
of Bushites, like Cheney, cringe:
Germany's
strength lies in the fact that the men of the Party, the State, and the
armed forces take no part in business; and those of them who still have
any connection with business must now make their final decision: either
they must abandon all such connections, or they must resign from their
official positions.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 598
When
an official retires from State service, he should not be allowed to enter
a line of business with which he previously had official dealings.
For one may be quite sure that any firm would gladly employ him--not on
account of the services he could render, but for the connections which
he undoubtedly would have. If this were not so, then directors would
not earn fees amounting to 36,000 marks a year--and more. Further,
it is a scandal that men of this kind should usurp the positions to which
others have a prior claim, namely, those who have passed their whole lives
in the service of an enterprise and have risen, step-by-step, to the top.
This one characteristic is alone sufficient to demonstrate the immorality
of the whole system. Big business is as hot on the trail of such
connections as the Devil after the soul of a Jew.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 595
If he had omitted that
comment regarding the Jews, nearly all Americans would applaud:
No
servant of the State must be a shareholder. No Gauleiters, no Member
of the Reichstag and, in general, no Party leader must be a member of any
board of directors, regardless of whether the appointment is honorary or
paid; for even if the individual were actuated solely by the interests
of the State, and even if he possessed the integrity of Cato himself, the
public would lose faith in him. In capitalist States it is essential
for a great enterprise to have in its employ men of influence--hence the
large number of members of Parliament and high officials who figure on
boards of directors. The amounts disbursed to these personages directors'
fees, share of profits and so on is more than recouped by one or two fat
Government contracts which they are in a position to secure for their company.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 594
It must therefore the accepted as an absolute principle that no member
of the Reichstag, no civil servant and no Party leader must be in any way
connected with business of this nature.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 595
If
once one permits a Gauleiter to become a shareholder or a director in some
industrial undertaking, one will not be able to prevent the Kreisleiter,
the Mayor, and other junior officials from doing the same; and that would
spell the beginning of corruption.
For all these reasons, we must see to it that any State official who has
invested all his money in shares should forthwith invest them in State
loans instead.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 596
To
discourage State officials from constantly bearing in mind the possibility
of a switch-over to private business, the State must make sure that in
its agreements with large undertakings it never grants a monopoly.
Whenever there is a question of a large contract, it must always be split
up between three or four of the firms competing for it. Only in this
way can one prevent commercially minded civil servants from building for
themselves "golden bridges" to certain firms. Further, the granting
of big contracts must be made by a committee, the members of which are
constantly being changed. Purchasing commissions on behalf of the
army should always be composed of select officers recalled from the front
for the purpose and having no connections whatever with the industries
concerned. If there is any sign that they are being tempted--especially
with invitations to shooting-parties--they must be relieved instantly.
I say shooting-parties, because shooting and hunting have the same effect
on officers as jewels have on women.
The industrialists are experts in all these arts of corruption, and their
skill is the result of many years of experience! This explains the
cool audacity with which they pursue their aims. On one occasion
they even approached me and tried to get my support for something or other,
in which the Fuehrer's signature would have raked in a packet of capital
for them--and they dangled before me a bunch of shares--to be given, of
course, to any charity I cared to select!!
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 597
At this point the temptation
to say, “You tell’em Adolf, you’re on a role. Listen up George.
You need to heed your progenitor,” is difficult to suppress, even though
Hitler’s overall ideology is horribly odious and repulsive. When
statements like these are analyzed in conjunction with speeches like that
given to the Rheinmetall-Borsig workers on 10 December 1940, is it any
wonder millions of Germans were conned out of their socks. it’s enough
to make many Americans ponder and contemplate the possibility. Fascism
wears many masks and that’s why it’s not only attractive but dangerous.
In Essen on 27 March
1936:
I
believe I am the only statesmen in the world who does not have a bank account.
I hold no stock, I have no shares in any companies. I do not draw
any dividends.
HITLER, [Speeches
and Proclamations], by Max Domarus, Vol. 2, page 798
Assuming this is true,
and it sounds bizarre enough to be valid given Hitler’s eccentricities,
can any of the Bushites claim as much. Hardly!
To add to the agony
of following Hitler’s requirements, the Bushites would have to forego all
those lavish parties and exorbitant galas, especially when paid at the
taxpayers expense.
On 30 June 1934 in an order
of the day to Chief of Staff Lutze Hitler stated:
I
demand particularly of SA leaders that they be an example of modesty and
not of extravagance. I do not wish my SA leaders to hold or take
part in costly dinner parties. We were not invited to such events
in the past and we still have no business attending them. Millions
of our Volksgenossen today still lack the bare necessities of life, they
are not envious of those whom Fortune has blessed, but it is unworthy of
a National Socialist to further increase the distance between misery and
good fortune, which is great enough as it is. I specifically forbid
that Party or SA funds or, in fact, any public funds at all be appropriated
for such banquets and similar events.
HITLER, SPEECHES AND
PROCLAMATIONS 1932-45, Vol. 1, by Max Domarus, page 475
In that same directive
Hitler stated:
It is irresponsible to hold gourmet dinners from funds comprised in part
of the pennies of our poorest fellow citizens.
The luxurious staff quarters
in Berlin in which, as has been ascertained, amounts of up to 30,000 marks
per month were spent for banquets, etc. are to be dissolved immediately.
I therefore prevent all Party offices from sponsoring such so-called banquets
and dinner parties with any type of public funds. And I forbid all
party and SA leaders from attending such functions....
I do not want SA leaders to take business trips in expensive limousines
or convertibles or to use official funds for the acquisition of same.
This also applies to the heads of the political organizations.
HITLER, SPEECHES AND
PROCLAMATIONS 1932-45, Vol. 1, by Max Domarus, page 476
In light of these instructions
and decrees, the Bushites have reasons for disliking Hitler.
Hitler even went so
far as to reject personal honors and titles, although this option is not
open to GWB, since he has never accomplished anything worthy of distinction.
However, this will apparently not apply to Ronald Reagan whose followers
are unjustifiably promoting significant honorariums in his memory.
In Berlin on 10 May 1933
Hitler stated:
Personally,
I am against accepting any honorary titles, and I do not believe that one
will ever be able to accuse me of much in this respect.
HITLER, SPEECHES AND
PROCLAMATIONS 1932-45, Vol. 1, by Max Domarus, page 320
I
rejected the suggestion that a battleship should be named after myself,
because if such a ship has bad luck, the superstitious would regard it
as an unfavorable omen for my own activities. Imagine a battleship
named after me having to spend six months in dry dock for repairs!
Look, for example, at the very harmful effect the announcement of the destruction
of Fort Stalin at Sevastopol had on Russian morale.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 557
And in a speech in
Berlin on May 10, 1933 Hitler stated:
I
do not want anything on my gravestone but my name.
MY NEW ORDER
by Adolf Hitler, Edited by de Sales, 1941, page 170
Listing many Bushites, Reaganites, and McCarthyites who deserve nothing better is no challenge.
Another area in which
the typical Bushite is considerably behind Hitler in the evolutionary process
is that of hunting animals. Hunting is a barbaric, totally uneven,
pre-meditated savagery, masquerading as a sport, in which the process involved
would be classified as first degree murder were it applied to human beings.
As bizarre as it may sound, Hitler’s stance in this regard was far more
humane than the overwhelming majority of those individuals adhering to
the Bushite philosophy and its predecessors.
Hitler stated:
Personally,
I cannot see what possible pleasure can be derived from shooting.
Think of the tremendous ceremony that accompanies the slaughter of a deer!
And the hare is shot, not sitting, but on the run, to make his end more
spectacular. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
would do well to turn its attention to the sportsmen themselves.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 682
I
have just read that a man has been sentenced to three months' imprisonment
for having ill-treated an animal; apparently he kicked a hen which had
strayed into his garden. Well, I do not approve. In my opinion
shooting hares is a far greater horror of cruelty. Every sportsman
who shoots an animal without killing it should, in my opinion, receive
at least a like sentence. The nation must not get the idea that one
type of sadist is applauded and the other put in prison. The sportsman
shoots game to satisfy his lust for murder. The man who kicked the
hen simply did so to guard his garden from damage, and had no murderous
intention.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 637
I
am not cruel. I am not particularly vengeful. I hate hunting.
I hate traps being set for rabbits.
I AM ADOLPH HITLER,
by Adolph Hitler, Ed. by Werner/Lotte Pelz, 1971, Page 96
I
am no admirer of the poacher, particularly as I am a vegetarian; but in
him I see the sole element of romance in the so-called sport of shooting....
When I say all this, do not imagine that I condone the wholesale depredations
of poachers among the wild life of the forests. On the contrary,
my sympathies are entirely with the gamekeepers.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 640
Hitler would also seem
to be well ahead of nearly all Bushites when it comes to a proper, nutritious
diet since many dietitians consider meals without meats far more healthy
than the contrary. Hitler was a dedicated vegetarian.
I
am a vegetarian.
I AM ADOLPH HITLER,
by Adolph Hitler, Ed. by Werner/Lotte Pelz, 1971, Page 96
When
I later gave up eating meat, I immediately began to perspire much less,
and within a fortnight to perspire hardly at all. My thirst, too,
decreased considerably, and an occasional sip of water was all I required.
Vegetarian diet, therefore, has some obvious advantages.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 572
I
don't touch meat, largely because of what Wagner says on the subject, and
says, I think, absolutely rightly.
THE VOICE OF DESTRUCTION,
by Hermann Rauschnigg, 1940, page 229
A close confidant related
the following:
“Hitler himself ate
no meat, but he devoured astonishing portions of the sweet, and his personal
cook, an old party member, prepared special vegetable dishes for him.
But Hitler placed no vegetarian compulsion on his guests, nor did he refuse
them alcohol in the shape of beer. There was a choice between beer
and lemonade, and it was amusing to watch newcomers, especially enthusiastic
party members, choosing lemonade, with a side glance at the temperate Fuhrer,
in order to make a good impression.”
THE VOICE OF DESTRUCTION,
by Hermann Rauschnigg, 1940, page 59
But
there's one thing I can predict to eaters of meat, that the world of the
future will be vegetarian.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 125
It was a defense, not a virtue, to be a teetotal vegetarian in that stench
of mortality of all flesh.
I AM ADOLPH HITLER,
by Adolph Hitler, Ed. by Werner/Lotte Pelz, 1971, Page 52
Another issue in which
the attitude of Hitler was superior to that of GWB on a personal basis
was alcohol. The poorly disguised alcoholic addiction of Bush, his
arrest for drunken driving, and the arrests of his two daughters who have
a drinking problem suspiciously in line with their father’s, tips the balance
in HItler’s favor. For GWB to claim his prior addiction is no more
doesn’t expunge his record or place him ahead of Hitler.
Hitler said:
After
the examinations, we organized a great party. It's the only time
in my life I've been drunk....
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 194
Hitler said he never
became drunk after the first time; he was drunk once. Can Bush reply
in kind? Definitely not and he knows it:
I
made a promise to myself that I would never get drunk again, and I've kept
my promise.
HITLER'S TABLE TALK,
1941-1944, Translated by Cameron & Stevens, 2000, page 195
During his trial in
Munich on 26 February 1924 Hitler stated:
Certain
people have presented this situation as though I oscillated between the
pistol and the beer-bug. I am almost an anti-alcoholic and it is only because
of the dryness of my voice that I occasionally take a drink of water and
beer. It is shameless to put such a filthy interpretation on that....
MY NEW ORDER
by Adolf Hitler, Edited by de Sales, 1941, page 78
The following personal
account comes from one of Hitler’s associates:
“Hitler offered us
some cherry brandy, though he himself is a teetotaler.”
THE VOICE OF DESTRUCTION,
by Hermann Rauschnigg, 1940, page 12
An early close friend
and confidant of Hitler said:
“Herr Hitler is a
teetotaler. He is also a vegetarian.”
HITLER AND I by Otto
Strasser, 1940, page 5
People
sometimes think that I don't like beer or wine. Oh! I really
do like them. But every time I saw a bottle of wine, or even a quarter-bottle,
or a mug of beer, I was reminded of my time in Vienna and later in Munich,
when I had wanted it so much. I as well as my comrades--but we had
not been able to afford it. All of us had had to think twice, three
times, before we spent so much as a penny. And even then I had often
enough put the money back into my pocket once more, because somewhere I
had seen a book that I wanted to borrow or buy because I felt an inner
urge to have read it. And today, when there are so many people out
of work who are living now as I lived in those days, I cannot bring myself
to take a glass of wine or a mug of beer, since behind the glass I always
see the sobbing expression of a head of a family or the satanic grimace
of the plight afflicting the Volk. And so I gradually gave it up.
HITLER--MEMOIRS OF
A CONFIDANT, by Otto Wegener, 1985, page 34
If reproached by those
who claim Hitler’s assertions can not be trusted, the same standard can
just as easily be applied to GWB when he tries to minimize the number of
times he was drunk and was picked up on DWI.
One of the extremely few feathers in Hitler’s cap arose from
the amount of effort he put into discouraging the youth from drinking.
Can Bush claim as much? How much effort has Bush put into fighting
the national plague of youth drunkenness and addiction.
In Nuremberg on 14 September
1935:
There
were times-- and they seem far away and we can hardly understand them--when
the fellow who could hold his liquor was the ideal of the young German.
Today we are happy to see the youth resistant to any hardship of the weather,
the hardy youth, in place of the fellow who knows how to drink. For
it does not only depend on how many glasses of beer he can drink, but on
how much he can endure; not on how many nights in a row he can gallivant,
but on how many kilometers he can march. Today we no longer see the
ideal of the German people in the beer drinker of former days, but in men
and women who are healthy to the core, who are sturdy.
HITLER'S WORDS, by
Adolf Hitler, Edited by Gordon Prange, 1944, page 125
In Nuremberg on 12
September 1936:
A
new standard for beauty has been created. No longer is it the fat
beer-drinking philistine who is the ideal of our time, but the slim, lithe
boy, who stands firmly on the ground, legs parted, healthy in his body
and also healthy in his soul. In the same manner the German girl
is growing up beside you boys.
HITLER'S WORDS, by
Adolf Hitler, Edited by Gordon Prange, 1944, page 128
And in Berlin on 1
May 1937:
We
want a manly youth and womanly girls, a courageous youth, not a youth accomplished
in the art of drinking, but a youth that can give a beating and take a
beating, a youth, therefore, that has been trained at an early age to endure
hardships and privations.
HITLER'S WORDS, by
Adolf Hitler, Edited by Gordon Prange, 1944, page 129