10 Disturbing Parallels Between 1930s Germany and 2020s USA

A Dramatic Return to Power After Political Exile

As you probably already know, the 2020 United States presidential election didnt exactly go President Trumps way and he sort of made a big deal about it. With that in mind, it could be argued that Trumps comeback campaign after 2020 mirrors Hitlers reemergence from the wreckage of the botched Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Both capitalized on feelings of mass unrest, as well as outsider narratives, for a reinvigorated return. Perhaps their most effective tactic was stoking fears about immigration and their countries futures. Donald Trump reclaimed the White House after four years of tireless campaigning not entirely unlike how the Austrian artist otherwise known as Adolf became chancellor in 1933.

Failed Coups

We mentioned it in our last entry, but lets contextualize the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch a little further and demonstrate how it shares eerie parallels with the January 6 Capitol insurrection. The November march was a failed attempt to take revenge against the incumbent Weimar Republic for signing the Treaty of Versailles some years earlier. It was foiled by the Bavarian State Police that ended with 16 deaths: 15 Nazi, one civilian. Nearly 100 years later, in 2021, President Trumps 2020 reelection effort was unsuccessful, and he encouraged his followers to storm the Capitol Building and put a stop to the certification of the results. Though different in scale and context, both events were test runs for deeper anti-democratic impulses, and the symmetrical nature of their trajectory is yet another sobering coincidence.

Dictators & Elder Statesmen

Germany had Hindenburg; America had Biden. Paul von Hindenburg was the president of Germany from 1925 to 1934, a war hero who had nevertheless lost favor with his people. Backed into a corner, Hindenburg agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor, and the rest is literally history. Joe Biden, a career politician faced with widely publicized health issues, gave way for Kamala Harris to try and fail decisively to win the presidency in 2024. Heres the idea: Hindenburg and Biden were leaders who represented a political crossroads, opening the door to more radical successors with fervent followings. In both cases, such a politicians obvious decline allowed for a tempestuous tyrant to steer the nation to his impulses and desires despite the potential impact on its citizens.

Persecutory Tendencies

Lets make one thing clear: Donald Trump is very clearly not Hitler. But his open embracement of white supremacist talking points may foreshadow disturbing things to come. While Trump has strongly denied any claims that accuse him of racism, journalists, authors, and more have been quick to characterize his viewpoints of being poisoned by racist ideals. Of course, to reiterate, were nowhere near the level of Nazi Germanys appalling racial policies, which touted the superiority of the so-called Aryan master race and aimed to whitewash the world. But Trumps rhetoric targeting Muslims, Latinos, and immigrants has normalized xenophobia and political scapegoating. Consider, then, how Hitler became synonymous with racism and xenophobia, taking it to an unthinkable final solution by 1942.

Disdain for Multilateral Agreements

For the uninitiated, the Treaty of Versailles played a vital role in ending World War I and ushering in an era of peace albeit a temporary one, at that. It imposed heavy sanctions on Germany: these included requiring it to disarm and take full responsibility for the loss and damage wrought by the deadly and destructive war. Seen as a just punishment at the time for Germanys having initiated the conflict, the Treaty of Versailles ultimately satisfied no one and led to the festering resentment that would fuel Adolf Hitlers rise to power. And just as Hitler rejected the Treaty of Versailles, Trump has dismissed NATO, NAFTA, the Paris Accord virtually any deal not branded Trump is deemed illegitimate.

Leveraging Economic Instability for Political Gain

In the wake of World War I, Germanys hyperinflation created the necessary conditions for extremist sentiment to bubble up. Similarly, in the post-COVID United States, the crushing weight of the 2021-23 inflation surge and its associated economic stress helped reenergize American nationalism. Of course, both nations suffered extensive periods of high inflation: in Germany, the Reichsmark had become worthless, only serving to stoke unrest amongst the German electorate. Meanwhile, in the present day, Trump can blame COVID, or the Biden administration. But some of his own policies to curtail immigration, which have been decried by detractors as draconian and persecutory, are having a clear and deleterious effect on American job supply.

Employment of Propaganda & Fake News

Both Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump share the dubious distinction of having mastered the new media of their time to shape public opinion and vilify opposition. Hitler didnt do it all by himself, enlisting the help of his Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment. Key to the department was minister Joseph Goebbels, a close confidante of Hitlers whose weaponization of Germanys radio waves produced compelling propaganda that preached hatred and antisemitism, as well as justification for the ongoing war effort. Trump, however, has benefited from a system that has been built up around him, consisting of his own Truth Social account, ties to friendly news networks, and use of intimidation tactics to strong-arm free speech into submission.

Their Respective Friend Groups

Maybe this shouldnt be all that surprising. When given the chance to denounce the racism on display at the 2017 Unite the Right rally, Trump instead claimed there were very fine people on both sides. So its not exactly shocking that he tends to praise autocrats like Russias Vladimir Putin, Chinas Xi Jinping, and Hungarys Viktor Orbánleaders he regards as effective rather than dangerous. He frames their despotic traits not as a threat to democracy, but as a model worth emulating. History witnessed something similar in the lead-up to World War II, when Adolf Hitler wrote admiring letters to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, lauding his leadership and expressing interest in joining forces under an oppressive shared vision.

Expansionism: Conquer or Die

Once Donald Trump returned to power as the 47th president in 2025, his fascination with territorial expansion was quickly reignited targeting, oddly enough, Canada and Greenland. In moves that baffled economists, politicians, and laymen alike, Trump floated the idea of annexing Canada as the 51st state and expressed a profound interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark. While dismissed by some as political theater, these gestures echoed a far darker precedent: Adolf Hitlers 1938 Anschluss, the annexation of Austria that marked the beginning of his quest for a Greater Germany. For both men, expansionist rhetoric wasnt just about geography: it was a tool for stoking nationalism, consolidating power, and projecting dominance beyond their borders.

The Pandoras Box Problem

June 2025 marked what many are calling a dark turning point for the Trump administration. With the world on edge amid a potential nuclear conflict between Israel and Iran, and massive immigration protests erupting in Los Angeles, Trump seized the moment to test out his long-standing push to consolidate executive power. Critics argue that his response to these overlapping crises reflects a dangerous expansion of presidential authority. The historical parallel is hard to ignore: Adolf Hitler used the 1933 Reichstag Fire to justify the subsequent Enabling Act, effectively dismantling Germanys democratic institutions. Even if Trump himself avoids war, the forces hes unleashed conspiracies, militias, erosion of norms could outlast and outpace him, much like Hitlers early policies spiraled into something far more catastrophic.

What do you think? Do you see the parallels between these two historically significant men? Or are they just not there? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.