By Samuel Huneke November 16, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EST
While there are critical differences between what this administration is suspected of doing and the violence committed by Nazi Germany, the commentariat often compares Trumpism to Nazism. [I]f denazification’s principal purpose was to convince ordinary Germans of the wrongness of Nazism, then it was at best a partial success.
The postwar German experience of denazification suggests a twofold approach. On the one hand, we must hold those who have committed crimes accountable, allowing justice free rein, even if its targets are the ex-president, his family, or former Cabinet secretaries. Congressional inquiries, too, may serve a valuable role in uncovering wrongdoing and suggesting structural reforms. On the other hand, the Biden administration must be careful to avoid talk of collective guilt, for which there is no judicial remedy and which can serve only to alienate those who might yet return to the democratic fold. Read HERE.