The reference to Adolf Hitler brings to mind the images of the Holocaust, gas chambers and the second World War. Is there anything common between the right-wing nationalism propagated by Hitler’s Nazi party and the neo-nationalistic politics of American president Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi? Though politicians across the world hate to be compared to Hitler, there are some similarities, says Ewoud Kieft, a historian and musician from Holland, who has extensively studied Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
He has written books, about the extreme nationalism in Europe during 1900-1918 and the Nazi movement. His latest work “The Forbidden Book” examines the relevance of Hitler’s Mein Kampf in the present society. Kieft who was in Kochi to attend the Kirthi Literary Festival shared his opinion with the New Indian Express.
Excerpts
What in your opinion is common with the neo-nationalism of Donald Trump and Narendra Modi?
I know more about Trump than Modi. The slogan raised by Trump during his election campaign “Make America Great Again” was literarily regenerative. He succeeded in establishing his argument that once there was a pure America which was later corrupted by cosmopolitanism and globalism. He claimed the real Americans were forgotten by the elite who took over the reins of the country.
Trump projected himself as a real American. He declared he will conquer the divisive forces and restore America’s pride. I am told the rhetoric of Indian Prime Minister Modi is very similar to that of Donald Trump. He talks extensively about the heritage of India and that has been corrupted over the years. He identifies himself with Hindu nationalism. The only difference with Nazi politics is that Hitler’s was anti-Semitic and his hate campaign was pointed against Jews. Though these leaders don’t say it they encourage aggressive nationalism.
What is common between these leaders and Hitler?
Mein Kampf, the autobiography of Hitler gives an insight into his nationalist ideology. I was amazed how pragmatic Hitler was about marketing his ideology. He writes openly about how to influence the masses. He is more like a modern-day politician who develops strategies to reach out to the masses. He followed the strategy of Semitism to influence the people.
He is a manipulator and is really conscious about communicating with the masses and writes openly about his tactics. He repeats in Mein Kampf that people are not professors. People will respond to emotions, they are not interested in facts and figures. They are interested in the strength of the leader’s conviction. If you want to be a politician you should not talk intelligently. You should adapt your story to the dumbest of the people. He was more like a spin doctor of a modern-day political party. The neo-nationalists like Trump and Modi are also good marketers.
Is their any similarity in the strategies.
Yes. The common feature is the slogan of regeneration of the country. Hitler spoke of a powerful Germany which will be purified of the tribes. Hitler was very impressed by the leadership of Benito Mussolini and many German newspapers called him Germany’s Mussolini.
The arrival of immigrants, mostly from middle Asia, has triggered a hate campaign in many European countries including Holland. This is also compared to neo-nationalism.
That’s true. In Europe there is Xenophobia and I have tried to understand this mentality. In Europe, there have been more incidents of violence involving immigrants, including street robbery. The poor in these countries are concerned about the increase in population and they fear they will lose their jobs. Some people are highlighting stray incidents and creating a fear psychosis. There is a problem but it can be solved through police work and social policies like education.
Allegations are rife Islamophobia is spreading.
The allegation that Islam is the driving force behind criminality is wrong. The social media is spreading fake messages and there is no respite. Some are spreading fear in the name of IS. They have been defeated and are no more threatening. Terror attacks and lone wolf attacks have always happened in Europe but after 9/11 people started to identify such incidents with Islam. Nationalists in Holland say we are losing our identity due to the influx of immigrants. The fear of Islam is also a fear of losing ethnic identity. Holland has grown less Christian and for the nationalists, it is easier to unite people in the name of identity if they get an enemy. They spread the message we should unite as a single community to fight the common enemy.