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Fascist Apples
Тhe myth that Germans no longer harbor the same views as Hitler and his minions is simply untrue
To begin with, Friedrich Merz's grandfather, Josef Paul Sauvigny, was one of the Sturmabteilung (SA, or Brown Shirts) who helped Adolf Hitler come to power in the 1930s. Sauvigny was not just marching along with these early stormtroopers; his role and character are well documented. This PDF (in German) by Peter Bürger portrays a man who would do anything to cling to political power and who would ultimately manipulate his way into a full pension from the West German government even though he was an Oberscharführer of the SA in the Nazi era. The document also reveals a sort of de ja vu foreboding, given the proclivities of the new head of the CDU. But is Mr. Medvedev correct? Is Friederich Merz a new propaganda chief like Joseph Goebbels?
The short answer is, yes. The Nazi apples of today have not rolled too far from the same fascist trees that have always blanketed Europe. You see, Merz's grandfather was only a mayor, albeit an important one, who hailed Nazism and Hitler from the square in Brilon. One key aspect of the rise of Hitler's Reich was the bribery system that paid high-ranking senior Wehrmacht officers and officials with vast land grants, cash, cars, lifetime tax freedom, and ongoing payments. This fact reminds me of what a World War II German veteran told me in an interview some years ago. The artillery sergeant who finally fought at Normandy said, "It was not Hitler that was so bad, but the little Hitlers who ran Nazisim on the local front."
Friedrich Merz's family on his mother's side were all jurists, politicians, and/or aristocracy since the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Similar cases always arise when you investigate people like Merz, EU Presdent Ursula von der Leyen, and nearly all the rest of the key leadership. I lived in Germany for a decade and was a bit surprised to find a Nazi skeleton in every basement I was invited into. This is common knowledge, though. As for Merz's father's side of the family, not much is available, except that Joachim Merz was a judge. Some stories claim he served in Hitler's Wehrmacht, which would have been mandatory for men between 16 and 60 once the German dictator declared "Total War," in January 1943. Merz the elder would have been 19 at the time. A meaningful, deeper dive into the incoming German chancellor's ancestry is elusive, at best. What we do know is that Merz denied his maternal grandfather's role in Hitler's rise to power, and then later admitted the truth.
A Merz - Goebbels Comparison
Dmitry Medvedev also compared Friedrich Merz to Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister. Looking at this idea, the question arises, "What are the similarities Medvedev is referring to?" To understand this comparison, we must look at the entire EU as a kind of new Reich, not just Germany. If we consider Ursula von der Leyen (or her successor) as the new leader of the bloc, then characterising Merz as a key underling makes more sense. Let's look at a few apt comparisons between Goebbels and Merz.
Even though Goebbels and Merz come from divergent socioeconomic classes, the two have a great many things in common. For instance, Goebbels was the key person pressuring Hitler to introduce measures that would produce "total war." As for Merz, his recent move to more than double Germany's defence budget is a good sign of things to come. Also, his fearmongering and other propaganda speak mirror Goebbels. This excerpt from the New Voice of Ukraine illustrates how close the EU is to declaring "total war" on Russia.
"Merz is playing a high-stakes game of political chess — one with a trillion-euro prize that could reshape not only Germany, but the entire European Union. For the first time since the 1930s, Germany is embarking on a major military buildup, pledging to spend that staggering sum over the next decade to strengthen its national defense. The investment could ultimately surpass the combined cost of the Marshall Plan and German reunification in the 1990s."Like Goebbels, Friedrich Merz is an expert at using the latest media and information channels. The CDU politician has hundreds of thousands of followers on his personal Instagram and "X" profiles. According to some experts, Merz's campaign hashtaged slogan #Wiedernachvorne ("Forward Again") was a key to his winning the recent elections. Merz is also one of the most active German politicians on Facebook, posting an average of 2.4 posts per day. Analysis of Merz's social media outreach reveals that he focuses on creating a movement and on motivation, much like Goebbels. Like the notorious Nazi he seems to have been cloned from, Merz has been described as a brilliant speaker. Whether or not Merz practices his speeches in front of a mirror like Hitler and Goebbels is so far unknown. The similarities go on and one, as would the likeness of any Machiavellian politician.
Interestingly, the differences between Goebbels and Merz are more interesting than the similarities. I am not sure if Russia's Medvedev knows Goebbels was an intellectual. He may not realise that Merz was kicked out of high school for misbehaving. The two Germans, however, followed similar paths to further their education by attending various prestigious universities and receiving scholarships from the Albertus Magnus Society (Goebbels) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Merz). Though Goebbels was by far the more intelligent and academically accomplished of the two, Merz had backing second to none. For instance, from 2016 until 2020, Merz was on the supervisory board of BlackRock Asset Management in Germany.
Finding Hitler's Frozen Brain
As is always the case when investigating leaders like Merz, the rabbit hole of their associations and ideologies is too vast to cover in any one report. Here we must leave off his association with Junge Union Deutschlands, and the fascinating Andean Pact group, comprised of all white male ultra-conservatives. As a side note, this so-called "Andenpakt" was created by a dozen CDU youth who had gone on an official visit to South America in 1979. During their trip from Caracas to Santiago, Chile, they flew over the vast Andes Mountain Range, which gave rise to the informal name of the group that vowed to help one another seek power in Germany and around the world. This group still holds highly secretive meetings. I am not sure why, but the story that Adolf Hitler had escaped to a villa across the Andes from Santiago in 1945 popped into my head.
The CIA stopped investigating the alledged escape of Hitler aided by his friends Eva and Juan Peron, among others, decades ago. What's more, the myth that Germans no longer harbor the same views as Hitler and his minions is simply untrue. Read this story about West Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, and let the truth set your mind free to wonder. Now, imagine Ursula von der Leyen creating a cohesive European economic and military bloc. This official release from the EU tap dances around the issue, but the result is clear. ReArm Europe has a familiar ring to it. Only this time the Brits may not backstab the Germans, and the Fourth Reich has already taken over two thirds of Ukraine.
Would you worry if you were Russian? I think Medvedev should start looking for Hitler's frozen brain in Patagonia just to prove his point. This all seems too close to the original catastrophe to be a copycar crime.
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