The extreme nationalists portrayed themselves as voices in the wilderness; unless they were heard, it would be too late. Desperate peril demanded desperate remedies. Only by a return to the racial roots of the German nation in the peasantry, the self-employed artisan and small businessman, and the traditional nuclear family, could the situation be rescued. The big cities were sinks of un-German immorality and disorder. Strong measures were needed to restore order, decency and a properly German concept of culture. A new Bismarck was needed, tough, ruthless, unafraid to pursue aggressive
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I'm not reading this book expecting to see a simple "here's how any country, anywhere, at any time becomes a brutal autocracy." But I am interested in thoughtfully considering similarities in Germany and the US before autocracy and what the preconditions for autocracy were for Germany then, and if that knowledge provides any insight into the near future of the USA.
This paragraph is disturbing because these strains of thought and activism have always been part of the US and seem to be experiencing a surge in Trump's America.
