by Dart Adams
Back in January 1997, several of my mentors which included educators, counselors, and the then-Attorney General himself, Scott Harshbarger, conspired and came up with a plan to get me back into school. It involved giving me vouchers for free classes and books to attend classes at Harvard Extension School, where they all acquired their advanced degrees.
I perused the list of available classes and found an interesting one called “Hitler’s Wars” taught by Professor Dr. Dennis Skiotis. I considered myself a bit of a historian and knew the importance of World War II on the modern world as arguably the greatest upheaval in recent history so I chose it as my first elective. It would be the best choice I made in the past 30 years, hands down.
We began meeting for class in Harvard Hall, and there were about 40 of us, ages ranging from early 20s to some in their late 50s. Professor Skiotis explained to us that his original first tagline for the class was “The First Demagogue,” but it was deemed too heavy.
He outlined to us that the purpose of the class over these next five months was to show us all in detail the cascading failures that occurred across all of Europe as the United States refused to intervene until they were directly drawn into the conflict. We met first in Robinson Hall in Harvard Yard before moving the class to Harvard Hall.
We’d watch news reels, Leni Riefenstahl’s propaganda films, then analyze how the Nazis weaponized misinformation and masked discrimination and segregation of immigrants under the guise of nationalism and protecting citizens from a criminal element and a national drain threatening their overall quality of life and the economy. Sound familiar?
Every abater, everyone who was silent, everyone who looked the other way as Germany dehumanized marginalized populations and immigrants through the use of propaganda allowing for them to proceed with ethnic cleansing and genocide. Every leader of a nation who did and said nothing as they used the authoritarian playbook at every step, suppressing any voice of dissent with state-sanctioned violence as they disappeared people off the street and broke into their homes while their neighbors watched.
We began with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s role as the main appeaser to Hitler by allowing the Munich Agreement to happen. It didn’t prevent a future World War from coming, and all it did was empower Nazi Germany.
Professor Skiotis broke down every instance in which Hitler, his cabinets & collaborators could’ve been met with resistance and opposition in order to show us that, as unreasonable as it seemed back in 1997, it was still possible. He told us that he wanted everyone to recognize the early warning signs of the rise of Nazism, White nationalism, and fascism because “it will happen in your lifetime, so be prepared. This will be the playbook they use.”
This class required me to spend a significant amount of time in the Reading Room of Widener Library poring through an impressive collection of World War II literature and sourcebooks. At the time, there were an estimated 100,000 books dedicated to this time period and I imagine that number might have since doubled. I read example after example of politicians, heads of state, diplomats, prime ministers, and aristocracy capitulating, appeasing, and cowering to Hitler at key points in history. Britain & France didn’t move when Germany remilitarized the Rhineland back in 1936.
After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, after allowing them to acquire Austria, Sudetenland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it was finally then that Britain and France declared war on Germany. The United States remained neutral while Nazi Germany spread its rhetoric, racist beliefs and their symbolism all over Europe. They even had sympathizers in America, among them being President Donald Trump’s father Fred. Fred Trump was an active member of the Ku Klux Klan whose reputation as a racist and a bigot was immortalized in legendary songwriter Woody Guthrie’s 1954 song “Old Man Trump”.
The more we learned about the methods used to silence dissent, stoke fear into the people, spread misinformation, round up any “agitators”, and remove any opposition to their pathway of fascist authoritarian dictatorship, it became clear that bending a knee is not the way to go. No amount of settling with or making financial settlements with this administration will render you safe from harm. Billionaires are stripping this country for parts and selling it to the highest bidder.
It’s important that we learn from the past—even as the present administration tries its damndest to erase and overwrite history to fit their needs. As they continue to use the same old playbook with slightly updated methods to take advantage of modern technology and real-time social media, we have to resist. As they threaten journalists, scientists, educators, activists, support staff, and use terror and state-sanctioned violence against our families, friends, and neighbors. They further marginalize Black women, Latinos, the LGBTQIA+ community, immigrants, the autistic, and everyone else we can think of have been put in harm’s way or exploited as part of the grift.
Right now, Donald Trump is holding the entire country hostage, forcing a government shutdown while having control of the White House, Senate, House of Representatives and blaming everything on the Democrats for refusing to give in and allow the Trump regime to continue to push their wildly unpopular policies, including a budget that would make massive cuts in Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act while giving the richest of Americans a massive tax break.
The GOP’s sole motivations seem to be greed and cruelty. This present government shutdown is not a point where the Democrats could compromise to keep the government running, especially since the supposed Big Beautiful Bill was pushed through the Senate last July by a technicality under reconciliation, where they only needed 51 votes. Now they needed Democratic votes to help them gut food stamps, foreign aid policies, clean energy programs, funding public television, and firing support staff in necessary places involving public health and safety.
It’s here that Democrats, and everyone else, need to make a stand to restore some or most of these services and their funding for the American people and send a message to the GOP we’re not going to lay down and allow them to impose their will.
In History E-1890, Dr. Skiotis also outlined Hitler’s incompetence, his ineptitude while micromanaging everything, and angering his own generals and aides to the point where they attempted to remove him and begin to mutiny. However, we don’t have time to wait years to see lives lost and have entire countries endure harm before we take this threat seriously and act to preserve democracy.
Dr. Dennis Skiotis passed away on October 19th, 2004. He was focused on preparing us to recognize the threat of men who wanted to tear humanity down, fear-monger, subjugate people and possibly allow for another genocide to take place. You can try to change the language, but we know a concentration camp when we see one. You can try to spin it another way, but we know the makings of a Gestapo when we see it. Having the courage to speak truth to power and raise our voices in opposition as opposed to cowering in fear and letting atrocities happen in our name is something his class stressed to us—in the event it would be necessary.
As we all know, history tends to repeat itself for those who fail to learn from it. This is a lesson we all can’t afford to forget.
Dart Adams is a Boston-based historian, journalist, and cultural critic whose work bridges Hip-Hop, history, and social commentary. Known for his sharp analysis and deep archival knowledge while serving as a frequent voice on the intersections of culture, race, and media. His work has appeared in NPR, ESPN’s Andscape, Complex, Mass Appeal, Ebony, Okayplayer, The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, and The Bay State Banner. A native of Boston’s South End, his work centers on memory, legacy, and the power of truth in storytelling.