Fw: [ NOLA_C3_Discussion] FW: Remembering the Lessons of Germany's Past

[Guest guest]

-

" Ward Reilly " <wardpeace

<cawi >; <NOLA_C3_Discussion >

Saturday, July 16, 2005 9:08 AM

[NOLA_C3_Discussion] FW: Remembering the Lessons of Germany's Past

 

 

>

>

> " Bia Winter " ....a friend of ours in Maine...

> >

> >Hello, Folks! This is an excellant piece. Please remember this as they

are

> >getting ready to extend and make permanent the USA " Patriot " Act.

> >COMMENTARY:

> >Remembering the Lessons of Germany's Past

> >by Rev. Chuck Baldwin

> >

> >To most German ministers, the Nazi Party was " God's Party. " They really

> >believed they were being faithful to God by being faithful to Hitler.

> >Therefore, should we not be concerned today when we hear of Christian

> >ministers excommunicating church members who do not support President

Bush

> >or the Republican Party?

> >

> >For years, I struggled to comprehend how the good people of Germany could

> >allow someone such as Adolph Hitler to lead them into what became World

War

> >II. After all, before Hitler's rise to power, Germany had a rich

Christian

> >heritage. The Reformation out of the Dark Ages had its roots deeply

> >imbedded in Germany and surrounding countries.

> >Furthermore, Germany has long produced some of the most intelligent and

> >creative people on the planet. Many of the world's greatest engineers and

> >scientists have come from Germany and Austria. When it comes to knowledge

> >and education, the Germanic people take a back seat to no one.

> >How, then, could the good, intelligent people of Germany follow and

support

> >someone such as Hitler? For years I struggled to find the answer to that

> >puzzle. Now, I believe I understand.

> >Obviously, one does not gain the trust and confidence of people by

> >portraying himself as a monster. Does anyone truly believe that the

German

> >people would have supported Hitler if they had thought he was some kind

of

> >ogre? As with most leaders, Hitler preached faith, family, and

patriotism.

> >His speeches were laced with references to God. He personally claimed

> >Christ to be his Savior. Even his adopted Nazi symbol was created around

> >the Christian cross. As far as the German people were concerned, Adolph

> >Hitler was loyal to historic, conservative Christian values. Why should

> >they have thought otherwise?

> >However, it did not take long for Hitler to begin turning Germany from an

> >independent, peaceful republic into an aggressive global empire. And it

is

> >at this point that the German people, and especially the German church,

> >must share culpability for Hitler's sins.

> >First, On March 23, 1933, the newly elected members of the Reichstag (the

> >German Parliament) met in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin to consider

> >passing Hitler's " Erm?chtigungsgesetz " or " The Enabling Act. " This Act

was

> >officially called the " Law for Removing the Distress of the People and

the

> >Reich. "

> >Opponents of the " Enabling Act " rightly warned that, if adopted, the Act

> >would make Hitler a de facto dictator. They worried that the Act would

> >dismantle constitutional liberties. History would prove that their

worries

> >were valid.

> >At the time, however, it was anything but certain that Hitler would

prevail

> >in convincing German lawmakers to pass his " Enabling Act. " Then,

suddenly,

> >terrorists struck the Reichstag building.

> >The Patriot Act (like Hitler's " Enabling Act " ) destroys our Fifth

Amendment

> >right to be held for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, without an

> >indictment of a grand jury. The Patriot Act also eviscerates a citizen's

> >constitutional right of Habeas Corpus.

> >

> >After the Reichstag was burned on February 28, 1933, President Hindenburg

> >and Hitler invoked Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which permitted

> >the suspension of civil liberties during national emergencies. As a

result,

> >freedom of the press, free expression of opinion, individual property

> >rights, right of assembly and association, right to privacy of postal and

> >electronic communications, states' rights of self-government, and

> >protection against unlawful searches and seizures were suspended. Shortly

> >afterward, the " Enabling Act " was passed, and the rest, as they say, is

> >history.

>

> >Of course, historians have widely speculated that it was Nazis,

themselves,

> >that had set the fire in order to facilitate passage of the " Enabling

Act "

> >and ensconce Hitler as Germany's Fuhrer. No one knows for sure who burned

> >the Reichstag, but what we do know is that Hitler used that act of

> >terrorism to gain the support of the people as a " wartime president. "

>

> >The German people were convinced that their country was under attack and

> >that Hitler was the leader who could protect them. Consider the statement

> >of one of Hitler's most trusted cabinet members, Hermann Goering: " The

> >people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.

> >All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the

> >pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. "

> >(Source: Transcript of Nuremberg Trials)

> >Compare Goering's statement to former Attorney General John Ashcroft who,

> >in defending the USA Patriot Act (which does much the same thing as

> >Hitler's " Enabling Act " ) said, " To those who scare peace-loving people

with

> >phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid

> >terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. "

> >(Source: Press Report, Center for Public Integrity)

>

> >Is it only a coincidence (or a repeat of history) that Republicans have

> >introduced a bill in Congress to nullify the 22nd Amendment, thereby

> >opening the door for President George W. Bush to become permanent

> >president? (Source: U.S. House of Representatives, H.J. Res. 24

" Proposing

> >an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd

 

> >amendment to the Constitution " introduced February 17, 2005.)

>

> >Add to H.J. Res. 24 the World Net Daily report that " A former Bush team

> >member during his first administration is now voicing serious doubts

about

> >the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001: " Morgan

Reynolds,

> >former chief economist for the Department of Labor during President

George

> >W. Bush's first term, says the official story about the collapse of the

> >Twin Towers is 'bogus' and that it is more likely that a controlled

> >demolition destroyed them and adjacent Building No. 7. "

> >WND quotes Reynolds as stating further, " Only professional demolition

> >appears to account for the full range of facts associated with the

collapse

> >of the three buildings. " [ED. NOTE: This UPI story was also published in

> >the Washington Times.

>

> >Whether the Twin Towers and Building 7 were brought down via " an inside

> >job " or not, one thing is certain: the attacks of September 11, 2001

became

> >the catalyst that propelled Congressmen to quickly pass the USA Patriot

Act

> >even though none of them had read it.

>

> >Much is being made over the fact that on Wednesday of this week, the

House

> >of Representatives removed some " sneak and peek " features regarding

public

> >libraries from the Patriot Act. Of course, President Bush is livid and is

> >threatening to veto the bill without that segment of the Act included.

> >However, what few people seem to notice is that a host of egregiously

> >unconstitutional abridgments of freedom remain intact in the Patriot Act.

>

> >Please remember that the German people believed Hitler to be a patriotic,

> >Christian man. As a result, Hitler had the unflinching support of

Germany's

> >conservative Christian ministers. How else would they be persuaded to

> >follow Hitler into the nightmare of the Nazi regime?

> >

> >Under the Patriot Act, government agents can conduct searches in your

home

> >or business and search your belongings without informing you and without

a

> >court order. Government agents are permitted to arrest and detain

> >individuals and to hold them indefinitely, without being charged with a

> >crime, and without being allowed access to an attorney. In other words,

the

> >Patriot Act (like Hitler's " Enabling Act " ) expunges our Fourth Amendment

> >protections against illegal searches and seizures and our right to be

> >secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects.

>

> >Furthermore, the Patriot Act (like Hitler's " Enabling Act " ) destroys our

> >Fifth Amendment right to be held for a capital, or otherwise infamous

> >crime, without an indictment of a grand jury. The Patriot Act also

> >eviscerates a citizen's constitutional right of Habeas Corpus.

>

> >The point is, as with Hitler's Germany, so, too, the American people, and

> >especially America's churches, are willingly and enthusiastically

> >surrendering constitutional liberties in order to accommodate President

> >Bush's desires for authoritarian power as a " wartime president. "

> >Consider, too, Hitler's invasion of Germany's neighbors. People cheered

as

> >German troops attacked other nations. And even though those nations had

not

> >participated in any attack against Germany, Hitler had convinced people

> >that preemptive attacks against those nations were necessary as they

would

> >make Germany " more secure. " Does this or does this not sound just like

> >President Bush's justification for invading Iraq?

>

> >Once again, please remember that the German people believed Hitler to be

a

> >patriotic, Christian man. As a result, Hitler had the unflinching support

> >of Germany's conservative Christian ministers. How else would they be

> >persuaded to follow Hitler into the nightmare of the Nazi regime?

> >Remember, also, that to most German ministers, the Nazi Party was " God's

> >Party. " They really believed they were being faithful to God by being

> >faithful to Hitler. Therefore, should we not be concerned today when we

 

> >hear of Christian ministers excommunicating church members who do not

> >support President Bush or the Republican Party? Should not " red flags " go

> >up in our minds when we hear Christian ministers excuse Bush's

> >unconstitutional conduct by proclaiming, " Bush is God's man for America,

> >therefore, we cannot criticize him! " ?

>

> >Yes, my friends, it is now obvious to me how Adolph Hitler seized power

in

> >Germany, because the same principles that Hitler used in the 1930's are

> >being used by America's leaders today.

> >Am I saying that I believe President Bush is another Hitler? Of course

not.

> >I am saying, however, that the same tactics and strategies being used by

> >President Bush are eerily similar to those of the former German leader's.

> >Certainly, we all pray for a fate far better than that of Hitler's

Germany.

> >But to obtain a better future for America, it is obligatory that we

> >remember the lessons of Germany's past.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >© 2005 Chuck Baldwin. This article was originally circulated at

> >chuckbaldwinlive.com and is republished in the Chronicle with permission

of

> >the author. The author, a minister who holds two doctorates of divinity,

> >hosts a radio program called " Chuck Baldwin Live,' whose broadcast area

> >includes the Florida Panhandle and Southern Alabama. The program is

> >described on its website as " conservative, Christian, pro-life,

pro-family,

> >and patriotic. We support constitutional government and the Bill of

Rights.

> >We hold fast to the principles and values expressed by the Founding

Fathers

> >and the Declaration of Independence. " The author was the Constitution

> >Party's 2004 vice-presidential candidate.

>

> >Chuck Baldwin may be reached at chuck, or visit his

> >website at http://chuckbaldwinlive.com.

> >

> >Bia Winter

> >wintertracy@

>

>

>