For years, President Donald Trump and his administrations have been compared to fascists and even Nazis. Now, a number of observers — including a famous rock musician — are saying that the administration is inviting those comparisons by adopting or adapting actual Nazi slogans as part of its rhetoric. No clear link has been established between the administration’s rhetoric and the Nazis, but for many, the ideologies being expressed are too close.
Department of Homeland Security accused of using Nazi phrase
A number of critics noticed that when Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem gave a speech on immigration enforcement soon after the ICE killing of Renee Good, her podium bore an unusual slogan: “One of ours, all of yours.” Several online posters claimed the slogan was taken from Nazi propaganda. Tom Morello, guitarist of the politically active band Rage Against the Machine, made the accusation on social media. “Kristi Noam, Nazi slogan on podium today. ‘One of ours, all of yours.’” Morello wrote. He then recounted details of a WWII massacre in which the Nazis responded to the killing of one of their officers by murdering or imprisoning hundreds of people and destroying the village where the officer was killed.
Other social media users made similar links between the Homeland Security slogan and the massacre. “The Podium Noem is using has a new motto for her: ‘One of Ours. All of yours,’” wrote foreign affairs analyst Malcolm Nance. “This is the order to kill all the people in the village of Lidice in Czech Republic when the sadist SS General Heydrich was ambushed and killed by the British SOE.”
Trump administration not quoting Nazis, but concerning parallels to fascism remain
While the slogan displayed by Noem may indicate an endorsement of widespread or collective punishment, there is no evidence that the phrase or a similar one was actually used by the Nazis during the 1942 Lidice massacre or otherwise. Similarly, the Department of Labor has been criticized for posting the slogan “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American.”
Some have accused the department of referencing “Nazi propaganda,” particularly the German phrase “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer” (One People, One Country, One Leader).
While the Department of Labor phrase has a similar structure to the Nazi slogan, it is not a direct quote or paraphrase of the German phrase. The association of Trump administration rhetoric with Nazi propaganda, however, reflects ongoing concerns about the right-wing authoritarianism that has characterized Trump’s time in office. The Trump administration has been criticized for authoritarian practices, xenophobic and racist rhetoric, and the use and celebration of violence, all with the stated goal to returning the country to a proposed state of historical greatness.
Together, these policies and ideologies are key features of fascism, the right-wing political movement that dominated countries such as Italy and Germany until their defeat in WWII, as well as more modern neo-fascist movements. And even though Trump officials do not appear to be quoting Nazi propaganda, the administration’s rhetoric and policies have at times been disturbingly reminiscent of statements and actions taken by some of history’s most notorious regimes.