learntoquestion ltq discussions

Originally posted by promotes on November 11, 2025 18:40

History is a timeline of events that, although different, have like structures, motives, patterns, or situations, creating a rhyme with one another. Past and present intertwine with each other, creating parallels between important occurrences- similar, but not the same. Theodore Reik, an Austrian psychoanalyst who is best known for being trained and taught by the well-known psychologist Freud, in his essay “The Untouchables”, which was published in 1965, argues that “There are recurring cycles, ups and downs, but the course of events is essentially the same, with small variations. It has been said that history repeats itself. This is perhaps not quite correct; it merely rhymes” (Reik). Reik’s point refutes the claim that history is cyclical, in which all events repeat and are the same in themselves. The reality is that situations are situational- they are all unique and have different aspects, but they might still come from the same molds. These molds, the formats in which events arise, often stem from the similar routing of peoples’ emotion, opinion, and action, causing a similar and corresponding course of history. This explains the idea that history is more like a poem, containing patterns and relations, and less like a round that follows its route on repeat.

The Weimar Republic is most notable for its decline in economics, politics, and social cohesivity, but its rise in constitutional rights and freedom of expression (artistry). Julia Morellato and Lidia Bolec, in their website about this democracy, state that during the Weimar period, “After World War I, many people descended to the streets to riot for or against their wanted leader. Here, in this photo, the crowd came to the streets to support Emil Eichhorn because he was their "ideal leader" (Morellato-Bolec). The gatherings in favor of a particular political leader during this period of time parallel to the protests against and/or for presidents in the U.S., especially in recent years as competition between Republican and Democratic parties become more extreme. Another example that matches an aspect of instability in the Weimar Republic is the financial crisis, in which certain people were becoming richer and other people were becoming extremely poor as the value of the German mark continued to decrease weekly, aligning to the unequal distribution of wealth in several countries in the world today, including America. Parallels or “rhymes” in history are demonstrated through the comparison of the Weimar Republic and modern day society.

I agree with my peers' main ideas that history rhymes with each other and that it may have similar highs and lows that resonate along the timeline. Furthermore, I agree with promotes reference to Freud’s idea that events do not actually repeat themselves but similarities can be traced. I like the idea of relating history to a poem, because many different poems can have completely different meanings or symbols, but at the end of the day they all use the same mechanical structures to extenuate their points. This happens in history too where even different historical events that don’t have the same goals can have similar methods or strategies by the leaders.

Additionally, I agree that there are some similarities in the partisanship that is happening in America and the violence that was arising in the Weimar Republic. The disappearance of the middle class is definitely another parallel between these two nations as promotes references how the rich get richer since we know that is also happening in America. While I don’t think that the inflation in America and the Weimar Republic exactly reflect each other since Germany’s inflation was so high during this time period, I do agree that they have echoes of each other.

Originally posted by chicken on November 13, 2025 08:25

History does in fact rhyme. Although history doesn’t repeat, events in the future have the same similarities with events that happened in the past. Society has a few key important factors such as hope, fear of something and the urge for more security or change. Over time as decades and centuries pass by, these factors on society create events that mirror events that happened in the past. Examples of these factors in play during economic recessions and social movements. Even though future events have different people in play and happen in different places around the world, the reasons for why the events happen have similarities with past events. An example of history rhyming is the Weimar German government and Serbia after the Yugoslav wars during the 1990s. Both countries had a poor economy with hyperinflation, political instability and both countries lost a big percentage of land after their respective wars.

There are rhymes with the Weimar Republic and with modern day America in 2025. An example of this is increased political polarization. People are less likely to hear another party's opinion and thoughts if they are already in another party. This can cause fewer laws getting passed in government and make people more sharply divided against each other because of their political views. Another similarity is the increased use of misinformation. In America, there was more false info being spread, particularly online via social media algorithms today than ever before. The false info can lead to people going into echo chambers, believing info they only want to believe in and ignoring sources that they disagree with. The last similarity between 2025 America and 1920 Weimar Germany is the weakening economy. Although America's economy isn’t as bad compared to the Weimar economy, the US economy today has dealt with high inflation and trillions of dollars of unpaid federal debt. My visual essay gives an example of how bad the Weimar economy was with the picture of a woman bringing baskets of worthless German Marks just to buy a single cabbage.

In Chicken’s post I agree with everything. I specifically agree with the idea that history doesn’t necessarily repeat itself, but the main point does repeat itself and thus rhyme. Their point of security and change being a big repeating factor is something that I noted in my post with the US involving itself in the Cold War and the Middle East. Chicken’s ideas about America’s similarity to the Weimar Republic, I think bring up a good point. As a race with history we shouldn’t be afraid to look at the past, but should use it as an example on how to move forward. The first nation that comes to my mind is Turkey who disregards their history because of the repercussions it might face, which I think limits the ethos of their society. Chicken, brought up the idea of social media being a catalyst to repeating the past. This point is so important, like Chicken said, people stay in their echo chambers and disregard others opinions, and in an age with canceled culture, this mass polarization does eerily look similar to Weimar Germany. In a separate post published by KitKat, I like how they incorporate the psychological ideas of “US vs Them” and how it relates to political polarization. If people always oppose each other's idea then separation occurs which leads to a similar situation of Nazi Germany using Jews as a scapegoat.

Although the specifics are, of course, not entirely the same, the similarities are undeniable and cause much concern for the future of our democracy. I believe when certain things in history start to ‘rhyme’ it is the peoples obligation to not only notice the patterns, but act on them. Accountability of the past means little if we can not learn from it for the future.

Originally posted by kdj729 on November 12, 2025 09:50

It is true that, as Mark Twain said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”. For generations, different aspects of life have repeated with some differences and repetition can appear in huge events, but also more mundane things too. A historic example of this is that pandemics seem to occur every hundred years, and they always have the same outcome. There are always detractors against modern medicine, but a solution to preserve life is always found too. On a smaller scale, there is a constant drive to find solutions to everyday problems, causing a cycle of solutions and more problems. A little over a hundred years ago, the first cars were proposed to solve the problem of slow transportation. In today’s world, we continue to make transportation faster and stronger for the environment. It seems that there is never an end to human evolution, yet we still preserve the same habits, even through all this change. This can be applied to the Weimar Republic, and is said very well by Jack Tran. He frames it as a “continuous crisis of politics, economics, society, and culture that tortured Germany within,” which suggests the cyclical nature of all parts of life. Zooming in on the economy, it draws some clear parallels to the modern-day United States. The Weimar Republic was seriously hurt by the Great Depression just like the rest of the world, and the United States have gone through similar (although not as dire) events, like the housing crisis of 2008 and even the recession following COVID-19 in the early 2020s. Looking further at the art and culture of Germany, we can find that the art of the US closely resembles it. The culture of the Weimar Republic evolved to create extremely expressive art, providing “an extraordinary sense of freedom and creativity that was paired with their deep traumatic period,” as Jack Tran says. The modern world seeks the same freedom, which can be seen in just how much we value art in this style today. Only six years ago, Brice Marden’s Complements was sold for a shocking 30.9 million dollars. The curator, Gary Garrells, calls it “an incisive means to reflect more deeply on their own perceptions, knowledge, and experience,” which shows off the same values that Germans attributed to art of their time. So yes, although history may not repeat itself, it certainly echoes, or rhymes periodically.

LTQ Post 4 Peer Response

Your post is a thoughtful and interesting response about how history “rhymes” through recurring human behaviors and societal patterns. The strongest idea in your piece is the comparison between the Weimar Republic and modern day America. I agree with your idea that both societies went through crises that didn't only reshape their economies but also inspired powerful cultural and artistic expression. The idea is interesting because it connects two different ages in history to show how with economic challenges creativity comes from it.

Examples like pandemics and advances in transportation make your argument stronger by showing that this nature is cycled further than politics and art but to almost all aspects of life. Your examples about the evolution of transportation was very effective because it shows how progress itself can become a cycle meaning it solves one problem while creating new ones. I also mentioned historical repetition in social movements which connects well to your point about humanity's tendency to face similar challenges in new forms.

My perspective connects to yours but I would add that awareness of these historical “rhymes” could allow societies to better anticipate and prevent repeated mistakes. Which could be a good addition to your argument. Your writing is clear and organized but a few transitions between ideas could make your response flow a little more smoothly.

Originally posted by Hibiscus on November 12, 2025 21:31

I think the main reason why people think that history repeats itself is because in life issues all stem from the same place: is life good or bad. Factors that make life bad are always pretty much the same, food, economy, fighting, quality of life. So history will never repeat itself, however it will follow the same issues that occur time and time again: war, economic changes, political changes, culture and public response.

However, I definitely do think history can rhyme and that anything that happens or has happened has also already happened and will “rhyme” again. Rhyme is the best word to describe this since not every event is a carbon copy of another, but rather each event can have similarities to another one. WWI Germany and the Weimar Republic is a great example of this. For example, the Avant Garde Art & Culture aspect of the Weimar Republic is similar to the media response of musicians and artists, in a more modern day, after and during the Vietnam War. In the Weimar Republic, Dadaism was their response and reaction to the war. As Isabella Endozo and Tripp Rousmaniere’s site says, “Dada art was created for people to fully process their emotions and reactions to the horror and destruction of society that took place during the war.” Art, particularly music, during the time of the Vietnam War displayed opposition to fighting after the trauma of War. Bruce Springsteen’s satirical song “Born in the USA” is an example of this. Verse two says, “So they put a rifle in my hand / Sent me off to a foreign land.” He criticizes the Vietnam war and fighting in general as he goes on with his song. Though in Weimar Germany, people gained a nihilistic and existentialistic perspective, the purpose of Anti-War/Hippie music in the 60s/70s was more about making the world better rather than realizing the world lost meaning.

Though not by the same means, the United States right now is experiencing a similar economic situation as Weimar Germany in the sense that we both are experiencing a kind of hyperinflation, mentioned in Malia Mack and Christina Luo’s site. The cost of living and taxes being high due to a political reason is both present in Weimar Germany and present day United States. Though Weimar Germany may have its differences from us in the modern day and on the other side of the world, there are still similarities and “rhymes” that can be noticed.

I like the way this post described why they think history rhymes. I agree, I don’t think that many things happen the same exact way they happened in the past. I think that certain elements are repeated and adopted further adding to the rhyming effect. I think that it is a common agreement that history does rhyme. The example that this response grave was the inflation we are experiencing in America right now and the hyperinflation in Weimar Germany. I do see the parallels. I also think it could be related to the great depression and the recession, where the economic state of the U.S. was similar and people were without jobs and housing. I also think that through social media and widespread news sources today, people and organizations can spread their message and voice their opinions on political topics or anything they want in America. This is a parallel to the Avant Garde Art and culture aspect in our visual essays where artists could express their feelings and ideas about society. I like how this writer referenced specific people’s work and used quotes. I think that adding another layer of analysis to the song quotation would further develop the idea, however i think it is really unique to compare the feelings of the soldiers in the Vietnam War and World War 1. I never noticed the similarities even though I studied both.

Originally posted by chicken on November 13, 2025 08:25

History does in fact rhyme. Although history doesn’t repeat, events in the future have the same similarities with events that happened in the past. Society has a few key important factors such as hope, fear of something and the urge for more security or change. Over time as decades and centuries pass by, these factors on society create events that mirror events that happened in the past. Examples of these factors in play during economic recessions and social movements. Even though future events have different people in play and happen in different places around the world, the reasons for why the events happen have similarities with past events. An example of history rhyming is the Weimar German government and Serbia after the Yugoslav wars during the 1990s. Both countries had a poor economy with hyperinflation, political instability and both countries lost a big percentage of land after their respective wars.

There are rhymes with the Weimar Republic and with modern day America in 2025. An example of this is increased political polarization. People are less likely to hear another party's opinion and thoughts if they are already in another party. This can cause fewer laws getting passed in government and make people more sharply divided against each other because of their political views. Another similarity is the increased use of misinformation. In America, there was more false info being spread, particularly online via social media algorithms today than ever before. The false info can lead to people going into echo chambers, believing info they only want to believe in and ignoring sources that they disagree with. The last similarity between 2025 America and 1920 Weimar Germany is the weakening economy. Although America's economy isn’t as bad compared to the Weimar economy, the US economy today has dealt with high inflation and trillions of dollars of unpaid federal debt. My visual essay gives an example of how bad the Weimar economy was with the picture of a woman bringing baskets of worthless German Marks just to buy a single cabbage.

The most compelling idea in this reflection is the claim that history rhymes by recurring pressures like economic instability, the urge for security and political fragmentation. The parallels between noted between different regions of the Weimar Republic and Serbia after the Yugoslav wars reveals that the presented patterns appear within the human social reactions to crisis, instead of the patterns being linked to just a single country. The inclusion of inflation and political instability strengthens the argument by archoring it in historical conditions.
The discussion about modern-day political polarization and misinformation connects with the themes raised about the fragility of democracy when a sense of mistrust spreads. The point about echo chambers was relavant due to forms of social media and its cycle of misinformation mirroring the period of Weimar Germany such that the extremist messaging filled the emotional gaps and gave information to the uncertain Germans at the time.
I have similar views, especially regarding polarization between both periods, and think more detail can be added by such differences to make note of, if any, in terms of democratic structures and societal conditions from Weimar Germany to now. All in all, this reflection presents strong insights and conections from the past to the present.

Originally posted by greywatch on November 12, 2025 20:37

I think history does in fact rhyme. For example women's rights and feminism show signs of history repeating itself. In the first waves of feminism women were fighting for the right to vote and to work or maintain their jobs after the war had ended. They wanted the same rights as men and a say in their government that had a large effect on their lives. In the more recent years, women have been fighting for reproductive rights and the right to equal pay. Their goals haven’t changed much, they still want a say in what happens to their bodies and their lives, as well as the same opportunities as men, including equal pay. This is an example of something that parallels quite well but an example of a parallel that is not as obvious are the Japanese internment camps in America following pearl harbor and the Cold war. This parallels the relocation of races and ethnic groups due to insufficiently supported accusations. The Japanese Americans and citizens were taken out of their homes and forced to stay in inadequate housing and overall carry out a low quality of life. Although quite harmful to the Japanese people living in America, this is not at all the same as the genocide of the Jews during the holocaust.

I can identify a rhyme others may agree with which is the parallels between Adolf hitler and Donald Trump. Both have been called fascist and have been accused or obviously guilty of discriminating based on race or on other minorities. Hitler was infamous for being prejudiced against Jewish people, those with disabilities and homosexual people as well. Donald Trump has made insensitive remarks about people of color, educated people, and people of his own territories namely Puerto Rico.

While reviewing the visual essay of my peers I noticed some interesting ideas that I didn’t initially think of. They used personal stories and first person accounts as well as a video to explain the antisemitism in the Weimar Republic. They also depicted the political chaos through examples in art work. Specifically there was a graph that showed the amount of people that voted during those years and what demographic of people they voted for. In our project specifically I emphasized the way the economic status of the country had a negative effect on the people. They were in despair and desperate. They longed for a sense of belonging that wasn’t available without working. This made them increasingly susceptible to the pressures of the Nazi regime because they were hopeless.

I found the argument about Hitler and Trump compelling since it is probably the most controversial. I appreciate the use of evidence like Trump’s claims about Puerto Rico and discrimination against minorities in general. While I would probably be a little more reluctant to draw this comparison due to the extreme measure of Hitler’s actions, I do see parallels in their cults of personality and scapegoating tactics. The idea itself is interesting since many Americans fear what the future holds considering the circumstances, especially if compared with Weimar Germany, where the outcome was such a great tragedy.

Greywatch and I both agree that there are rhymes in history with recurring themes in social movements, in this case the feminist movement. Feminism itself is interesting since we often see it analyzed in waves, but as this response points out, there is always a search for equality and autonomy. My peer did well at explaining this connection with specific details.

I think there could have been a little more specific evidence with the loftier claims around Japanese Internment camps and Trump. Overall the claims are strong and organization is good, but I would have liked a little more around those points.

Originally posted by Orso on November 10, 2025 17:43

History relies heavily on a few things: climate, geography, and human nature. Facing History’s first unit of study is about social psychology for very good reason. Studying the human being and its interactions with others can help explain a great deal of history. Generally, a larger sample size of a random group leads to more consistent results. Entire nations present very large sample sizes, so when groups of people are presented with similar situations, they often have similar responses. This is why there is so much rhyming in history. When there is a lack of order, people seek authority. When a civilization is struggling, people pay more attention to superficial divisions like race and religion. When a nation prospers, it makes great achievements in art, literature, and science. While the same event can’t happen exactly the same way, there are general patterns which can be studied.

There are rhymes between Weimar Germany and the current United States in certain political trends. As Alan Xiong and Kevin Wang pointed out in their presentation, the Germans “yearned for Germany to be powerful again which led to far extremist parties growing in popularity.” The American MAGA movement demonstrates this exact line of thinking where the country was once great and was then ruined by specific groups which must be targeted. Even on the left side of the political spectrum, there has been growing interest in moving away from the largely moderate (if not right leaning) establishment with the popular appeal of leaders like Zohran Mamdani.

There are, however, many aspects of Weimar Germany which are not present in the US. Although economic conditions have been weakening, the level of inflation is nowhere near the numbers seen in Germany. My website mentions that “People were unable to buy the staple foods they were accustomed to eat, including typically affordable grains like potatoes and bread. Buying groceries became a race against the clock with how rapidly currency lost value, leaving stores empty daily and causing constant looting and rioting.” The US has fortunately not descended into this kind of chaos and widespread economic desperation.

Despite certain differences, Americans should still monitor their nation’s situation. When making extreme political decisions, there doesn’t really have to be the same level of crisis to achieve the same result as Weimar Germany. People only need to perceive a similar level of crisis. When politicians use inflammatory language and constantly make themselves or the group they sympathize with seem under attack, they stoke these flames and exaggerate ideological issues. If people feel they are the victims of a drastic crime, they will seek drastic solutions. Accompanied by an increasingly difficult situation with the growing national debt and income inequality, they may find solace in demagogues who endanger the nation.

I like how Orso quickly introduces the idea that pattern can be observed throughout history, meaning that even though there are never exact matches historically, many events and ideas cycle for the same reasons. I also appreciate how this classmate acknowledges the fact that in the modern United States, there is some extremism on both sides, it's not just republicans, as many are made to believe. When I was writing my own piece, I only considered right-wing extremism and failed to realize its presence in the left too, which creates another similarity to the Weimar republic. Another big point Orso makes that really stands out is the idea that while yes, the United States has had serious inflation and economic crisis for years, it really doesn't compare to the crisis that was seen in Germany. The average person in the Weimar republic was struggling meal to meal from crippling inflation, and while many Americans also live paycheck-to-paycheck, it's not necessarily just because of inflation. I also like how Orso says that even though the modern United States aren't very close to how the Weimar republic once was, we really need to be cautious and use them as an example of how bad things could really become.

Originally posted by pink on November 11, 2025 12:55

LTQ Post 4: Reflections on the failure of the Weimar Republic

Theodor Reik once said that “history does not repeat itself it merely rhymes” I think this means that whole events don't happen in exactly the same way the same kinds of patterns and emotions show up again. People's fears, hopes and reactions seem to be similar over time even if there are small changes.

When studying the Weimar Republic I saw how political division, economic stability and people not being able to trust the government came together to destroy democracy from the inside out. In my visual essay me and my partner focused on how propaganda and public frustration helped extremist groups gain influence. My classmate's essay showed an idea that was similar where anger and fake news spread faster than the truth. Those ideas are really connected to how people today sometimes lose faith in democratic systems when life feels uncertain and unfair. Looking at modern time I do believe that history “rhymes” with Weimar Germany in some ways. In the United States we have seen political polarization rising, misinformation through the media, and people questioning election results which are events that all occurred during the Weimar years. The difference is that our democracy is older and more established and our institutions are stronger. But still the patterns of frustration, fear, and distrust are similar. It shows us a reminder that even stable democracies are not exempt from being divided or manipulated. At the same time I understand why some people think the comparison is not a fair one. Not every instance of political tension means that the 1930s are being repeated, but I think that people make that comparison because they want to learn from history before it is too late. The Weimar Republic shows how democracy can become very weak very fast when people stop believing in it or start to see others as enemies rather than their fellow citizens.

Theodor Reik's ideas make sense to me because it helped explain how history can be repeated without being an exact copy of itself. The Weimar Republic and today's worlds are not the same story but have the same aspects or as Reik would explain the same rhythm. By being able to pick up on those rhymes it reminds ourselves that democracy depends on the ordinary people in our everyday lives that care enough to protect it.

I think a key part of studying such a vulnerable period, which this person touches on, is seeing how the same aspects of human nature and the habits people cling to come to light. In this way, people can be very predictable and even repetitive. I also find them touching on the impact of propaganda and false news very compelling; I do however wish they could go more in depth on what type of misinformation and rhetoric was spread. I also am not sure if I see a clear connection made between rampant misinformation and lost faith in democratic systems. I do find it important to bring up the very different levels of development Weimar was at versus America today. After all, America has been an established democracy for centuries, while Weimar was in its early stages. I like that they pointed out that this only strengthens the warning Weimar brings, as any democracy is susceptible to downfall regardless of how established it is. That being said, it cannot be ignored the stronger safeguards we have now, which have shown some levels of success. It is of course, as they stated, important to learn from this history and take it to heart, but we must also be able to adapt that lesson and expand on it by distinguishing these events. The note that they end on is especially good to take to heart; a democratic society requires a united, team effort, much more than many political systems. Weimar could not find this sense of unity required for democracy, but that does not mean it’s impossible to find in times of chaos.

Originally posted by krausz on November 13, 2025 12:26

I agree with Theodor Reik that history does rhyme, and I would even go so far as to say that it is in fact incredibly important to try and compare different events, civilizations, and groups of people throughout history with the modern day in order to learn and improve our own society. However, although history certainly features recognizable patterns and similarities across events, it never fully repeats, and it is unfair to claim that one event in history is completely the same as another. It is both restrictive and not useful, as due to small variations and domino effects, two things will just never play out the exact same way. There are absolutely rhymes between Weimar Germany and our modern day United States, but they are not completely similar, and probably even less similar than many people claim. Weimar Germany was a young, short lasting, incredibly unstable government with a lot of distrust and disrespect from the people. Despite the fact that many people hate the way the US Government works, and it is imperfect, I believe that there is less absolute distrust in the system, or else, it would have surely collapsed by now. We have also always been a democracy, whereas Weimar Germany was a new republic, just figuring out how to function. It was also formed in a transition period from an older way of government, making it even more unstable and which also increased skepticism. As Eric Weitz points out, Weimar Germany wasn’t a complete hell either. People too often focus solely on the negative aspects in order to prove their point, which is untruthful. During the Weimar Republic, more freedoms were granted to Germans, increased public health services were offered, including sexual health, and it was also a time of artistic growth and experimentation. In the same vein of reasoning, we cannot compare Trump with Hitler either. Generally, we need to spend more time analyzing particular aspects of the past and seeing how they played out, either positively or negatively, rather than making wide-ranging comparisons which, due to their scope, are often untruthful and unhelpful.

The most compelling idea that’s argued in krausz’s post is that history never repeats, and every event in the timeline of history is distinctly unique, even if it has similarities to another. I agree with this argument because no two occurrences in global history have ever been exactly the same, and it’s extremely unlikely if not impossible that this will happen in the future. This idea is interesting because it contradicts the popular saying that history repeats itself. This idea that history isn’t repetitive but rather parallel is also seen in other peers’ posts, like kdj729’s.

My own views on this topic are very similar to the ideas built in my peers’ posts. I think that history shouldn’t be seen as a cycle of events but rather a complex, difficult to understand, never ending line that follows patterns and rhymes, but never repeats. Like krausz said, it’s unfair to compare events just because of their similarities- their differences might be key to the occurrence of the event, and only looking at the similarities takes away from complete understanding.

Aside from the argument that my peer made in their post, I don’t think there are any mechanical issues or unclear/incomplete ideas. My peer went deep into their thought and backed it up using evidence from the Weimar republic and modern day.