Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
Theodor Reik once said that “history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes," suggesting that though events don't reoccur identically, the struggles and mistakes that shape them often return in familiar patterns. Through making my website, I have seen how this idea rings true with the Weimar Republic. The collapse of democracy in Germany between 1919 and 1933 showed how democratic systems can be fragile and hinge on a citizen's faith in institutions and shared values. Although our modern world is not an exact replica of the Weimar Republic, there are similar warning signs of division, extremism and fear that still echo today.
In the visual essay, I focused on the topics of political chaos and antisemitism through the Weimar years. Specifically, how Article 48 of the Constitution gave significant powers to the president to suspend civil liberties. Though it was an emergency safeguard, it was abused repeatedly and made citizens more comfortable with authoritarian leadership. This reminded me of how today, leaders often expand executive powers under the justification of security or emergency measures. While the US’s systems have strong safeguards, globally, Freedom House Scores have been decreasing showing a gradual decline in democracy and can be a dangerous indicator especially for countries without strong democratic safeguards.
I also looked at Hitler’s interview with The Times, where he wanted Germany to face a choice between Bolshevism and Socialism. He used fear and propaganda to manipulate public opinion and the same rhetorical strategy can be seen in modern politics, where polarization is increasing and figures use fear of “otherness” to carry out their agenda. For instance, the current administration’s fearmongering to expand immigration authority and their characterization of opposition parties as “communist” or “socialist”.
My peers’ visual essays deepened my understanding of this rhyming pattern as one student also examined the rise of antisemitism and linked many of those rhetorics to some of the sentiments that are being disseminated in today's society and online. These parallels show that the process of progress and conservation never really disappears.
I think Reik’s statement shows the lesson of the Weimar Republic perfectly. History rhymes because human nature is timeless and democracy can be fragile when those emotions are exploited.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
History does in fact rhyme, and it is because of this that it is so important to study it. Not every situation is exactly the same, but they often bear enough similarities that we can use our past experiences to ensure that we don’t repeat our mistakes. For example, we have created all of the international law that we now possess in order to keep the atrocities of both world wars from ever occurring again, which exemplifies humanity’s capacity to learn from our mistakes.
There are a number of different similarities between the present day United States and the Weimar Republic. For example, in his article “Weimar America?” Eric Weitz cites some similarities as economic collapse, political paralysis, rampant homosexuality, and a disoriented populace open to the ravings of a demagogue. However, despite the similarities, the situations are still starkly different. The Weimar Republic was a new and fragmented system of government trying to build itself up from a time of great loss, and meanwhile the US has been in a place of strength for decades now, and is simply struggling through a period of political unrest. However, despite these differences, one major event can be seen in the two, which has caused many to create the direct correlation between society today and society today and Germany between 1919 and 1933. Both have seen the rise of a major political figure which has caused a shift in a huge portion of the country’s ideologies. In the US, Donald Trump’s huge popularity has led to a rise in conservatism among many. In the Weimar Republic, Adolph Hitler’s rise to power was accompanied by a huge influx of antisemitism which consumed a number of different people. For example, “This then perpetuated into an extreme anti-semitism that consumed a significant number of people, taking form in things such as hate speech, desecration of graveyards, and violent attacks” (Glaum & McVay).
In all, while the two share similarities, I don’t think that the two situations will end in the same way, and phenomena such as this have been happening all throughout history. The Weimar Republic ended in a second world war and a devestating genocide, and the US is still far from any of that occurring. Therefore, the course of all events, while bearing similarities, do not always repeat themselves, but simply rhyme.
Weimar Republic LTQ
The Weimar Republic’s collapse and replacement with Nazi Germany provides a perspective into the fragility of democracy, which still echoes into the political environment of the US and its past. Although history doesn’t repeat itself without deviating, it certainly does rhyme. The Weimar Republic’s collapse can be attributed to its structure as a democracy and the Treaty of Versailles, which led to internal issues in the economy, morale, and political chaos. Germans truly believed that the government abandoned them, as the agreement to the treaty and handling of the economy only left the country in ruins. These sentiments steered the country into a radical form of antisemitism and genocide with the expanding fascist Nazi party in 1933. Policies such as proportional representation, which gave political parties influence in the Reichstrat based on their popularity, allowed the Nazi party to rise to power. As a result, Hitler overtook Parliament through appealing to extreme nationalism and promises to redeem Germany, reviving it as a great power once again through aggressive foreign expansion and changes to the economy. The failure of the democracy of the Weimar Republic led directly into Hitler’s totalitarian government as he overtook the government through public popularity. Hitler’s overtaking of Germany rhymes with the US’ Make America Great Again campaign, where Trump echoes hypernationalist messages and promises to elevate the country’s economy. He has reshaped the Republican party and conservatism, making it more radical and nationalistic. Both Nazi Germany and Trump have utilized conspiracy theories and promises for national restoration in order to gain increasing popularity. In the rise of popularity, both figures have gained abilities to exercise powers out of the reach of their position or titles. Trump has faced numerous legal challenges as a result of a lack of compliance with national law, such as abuse of executive orders. Hitler was also able to abuse executive orders and find loopholes around laws, allowing him to transform Germany into a dictatorship. Abuse of Article 48 in the Weimar Republic’s constitution normalized bypassing the legislative process. The article allowed presidents unlimited executive power if they deemed a situation in the country as a national emergency. Hitler was able to utilize this flaw in the constitution to convince the president to place Germany in a state of constant emergency, setting the stage for his rise to power as he could freely persecute political opponents. Trump has a disturbing similarity to Hitler in this aspect, as he has selectively removed political officials from office without the standard “due process”.
boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
Psychoanalyst Theodor Reik has a famous saying stating how rather than repeating itself history “rhymes”. This is a very suitable expression as the actions and reactions of humans can be very similar even over many years, creating history that reflects these patterns of human behavior. But what is special about Reik’s words is the consideration for the individuality of events in history. No events are ever exactly the same, and each part of history should be analyzed alongside the many diverse factors that may be affecting it. As of recently in America there has been a lot of comparison between the current state of the country and the Weimar Republic. Unfortunately our country does reflect many aspects portrayed during the Weimar Republic. Most notably is the increase in polarization in the United States. Republicans and Democrats have been holding more and more opposing views without attempting to understand opposing viewpoints. Most democrats and republicans won't even speak, let alone listen to each other. As a more prominent Left and a more prominent Right grow in politics it is easily comparable to political parties of Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s. While working on my project it was clear how polarized the country became during the Weimar years, with action on the streets and extremist views. The antisemitism during these years can also be compared to the current abuse of ICE in America against many immigrants, often being violent and uncalled for. These programs often attack Hispanics, and hate or judgment is clear in the media with immigrants being referred to as “aliens.” This separation of a group was present in the Weimar years with people placing blame on Jewish people. Working alongside the media showed how antisemitism was reflected through art and cartoons with Jewish individuals often being portrayed as dirty and deceptive. It is also important to keep in mind that the parallels between modern America and Weimar Germany are deeper than they may appear with focus often being on the wrong details.The writer Eric Weitz explains this in his article Weimar America?, “Weimar Germany did not collapse under the weight of its various crises. It was actively destroyed by a conservative elite – noble landowners, high-level state officials, businessmen, army officers – that chose to ally with the Nazi Party. As we watch the Republican establishment’s ineffectual flailing to stop Donald Trump, it’s worth remembering that Weimar Germany’s old-style conservatives never really liked Hitler and the Nazis either.” This further emphases the importance of looking not solely at the big events but at the more hidden bits of human behavior that lead to said actions. It is important to draw parallels from events and compare them, but directly relating them is another thing. Weimar Germany and modern America have many things in common, but they are not exactly the same and history will not be exactly the same for both countries. As stated by Professor Benjamin Ziemann and Dr Nadine Rossol in The ghosts of Weimar: is Weimar Germany a warning from history? “Like other periods, the Weimar Republic should be understood within the specific constellations of its time and without letting the knowledge of hindsight cloud our judgement.”
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
History does rhyme. The saying that history repeats itself isn’t true, but it does have rhythm due to having some similarities. It is difficult for history to repeat itself because society learns from prior mistakes. These earlier tragedies and collapse of nations act as warnings for the present day. Between the Weimar Republic and the present day today, both experienced instability through inflation and unemployment. The Weimar Republic had to pay back reparations due to the damages of World War I which caused inflation to rise for society’s everyday life and unemployment rose. This difficult aspect of the Weimar Republic compares to our present day because of the Covid pandemic. Despite the pandemic ending recently, the US still faces inflation. Germany between 1919 and 1933 also felt the need for an authoritarian style of government with a strong leader and an overall strong sense of national pride. In the present day now, in a time of tension and opposing views going against each other, there is sometimes a stronger sense of nationalism. In the University of Essex blog, “The ghosts of Weimar: is Weimar Germany a warning from history,” it discusses the key differences between Weimar Germany and present day. It talks about how after the devastation of the war, Germany introduced a completely new political system of democracy. The blog makes a good point that in this case, Weimar Germany is very different from present day governing. Another point brought up in the article, “Weimar America,” brings up the fact that America has the largest economy and recovered from the Great Recession and has an extremely strong military and this was something Weimar didn’t have during its time. It was extremely difficult for their economy to recover, even with attempts to recover and fight inflation with the Dawes Plan. The Treaty of Versailles hurt Germany badly and they lost large amounts of money and important resources. Others attempt to make the direct correlation between society today and Germany between 1919 and 1933 because learning about the instability, tension, and constant fear in Weimar Germany can be seen as similar to today with tensions growing and some have fears about the future of society of today because of political figures and government.
South Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 6
Yes, I 100 percent think that history rhymes. It may not look the exact same but it mirrors what's happened in the past. I have seen this idea for a while how history repeats itself and I think rhyming is a more accurate way of putting that. I think it does rhyme with America today, although it's not nearly on the same level or at the same stage, we do see some similarities, it's like when singers try to rhyme two words that don't really rhyme but have the same sounding vowels. I think it's similar to how we see people struggling economically blaming a group/race of people for their problems. We also see a strong leader rising out of this hatred and fear, I'm not saying he is on the same level as Hitler but I do believe we seem to be repeating ideas. The Weimar republic was born out of something much more violent and chaotic than what is going on right now. The Weimar republic was after World War I and the crazy terms of the Treaty of Versailles which we aren't necessarily experiencing right now, although I believe we are seeing political extremism which mirrors Germany in this time period. I also want to talk about how in my visual essay I discuss the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and I want to relate that back to social media, misinformation spreads even quicker now than it did then. And even then in that time period we saw how the spread of the lies discussed in the Protocols, which blamed all economic failure on Jews, led to something as horrible as the Holocaust. We see similar hatred being spread through things like even the official white houses tiktok. We also see some people questioning the value of democracy and how some people crave an authoritarian government because they think democratic one they have is failing. We even see this with the government shut down, how people on either side are blaming this on the other side, and the people who need help like SNAP benefits are being shut out. People are struggling to pay for food and just want out anyway. Some historians like those in Why People Should Stop Comparing the US to Weimar Germany argue that the comparison isn't fair and it's too simplistic. I also agree with this. They believe that people make these comparisons not because history is repeating but because it shows us what happens when citizens stop caring for democracy and checks and balances, and if we give too much power to one person what he will do with it.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 5
I would say that history does rhyme because there are mistakes that happen in the past that don't repeat, but changes and adapt to fit various situations. Like during the Weimar Republic there was inflation to the point where people were struggling to get by from getting food with its sudden rise in price, that being more than double the original amount. To paying bills that they used to have a plan to manage, only to have to change sed plan as well as come up with a new means as to how they are going to manage money moving forward. This part of history rhymes with the modern day situation regarding food stamps in Boston. It being something many use to manage their daily needs, only for it to be taken. This caused a domino effect where many grocery stores have now raised their prices, making it not only more expensive than normal but even harder to manage and plan for the future in the regards of the daily necessity of food. And this is not to mention the slow inflation that began with Trump printing more money during Covid, also connecting back to the Weimar Republic. Although these parts of history are not exactly the same, they definitely have connections and began with similar intentions. Of course these are not the only connections that can be linked back to the Weimar Republic regarding the events placed in the United States, Others being economics as a whole, political differences and power connected to those within sed area, and facing the aftermath after a world wide crisis. The last modern day crisis being covid. Though where they differ is the extent the political powers went, the Weimar Republic becoming extremist while the United states stay democratic. And even then, the significance of a democracy was relevant for part of the Weimar Republic as well.
Yes, the quote “history repeats itself” does have some truth to it. Obviously, there will not be the same event happening, but ideas are based on history, which recur. For example, the term fascism was invented after a fascist movement happened, but the term has evolved based on what happens throughout the world, which expands the meaning of the word. When this happens, it makes it feel as though history is repeating itself, even when it is not directly repeating itself. Additionally, the world is constantly changing and growing: technology expands human nature, which all leads to repetition in ways that are repeated throughout history. The first connection that I think of between the modern-day United States and the Weimar Republic is the hyperinflation that both faced. Over the decade, inflation has been the talk of the news in the USA. With COVID-19 taking over the world, gas prices and other goods have skyrocketed in value. This is extremely similar to the Weimar Republic, as they faced mass hyperinflation. The Weimar Republic government printed out an abundance of money, which drove the value of each piece of money up. Additionally, there was a mass antisemitism movement in Germany, which is similar to how the USA has many minorities that suffer from racism, classism, sexism, or any other hate reason. These are historical rhymes, even though they are not the same, and obviously, there are different causes. This is history repeating itself because of the awful things that happened to both the U.S. and the Weimar Republic weakened. When a horrid thing occurs in history, the stage is set for a similar horrid thing to happen again. I think of it as humans with rational minds. When a human watches a miracle happen, such as a massive underdog winning a huge game, it gives that human a sense of hope and belief in a recurrence that will only happen when it has happened previously. Going back to history, when a revolt happens, humans believe it could happen again, and governments gain a platform to make horrid decisions that hurt millions.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 5
Originally posted by
abrahamlincoln2.0 on November 10, 2025 13:01
History does rhyme. Regardless of how many mistakes there are to learn from, there will always be similarities between the past and the present. During the Weimar Republic, there were many social issues that caused the fall of democracy. These included the outcome of World War I, political instability, the rise of antisemitism, and the prevalence of Avant Garde art. The outcome of the first war left Germany in ruins, with no singular ruler to lead their affairs. This ultimately caused political instability in the country and, with nobody to blame for their misfortunes, people began targeting the Jewish population to let out their anger. As a result of all of this, art movements formed to bring light to the atrocities happening in Germany.
Similarly, with Donald Trump serving as the president of the United States, a rise of tyrannical behavior has appeared. As a republican and conservative, Trump aims to remove all sense of foreign beings from the country. He promotes antisemitism towards immigrants, especially Hispanic immigrants, and encourages ICE raids as a way to remove them–a violent method that often subjects the victim to physical submission. He purposefully shines a negative light on them, blaming them for the United States’ decreasing power and rise in crime rates, to undermine his actions and make the deportations appear more just and reasonable. This blatant antisemitism has led to an increase of protests against Trump’s actions, with many of these movements including art and culture references from times such as the Weimar Republic. This relates back to the antisemitism during and after the Weimar Republic because Jewish people were the main target for German anger. After the democracy failed, Hitler further blamed them for Germany’s misfortunes, which ultimately led to the Holocaust where Jewish people were targeted and slaughtered in large masses.
Likewise, in Sudan, there is currently a civil war happening because of the political instability. After the president was deposed, a power struggle between the Sudanese army, SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, caused millions of Sudanese people to be displaced. Since the war is still ongoing, it is reasonable to assume that once it finally concludes, not only will there have been mass casualties, but the political state of Sudan will be in even worse shape than it had been prior. From this, it is likely that antisemitism towards the losing group, people who supported SAF and people who supported RSF, will occur. Not only that, but because Sudan is a country with a relatively high poverty rate, they will also struggle to rebound economically, further digging them into a hole of political and economic instability.
Thus, despite the Weimar Republic having formed from the destruction of World War I, the reflections of it can still be seen in society today, especially when looking at the political instability and antisemitism aspects of it.
Off the bat I see that we both agree on history being a rhyme, because that’s the nature of being human. Mistakes will be made, but not always the same. There will be similarities as I absolutely agree with the phrasing they use to describe this. I also like how when it came to stating the things that can cause the fall of a democracy they mentioned the same wording that is used to section the different topics one gets to talk about when researching from our most recent project. Something that stood out to me was the mention of Donald Trump when it came to Tyranny, which absolutely makes sense and I also agree with.
The mention of there being no clear leader after the Weimar Republic was also good to see, since many go straight to Hitler as if there has to be a clear line of leadership for this time. But it is for this very reason why I think it's important to understand just how messy this place in time was. Not to say Hitler didn’t have a place in this time in Germany, but simply that he was not yet at his full power of the Nazi’s.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 6
I think that history does rhyme, especially since there are many current events that are similar to historical events. I also think that history does not fully repeat itself due to the fact that after a horrible event occurs we find a way to try and prevent a repeat from happening in later years. An example of a rhyme in history is the outbreak of COVID in comparison to the outbreak of influenza during the Weimar years, as both outbreaks caused pandemics and mass casualties. Although both of these diseases share differences, the pandemic itself that they both caused share similarities that leads history to rhyme.
Another rhyme in history during the Weimar Republic and our present day is the hyperinflation that was experienced after the war. In my friend’s visual essay they mention that there was a period of hyperinflation after the war that sent many Germans into impoverished conditions, and this is similar to the inflation that is going on in our present day society. While the inflation of our present day society isn’t caused by post-war conditions, it still shares similarities to the inflation in the Weimar Republic as they both caused people to lose their standing and suffer from financial instability. In addition to this, another rhyme in history during this period is the rise of anti-semitism and racism, as this is currently very prominent in our modern day society. As mentioned in my visual essay, anti-semitism was very prominent and common during the Weimar Years since many Germans blamed Jews for the outcome of the war and took out all their anger on them. This is similar to our present day as many people, especially in the government, blame immigrants for taking away jobs or causing more crime in the United States. Although both of these examples are not exactly the same, they share lots of similarities as they stem from racism and anti-semitism being used to use a minority group as a scapegoat for the problems of a nation, when in reality that group has nothing to do with the problem. Furthermore, showing a rhyme in history as this is another event that is similar to a historical event that occurred about a century ago.
