Originally posted by perfectbug on November 12, 2025 12:37
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.
We both agree on the fact that history does repeat itself. I really like your point regarding facism though where even though it was created and defined so long ago, its meaning is forever changing. I also liked how you mentioned that this sort of recreation or redefining represents history repeating itself by indirectly trying to erase previous meanings.
Bringing up the inflation connection between the United States and the Weimar Republic further strengthened your argument. When I did the project, I didn’t do the economic aspect of it, so I didn’t know about the inflation the Weimar Republic experienced. This also ties into your next point as well where antisemitism, or in current day blatant racism, is more common than it had been before Trump was elected. This builds up your argument really well because it highlights not only the logistical concerns but also social concerns.
This sort of rationale of the past is what allows horrible acts to be committed today, which you touched upon at the end of your argument. The way you finished off with a comparison and realization helped me to grasp the extent of which the United States is similar to the Weimar Republic.