Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
Throughout history, major tragedies have a tendency of mirroring each other. I think this is purely logical. For genocides and other instances of mass destruction, the situation needs to meet certain criteria to have an end result of that magnitude. However, I think each aftermath is different which affects both the narrative of the tragedy and how we think about the event in current day. Declaring a war legally requires a certain elevation of a problem. This is because the emotional and physical impact of the majority need to match for it to be justified. Only certain circumstances can evoke such strong emotions. This is why so many wars are declared over land. Land is a prime example of, if messed with, an aggressor. It has always been a symbol of strength and power within government, when neighboring nations attempt to take land, it causes extreme emotion which can only be expressed at the extreme level of violence. In Weimar Germany, we observed this when they suffered immense inflation. In Zimbabwe in 2008, their government was unreliable, similar to Weimar. They suffered inflation of similar proportions because their government was overprinting money. Prices were doubling every 24 hours and their government even printed a $100 trillion bill. The ratio between the two nations at their peak, are the only prime examples that are comparable to that extent. The root of the problem was the same as not having a stable government, but the outcome and result was completely different. These situations prove that although “cause” tends to mirror itself throughout time, “effect” is always going to look different. All in all, I think the roots of major events mirror each other in past history. However, no exact event had the same outcome or expression of effect. This makes sense given social patterns and logical thinking.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
LTQ IV
We are repeatedly told that if we do not study history, we are doomed to repeat it. Indeed, we find reflections from times past and stories foretold that reflect into our modern world. Our secondary schools are rich with history classes of all sorts -- African American history, world history, United States history, with all their advance in levels. They serve not only to educate us about pervasive cultures that give us a rich understanding of the society we observe and live in, and duly ward away the vices of ignorance, but also as a warning of what did and did not work. If it were not for the steps that those before us took, we would not have had the cadence to run. Take Weimar Germany for example. I observed in multiple sites that my classmates hand-made that there were multiple facets of German life between the two world wars that predetermined the fall of the democratic republic. Nearly all the sites had a hefty central thesis: that cornerpieces of the culture at the time, including politics, economy, and art, provided hints that the Weimar Republic was loose at its core. One theme that rang particularly heavy with me was that the collective societal sense of rushing past world war I into a new society led to the Weimar Germans being drunk on their own self-advancement, not being able to heed the mistakes they took in their past. This, combined with another theme of German dissatisfaction with the outcomes of the war, allowed factions to rise that now we recognize as authoritarian regimes leading to the second world war. I think that we can articulate now, that with our knowledge of the Weimar Republic, there are certainly parallels we can draw between those times and our sociopolitical landscape today, particularly in America. Amidst advances in our technological age that allow for innovations with massive implications for people around the world, we see our society moving at breakneck speed to coordinate with these massive technological movements. It has long been confirmed that technology in our society advances at an exponential rate, and I feel like our society trying to conform with this exponential growth provides us with a lack of understanding of our past. That, combined with our political distrust in the modern world with huge bipartisan divide and hate speech and crimes dividing us even further, reflects the dissatisfaction and political divide that occurred in Weimar Germany. If anything, this should motivate us to learn more about world history and world politics and potentially have social movements that can educate Americans about this social disruption.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
LTQ Response #4
History is in most cases seen as a chronological set of events all put into one timeline, involving many implicit and explicit factors contributing to why things are the way they are. Psychoanalyst Reik says that history does not quite repeat itself, but “it merely rhymes.” This aspect of looking at history is factual in the sense that similar patterns and themes emerge across different eras despite unique circumstances. For example, the Weimar Republic of Germany from 1918-1933 perfectly represents this idea. Among looking at the many virtual essays related to this topic, they have all come to the same conclusion: factors. In the Weimar Republic there are a certain number of factors that influenced its corruption and eventual downfall. They include: economic conditions, political chaos, antisemitism, and a rising belief in citizens that their government could no longer sustain their needs. Across history, such causes like the Weimar Republic are not identical, however the underlying human behaviors, political dynamics, and social structures can produce similar outcomes over time. Currently, the US government faces much controversy for the removal of SNAP funding among low income families and the mass deportation of many residing immigrants in the country. In a similar sense, the Weimar Republic faced a growing rise in nationalism and antisemitism leading to many citizens being publicly shamed and even physically hurt by their own people. This example is just one of many rhymes among both the current US government and the Weimar Republic. In the same sense, both are led by a newly appointed president and face the same social tensions among its people. There are complete differences between the two, however, due to the rise in technology and news across the last 100 years. However, this relates back to Reik’s idea of history rhyming, rather than repeating, because of the consistent factors and underlying behaviors in specific societies that drive history itself. Furthermore, the rising idea among US citizens of an incompetent president and a unreliable political party resembles that of the growing belief among Weimar citizens. In every virtual essay, there was a mention of the sense of betrayal Weimar citizens felt after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. In a different situation, US citizens feel a sense of anger for the disregard towards the betterment of this country and the lack of accountability. As seen in this example, the events itself are not at all the same but in some ways the citizens in each government symbolize the identical behaviors and reasoning for their emotions. All in all, history shows us that regardless of the given situation, the eventual result and underlying factors of those who cultivate the timeline stay constant.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
Reflections on the failure of the Weimar Republic
Throughout time on earth, history has repeated itself on several occasions even with humans out of the equation. Typically, disasters may have a catalyst event that signals to people something bad may occur, and in the context of German history, many people consider this catalyst to be the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic of Germany is more often than not considered to be a weak point in German political history, with it being characterized by weakness of authority, susceptability to radical ideologies, and growing antisemetic and racist beliefs. The unfortunate part of the Weimar Republic is that it’s certainly not the first time in history where a country’s weakness had made it susceptible to the dangers of radical ideologies. A very similar situation occurred during the infamous Armenian Genocide, in which a radical group known as the young Turks took advantage of the Ottoman Empire’s desperate state in order to purge the Armenians. The state between the Young Turk’s rise to power and the string of embarrassing military defeats of the Ottoman Empire very eerily reflected the disorderly nature of the Weimar Republic. To many, there may be surface level similarities to the modern United States, with an incompetent form of authority and the growing permissability of outright racism. The Weimar Republic and Young Turk Ottoman Empire both attempted to push the blame and hatred onto another oppressed group of people, which is what lead to the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust. Similarly enough, The United States president has been attempting to shove the blame onto a marginalized group of people(s), using them as scapegoats for many of the issues that the United States faces today. However, according to Times Magazine: “During the 1920s, the crushing weight of reparations along with polarization led to economic and political instability” is what differentiates our situation from Germany. Germany was put under a heavy burden that required them to pay huge reparations per “The Treaty of Versailles”. In the case of the United States, we are under no such obligation, there is no excuse. Another similarity (which is likely one of the most glaring) is the prevalence of misinformation in the modern United States. The United States’ figure of authority is misinforming the American public, making an environment in which different (and possibly radical) ideologies can flourish. It can be argued that there is a good reason people are making the comparison between the Weimar Republic and the modern United States, and that is due to the fact that many are seeing the telltale signs of a possible genocide (which is definitely dramatic, but there are still valid connections and correlations to be made).
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
LTQ Post 4: Reflections on the failure of the Weimar Republic
I believe the idea that history rhymes is accurate because no event repeats exactly, but there are clear behavioral patterns throughout history that have led to similar instances. A constant struggle and desire for power can be observed as groups have competed against each other in every culture and time period, examples ranging from America’s revolt against Britain in the 18th century to modern day debates between Democrats and Republicans. People may attempt to make a direct correlation between society today and the Weimar Republic to emphasize the severity of what's going on and warn against such events ever becoming a possibility again. Aspects such as the severe political polarization between parties in the U.S. and the large percentage of Americans struggling economically might lead people to make a comparison between our society and Germany’s in the early 20th century. Many citizens desire change, so they rely on past events to criticize the current existing governmental system we abide by. While it is clear that nothing can come close to or compare with the horrors of Nazi Germany, the circumstances that allowed for the regime to take place are present in some societies today. Differences between society today, particularly in the United States, and Germany between the years of 1919-1933 include: the blatant normalization of antisemitism, extreme post-war conditions caused by the Treaty of Versailles, economic crisis, and the fact that this was Germany’s first democratic institution so they were unfamiliar with how to run things. While discrimination against Jews is nowhere near erased today, as a society we have progressed and for the most part, made it less acceptable for there to be such outward, undeserved hate. We have not been involved in such a large scale and devastating war for many years, so that is another difference that explains how Weimar Germany was unsimilar and had such pronounced effects. One classmate writes, “Concerningly, antisemitism has been on an uptick recently, perhaps even more concerning is the current administration’s harassment, scapegoating, and mass deportation of immigrants, especially and specifically those from Latin America. And while the country is not recovering from the loss of a war, many people from across the political spectrum feel just as dejected and hopeless about the state of modern society” (Driscoll). Another form of prejudice has been taking place and gaining prominence recently, that being the disgusting behavior towards immigrants. As stated, our situations differ in that we are not freshly out of war, but the economic state is on its way to being similar to that of Weimar Germany’s. As people in Germany felt, many citizens are developing and harboring feelings of hopelessness and being ignored when regarding the way politics are structured. It is important to take these warning signs seriously in order to prevent a similar outcome from occurring again.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 6
Patterns, not Rhymes
History doesn't necessarily rhyme exactly, but it can follow the same rhythm. A large part of why the past resembles the present is that people's motives and values don't change, but the routes they take to achieve those goals do. Discrimination and violence against marginalized groups have not gone away or changed in decades, but how they go about the discrimination has changed. During the Wiemer republic, the government was quock to blame Jewish people for hyperinflation when they suffered just as much as everyone else. They used propaganda and hate speech to indoctrinate everyone into thinking they were the enemy. This is very similar to how Immigrants are being blamed for violence and disruptions in the US. Economy and the propaganda they are using to recruit ICE agents and to get immigrates to self deport. Yes, learning about history can help acknowledge the atrocities of the past, but it doesn't necessarily prevent them. Sometimes learning about atrocities isn't enough because it can be dehumanizing, and looking at it from an outside perspective doesn't hold the same severity as actually living as the victim. There will always be dictators, there will always be democracy; it's just a matter of how long they last and why they change. This is where history follows the same patterns because most ideologies are not seen as coexistent. The harsh divide within the Weimar Republic closely mirrors the political divide in the US today, with a refusal to compromise with people of different ideologies. In some ways, the economic status and the unrest that caused it reflect the financial state of the US today. During the Weimar Republic, the people relied on the government to enforce market regulations to prevent prices from skyrocketing during hyperinflation. Still, because the government was unstable and inconsistent, it stopped enforcing those regulations, leaving most German citizens without basic resources like food. The people of Germany depended on the German government, but it failed. This is similar to a very recent issue with the US government defunding SNAP benefits. So many US citizens rely on the government for resources, and once those resources are gone, it causes unrest. Some people may argue that the Weimar Republic is nothing like government systems today because, back in the 1920s, they had little control over the economic collapse. Nowadays, we have systems in place as a safety net for the ‘unlikely’ event of something like that happening. But it's hard to be 100% confident that these safety nets will ensure all U.S. citizens access to resources needed for basic living.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
Originally posted by
lemonloaf on November 10, 2025 15:48
History doesn't necessarily rhyme exactly, but it can follow the same rhythm. A large part of why the past resembles the present is that people's motives and values don't change, but the routes they take to achieve those goals do. Discrimination and violence against marginalized groups have not gone away or changed in decades, but how they go about the discrimination has changed. During the Wiemer republic, the government was quock to blame Jewish people for hyperinflation when they suffered just as much as everyone else. They used propaganda and hate speech to indoctrinate everyone into thinking they were the enemy. This is very similar to how Immigrants are being blamed for violence and disruptions in the US. Economy and the propaganda they are using to recruit ICE agents and to get immigrates to self deport. Yes, learning about history can help acknowledge the atrocities of the past, but it doesn't necessarily prevent them. Sometimes learning about atrocities isn't enough because it can be dehumanizing, and looking at it from an outside perspective doesn't hold the same severity as actually living as the victim. There will always be dictators, there will always be democracy; it's just a matter of how long they last and why they change. This is where history follows the same patterns because most ideologies are not seen as coexistent. The harsh divide within the Weimar Republic closely mirrors the political divide in the US today, with a refusal to compromise with people of different ideologies. In some ways, the economic status and the unrest that caused it reflect the financial state of the US today. During the Weimar Republic, the people relied on the government to enforce market regulations to prevent prices from skyrocketing during hyperinflation. Still, because the government was unstable and inconsistent, it stopped enforcing those regulations, leaving most German citizens without basic resources like food. The people of Germany depended on the German government, but it failed. This is similar to a very recent issue with the US government defunding SNAP benefits. So many US citizens rely on the government for resources, and once those resources are gone, it causes unrest. Some people may argue that the Weimar Republic is nothing like government systems today because, back in the 1920s, they had little control over the economic collapse. Nowadays, we have systems in place as a safety net for the ‘unlikely’ event of something like that happening. But it's hard to be 100% confident that these safety nets will ensure all U.S. citizens access to resources needed for basic living.
Overall,the most compelling idea from your post was that you centered the core of your response on the thesis that history has a rhythm because people’s values don’t change. I like the twist on it that you provided that the means to the ends change in society. I also find it interesting that that can explain why we draw these comparisons between time periods without the cliche statement that “history repeats itself.” My views are pretty similar; I think I also see the political divide you mentioned and the refusal to compromise as an echo into the Weimar era. Learning history also doesn’t prevent new atrocities; in a way, it’s part of human nature. Using discrimination and the motive by finding a scapegoat for economic and social anxiety, I think you drew a good parallel between the target of Jewish people in Weimar Germany and immigrants in the United states today. That, I think, is a really relevant way to tie into the past. Overall, I’d also like to hear more about the economic comparison; you make a great point with the SNAP benefits being withheld; I think that is one of the most relevant issues right now. I think we can also consider drawing political parallels and class parallels betwen Weimar Germany and today- that there is severe class divide and wealth disparities.
Boston, Massachusetts , US
Posts: 7
Reflections on the failure of the Weimar Republic
Mark Twain once said that “history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Though the exact events rarely directly repeat, patterns of economic instability, political polarization, and cultural anxiety can be seen across eras. Similar forces of ambition, fear, and inequality shape human societies, and when those forces align, they produce familiar outcomes. Their rhyme is not in the events but in the human responses: scapegoating in times of crisis, nostalgia for “better days”, and erosion of democratic norms as fear overrides reason. The Weimar Republic, built in post WWI Germany, was one of the most unstable democracies in modern history. From 1919 to 1933, Germany faced crushing inflation, mass unemployment, and deep political fragmentation. Parties at the extremes of the political spectrum exploited public frustration, while moderates struggled to maintain faith in democratic institutions. The result was a slow decay of trust in liberal democracy and the eventual rise of authoritarianism. For instance, growing polarization in the United States today mirrors the political fragmentation of Weimar, with public discourse hardened into ideological camps, and confidence in democratic institutions such as Congress and the media, and even elections having weakened. Economic inequality, magnified by globalization and automation, fuels resentment among those left behind, much as economic despair did during interwar Germany. Social media now accelerates misinformation, much as mass propaganda and sensationalist newspapers did a century ago. Outside of the U.S., similar rhymes can be heard in Europe, where populist movements have exploited economic incentives and anti-immigrant sentiment to great effect. Hungary and Poland, for their part, have suffered democratic backsliding under leaders positioning themselves as defenders of “national identity” against liberal elites, a line of arguments that was also used in Weimar.These trends are a reminder that democratic erosion often begins now with a coup, but rather with citizens turning their backs on compromise and toward those promising order or revival. However, rhymes are not guaranteed and the democracies of today have more robust institutions, more spreading of true information, and the advantage of hindsight. In that sense histories rhymes provides a hindsight of what could happen, and how to avoid it, showing that echos aren't something to be scared off and instead are a preemptive warning of what society needs to do.
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 7
Historical events are not completely identical, but there are similar patterns, causes, and consequences that appear throughout history. History rhymes because human behavior follows similar patterns. Inequality creates unrest, social reform creates backlash, and authoritarian leaders emerge in times of crisis.
There are similarities between the present day and Weimar Germany. The Weimar Republic faced hyperinflation, mass unemployment, and resentment over the Treaty of Versailles and reparation. Today, society is facing widening wealth gaps, inflation, and anxiety over the economy. These conditions erode confidence in democracy. The Weimar republic was also deeply divided between extreme left and right factions. Today, misinformation is creating similar political polarization and creating similar tensions. To alleviate economic concerns, people are turning to systems that were once considered extreme in America, reflected by the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. During the Weimar republic, extremist parties used fear and scapegoating to exploit the public and gain power. Similar parallels to today exist where governments are targeting different minorities, mainly immigrants.
However there are important differences between the Weimar period and today. From the start, the Weimar was infused with instability. World War I killed 2 million of Germany’s young men and left 4.2 million others wounded. The suffering and loss caused by the war drove people into new ways of thinking. In the article “Why People Should Stop Comparing the U.S. to Weimar Germany, writer Christine Adams says: “the root of the new government’s problems was a myth told by the German high command at the end of World War I—the “Dolchstoss Legend.” When Germany asked for an armistice in November 1918, it was on the ropes. Yet the high command wished to avoid blame from the German people for losing the war. So, it created a myth to explain Germany’s defeat: the government stabbed its people in the back. The military leaders claimed that Germany had actually been winning the war but was betrayed by the new government’s socialists and liberals.” Democratic institutions are generally stronger today and there is more confidence in them. The world is more interconnected and the economy is more globalized. Technology allows information to be transferred instantaneously. People make comparisons between today and the Weimar era because it can provide a warning. The fall of the Weimar republic is an example of the fragility of democracy when faced by economic collapse, political polarization, and extremism coming together. Making the comparison is not about saying these 2 time periods are exactly the same, but about encouraging close watch and reflection.
Boston , Massachusetts , US
Posts: 7
Yes, I believe that history itself does rhyme. This does not necessarily mean that it repeats itself, but that it has a lot of similarities throughout our timeline. Many events from the past can be similar to the present, but not always exactly the same. A popular example of this concept is fashion. As we’ve seen through the years lots of fashion trends today are very similar to fashion trends from like 20 years ago. Take jeans for example. They have always been a comfortable pair of pants to wear. They can be labeled as semi formal, casual, and sometimes business casual wear. Jeans 20 years ago were in trend, but just a different style. Back then they had low rise bootcut, flares, and skinny jeans. Even though today we still have those things, they are now just altered differently to fit many peoples standards.
Specifically there are a lot of rhymes between the Weimar Republic and the standpoint between a lot of political leaders in the U.S. The main issue that rhymes is the fact that both leaders today, and in the past, describe themselves as saviors of the people against a disconnected hierarchy. In the article, “Weimar America?” , Eritc Weitz writes, “While some Republicans are back pedaling and trying to block a Trump nomination, we are still being treated to the spectacle of many Republican candidates and office holders asserting that they will support him if he is chosen by the party. These are the people who are making Trump salonfähig”. This indicated to us as readers that many are normalizing Trump's behavior, which is why Weitz is making a comparison to the Weimar Republic and Trump. He uses the term “salonfähig” to tell us how Trump's behavior is not only becoming normalized, but also socially acceptable.
Boston, Massachusettes, US
Posts: 7
While history never repeats itself exactly, it does very often rhyme, and this can be seen in the way that the conditions of the Weimar Republic can be compared to the political and social climate of the modern United States. There are many rhymes across history; for example, the US invasion of Vietnam and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan both saw a much larger superpower ultimately defeated by a smaller, guerilla army, and while obviously the conditions, end result, and specific details were different, they still shared many similarities. The same can be said about the conditions of the Weimar Republic and the current state of the United States of America. In one of our classmate’s projects, they brought up how the economic conditions in the Weimar Republic led to “savings being reduced to almost nothing, fixed wages becoming worthless, money becoming physically too much to carry around, and deep, intense fear and uncertainty” (Tangvik and Chung). While the US economy has not nearly fallen so far, the recession of 2008 and the current economic challenges that face the United States have certainly left people feeling fearful and uncertain about their future. In my project, I make note about how the dissatisfaction with the status quo of the Weimar government led people to be pulled away from the central parties and towards the extreme ends of the political spectrum in order to search for change, those parties being the communists and the Nazis. While no parties that extreme have become popular in modern America, people on both sides of the aisle are deeply dissatisfied with the status quo of the United States and the two party system. Donald Trump was elected in 2016 on a platform of, among other things, undermining the “elites” of society, I.E. career politicians. The degree to which he actually went against “elitism” in American society can be debated (as it seems that lately “elites” are the only ones benefitting from his policies), his popularity still shows that people want change. On the other side of the aisle, New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, won the New York Mayoral Election by a wide margin, beating back establishment candidates who had been in politics for decades. I personally would not call the majority of Mamdani’s politics “radical” as many have, but he is certainly not the center, establishment politician that many vision when they think about politics. Like during the Weimar Republic, people are not happy with the current state of their government, and rather than continue to elect politicians who will uphold the status quo, they are instead choosing to elect candidates who promise major shake ups, on both the left and the right. This disillusionment is also the reason many are drawing parallels between the Weimar republic and the United States: they are trying to draw examples between now and the past to make the current state of the US make more sense.
BOSTON, Massachusetts, US
Posts: 9
Response
I agree with the statement that history rhymes. I don’t think that history exactly repeats itself. Events from the past do have similarities to the present. For example, revolutions throughout history have had similarities, like the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution, where the lower class overthrew authoritarian figures, but the details weren’t the same. I think history rhymes because some events get inspiration from things that happened before. For example, some could argue that the Second World War was a result of the First World War. Another example of events that have rhymed are the 1918 pandemic and the 2020 pandemic, which both had similar world effects, but also had lots of differences. I think a lot of people, especially now, try to draw comparisons between the past and present that aren’t related, or they exaggerate the similarities. I agree with this quote from Weimar America: “That is where we are today with Donald Trump. Trump is not a fascist or a neo-Nazi, as some have claimed, though he has certainly made countless racist and misogynist comments.” People shouldn’t compare Donald Trump to Hitler because there aren’t lots of similarities, and before we make any comparisons, we need to wait and see what the future holds. I think there are some rhymes between the Weimar Republic and the United States today, but I don’t think you should say they are the same. Some similarities would be an uptick in anti-semitism, higher inflation than in prior years, and radical political groups. I do believe that there are more differences than similarities. The Weimar Republic was trying to start a democracy, and the US has had one in place for 250 years. The Weimar Republic had a way worse economic situation than the US. We still have one of the best economies, even with higher inflation. Another difference is that there was one major party that had most of the power in Weimar Germany. In conclusion, I think history rhymes, but doesn’t repeat. I also think there are some similarities between Weimar Germany and the current United States, but not that many.
