Monday, May 4, 2009

Did Hitler Win?

This is a pretty chilling piece by Dr. Alice von Hildebrand. For those who might not know, her husband, Dietrich (who we've plugged here many times), was a big-time foe of the Nazis and fled Germany to get away from them. I mention this so that those who are apt to cry about Godwin's Law-type stuff understand that we are talking about a guy here who was not prone to exaggerating about the evils of the Reich.

Shortly before his death, my husband said to me: "Unfortunately, I am too weak to write a book that has matured in my mind. I would have called it Hitler Won the War. Even though Hitler was militarily defeated, his ethos, his philosophy, have triumphed and have penetrated so deeply into our mentality that we no longer even notice it." It is well-known that Hitler legalized all sorts of moral abominations—euthanasia, scientific research on fetuses, brutal disrespect for the dignity of human life, ruthless persecution of the innocent (cf. Inge Scholl, Die Weisse Rose, 69ff). All of these horrors have now penetrated our own society. Some have been legalized and consequently have become not only acceptable, but almost "respectable." "The state allows it, so it must be all right."

You've heard of "slippery slopes," right? Read the whole article and meditate on Dr. von Hildebrand's point about habit and morality. Then go watch Soylent Green or Logan's Run and try to figure out how far away we are from utopia.

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