Eyewitness to Hitler Warns - Keep Your Guns and Buy Guns

First let me say, I HATE when people play the Hitler card. It's just as bad as playing the race card. It is extreme and should only be used when it's absolutely appropriate. So, ATS, I'll let you decide if it's appropriate to play the Hitler card or not.

This woman was a young girl in Austria when Hitler came to power. She sees many similarities between 1933 (or so) Germany and what is happening in politics in the USA today. Her advice - keep your guns and buy more guns.

Either she is awake and can see the danger in what is going on in the USA (and around the world) because she's lived through it ... or .... because of what she went through as a child she is now damaged and paranoid. (which would be understandable). Or perhaps it's something inbetween?

Eyewitness to Hitler Warns - Keep Your Guns and Buy More Guns

When Katie Worthman was a little girl in Austria, she witnessed firsthand Adolph Hitler’s rise to power and the Soviet communist occupation that followed. She also witnessed, for decades, the distortions of the media when it came to the reporting of the events.

From her eyewitness perspective, Worthman said that the whole thing didn’t happen overnight, in a brutal attack, like the media portrays it, but rather, it evolved into a dictatorship gradually, over a period of a few years. Hitler didn’t come across as someone evil, to be feared, initially. ”In the beginning, Hitler didn’t look like, or talk like a monster at all. He talked like an American politician.”

Here are some things that occurred in Austria, according to Worthman, that just might look familiar to Americans:

- Hitler was elected with 98% of the vote.
- Hitler destroyed the existing medical system when he brought a national healthcare plan into being.
- First, people were forced to register their guns to cut down on crime.
- Then they were forced to turn them in or risk capital punishment for keeping them.

What do you say ATS? Is it time to pull the Hitler/Nazi Germany card?
We aren't there yet, of course, but is 2014 America really the same as 1933 (or so) Germany??
And another question .. since the NSA sees everything and is recording everything, even if
you 'bought guns and more guns' would it do any good? If 2014 America is really 1933 Germany,
then wouldn't the gov't just come and get the guns eventually anyways??

ETA ** I should say that the title of this thread came from the article.
I didn't make the title up. 'eyewitness to Hitler' ... their title, not mine.

In short "Doomed to repeat" as they say.

reply to post by FlyersFan


I agree on the overall point, that being that history repeats its self and the US gov is a nasty piece of work. I also believe people should have the right to bare arms.

But I cant use this story to justify that. What child pays attention to politics or the media? or understands it if they tried?

I dont think she would have understood enough of what was happening back then to be able to use it as evidence that what is happening now is Hitler all over again.

But not saying it isn't.

reply to post by FlyersFan


My two cents: Guns were supreme at a mid point during WWI. Then a new technology came out, a vehicle on metallic treads that was bulletproof. They called it a "tank". It rolled over enemy lines, with people firing their guns at it to no effect. It killed everyone. Then anti-tank planes came out, and the whole history of military tech followed.

US citizens have been given a right to bear arms, up to a WWI level. But the tech that comes after that level is outlawed. That means, in a real military conflict, everybody with a gun will be devastated by the first guy who comes along in a tank. You are not allowed AT rocket launchers, or your own SAMs.

I'm not saying its pointless, I'm a big supporter of gun rights. But I'm saying focussing to narrowly on this issue on this issue can become a distraction from larger issues, and larger potentials of the human spirit, through methods that don't need any weapons at all.

We must not be distracted from the whole spectrum of our power as individuals, a huge amount of which don't require weapons at all. The human spirit IS strength, and we must never forget that.

Silicis n Volvo
What child pays attention to politics or the media? or understands it if they tried? I dont think she would have understood enough of what was happening back then to be able to use it as evidence of what is happening now.

True. But if I lived through something that horrific, even as a child, I'd want to know why it happened. I'd be looking into it. The article doesn't say how old she was .... toddler, child, teenager, etc. But I do acknowledge your point about her age at the time.

reply to post by tridentblue

True. The government would be out-gunning the average citizen no matter how many guns they own. I'd still want them for civil unrest during that time period. But as for righting off a jack-booted brown shirt'd gov't thug force .... 'guns and more guns' wouldn't go very far. You are correct.

reply to post by FlyersFan

Here are some things that occurred in Austria, according to Worthman, that just might look familiar to Americans:

- Hitler was elected with 98% of the vote.

Hitler was elected to Chancellor of Germany, not Austria, and the margin was much, much lower than 98%. The NRA needs to get at least a few facts straight when they make up their propaganda.

two words: Operation Paperclip

Who really won WW2? That's the question.

Lets break it down

- Hitler was elected with 98% of the vote.

Incorrect. He failed to gain enough of the vote to get enough of a majority. In the last free election in pre-war Germany (1932) they gained 33.09 of the vote. The 1933 election he did get a majority but it was in no way a free election (in that other parties were banned from advertising, the KPD (German communist party) was banned, and there was significant voter intimidation

- Hitler destroyed the existing medical system when he brought a national healthcare plan into being.

Incorrect. The Weimar years saw an expansion of healthcare to all German citizens, the Nazis reduced it's scope.

- First, people were forced to register their guns to cut down on crime.
Incorrect, there was gun legislation in 1928 (in Wiemar Germany, pre Hitler), but there was no change in the gun laws until 1938

- Then they were forced to turn them in or risk capital punishment for keeping them.
Incorrect The Nazis liberalized gun laws in 1938, meaning that you only needed to register hand guns, but not long barreled guns. The groups of people who didn't need a permit to carry guns increased. It did ban Jews from owning guns...

Please deny ignorance and fact check

*edit*

It says 'in Austria' . Um Hitler was never elected in Austra, he forced a merger of Austria and Germany in 1938, after a vote in Austria which did get 99.7% percent of the vote. But the German army had moved into Austria, undesirables like Jews and Socialists were banned from voting, it wasn't a closed ballot, and voting was 'overseen'. It's also worth mentioning the heavy amount of propaganda pushed on the Austrians before the vote.

Since they were legally the same country, I'd imagine that the 1938 Nazi gun legislation would apply, as would the German universal health insurance system (which was initially set up by Otto von Bismarck who set up the first welfare state to stop socialism/communism)

Nobody needs to play the "Hitler card" anymore.

Several states right here are actively engaging in registration and confiscation today. Right now.

MA, CA, NY, CT to name a few.

Right now are using previously set up registration schemes and information gathered to send out notice/warning to people to turn in what was perfectly legal one day and should they not turn them in the police are knocking on doors.

Why bother with the "Hitler card" when you can just pull the "America card?"

The only people who still don't see it are either impossibly lost to ignorance or actively cheering on the new fascism of the modern age.

This woman was a young girl in Austria when Hitler came to power. She sees many similarities between 1933 (or so) Germany and what is happening in politics in the USA today. Her advice - keep your guns and buy more guns.

Hitler actually lifted a lot of the restrictions on gun ownership in 1938. The government preceding the nazis had far tighter gun laws pertaining to the treaty of versailles after the great war. Anyone over the age of 18 could own a rifle and shotgun with unlimited ammunition in 1938 for example.

He did ban jews from manufacturing or owning guns of course..

knownothing
Please deny ignorance and fact check

Read my opening post. I didn't post this article as 'fact'. I asked ATS what they thought of the article and if they thought it was time to 'pull the Hitler card' in the USA. I never said she was correct ... and I said that she could possibly be suffering from paranoia or 'issues' due to her having lived through Nazi Germany.

I do not condone violence and I do not think everyday citizens NEED guns.

However,

The reason the Nazi party went as far as it did was because there was no organised resistance. When guns were shipped in there were just pockets of resistance.

The reason American will NEVER get invaded is because every citizen would take up arms. There would be snipers on every street and armed militia on every road, you want to stop a totalitarian government? Get a gun.

reply to post by FlyersFan


fair enough. But almost every detail she's 'remembered' is incorrect. It reads like made up propaganda.

reply to post by iRoyalty


I'm sorry, this is incorrect. The KPD were actively physically fighting the Nazis in the streets in the early 1930s.

What happened to the organised resistance after 1933 was that it was immediately crimininalised, and anti Nazi groups like the Socialists, Communists and trade unions were banned, and the leaders imprisoned.

She has been around for so long, her name has been telephone'd.

Correct name is Kitty Werthmann & she has been giving interviews, speeches & audio accounts since alteast 2004.

From ATS, Aug 2004 - A Voice From Nazi Germany A Survivor shows parallels between Naziism and trends in the U.S.

Back then of course it was a Bush/Hitler connection.

Seems her speeches & accounts are use to connect which ever administration is in office to Hitler & Nazi Germany.

Systematic killing has happened here in the USA for quite sometime. It mostly occurs to children of immoral low class people. No i will get yelled at " That's our right and You don't understand", but the truth is the truth you all prescribe to the sinister way and are slowly conforming further everyday.

15 years ago if i said careful "big brothers listening" i would be labeled a nut but today its common knowledge big brother is listening.

15 years from now the systematic euthenization of the elderly and people that are mentally challenged will be common place and we will prescribe. Without moral responsibility for our actions do you really expect our government to have morals.

reply to post by OneisOne

AHHHHH .... so she's been talking for a long while and is not anti-democrat or anti-republican ....
She could be just an attention whore. OR ....
She could be sincere but deluded. OR ...
She could be like a broken clock getting the time correct twice a day ... she could be right but for the wrong reasons.

Only time will tell, I guess.

She played the 'Hitler card'. That's a huge red flag for me.
It's gotta' be VERY serious in order to do that.

knownothing
reply to post by iRoyalty

 

I'm sorry, this is incorrect. The KPD were actively physically fighting the Nazis in the streets in the early 1930s.

What happened to the organised resistance after 1933 was that it was immediately crimininalised, and anti Nazi groups like the Socialists, Communists and trade unions were banned, and the leaders imprisoned.

OK there was resistance while they still just seemed like a right wing political party but as soon as they got power, like you said, they got rid of all possibility for opposition. All that was left were a group of youths called The Edelweiss Pirates and a few rag tag group of guys with pistols.

Perhaps even if Germany were well armed it might have gone down the same (which I think they were moderately), it was a gradual build and stuff like the Reichstag fire made it easy to justify the suppression of "terrorists" (non Nazi supporters), also people also didn't want trouble from the SS, they were everywhere.

reply to post by iRoyalty


I don't think the average German having more guns (as the Nazis actually made it easier to own guns) would have done diddly squat for the resistance to the Nazis.

Mainly because the Nazis eliminated the focal points for organised resistance like leftist parties, like the trade unions. The exception being the army. But they had guns already .

There was also an effective secret police, and very effective nationalist propaganda around the resurgance of Germany.