“Never Again”. It’s a phrase we often hear on Holocaust Remembrance Day. We spend time learning about the horrors of what happened and feel an intense sense of unity, no matter the level of religious observance. But what does “Never Again” truly mean? We remember and we educate, and we vow to take action, but is that action only for us? I can’t accept that “Never Again” is just never again for us. To me, it is never again period.

After the war, many Germans tried to distance themselves from Hitler, whether out of shame, self-preservation, or genuine regret. Those people often claimed things such as “I didn’t know”, even though prisoners were marched through their streets, or “I was just following orders”. Many downplayed their role to avoid consequences by stating “I wasn’t a real Nazi”, or blamed the propaganda- “We had no choice”. To me, the worst are the Historical Revisionists who said “It wasn’t that bad” which has led to the current Holocaust deniers that we deal with today.

Don’t let this happen again. I feel I must tell you how things are now so that people can not do this. I’m not a scholar. I’m just an ordinary person trying to live a boring life. I can’t tell you how closely our current presidential administration mirrors that of Hitler and the Nazi Party. I can only tell you what I know and what I observe, and at this moment, I’m highly disturbed. Both Trump and Hitler used fear, dehumanization, and nationalism to justify policies that restricted immigration and targeted certain groups. While Trump’s policies have not yet lead to genocide, history shows how dangerous rhetoric can shape public opinion and pave the way for extreme actions.

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“Invasion” Rhetoric Leading to Policy Changes

Hitler framed Jews and other minorities as an internal “enemy” invading Germany. This allowed for the justification of stripping citizenship from Jews, deporting them, and eventually enacting the Holocaust. The 1935 Nuremberg Laws were widely accepted because of years of rhetoric calling Jews “a threat to the German race.”

Trump has repeatedly described migrants as an “invasion,” saying the U.S. was being “overrun” by “migrant crime”. This led to policies like the Muslim Ban, family separation, and deploying the military to the border. In 2018 and 2020, Trump called caravans of migrants an “invasion,” increasing public support for hardline policies like Remain in Mexico.

Dehumanizing Language Paving the Way for Brutality

Hitler referred to Jews, Roma, and other persecuted groups as “rats” and “parasites.” This made mass persecution seem necessary for national survival. Nazi propaganda films like The Eternal Jew (1940) compared Jewish people to vermin, making extermination appear justified.

Trump called undocumented immigrants “animals” and said they were “pouring in” and “poisoning the blood of our country”. This made harsh policies like child separation at the border more palatable to supporters. In a 2018 speech, he said, “These aren’t people. These are animals.” Many used this language to justify extreme border crackdowns.

Fear-Mongering About Crime to Justify Crackdowns

Hitler claimed Jews were responsible for crime and moral decay in Germany. Germans became convinced that persecuting Jews was necessary to “restore order.” Kristallnacht (1938), a violent attack on Jewish businesses and synagogues, was justified as a response to supposed Jewish criminality.

Trump linked immigration to crime, despite studies showing immigrants commit fewer crimes than U.S. citizens. Increased fear of immigrants has helped justify harsh policies like ICE raids and expanded deportations. The Angel Moms campaign used emotional stories of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants to push for border wall funding.

Promoting Nationalist “Purity” as a Justification for Exclusion

Hitler argued that Germany needed to be “racially pure” to be strong. This justified anti-Semitic laws, deportations, and eventually genocide. The Nazi Lebensraum (living space) policy sought to remove non-Germans from occupied territories.

Trump argued that immigration was threatening “American culture” and that the U.S. should take in more people from “Norway” instead of non-European countries. This led to increased support for merit-based immigration policies favoring white and wealthy applicants. The 2018 remark about not wanting immigrants from “shithole countries” reflected this bias.

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And yes, while the scale may be different between these two comparisons, they are both still horrible and dehumanizing to minority groups of people. Government is currently building a mass deportation camp. We’ve seen this before. Our people were sent to camps before. America created camps for the Japanese before. Have we not learned from history?

“You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Devarim 10:19) “You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Shemot 22:20) We’re reminded twice about the stranger and how we should treat them. As Jewish people, we have often been the minority people group, the immigrant, the stranger. We’ve been the one that the government has considered a problem. So who better to help? We have cried “Never Again”. So go make it come true.

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Opportunities

• AIDNW assists immigrants as they are released from detention at Tacoma’s Northwest ICE Processing Center.
• Watch a free webinar on “Immigration for Beginners” or “Asylum for Beginners,” produced by Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
• Join the efforts of HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit.
• Click here for HIAS b-mitzvah project suggestions.