Embed Notice

There is very useful literature available about what to expect from the Trump administration next.

Unluckily Frank Bajohr’s “Parvenüs und Profiteure. Korruption in der NS-Zeit” from 2001 is only available in German.

The title translates to “Parvenues and Profiteers: Corruption in the Third Reich”.

It shows how after taking power, the latter was quickly used to accommodate supporters with plum jobs and booty (stolen from Jews and other countries).

The jobs were handed out ignoring qualifications or competence. Something that current news readers can observe in realtime (Hello Matt!). Loyalty and devotion to the leader were the sole criteria.

This was justified as corrective measures to “previous injustices due to political convictions”.

But it turned out that free riders from the party became more successful than the “old fighters”. They used their allegiance to secure most of the jobs. Decision makers tasked to implement the measures took bribes from day 1.

The national socialists, who claimed to replace the corrupt democracy, easily surpassed it in all forms of corruption.

The state looted billions from its victims but only pennies ended up in the treasury. The corruption significantly furthered the ineffectiveness of the economy.

Bribes were also used to bind the generals to the systems. Practically every famous military received estates and manors.