JUSTICE - No. 66

50 No. 66 JUSTICE onald Trump’s presidency, the storming of the capital on January 6, 2021 and fears about the future of American and western democracy more generally, have led to a resurgence of interest in understanding the reasons for the rise of right-wing extremism and the causes of democratic decay. To understand this resurgence, many have looked to the past, and to earlier eras when right-wing extremism emerged out of democracy. Not surprisingly, therefore, re-examinations of the interwar period, the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of National Socialism have become prevalent. For history to be helpful, we must understand its lessons clearly, and so we need to tread carefully, especially when analyzing as dramatic and tragic a case as interwar Germany. A common way of understanding the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of National Socialism is by focusing on the Nazis themselves — the appeals, programs, actions, and powers of Hitler and the Nazi Party (the NSDAP). While such an examination is important, focusing exclusively on these factors causes us to miss the big picture, or more concretely, allows us to overlook the more fundamental causes of democratic decline and collapse in interwar Germany. If we do not understand the causes of democratic decline in interwar Germany, we will not be able to draw any useful lessons from it about how to avoid democratic decline in other times or places. Understanding the Nazi rise to power and other cases of interwar fascism, as well as the rise of right-wing populism today, requires asking: how do radical political movements and politicians gain the support and power necessary to overthrow democracy? Answering this question requires us to look beyond the ideas, appeals and actions of the Nazis and other right-wing extremist parties and, instead, carefully consider the broader political context within which these develop. I suggest that what turned Hitler and the NSDAP from marginal UNITED NATIONS SIDE EVENT Nazi Rise to Power and the Weimar Con st itution: Introductory Note In Resolution 60/7 of November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as the annual International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocau st . Every January, beginning in 2006, the Holocau st and the United Nations Outreach Programme holds a series of events commemorating this day. In January 2021, the IJL held an online event in partnership with the United Nation’s Holocau st Outreach Programme, entitled The Nazi Rise to Power and the Weimar Con st itution, co-sponsored by the German and Israeli Missions to the United Nations and moderated by United Nations Under Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming. Preceding the panel were opening remarks from IJL President Meir Linzen and st atements by the German Ambassador to the United Nations, Chri st oph Heusgen and the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan. Below are summaries of the presentations by the four paneli st s at the event. Extremism Is a Symptom of Democratic Failure Rather than a Cause: Under st anding How Democratic Actors and In st itutions Paved the Way for the Nazi Rise to Power D Sheri Berman Richard Horowitz