I grew up in a small town in western Germany. The answers eluded us, but we all agreed that history will not repeat itself — at least not in Germany. In the United States, QAnon conspiracy theorists are running for office and praised by the president. In Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party morphed from being a fringe mix of conservatives, conspiracy theorists, extremists and neo-Nazis to being the biggest opposition party in parliament. As I watched this unfold, I returned to the country of my birth to learn that history has a worrisome tendency to repeat itself.

Source: Washington Post August 24, 2020 12:33 UTC