Trump posts video with references to Nazism and “Unified Reich”

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A campaign video containing references to Nazi Germany was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account Monday. The video depicts the front page of a newspaper the day after the election with the headline: “It’s a Landslide! Trump Wins!”

Below a picture of the former president holding his fist in the air, another headline reads “What’s Next for America?”

It’s there, beneath that headline, that the words “Unified Reich” appear.

“Industrial strength significantly increased, driven by the creation of a Unified Reich,” the paper reads. To the right is another black-and-white picture of Trump in a crowd of his supporters.

Reich, a German word meaning “realm”, historically refers to a nation ruled by an emperor or king. The term became infamous under Hitler, who proudly referred to Nazi Germany as the ‘Third Reich’.

According to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Hitler sought to establish a powerful dictatorship. He ignored international treaties, vastly expanded the German Reich’s military, and began a slow march to overpower and control surrounding countries. During his reign, Hitler’s Nazi forces captured and killed millions of Jews, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals and others.

Further down on that same page of this false, futuristic newspaper, another subheading references “violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

According to the U.S. Department of State, when Nazi forces took control of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1941, nearly 14,000 Jews called the country home. More than 12,000 Jews from the country were killed in German concentration camps. Fifty years later, in 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina would experience another genocide; one which left more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims dead.

Video referencing “Unified Reich” just one in a long history of Trump invoking Nazi references

The chilling reference, to “Unified Reich” in the video posted to Trump’s account, comes amid other Nazi-esque references from the former president over the past year. In addition to promising that he will “be a dictator on day one”, Trump is also guilty of echoing Hitler in references to immigrants. During a speech last December, the former president said immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country”.

During his reign, Hitler often used similar language when referring to Jews in Europe.

Trump has since deleted the post. According to the Associated Press, his campaign blamed “a staffer” for posting the video in error. However, the video was posted while Trump was on a lunch break during his trial in a New York courthouse.