Nazi expert: America's Christian fascism crisis is a threat to democracy

Christian nationalism is a threat to democracy, according to a German expert on fascism.

Andrew Seidel of Religion Dispatches interviewed Annika Brockschmidt, the author of the new book, "Amerikas Gotteskrieger: Wie die Religiöse Rechte die Demokratie gefährdet" (roughly translated as “America’s Godly Warriors: How Religious Right Endangers Democracy.")

"January 6 helped argue the case for fascist tendencies in Christian Nationalism," Brockschmidt said.

She explained why Germans have a tough time understanding American fascists.

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“Germans have had a hard time understanding what’s going on in the US; most probably don’t know about the homegrown fascist movement, and, in a sense, how could they? We remember a United States that fought the Nazis,” she said.

And she explained that she does not think the comparisons between America today and 1930s Germany are overblown.

The signs of fascism that Brockschmidt listed include a "myth of a golden past," describing enemies as "not real Americans," veneration of law and order, and anti-intellectualism.

She also noted the "creation of unreality or a separate reality."

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“QAnon is the 2021 version of the blood libel," she said.

Read the full interview.