During the presidential election, Trump made inroads with minority voters that impressed the Republican Party. But today, as Minneapolis becomes a frontline of resistance against ICE tactics and white nationalism ideology, Republicans of color may want to reconsider their loyalty.

Historical Parallels Between Minneapolis and Depression-Era Germany

The battle in Minneapolis against the normalization of repression and white nationalism fears has parallels in Depression-era Germany. And just as loyalists of color placed hopes in the MAGA movement, so too a segment of the Jewish population had placed hopes in the authoritarian Nazi Party, until it was too late.

Then, as now, there were anxieties over wealth preservation, economic status, leftist politics, and immigration. Most prominent was The Union of German National Jews, an association of affluent, conservative Jews founded during the center-left Weimar government. They supported Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in the early years and did not take its anti-Semitism seriously.

How Authoritarian Power Consolidates Control

Once in power, the Nazis pursued a program of perfecting “Aryan” white nationalism by targeting gays and the disabled, Roma and Black people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Poles, and intensely on Jews. It weaponized the legal and justice systems to investigate, prosecute, and eliminate political enemies, asserted national control through the SS (a paramilitary organization of the Party), the Gestapo (a brutal secret police), and the Army that pledged loyalty to Hitler.

Why Some Conservative Jews Supported Hitler

During the depression, the cohort of conservative, assimilationist Jews — comprising about 10 percent of the religious group — remained supportive of Hitler out of various concerns: One was to protect assets and status from the socialists and Bolsheviks of the 1920s Weimar Republic. Another was to demonstrate loyalty as citizens and war veterans in opposition to Zionism advocates and to seek the restoration of pre-World War I German imperialism in Africa.

Yet another was the fear that an influx of poor Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe would exacerbate German anti-Semitism with broader repercussions. As well, there was a bias against the poor, darker-skinned Sephardic Jewish immigrants from the Mediterranean and North Africa.

Echoes of Authoritarianism in the Present Day

Today, many U.S. observers are concerned that elements in Trump’s administration and MAGA movement echo the authoritarian trends of Depression-era Germany. This includes the widely felt anxiety over economic status, the promotion of a pure white nationalism, the evolution of a mask-wearing federal police loyal to Trump, the misuse of the National Guard, and the threat to invoke the regular army — all in ways beyond the enforcement of immigration laws. Adding to the fear is demands that Republicans take over national elections.

Republicans of Color and Political Legitimacy

Republicans of color were prominent in legitimizing the politics of Trump in their respective communities. The Black Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, for instance, was an influential voice promoting the Trump campaign. While Mark Zuckerberg did not formally endorse Trump, he did associate with the administration after the election. 

In Minneapolis, the Hispanic pastor and businessman Sergio Amezcua was an important conservative influencer during the 2024 election. He has since begun to rethink the decision in light of the crackdown on his community, telling a reporter, “A lot of our businesses were like, ‘I think Trump is the answer…Believe me, 100% of them regret it.”

As well, Republicans of color are prominent in what critics perceive as politicized investigations of opponents and the dismantling of civil right policies in favor of white preference. They include FBI Director Kash Patel, Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Historical Warning: Loyalty Did Not Protect Them

Returning to the Nazi era, the conservative German Jews eventually came to learn that loyalty to the Nazi movement did not exempt them from its racial purity project. The regime turned against all Jews during the Holocaust. In 1935, the Gestapo abolished the Union of German National Jews and imprisoned its leader, Max Naumann, a lawyer and veteran of World War I. Some members fled to safety in other countries. After the war, Union members that survived were denounced as “Heil Hitler Jews.”

Today, as Republicans of color remain silent in the face of white nationalism fears and authoritarian policing, they may want to heed the tragic lesson of the Union of German National Jews.

Roger House is professor emeritus of American Studies at Emerson College and the author of “Blue Smoke: The Recorded Journey of Big Bill Broonzy” and “South End Shout: Boston’s Forgotten Music Scene in the Jazz Age.” His forthcoming book is “Five Hundred Years of Black Self-Governance: A Call to Conscience.”