Last night the American television network the History Channel broadcasted Part One of a new documentary about the Third Reich, an empire that was satanically-inspired. I’ve watched many documentaries about Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, so I’m not easily impressed by new television shows about these subjects. However, this new documentary already might be one of the best ones I’ve ever seen because it discusses topics that other documentaries shy away from and includes startling content that has never been shown on American television before and content that is banned in Germany today…
In this blog post I want to discuss a couple sections from the documentary that may help us to further comprehend how the prevalence of signs that the End Times are approaching can be further exasperated/amplified by the arrival of very bad economic turmoil.
Part One of the new documentary focused on the economic, social, and political conditions in Germany which enabled Adolf Hitler to ascend from a minor political figure to leader of arguably the most powerful nation on Earth by 1939. Unlike other documentaries, this documentary includes firsthand accounts of what conditions were like in Germany between 1919 and 1939.
The first section of interest in documentary described what living in Germany was like during the hyperinflationary period following the end of World War 1. The documentary noted that money had become worthless, vigilantes controlled the streets, and depravity reigned supreme with everyone on sale. The narrator of the documentary read this quote from German author Sebastian Haffner describing the instability in Germany at the time:
“The Atmosphere has become revolutionary…apocalyptic. Not only money, but all standards have lost their value. Saviors have appeared everywhere, declaring that they’ve been sent by God to save the world”.
The documentary then noted that mystics, magicians, and religious fanatics exploited the situation by declaring that they were Germany’s savior and noted that these so-called “saviors” or “heilands” drew many desperate followers looking for a savior.
This section of the documentary was very interesting to me because it provided a significant historical example where hyperinflation/severe economic turmoil was a major catalyst for soaring numbers of false Christs to appear on the scene, increasing political turmoil, and declining social and moral standards. These three developments are some of the things the Bible suggests we are going to see ourselves as we approach the End Times.
- False Christs: Matthew 24:5
- Decline in Moral and Social Standards: 2 Timothy Chapter 3 and Other Verses
- Political Turmoil: Luke 21:9
As I’ve stated before, I believe the major catalyst for these three developments and more is likely going to be a global economic and financial collapse which will bring the destruction of the value of paper money (in other words a “hyperinflationary collapse”). The German example shows that hyperinflation can bring such a downfall in a society that witnesses like Haffner resort to describing the situation as being “apocalyptic”.
The second section of interest in the documentary described how the turmoil of the Great Depression fueled Hitler’s ascent from a minor, unelectable political figure to leader of Germany. The documentary noted that most Germans believe that Hitler was “too radical” in the summer of 1929. However, the start of the Great Depression changed everything in Germany. The terrible times made people become desperate for a savior again. Germans turned to radical parties like the Nazis and the Communists, who promised that they would bring radical change to the terrible situation people found themselves in. Within just a few years, the seemingly unelectable Hitler had millions of followers who voted for him in Germany’s final democratic election before he took steps to seize power completely…
This section of the documentary was also interesting to me because it provided a significant example of how extremist political figures and parties can become highly competitive when people become desperate as a result of hard economic times. If Germany never experienced the Great Depression Hitler unlikely would’ve ever gain a significant amount of power because most Germans would’ve continue to support politicians who wanted to maintain the status quo. Hitler only became an option for many Germans when they became desperate for radical change from the impoverished life they lived during the depression.
- I expect the upcoming period of extreme economic turmoil is going to make people so desperate that they’ll turn to extremist political parties and politicians for answers as the Germans did in the Great Depression. With the rise of extremist political parties and leaders you could see increased persecution of certain groups and an increase in the prevalence of war (another sign that the End Times are approaching)…
The American author Mark Twain is credited for observing that “history does not repeat itself but it rhymes”. Future events won’t develop exactly like they did in 1920s and 1930s Germany, but there could be a lot of similarities. I believe we’ll find out in just a few years how much history will rhyme with 1920s and 1930s German…
Part Two of the documentary is being broadcasted tonight and I plan on watching it...
