Timothy L. O'Brien, Columnist

Crash Course: Trump, Strongmen and German History Lessons

How does the rise of authoritarian governments worldwide today reflect what happened when the Nazis began acquiring power about a century ago?

April 4, 2023 at 9:00 AM UTC

By Timothy L. O'Brien

Timothy L. O'Brien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion. A former editor and reporter for the New York Times, he is author of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.”

Donald Trump has some things to say.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

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Donald Trump will be arraigned in a New York City courtroom on Tuesday — the first former US president to face a criminal indictment. It is the beginning of what may be a long series of legal battles for Trump, which will test the strength of American institutions and the rule of law in the US. The Trump era, and Trumpism itself, are part of a broader authoritarian surge around the world. It is an alarming trend that has roots in economic dislocation, racism and bigotry, and the ubiquity of social media and disinformation. It is also a reminder of how fragile democracy can be, and how much of our past is prologue. To explore that idea, I visited Germany and its capital city, Berlin.