What specific institutional steps in 1933 Germany resemble actions taken by the Trump administration?

Several institutional steps taken in Germany after 1933 under Nazi rule have notable, though not identical, parallels with recent Trump administration actions—especially regarding the centralization of executive power, erosion of institutional independence, and use of extraordinary legal means to diminish opposition.annefrank+3

Enabling Executive Authority

• In 1933, the Nazis passed the Enabling Act, allowing Hitler to rule by decree, bypassing parliamentary approval entirely.wikipedia+1

• Comparable moves in the Trump administration include the use of executive orders to centralize authority over independent regulatory agencies and assert White House control over their actions, bypassing traditional legislative checks.reddit

Curtailing Civil Liberties and Political Repression

• The Reichstag Fire Decree suspended civil rights and allowed for detention without trial, justified by claims of an emergency threat (a purported communist plot).encyclopedia.ushmm+1

• Actions echoing this include Trump’s use of federal police and troops in Democratic-controlled cities to suppress protests and the expansion of executive powers during times cited as “crisis,” raising alarms from legal scholars and public officials about the undermining of civil liberties.reddit

Suppressing Political and Institutional Independence

• The process of Gleichschaltung (“coordination”) in Nazi Germany systematically brought civil service, local government, education, and the press under party (state) control, eliminating dissent and establishing a one-party dictatorship.annefrank+1

• Executive orders under Trump have sought to limit agency independence, placing loyalists in key positions and requiring federal agencies and even universities to comply closely with executive priorities, sometimes backed by threats of defunding.theconversation+1

Manipulating Elections and Media

• Nazis manipulated elections, banned rival parties, and controlled media to establish a propaganda monopoly.wikipedia+2

• Parallels include the Trump White House’s efforts to delegitimize the electoral process, exert regulatory and rhetorical pressure on media outlets, and attempt to shift oversight of agencies such as the FEC and FCC under direct executive influence.reddit

1933 Germany	Trump Administration
Enabling Act: rule by decreeannefrank+1	Expanded use of executive ordersreddit
Reichstag Fire Decree: suspend rightswikipedia	Curbing civil liberties in emergenciesreddit
Gleichschaltung, single-party stateannefrank+1	Partisan agency appointments, loyalty testsreddit+1
Election suppression and press controlannefrank+1	Election delegitimization, media pressurereddit

While the U.S. context, legal system, and civil society remain much more robust than Weimar Germany’s, these recent institutional actions bear significant resemblance in method and effect—primarily in centralizing power, eroding checks and balances, and threatening the autonomy of independent institutions.encyclopedia.ushmm+4

1. https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/go-in-depth/germany-1933-democracy-dictatorship/
2. https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalDebate/comments/1isz297/trumps_new_executive_order_is_eerily_similar_to/
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany
4. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/foundations-of-the-nazi-state
5. https://theconversation.com/universities-in-nazi-germany-and-the-soviet-union-thought-giving-in-to-government-demands-would-save-their-independence-252888
6. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nazi-rise-to-power
7. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/how-did-adolf-hitler-happen
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler's_rise_to_power
9. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nazi-Party/The-Nazi-Party-and-Hitlers-rise-to-power
10. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/22/al-gore-compares-trump-administration-to-third-reich-hitler-00302348
11. https://forward.com/opinion/715816/trump-100-days-hitler-roosevelt/
12. https://www.theglobalist.com/united-states-donald-trump-germany-adolf-hitler-dictatorship-propaganda-politics/