Seems unlikely…

Question:

Do you see any danger that current economic situation in the world could create similar dictator like Hitler was or do you think the world is very different now and history can not repeat?

Answers:

Sir Ian Kershaw, Professor at the University of Sheffield, Author of the two volume biography of Adolf Hitler: Hitler 1889–1936: Hubris, Hitler 1936–1945: Nemesis

Hitler was a product of very specific circumstances. Hitler is history, not about to make a return to the world stage. The character of the current economic - actually, financial - crisis is quite different to that of the 1930s, and so are the outcomes. The level of political instability in a country of such geopolitical significance as Germany was in the 1930s is not visible today. International relations, which have brought economic cooperation to try to resolve the crisis, are also quite different from that time. The current crisis will not produce another Hitler.

Robert Gellately: Professor of History at Florida State University, Author of the book: Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe

Economic crisis, especially one that causes mass unemployment, runs on the banks, and so on, is always possible and dangerous. We may yet decide that today we were only at the beginning of a downturn that does not seem to bottom out for several years from now.

People in government and business today are struggling to understand how best to cope with the situation, which seems to be worsening.

This crisis is already serious, but pales in comparison with the Great Depression in terms of generating social chaos. If the downturn were to continue for years, if unemployment and misery increased greatly, then extremist movements almost certainly would form and grow.

This scenario is not so farfetched, and we all realize just how precarious the situation stands at the moment. There is a great deal of social anxiety which has broken into lawless demonstrations in some places.

Under such circumstances, we should be on guard. If real shortages get a lot worse, if the economy continues to spiral out of control, and if on top of that major foreign terrorist attacks took place as happened in New York on 9/11, then room would be made for extremists. Because so much has changed since the 1930s, the responses to the crisis to come would necessarily be different and unpredictable.

Freedoms are precious and we must treasure and protect them as the gifts our forefathers gave us.

Richard Overy, Professor of History at University of Exeter

Yes, of course, there are all kinds of dangers with the current economic crisis, but history does not repeat itself exactly. It is I think very unlikely that a single dictator would appear again, but very likely that the major economies might become more authoritarian in their approach to economic and political issues. This has not happened yet, and historians should not play Cassandra, but we would be blind not to accept that the immediate future is certain to be a story of continued progress.

Jim Morrow, Professor, Center for Political Studies, University of MIchigan

The current economic situation may well lead to authoritarian political leaders with popular, nationalist appeals. One could say that Chavez in Venezuela or Putin in Russia are examples of such leaders. However, there are important differences between now and then as well. When Hitler came to power, Germany was a major industrial power capable of generating substantial military power in the middle of Europe with grievances against the order imposed at Versailles. Further, the ethnic, racial appeal of Nazism is discredited now compared to the 1930s. A xenophobic leader can only do great damage if he controls a major power in a critical location in the world.

Stanley Payne, Professor Emeritus at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of History

I think there are several parts to your question about a new Hitler: 1) as dictator; 2) as totalitarian racist; 3) as warlord. There are already de facto dictatorships in parts of the world, though mostly disguised as "presidential"-- so there may be more of that. My judgment is that the world is too interconnected now for an extremely racist regime; that sort of thing is less likely, though antisemitism is growing again somewhat. A Hitler-type warlord is now impossible. The greatest danger of serious (nuclear) war comes from "proliferated" secondary regimes-- North Korea, Iran, the destabilization of Pakistan. At present, the economic recession alone is not likely to have such catastrophic effects.

Roger Eatwell, Professor of Comparative European Politics, Dean of Faculty, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Bath

We do see in Europe today widespread disillusionment with mainstream parties - and not just over the economic situation. A feeling that they are distant, corrupt etc. fuels discontent too. This has helped parties like the FPO in Austria, FN in France etc. They claim to be to voice of the people, in some cases even to be the best representative of the working class. However, most of these parties are seen as extreme and/or illegitimate by most voters, which make it difficult to achieve their full potential.

Abbott Gleason, Emeritus Professor of History, Watson Institute, Brown University

Of course, as you say, the world is very different now; I believe, however, as one of the pre-Socratics said, "You never step into the same river twice." But I still believe that nationalism is a danger today, as it was ninety years ago. One interesting difference is that in the early-mid-twentieth century, most of the European (and Asian) nationalisms had some hostility toward religion. Now religion(s) are taking a more positive view of nationalism(s) and the other way round. I think the greatest danger to the world just now is the struggle between the radical wings of the three Abrahamic religions. And as you suggest, the current crisis of capitalism -- whose parameters we still do not fully know – is not helping matters!