# If you lived in the late 1930s in Germany when would you decide it is time to leave the country? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [September 30, 2025, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507 "2025-09-30T05:08:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/21 "2025-09-30T16:09:14Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > And if polling is to be believed, then general view of democracy as a principle of governance is also falling in esteem among the voting public. Indeed: - [Global Democracy Is Failing. Will the US Save It or Kill It?](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/features/2025-09-28/global-democracy-is-failing-and-trump-may-kill-it) > Few developments have mattered so much, for so many people, as the global rise of democracy. Three hundred years ago, virtually no one lived in a democracy. As recently as the 1940s, at the darkest moments of World War II, there were perhaps a dozen scared, scattered democracies left. But by the early 21st century, democracy had become the dominant form of government. > > Billions of people now lived in countries that were relatively free, humane and insulated despotic cruelty and arbitrary rule. The strength and support of a democratic superpower were indispensable to all this world-changing progress, which is one reason democracy’s global future feels so precarious right now. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/22 "2025-09-30T16:37:54Z")
“They” referred to the opposition party, which is incompetant and is not being rewarded for it. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/23 "2025-09-30T16:43:43Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Your timeline for Germany is a little confused; the Munich Putsch was on 8–9 November 1923 but Hitler wasn’t appointed as Chancellor until nearly a decade later in January 1933. No, I think you misunderstood me, I wasn’t suggesting that Hitler was made chancellor immediately after the putsch, only that the putsch came first. It should have been a disqualifying event. The same with January 6. Also today: I told Pete [Hegseth], we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, National Guard, but military, because we’re going into Chicago very soon, that’s a big city with an incompetent governor,” the president said during his remarks to a gathering of top generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/24 "2025-09-30T17:21:53Z")
I will say this: Dopers have elevated the practice of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic to an art form. “Gee, should I move the chaise lounges to the Promenade now, or wait till the water comes flooding over the guardrail?” Where are you going to go?? In the 1930s, Germans had America to escape to…well out of reach of the German war machine. Some had to settle for England, although that wasn’t safe for long. There is no place on Earth today out of reach of an America that is rapidly starting to make the Third Reich look like the Little Rascals. Those countries that could put up a decent fight, I don’t know if I’d want to live in. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/25 "2025-09-30T17:55:33Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Where are you going to go?? Canada. I won’t take any jobs and I have health insurance. Not sponging off them…just out of the US. I’d like New Zealand but I think they are a little resistant to immigrants from anywhere including (especially?) the US. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/26 "2025-09-30T18:09:56Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Where are you going to go?? In the 1930s, Germans had America to escape to…well out of reach of the German war machine. Some had to settle for England, although that wasn’t safe for long. You’re assuming the only drive to leave is for one’s personal safety. For myself, I don’t want to live in an authoritarian regime, it requires one to be complicit in the regime’s crimes simply to survive. Also, I think it’s likely America’s collapse will be more like the Soviet Union than Nazi Germany. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/27 "2025-09-30T19:09:46Z")
What makes you think the Mango Mussolini is going to leave Canada alone? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/28 "2025-10-01T01:46:37Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > …fleeing a country, especially as a persecuted minority, is not as easy or clear of a decision as the question of the o.p. assumes. Aside from the agony of cutting cultural and familial ties, the reality is that immigrants, even financially independent and well educated ones, are not generally that welcome…as an immigrant you are likely to find yourself unwelcome where you intend to go. In addition to the bureaucratic obstacles destination countries put up, there are resentments and jealousies affecting how residents of other countries view Americans, that long predate Trump and are worse now. Even if you have sufficient money to make the move (and possibly because of that) many of your new neighbors are unlikely to welcome you with open arms, despite wearing your “I Hate MAGA” hat. If a lot of USers flee (unlikely), problems related to overcrowding will exacerbate tensions.\* \*think how delighted Madrid residents have been to see foreign tourists taking over scarce rental housing. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/29 "2025-10-01T01:58:51Z")
I know he has made noises about that but as bad as MAGA is and his bootlickers in congress are I can’t help but think that is a bridge too far for Trump. Even his own people would push back on invading Canada. If that comes to pass the world is well and truly fucked. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/30 "2025-10-01T02:04:38Z")
I just want a house. No fuss. Not wrecking the local economy. Not taking any jobs (at all). Indeed, I will benefit the local economy (buying goods and services from locals/businesses). Also not sponging off health care. I should be a net benefit to the economy…especially the local economy. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/31 "2025-10-01T02:06:02Z")
You’ll drive property prices up though. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/32 "2025-10-01T02:12:00Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Which got me wondering, when is it people need to decide it is time to leave the country? Not because they should but, rather, for their own safety? It’s like trying to decide when to put down a beloved pet. By the time you make the decision, you probably should have made it sooner. I think my advice to people, especially young people, to get out while they can started as early as April or May of this year. It was clear to me we were on a trajectory that had a good probability of turning very, very ugly. Maybe it won’t happen, but if it does then you’re going to be happier in Canada, France, or Spain than you will here in the United States. Realistically I know not everyone can leave, but if you’re in a position to do so, especially if you’re gay or trans, get out. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/33 "2025-10-01T02:15:52Z")
You want to be a “single straw”, but can you guarantee that other straws won’t follow, enough straws to break the camel’s social and/or economic structure? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/34 "2025-10-01T02:19:09Z")
Well, assuming my moving there is a net benefit to the economy (I put in more than I take out) then a million doing the same are a much bigger benefit to the country. The country could then take some of that new money and help the poor in the country (or fund any myriad programs to help the poor). Who is losing? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/35 "2025-10-01T02:21:55Z")
Anyone that would blindly assume that, because you turned out to be a net benefit, a million others would turn out to be the same. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/36 "2025-10-01T02:23:53Z")
I’d think the government could set things up that anyone…that million…all need to be a net positive on the financial books if they want to move there. What the government does with that new money is on them. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/37 "2025-10-01T02:24:55Z")
Ever see mass emergency immigration in action? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/38 "2025-10-01T04:10:47Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The latest point at which leaving Germany should have been seen as imperative was 1933, after all parties but the Nazis were made illegal. Kristallnacht (Nov. 1938) was way too late. I was thinking July, 1934 after every party but the Nazi party [was banned](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_Against_the_Formation_of_Parties), but the OP specified ‘late 1930s.’ While the concentration camps were opening for Jews, homosexuals, Roma, and even Jehovah’s Witnesses from 1933 to 1938 those were all pretty quiet and likely under the radar for all but the most astute (or affected). Krystalnacht was by far the biggest evidence of a pogrom going on _right now_. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/39 "2025-10-01T04:55:06Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I know he has made noises about that but as bad as MAGA is and his bootlickers in congress are I can’t help but think that is a bridge too far for Trump. Even his own people would push back on invading Canada. I guess you haven’t seen MAGA people with their “Canada – 51st State” banners hanging on highway overpasses. The MAGAts _love_ to hear Trump talking about invading and annexing other countries. It feeds their power fantasies. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Well, assuming my moving there is a net benefit to the economy (I put in more than I take out) then a million doing the same are a much bigger benefit to the country. Nobody gives a fuck about your being “a net benefit to the economy” when you and your million new immigrant compatriots are consuming all of the available housing and pushing swaths of the population into homelessness. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507/40 "2025-10-01T05:00:23Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Nobody gives a fuck about your being “a net benefit to the economy” when you and your million new immigrant compatriots are consuming all of the available housing and pushing swaths of the population into homelessness. This has to assume there is only a fixed amount of housing available. If there are only 1000 available units and someone comes from outside this would be the problem you envision. But it doesn’t have to work like that at all. New units can be built. As small as New Zealand is there is still plenty of room if needed. Indeed, that net benefit means there is more chance to house those who do not have homes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lived-in-the-late-1930s-in-germany-when-would-you-decide-it-is-time-to-leave-the-country/1023507.md?page=3)