https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9NnQt_eQ0I
“Gleichschaltung. It means "coordination" or "bringing into line." Between
March and July 1933, the Nazis used this process to transform every institution
in German society into an arm of the regime.
They didn't shut down every newspaper—they made examples of a few. The rest
fell in line voluntarily. Trade unions weren't immediately banned. Their
leaders were arrested or intimidated, and the unions voted to dissolve
themselves and join the Nazi Labor Front. Professional associations—doctors,
lawyers, teachers—expelled their Jewish members without explicit orders. They
saw which way the wind was blowing.
Local chess clubs added loyalty oaths nobody asked for. Town newspapers fired
editors before anyone complained. Schools removed books without waiting for the
banned list. The regime didn't need to coordinate everything. It created
conditions where everyone coordinated themselves.
The key was ambiguity. No one knew exactly where the line was, so everyone drew
it far back from where they stood. By May 1933—just four months after Hitler
became Chancellor—Germany's entire civic infrastructure had transformed itself.
Not because there were SS officers in every meeting room, but because there
didn't need to be.
This week in America: Trump declared antifa a terrorist organization. Within 48
hours, ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show indefinitely. Nexstar preempted it on
their stations. Sinclair went further—airing a Charlie Kirk tribute in Kimmel's
time slot and demanding he donate to Turning Point USA.
No one forced them. Both Nexstar and Sinclair have mergers pending before the
Trump administration. Both need FCC approval. They're competing to demonstrate
who's more aligned with the new order.
What took four months in 1933 is happening in 48 hours in 2025. Digital
coordination. Algorithmic compliance. Corporate fear at fiber-optic speed.
Understanding Gleichschaltung helps us recognize what we're watching:
institutions coordinating themselves, racing to prove loyalty before it's
demanded, creating the machinery of control through their competition to
comply.”
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
