30 Jan. 1933.
Hitler appointed Chancellor. Has named von Papen his Vice, a clear nod to the establishment who wish to keep the Nazis in line. If they think this is possible, they’re just as deluded as the new leader. This evening SS troops marched through the streets of Berlin by torchlight — an augury of the violence surely to come. They stomped past my window in columns, all in black, their frigid faces reflecting the flames of hatred. I fear the worst for my country, so there is no time to lose: I will take to X and launch a new hashtag. #TikiTyrants, I’m thinking, or perhaps #InsaneClownFührer.
28 Feb. 1933.
The Reichstag has gone up in a conflagration. My sources in the Media Bistro tell me it was an inside job, personally approved by Hitler himself. With the elections coming up next week, the timing raises questions. Predictably, Hitler blames the Communists. Several have already been apprehended. Whoever was responsible — and we may never know — we can expect the Nazis to move swiftly. Civil liberties will be eliminated. Opposition parties will be silenced. The crisis has accelerated at a rate not even I had anticipated. Fortunately I have fallen in with an army of like-minded lovers of democracy on TikTok. Our voices will not be stifled. You will know us by the little ballot-box emojis in our profile descriptions.
6 Mar. 1933.
Despite using his goons to intimidate us, Hitler has failed to secure a majority in the elections. Yet it’s only a matter of time before he attempts more sinister measures to consolidate power. Why some members of my family don’t seem to grasp this, I’ll never understand — I’ve been sharing memes for a month, and many of them contain dire predictions of where we could go from here, often with a humorous twist. Father is not amused. He thinks the one I made myself, in which I mocked the Chancellor for his tiny mustache, was a low blow. I don’t care, though. As of this writing, it has received twenty-seven Likes.
24 Mar. 1933.
I hear the death knell ringing for the Republic. The Reichstag, or what is left of it, has deprived itself of its authority by handing Hitler emergency powers. These will last for the next four years, at least. We have passed the point of no return — our devolution into dictatorship is almost complete. There are rumors that boycotts of Jewish businesses will be implemented soon, and strictly enforced. But what I fear more is what happens afterwards. If he can force Jewish shops to close, what’s to prevent him from rounding their owners up, taking them away to God-knows-where? And if he can get away with that, why should we expect him to stop there? I’m so stricken with anger I can barely write. But as my comrades often remind me, I must use this rage to our advantage — by channeling it into the comments sections, resisting the Reich’s injustices in the strongest possible snark for as long as it takes.
