WWII: A Reflection of Shadows of the Past & Modern Times Part III

Welcome back to The Conscious Conscience, and thanks for tuning in. today we are diving right in to WWII: A Reflection of Shadows of the Past & Modern Times Part III. We want to add a listener discretion to our remaining episode - as it contains discussions of historical and present-day atrocities, including genocide, systemic oppression, and acts of political violence. Some content may be distressing, particularly for those personally affected by these topics.

Our goal is to inform, not to sensationalize—to confront the past and present with honesty and clarity. We encourage listeners to engage with care, take breaks if needed, and seek support if these topics become overwhelming.

History is difficult, but ignoring it is far more dangerous. Thank you for listening.

 

History is not just a record—it’s a warning. In this special multi-part series, The Conscious Conscience unpacks the years leading up to World War II, tracing the rise of authoritarianism, propaganda, and systemic dehumanization that paved the way for global catastrophe.

 

Through immersive storytelling, historical analysis, and unsettling modern parallels, we examine how economic instability, racial and religious scapegoating, and political radicalization transformed ordinary citizens into bystanders—or accomplices. From the eugenics movement in America to Hitler’s calculated rise to power, we ask: How did it happen then? And more urgently—how is it happening again?

 

This is not just a history lesson. It’s a reckoning. Because the echoes of the past are growing louder, and the choices we make today will determine whether we repeat history—or finally learn from it.

Episode Transcript

Delilah Tanner (00:16):
Welcome back to the Conscious Conscience and thanks for tuning in. Today, we're diving right into World War Two, a reflection of shadows of the past in modern times. Part three We want to add a listener discretion to our remaining episode as it contains discussions of historical and present day atrocities, including genocide, systemic oppression and acts of political violence. Some content may be distressing, particularly for those personally affected by these topics. Our goal is to inform, not to sensationalize, to confront the past and present with honesty and clarity. We encourage listeners to engage with care, take breaks if needed, and seek support if these topics become overwhelming. History is difficult, but ignoring it is far from dangerous. Thank you for listening. September 1st, 1939. The world wakes to war. German forces storm across the Polish border. Their movement swift, methodical. Unstoppable. Blitzkrieg Lightning War. Cities fall like dominoes. And by the time the world reacts, Hitler's war machine is already in motion. Britain and France declare war on Germany. But Hitler is prepared. One by one, nations fall. Denmark. Norway. Belgium. The Netherlands. By June 1940, the unimaginable has happened. Paris is under Nazi control. Europe is breaking. And the world is watching. Hiding in the underground at night. Praying the bombs don't fall on them with the air smelling of dust and fear. And then on December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor is attacked, thus causing the United States to enter the war. The battle lines are now global. The world is ablaze. While the world fights on the front lines, a quieter horror unfolds behind barbed wire. The final solution the systemic extermination of the Jewish people and other so-called undesirables. The Nazis campaign of hate has escalated beyond persecution. This is genocide. By the war's end, 6 million Jewish men, women and children will be murdered. Roma, disabled individuals, political descendants and LGBTQ plus people will join them in mass graves. The world will learn the names of places that will forever be synonymous with horror. Auschwitz, Treblinka and Dachau. They told them that they were going to work as mothers held their children's hands. They stepped off trains. They never saw their fathers again. The smoke from the chimneys never stopped either. In 1943, the Allies began to push back. Installing guard. The Soviet Union halts Hitler's advance in a brutal winter siege in North Africa. German forces are driven into retreat. And in Italy, Mussolini's regime crumbles. The tide is starting to turn, but the cost is staggering. Then D-Day arrives. Allied forces land on the beaches of Normandy on June six, 1944, breaking through Hitler's Atlantic Wall. It is the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. In April of 1945, the Red Army storms Berlin. Hitler, hiding in his underground bunker, sees the inevitable. On April 30th, he cowardly, takes his own life. A week later, Germany surrenders. The war in Europe is over, but the scars and devastation remain. The world stands in judgment. The Newman Burge trial has exposed the crimes of the Nazi regime. The word genocide is born and the phrase never again is spoken with conviction. When they open the doors of the gates of the camps, what they saw will haunt them until they die. The world must never forget. But forgetting is easy and history. If we are not careful, has a way of whispering the same old lies to new generations. The war ended. The bodies were buried, but the ideologies that fueled Hitler's rise did not disappear. They lingered in politics, in whispers and rhetoric that divides rather than unites. So what, if anything, have we learned from the past? Or are we doomed to repeat it? History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. These words were spoken by Mark Twain, and they linger heavy in the air. We stand at the precipice of history once again. To understand where we are, we must look back. But not just to the 1930s. We can look back to just the last 30 years, the decisions, the rhetoric, the policies that have led us here. We could go back even further, but this is a great starting point. In the aftermath of World War Two, America swore never again. But what happens when those words fade into complacency? In the last three decades only have seen a slow. Methodic shift. One that echoes the past in chilling ways. But was it out of the blue? Following the war ending in September of 1945, the world vowed to hold those responsible for Nazi atrocities accountable. Yet in the name of national security and scientific advancement, the United States launched Operation Paperclip. That very July secret program that brought over 1600 Nazi scientists, engineers and doctors to America. Among them were men who had designed the V-2 rockets that devastated London and those who had conducted inhumane medical experiments in concentration camps. Wernher von Braun is probably one of the most notably known Nazis, a top Nazi rocket scientist who was later celebrated as the architect of NASA's Apollo program. But what was the cost of this? The same government that prosecuted war criminals at Nuremberg granted others immunity, embedding them into the very institutions that would shape the Cold War and beyond. This was not just a recruitment of minds. It was a moral compromise. One that set a precedent. Justice was negotiable when power was at stake. As we examine history's patterns, we must ask when the pursuit of dominance outweighs accountability, what truths are written and what warnings are ignored. Looking more recently, we have the crime bill of 1994 in which mass incarcerations exploded intentionally and disproportionately targeting black and brown communities. A new underclass is created a group branded as dangerous and stripped of opportunity. In 2001, the Patriot Act is introduced. The fear becomes policy. Surveillance expands. Civil liberties begin to shrink. This rhetoric of us versus them solidifies. Specifically aimed at Muslims, immigrants and dissenters. Then around 2016 through 2020, we see this rise of the nationalist surge. Terms like America's first resurfaced. Originally coined by the KKK. Borders are hardened. Families begin to be separated. White nationalist groups feel emboldened. Marching openly in American Street. Compiled with all of that in the present day. Things like Project 2025 and the Christian Nationalist Agenda. The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 lays out a blueprint for an authoritarian future. One where government loyalty trumps democracy, civil rights are rewritten and dissent is eradicated. Germany in the early 1930s was not yet a land of death camps and genocide. It was a country in crisis. Looking for someone to blame. Economic instability, political division and national humiliation fueled radical movements. Hitler did not seize power overnight. He used the legal system, the media and the fears of everyday citizens to build this riech. He called for national purification. For the cleansing of enemies within. He made people believe that democracy had failed them. Today we hear echoes of that same rhetoric, the push to return America to a so-called Christian nation. The calls for mass deportations. The branding of journalists, educators and activists, even clergy as enemies of the state. The dehumanization of marginalized groups. The uptick in people looking at immigrants as subpar, less than human. The full deconstruction of vital parts of our federal systems and constitutional rights. The intentional push of lies and scapegoating while denying facts. This doesn't just echo Nazi Germany, but remnants of our own 3/5 floor. There are thousands of people online today sharing this ideology and the ones speaking up and standing up to protect the marginalized. Just like in Germany, they are breaking the law by showing humanity and compassion for having empathy. There are even calls from state officials on social media for their deportations, just for speaking up for what is truly just and right. The push to bring America to a Christian nation seems to have missed the fundamental marks of a Christ like spirit. There are even organizations in the Republican Party such as Tennessee, that idolize Hitler in their writings when talking about how to lead children under strong leaders. As we speak, policies are being enacted that strip away fundamental rights and rewrite basic humanity and compassion. Oklahoma has just introduced a bill to pass mental health to their correctional department. Mass deportations are no longer a distant threat. They are happening and this isn't new. Over the past few weeks, what is new is the how, why and where. Discussions of work camps are no longer conspiracy. They are now policy proposals, with their lawmakers already financially invested in the institution set to open in 2026. Guantanamo Bay is set to house 30,000 detainees on roughly only 45 square miles with the largest prison in the United States being the Louisiana Penitentiary, which houses approximately 6300 inmates on roughly 22 square miles of land. Just for perspective. There are also major differences between a prison and a detainment facility like how Guantanamo Bay will be classified. Namely, there are significantly less regulations and requirements necessary in detainment facilities in regards to medical staffing and food requirements like nutrition. The language of cleansing our nation is no longer from the pages of history. It is in our headlines today and in conversations with our family members. Statements like, Why do you care? It won't affect you. Ah said easily and without care. These eerily carry the same sentiment as the last prisoners in Germany. The question is no longer whether history will repeat itself. It is how far we will allow it to continue. In the 1940s, the world asked How did the German people not see what was happening? How did they allow it? Future generations may ask the very same of us and have significantly more questions, given our knowledge to our past and technology and connection available to easily take a stand. And if the last 30 years alone can really tell us anything at all, it's that we have been looking at two sides of the same coin for quite some time. With that, remember to always stay conscious. Or all hope dies with the men with no conscience.