reductio ad Hitlerum

(; Latin for "reduction to Hitler"), also known as playing the Nazi card, is an attempt to invalidate someone else's position on the basis that the same view was held by Adolf Hitler or the Nazi Party. Arguments can correctly be called if they are fallacious (e.g., arguing that because Hitler abstained from eating meat or was against smoking, anyone else who does so is a Nazi). Contrarily, straightforward arguments critiquing fascist components of Nazism like führerprinzip are not part of the association fallacy.

Coined by Leo Strauss in 1953, borrows its name from the term used in logic called ("reduction to the absurd"). According to Strauss, is a form of , , or a fallacy of irrelevance. The suggested rationale is one of guilt by association. It is a tactic often used to derail arguments because such comparisons tend to distract and anger the opponent.

Definition

is a form of association fallacy. The argument is that a policy leads to—or is the same as—one advocated or implemented by Adolf Hitler or Nazi Germany and so "proves" that the original policy is undesirable. Another form of is asking a question of the form "You know who else...?" with the deliberate intent of impugning a certain idea or action by implying Hitler held that idea or performed such an action.

A comparison to Hitler or Nazism is not a if it illuminates an argument instead of causing distraction from it. Straightforward comparisons can be used to criticize fascist components of Nazism like führerprinzip. However, one could fallaciously argue that because Hitler abstained from eating meat or was against smoking, anyone else who does so is a Nazi.

History

The phrase is first known to have been used in an article written by University of Chicago professor Leo Strauss for ''Measure: A Critical Journal'' in spring 1951, although it was made famous in a book by Strauss published in 1953 ''Natural Right and History'', Chapter II:

In following this movement towards its end we shall inevitably reach a point beyond which the scene is darkened by the shadow of Hitler. Unfortunately, it does not go without saying that in our examination we must avoid the fallacy that in the last decades has frequently been used as a substitute for the : the . A view is not refuted by the fact that it happens to have been shared by Hitler.

The phrase was derived from the logical argument called Reductio ad absurdum. The variant takes its form from the names of many classic fallacies such as . The variant may be further humorously derived from .

Limits to classification as a fallacy

Historian Daniel Goldhagen, who had written about the Holocaust, argues that not all comparisons to Hitler and Nazism are logical fallacies since if they all were, there would be nothing to learn from the events that led to the Holocaust. He argues in his book ''Hitler's Willing Executioners'' that many people who were complicit or active participants in the Holocaust and subsequently in fascist and neo-Nazi movements have manipulated the historical narrative to escape blame or to deny aspects of the Holocaust. Claims that allegations of antisemitism are ''reductio ad Hitlerum'' have also been employed by David Irving, a British Holocaust denier.

In 2000, Thomas Fleming claimed that ''reductio ad Hitlerum'' was being used by his opponents against his values:

Leo Strauss called it the . If Hitler liked neoclassical art, that means that classicism in every form is Nazi; if Hitler wanted to strengthen the German family, that makes the traditional family (and its defenders) Nazi; if Hitler spoke of the "nation" or the "folk", then any invocation of nationality, ethnicity, or even folkishness is Nazi ...

Antecedents

Although named for and formalized around Hitler, the logical fallacy existed prior to the Second World War. There were other individuals from history who were used as stand-ins for pure evil. In the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, the Pharaoh of the Book of Exodus was commonly seen as the most villainous person in history. In the years prior to the American Civil War, abolitionists referred to slaveholders as modern-day Pharaohs. After VE Day, Pharaoh continued to appear in the speeches of social reformers like Martin Luther King Jr. Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate were also commonly held up as pure evil. However, there was no universal Hitler-like person and different regions and times used different stand-ins. In the years after the American Revolution, King George III was often vilified in the United States. Andrew Jackson was also called King Andrew the First. During the American Civil War, some Confederates called Lincoln a "modern Pharaoh".

Invocations

In 1991, Michael André Bernstein alleged over a full-page advertisement placed in ''The New York Times'' by the Lubavitch community following the Crown Heights riot under the heading "This Year ''Kristallnacht'' Took Place on August 19th Right Here in Crown Heights". Henry Schwarzschild, who had witnessed ''Kristallnacht'', wrote to ''The New York Times'' that "however ugly were the anti-Semitic slogans and the assaultive behavior of people in the streets uring the Crown Heights riots... one thing that clearly did not take place was a ''Kristallnacht''".

''The American Conservative'' accused Jonah Goldberg's book ''Liberal Fascism'' of employing the fallacy:

That Nazism and contemporary liberalism both promote healthy living is as meaningless a finding as that bloody marys and martinis may both be made with gin. Repeatedly, Goldberg fails to recognize a . ... In no case does Goldberg uncover anything more ominous than a coincidence.

Since Hitler was against smoking, some have invoked the argument to compare those who are against smoking to Nazis.

See also

* Godwin's law
* List of fallacies
* Red-baiting (''reductio ad Stalinum'')

References

External links

*

Toying with Hitler and History
– slideshow by ''Der Spiegel''

Mike Huckabee's reductio ad Hitlerum, Lincoln Mitchell, April 7 2013
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reductio ad Hitlerum
1950s neologisms
Dog Latin words and phrases
Ethically disputed political practices
Genetic fallacies
Informal fallacies
Nazi analogies
Relevance fallacies
Thought experiments in ethics
Adolf Hitler