The Nazi rise was supported by a group of Jewish Germans called Verband nationaldeutscher Juden (Association of German National Jews). They initially believed that the Nazi Party’s extreme antisemitism was merely rhetorical hyperbole or a tactic used to “stir up the masses,” which would be discarded once the party achieved power. They thought their loyalty and service in World War I would protect them from Nazi persecution. They were banned by the Gestapo in November 1935, and its founder, Max Naumann, was imprisoned. Members of the group eventually faced the same persecution and fate as other German Jews, with many perishing in the Holocaust.

Some people just think that their shared beliefs will unite them with otherwise like- minded people that also hate some facet of their identity. They’re usually woefully wrong. It’s why we keep seeing conservative women surprised that their political allies are misogynistic and rapey toward them, conservative gay legislators face homophobic attacks from colleagues, and conservative trans people are constantly dead named, misgendered, and called pedophiles by their MAGA associates. They don’t see their identity as important, because it’s normal to them, so they misjudge how important it is to the bigots they support. And a lot of people, generally, have a “can’t happen to me” mindset about such things, until it does. I’m still a bit shocked by the amount that still support them, but not that any do.