Neo-Nazi Dog Whistles

From the Desk of Lori Shepherd - Executive Director

Special to the Arizona Daily Star

Neo-Nazi “dog whistles” are never okay, especially when they come from an Arizona state senator.

Neo-Nazis, those who have adopted ideologies like those of Hitler’s World War II-Era Nazi Party, use foul and offensive “dog whistles” all the time. What is a dog whistle? Simply put, this is a term that is used to describe speech that is supposed to be veiled enough to go unnoticed by the majority of the population but is easily identifiable enough to send a kind of private message to those who are like-minded people.

In my role as Executive Director of Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, I see this hateful and vile messaging often. It is a part of the history we teach and it lives on today in social media posts by so-called influencers, spewed by heretics on message boards and, sadly, increasingly repeated in the mainstream media. What we don’t usually see is a sitting politician use a dog whistle as blatantly and directly as did this Arizona State Senator, Wendy Rogers, recently. “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,” read her social media post after the far-right party, Alternative for Germany, won a few seats in two German elections.

This phrase, which translates to “Germany, Germany above all,” has been used as a Nazi rallying cry since before the start of World War II. Originally, this line was part of the lyrics of an 1841 song written by German poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben. By the early 1930s the lyrics had been taken out of context and were widely used by the Nazi regime. Sullied by the Nazi Party’s misuse of the lyrics, the anthem was banned by Germany in 1949.

Given this historical backstory, there is no explanation for the use of this phrase that makes it acceptable. None.

I wish I could say that I am shocked by State Senator Wendy Rogers’ grotesque display of the glorification of hate and antisemitism, but I cannot. This is simply a continuation of her horrific and hateful behaviors, which have been emboldened by her colleagues who refuse to stand up and fight for what is right and to fight for all Arizonans.

I urge all her colleagues in the Legislature to say enough is enough. No more free passes, no more partial censures, and no more turning a blind eye. We Arizonans hear these dog whistles loud and clear and we know that you do too.