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There’s a kind of arrogance that comes with money and access. It convinces people they can control outcomes, shape movements, even manage chaos. History has a habit of humbling that thinking.
In early 20th-century Germany, a group of powerful industrialists made a calculated choice. Faced with a fractured political landscape, worker unrest, and economic uncertainty, they aligned themselves with a man they didn’t respect—but believed they could use: Adolf Hitler. They weren’t ideologues. They weren’t swept up in nationalist rhetoric. They saw opportunity.
Fritz Thyssen, heir to a major steel and coal empire, was one of the first to see value in the Nazi Party. He funneled money into the movement, thinking it would push back against labor strikes and communism. Alfred Hugenberg, a media magnate and conservative political figure, offered Hitler a platform, helping normalize him in mainstream politics. When Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933, Hugenberg believed he was shaping the government. He was wrong.
Within months, Hitler outmaneuvered them all. The Nazis took full control. Dissent wasn’t tolerated. Thyssen eventually opposed some of Hitler’s decisions and was locked away in a concentration camp. Hugenberg watched his media empire fall under state control. These were men who assumed they were calling the shots. They were simply making the introductions.
What makes this story worth retelling isn’t just the downfall of a few rich men. It’s the reminder that authoritarian power rarely announces itself with a warning. It asks for support, plays to self-interest, and makes promises it won’t keep. And when it arrives, it doesn’t stop where you planned. Sound familiar, it should.
There are parallels to draw—cautiously, but clearly. Across the globe, we see political leaders building movements based on fear, division, and spectacle. And we see people in boardrooms, newsrooms, and political back channels believing they can shape it, guide it, maybe benefit from it.
But power once unleashed is hard to contain. Especially when it’s been handed over willingly.
The industrialists who backed Hitler didn’t agree with everything he said. They thought they were using him. They thought they could pull back when it went too far. History proved them wrong.Today’s threat may not wear the same uniform, but the pattern is familiar. When we try to control chaos rather than confront it, when we make room for extremism because it aligns with our momentary interests, we don’t just risk regret—we risk collapse. Democracy, once handed over, doesn’t always come back quietly. Some believe that America has never been a democracy to begin with, and that is a conversation, for another day.
