From Hitler to Hegseth

When Generals Swear to a Man

Historians warn that tyranny reconstructs itself brick by brick, ritual by ritual. Over in 1935 Berlin, Adolf Hitler summoned German generals from across the nation to a surprise assembly, and told them this: your old oath — to the Constitution, to the Republic — is void. From now on, your allegiance is not to Germany or law or values: it is to me. In s…