Members of Congress spar over radicalism at US History Museum: 'Is Mickey Mouse racist?'
4. Maxwell Frost, Ayaana Pressley compare Trump admin. to Nazi Germany
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., closed his questioning by raising concerns about censorship, drawing a comparison to how "Nazi Germany weaponized art and museums to demonize certain groups." He asked Blight: "If Congress or the White House starts deciding historical interpretation, how is that different from political censorship?"
"It is political censorship," Blight replied. "Their model may indeed be Joseph Goebbels' Committee on Enlightenment, which is what the Nazis called their committee that tried to control the museums."
At another point in the hearing, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., invoked a similar historical parallel, describing how "as the Nazi regime consolidated political power, it turned its attentions to museums and to galleries."
According to Pressley, "The regime started with criticism labeling art as degenerate and claiming it didn't fit with the national culture, but then they started attacking museum directors and curators and eventually art pieces were confiscated from museums and locked away or sold. In 1939, Nazis publicly burned thousands of paintings that they couldn't profit from."
Frost opened his questioning by accusing his Republican colleagues of "reading talking points from the White House," and argued the administration believes "the Smithsonian's goals should be consistent with the [Trump] administration's cultural and political goals."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
