Tennessee Republican women's group cites Hitler in promoting its reading list
By: TimesFreePress
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Tennessee Federation of Republican Women is coming under fire for providing parents a reading list for children that cites Adolf Hitler as an example of leadership.
"Hitler and all intelligent leaders throughout history have understood that the way to change a country was through the training of its youth, to get them while they are young," the group's reading list says.
The list, dated March 2024, is titled "Growing American Patriots Through Literacy" and posted on the group's website.
The reference was called out on a social media site dedicated to the Knoxville community. Dozens of commenters found the citation of Hitler as a source on educating youth to be offensive.
"How do we make the changes necessary?" the reading list says, just before the Hitler quote. "Proverbs 22:6 teaches us that if 'we train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.'"
The books suggested include "Camilla Can Vote" coauthored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and "A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing Americans" by Lynne Cheney.
"We are providing reading lists and suggestions for materials that can be shared through local Clubs with children and grandchildren and recommended for local libraries," the group's material says.
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The group's president, Sharon Boreing, on Thursday asked a reporter to call back later and then did not answer the phone on a second call. She did not respond to a follow-up text.
"I don't know why they would use Hitler, I have no idea," Patsy Henry, a Chattanooga-area member of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women, said by phone.
Henry said the group could have used someone else as an example, like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.
A parents group in Indiana faced a similar controversy in June 2023, citing the German dictator in a newsletter. The newsletter cited Hitler, with the quote, "He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future."
The Indiana group, a chapter of Moms for Liberty, apologized for including the quote in the newsletter.
Hitler was an autocrat who led Germany into World War II, during which his nation exterminated 6 million Jews in one of the worst atrocities known to human history. His fascist movement, known as the Nazis, indoctrinated children with a Hitler Youth program, among other efforts. A recent study showed that antisemitic ideas from the indoctrination of the youth have persisted for decades and decades, The Associated Press reported.
"It's not just that Nazi schooling worked, that if you subject people to a totalitarian regime during their formative years it will influence the way their mind works," said Hans-Joachim Voth of the University of Zurich, one of the study's authors. "The striking thing is that it doesn't go away afterward."
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I wonder how many Holocaust deniers are in this group.
Lets face it, there are a lot of ignorant stupid people out there acting as "activists".
These people want an autocracy as long as it's of their making. Unfortunately for them, were they to get such a thing, it would eventually come for them in some fashion. You, know as soon as some guy with power and a mommy complex decides women shouldn't be out in public without a male family member as escort or some dumb assery.
This is probably not what it appears to be. I’m sure they’re just feeling very emotional and so they are making a reference anyone would make.
/s