Barbara Restle, a Bloomington resident, witnessed and survived the Nazi regime’s rise and grasp over Europe. Now, she has expressed her deep unease with the current state of American politics as it draws parallels to the totalitarian regime’s ascension to power.
Restle grew up in Nazi occupied Austria, watching as Adolf Hilter took control of her home. Her family eventually fled to the United States, but not before witnessing Hitler and his Nazi regime establish a dictatorship over much of Europe.
Now, the United States has witnessed Donald Trump come to power, recently being elected to his second term as President. His actions in office and the actions of his administration have sparked emotion in Restle. She reflected on how her upbringing has now invoked parallels to the present day.
Restle was born in Paris to American parents, but grew up just outside of Vienna. In the first grade during the early 1930s, a nun came to her school, warning the class that their life was about to change drastically. From that point, the political climate began to unravel in front of her eyes. From first grade to sixth grade, her mother began sending her off to school with a warning to keep her mouth shut and to stay on guard.
“One day our teacher introduced us to a nun who came to us from the local nunnery,” said Restle, “and she was obviously quite emotional when she told us that our life was now going to be changing in a way that was going to be very challenging for all of us.”
Although Restle’s family was not Jewish, fearing for their safety, her family escaped on a boat in 1938 alongside Jewish refugees. Ultimately, her family settled in New Jersey.
“I was in school in Vienna until 1938 at that point, my father put all of us in his Dodge and we drove from Vienna to Italy. Trieste is the Austrian sea port where we boarded a refugee ship” she said.
Not realizing it at the time, Restle’s father was an undercover agent with the U.S. State department and aided in the escape of many Jewish people from Nazi persecution. They would often house these refugees in their New Jersey home while they were awaiting a permanent place to stay. Notably, her father played a significant role in Albert Einstein’s escape from Germany.
“I finally realized my father was responsible for these Jewish people”, she said, “he had helped them get out of Europe, and now my mother was helping him find a good place for them to live.”
With the reelection of President Donald Trump and his administration, American politics have shifted to an unprecedented state and Restle revealed how this has left her feeling deeply unsettled. She reflected on how the conduct of president Trump and his administration have drawn parallels to what she witnessed as a child in Austria as the Nazi party came to power.
She said, “right now we are seeing chaos. We’re seeing political entities who are loyal to the present political system and they’re showing loyalty in order to maintain their positions in the legislature or in the White House.”
She went on to describe how she believes President Trump’s administration has had an ongoing disregard for the Constitution that has pushed his leadership further from the democratic process.
She asked “Are we moving into a regime here, which is definitely based on empirical policies, definitely not on a constitution and our amendments?”
When asked if Trump aims to be a dictator, Restle highlighted the unconstitutional actions of the President.
“He’s very, very comfortable being able to make decisions which are never, never based on our Constitution” she said.
When questioned about the state of American democracy, Restle felt uncertain, not knowing what is going to happen next, but believes that chaos is growing.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said, “the chaos is possibly growing. It’s entirely possible. It’s growing.”
With the rising parallels of the Nazi regime and the Trump administration, Restle emphasized the importance of peaceful demonstration.
“I think demonstrating peaceably is a priority,” she said.
Living through Nazi occupation taught Barbara Restle the reality of totalitarian regime changes. Today, she disturbingly questions what the future holds in America. Restle now resides in Meadowood Senior Living in Bloomington, where I work part time as a server.
