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China Elevator Stories
When It Gets to That Point, It’s Already Too Late
Learning from history is necessary to not repeat the past.
26/06/2025
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
Wow, great job!
Hah, because this certainly doesn’t remind us of another really dark time in history—when critical political opinions weren’t allowed to be voiced, and people could die for expressing them. Now, being imprisoned for speaking your mind about a politician is certainly a very fun thing to experience—and definitely not reminiscent of censorship, the Nazis, or Hitler, who didn’t allow people to speak freely.
How did the censorship of the Jews and others who spoke up against what was happening begin? For one, people were silenced. They weren’t allowed to speak up about the horrific things they had endured—or they could end up dead. They couldn’t criticize Hitler—or they’d end up dead. And others weren’t allowed to say such things either—or they too would end up dead.
Free speech should be better protected. These patterns are horrifyingly similar and not something to underestimate or dismiss as “nothing”—especially when people in power act against those who aren’t in power. Whenever power is abused, as it seems to be in this case, and people are punished for criticizing a government or those in authority, injustice is happening—and fascism is what is truly being supported here. The 14 signs of fascism? Well, this one isn’t mentioned on the list, but it is a sign of fascism. A very clear sign, and very easy to observe.
In the past, if people voiced a critical opinion to their neighbor, they were free to do so, and the police usually wouldn’t come to their home. I believe the same lenience should apply in the online sphere.
In my experience, this isn’t the only sign that censorship has truly gained ground—there are many other patterns as well that remind of the 1930s. It’s insane to be experiencing this and to watch fascism and fascist behavior unfold without being able to fully express it in words. Sometimes we just know what something is when we see it.
To explain this further, let’s look at how Hitler started his silencing of huge masses of people, so they couldn’t or wouldn’t speak up about the cruelties they experienced (Wikipedia):
The Reichstag Fire Decree (German: Reichstagsbrandverordnung) is the common name of the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State (German: Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten zum Schutz von Volk und Staat) issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg on the advice of Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 28 February 1933 in immediate response to the Reichstag fire. The decree nullified many of the key civil liberties of German citizens. With the Nazis in powerful positions in the German government, the decree was used as the legal basis for the imprisonment of anyone considered to be opponents of the Nazis, and to suppress publications not considered “friendly” to the Nazi cause. The decree is considered by historians as one of the key steps in the establishment of a one-party Nazi state in Germany.
Several other decrees were also issued, and the BBC offers an overview of the measures used to silence opposition:
Opposition to the Nazis
Those who spoke out against Hitler and his policies faced intimidation and threats from the Gestapo or imprisonment, and in some cases execution. Hence, there was little open opposition to Hitler.Why was there little opposition to the Nazis?
The ‘Night of the Long Knives’ had eliminated almost all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party.
All other political parties had been banned in July 1933.
Through censorship and propaganda, the Nazis eliminated opposition in the media.
Economic opposition was eliminated as trade unions had been banned in May 1933.
Germans lived in fear of being denounced by spies, interrogated by the Gestapo and sent to concentration camps.
Many Germans genuinely believed that the Nazis were improving Germany. They saw the negative side as a ‘necessary evil’ if Germany was to be great again.
However, there were a few individuals and groups who openly opposed Hitler and his policies. The majority ended up in concentration camps, while many were killed.
If you’ve seen people being silenced, if you’ve been intimidated and threatened with the authorities for speaking out against horrific abuse—especially at the hands of narcissists—or even just made a sarcastic comment about certain people, please know: in this day and age, you might be threatened or intimidated with legal or police action. But also know that your voice is valuable. It is cherished. It is important.
The more people speak up, the more visible the truth becomes. If 10,000 people are experiencing the same pattern, but only one of them speaks out, no one will believe it’s real. If 100 speak up, the story becomes more convincing. If 1,000 speak up, the story becomes credible—if they speak truthfully.
Please: speak up. Speak up. Speak up. Never let anyone silence you. And yes, I know what that may cost you—nothing less than your life or your freedom. But if you are someone who dares to speak up, know this: you are courageous. You are part of the minority willing to risk everything for the sake of truth, democracy, and freedom. And in the end, nothing matters if there is no freedom. Freedom is the ultimate goal in any democracy—for everyone, not just for those in power.
Now, I’ve watched two videos about these incidents. But then I asked myself: what if the people voicing their opinions were right-wing extremists, or even spreading Nazi ideology? In that case, stopping them might actually be justified—though perhaps other, less aggressive means could be used, like first asking them to stop, instead of searching their homes.
I realized the videos talked about the police searching houses, but didn’t include any information about the actual content of the messages—what was said, who these people were, and which politicians were being criticized. That matters. Because if their statements were truly dangerous, undermining democracy, then we’re not talking about silencing—we’re talking about protecting democracy.
But even then, the means matter. Intimidation, force, and unchecked authority are hallmarks of oppressive systems. And unless these individuals were genuinely dangerous—not just politically inconvenient—it still fits a larger pattern of suppressing dissent and using power to control the narrative and create fear of speaking up against people in power.
There should be no silencing in a democracy. But at the same time, democracy must protect peace, safety, and freedom for all—not just allow history to repeat itself. The horror of the Second World War must never happen again, and for that, we must remain alert—both to threats from extremism and to the abuse of power that silences truth.
This is a podcast in German about censorship during Nazi Germany:
Have you ever been silenced?