A note posted on Twitter from “the people of Germany” that warns of the parallels between Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump has gone insanely viral.
The message was posted on Friday by Johan Franklin, who warned:
“Go ahead, vote for the guy with the loud voice who hates minorities, threatens to imprison his opponent, doesn’t give a fuck about democracy, and claims he alone can fix everything. What could possibly go wrong?”
You probably couldn’t turn on Twitter at the weekend without seeing it:
The #beentheredonethat hashtag also started to trend.
And today, Franklin took to Twitter to “clarify a few things.”
Franklin reveals he was born in Germany but is now living in San Diego, California, and discloses how some Trump supporters have reacted less favourably to his missive.
“I’ve received many nice messages along the lines of ‘I hope you die’,” he writes.
He also makes clear he does not work for the Clinton campaign, but would vote for her if he could.
“I can’t. I’m German. Pay attention,” he quips.
He writes:
“Of course I can’t speak for the entire population of Germany. I used that signature line as a way of over-dramatizing to add emphasis. I’ve been told it’s a common narrative device. But from what I hear from friends and family back home, what I read on German news sites and social media, many Germans are just scared shitless that an obvious demagogue and outright liar can gather so many people behind him. Yes, it does remind us of something that happened here.”
Franklin concludes:
“Whenever I traveled outside Germany in the past, I’ve often been asked how the German people could have fallen for Hitler back in the 30s and 40s. ‘How could your people not have known?’ they asked. I don’t get that much question lately.”
