19 August—On 2 August 1934, as we wrote earlier this month, “upon the death of German president Paul von Hindenburg at 86, chancellor Adolf Hitler took the opportunity to declare himself supreme leader—autocrat, dictator, tyrant, Führer.” Hitler didn’t waste any time, declaring himself Führer only three hours after Hindenburg had crossed the bar. He didn’t even bother to seek the approval of the Reichsgericht, the Imperial Court—the German supreme court at the time.

But to make it all kosher anyway (probably on the advice of “the best lawyers in the country,” as Donald Trump put it just yesterday—in touting his latest illegal assault on the Constitution), Hitler scheduled a referendum (as opposed to a plebiscite, as it’s sometimes been characterized) for 19 August in order to solidify his autocracy by proposing to merge the offices of president and chancellor and grant all the power to himself. Sound familiar?

This is the question, translated from German: “The office of the national president is united with that of the national chancellor. In consequence, the former powers of the national president pass to the leader and national chancellor, Adolf Hitler. He appoints his deputy. Do you, German man, and you, German woman, approve of the arrangement made in this law?”

(Imagine an American referendum that asked, “Do you, American man, and you, American woman, and you, American non-binary person, approve . . . ?)

Talk about free and fair elections. Hitler’s government employed good old-fashioned intimidation as well as good old-fashioned electoral fraud to secure an impressive 90-percent approval in the referendum. Like for instance: storm troopers and police were prominently stationed at polling places; polling booths were removed from many locations; banners reading “Only traitors enter here” (in German, of course) were hung over some entrances.

And more like for instances: secret ballots were the exception rather than the rule; many ballots were pre-marked with “yes” votes; spoiled ballots were often counted as “yes” votes; many “no” ballots were recorded as “yes.” It wasn’t unusual for some precincts to have recorded more votes cast than there were eligible voters. Sound familiar?

Apropos nothing, the Reichswehr, the German army at the time (until it became the Wehrmacht in 1935), had been required to swear a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler as of Hitler’s momentous Führer declaration on 2 August.

Something else to look forward to with Trump 47 . . .