'Get them while they are young': Tennessee GOP group quotes Hitler in promoting reading list

24 January

One local Republican group in Tennessee decided to promote its reading list of recommended books by including a quote from Adolf Hitler.

That's according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, which recently reported that the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women (TFRW) included the Hitler quote when arguing for the importance of influencing the next generation from an early age. The paper reported that the TFRW recommended books by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and former Second Lady Lynne Cheney, among others.

While the post on the group's website has apparently been deleted, an archived version of it shows that the reading list, which was entitled "Growing American Patriots Through Literacy," quotes the Bible immediately before quoting the Nazi dictator who ordered the murder of six million Jewish people during World War II, and committed acts of genocide against other marginalized groups. The group referred to him an "intelligent leader."

"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.' 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 TFRW wrote.

Patsy Henry, who is a TFRW member in the Chattanooga area, told the Times Free Press that the Hitler quote was unnecessary, and that the group could have made the same point about engaging with youth by instead quoting someone like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.

"I don't know why they would use Hitler, I have no idea," Henry said.

TFRW President Sharon Boreing did not respond to the outlet's requests for comment. Former TFRW President Barbara Trautman has not addressed the controversy on her social media platform, nor has the group's official X account.

Click here to read the Times Free Press' article in its entirety.

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