Dr. Rufus Fears, classics professor at the University of Oklahoma, gave a lecture on the German Nazi leader, Adolph Hitler. He explained why Hitler was so successful in peddling his racist policies against the Jews.

Hitler perfected the lie. He didn’t, Fears said, tell a partial truth—an allegation with a grain of truth. Instead, he told blatant lies, and he repeated them over and over. Eventually, enough people believed Hitler’s lies to either follow him or ignore those who did follow him as they began persecution of the Jews.

Democracy had come to Germany after World War I. Democracy did not save Germans from a demagogue if they chose to believe lies. They were angry at their humiliation in losing World War I. Hitler’s lies spoke to their anger. Too few people were willing to set aside their anger and examine what Hitler said.