Don’t Be a Sucker, a 17-minute film made in 1947 by the US war department to warn against fascism, was retweeted over 130,000 times last weekend

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

An anti-fascist film produced in the wake of the second world war has gone viral in the wake of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville that culminated in one person being killed and 19 injured this weekend.



Don’t Be a Sucker was released in 1947 by the US war department, building on an earlier wartime version made in 1943. The 17-minute film depicts a man lamenting African Americans and “foreigners” taking jobs, before drawing parallels between such white nationalism and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany.

A clip was shared widely on Twitter and elsewhere on Sunday, as people drew parallels between the scene depicted in the film and the current climate in the US.

Michael (@OmanReagan) 1947 anti-fascist video made by US military to teach citizens how to avoid falling for people like Trump is relevant again. pic.twitter.com/vkTDD1Tplh

Michael Oman-Reagan of the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada was among the first to share Don’t Be a Sucker.

“1947 anti-fascist video made by US military to teach citizens how to avoid falling for people like Trump is relevant again,” Oman-Reagan wrote, in a tweet that has since been retweeted more than 130,000 times.

Keith Ellison, a US congressman from Minnesota and the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, was among others to share the film.

It’s easy to see why Don’t Be a Sucker has had such an impact.

The clip opens with a man on a soap box declaring himself “an American American” and railing against people “holding jobs that belong to me” to a seemingly appreciative crowd.

“I’ve heard this kind of talk before but I never expected to hear it in America,” says a man with a European accent.

He is standing next to a man in a grey trilby, who seems to be being won over by the message from the soap box – until the speaker says that the US also needs to rid itself of masons.

“What’s wrong with the masons? I’m a mason. Hey, that fellow’s talking about me,” says the man in the grey hat.

“And that makes a difference, doesn’t it?” says the man with the European accent.

He explains that he grew up in Hungary before becoming a university professor in Berlin.

In Germany, the man with the European accent says, “I heard the same words we heard today”.

“But I was a fool then. I thought Nazis were crazy people, stupid fanatics. But unfortunately it was not so,” he continues. “You see, they knew that they were not strong enough to conquer a unified country.

“So they split Germany into small groups. They used prejudice as a practical weapon to cripple the nation.”

• This article was amended on 16 August 2017 to clarify that a version of the film was made in 1943.

