A holocaust survivor says that he sees a lot of parallels between what is happening in American today and the atmosphere in pre-Nazi Germany that led to millions of people being murdered by the state.

Stephen B Jacobs, who has lived in the United States since being liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945, told Newsweek that the growing prominence of far-right voices since President Donald Trump’s ascension to America’s highest office is worrying — and that things seem to just be getting worse.

“Things just go from bad to worse every day,” Mr Jacobs, a 79-year-old architect in New York who designed a memorial at his former concentration camp, said. “There’s a real problem growing.”

He said that it is not just that far-right demonstrators feel emboldened in the age of Trump, but also that their rhetoric and talking points have seeped into some areas of mainstream political discourse.

“It feels like 1929 or 1930 Berlin,” Mr Jacobs, who said he sees a “direct parallel” between 2018 America and the nascent days of Nazi Germany, said.

“Things that couldn’t be said five years ago, four years ago, three years ago — couldn’t be said in public — are now normal discourse. It’s totally unacceptable,” he continued. “We thought our country had change. In fact, it didn’t. We were operating under a misconception. ‘My god, we elected a black president in the United States! Look how far we’ve come!’ We haven’t.”

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

Observers note that the divisive rhetoric of Mr Trump’s campaign has carried over into his presidency, squashing previous hopes that he would become a unifying presidential figure once actually in office.

That has resulted in both tangible and symbolic developments: The Southern Poverty Law Centre — a civil rights advocacy group — saw a 4 per cent spike in the number of hate groups in the country, while a white supremacist rally resulted in the death of a counter-demonstrator being killed in Charlottesville last year — an incident that Mr Trump appeared hesitant to denounce in the days that followed.

Mr Jacobs told Newsweek that he does not think of the president as a fascist — “you’ve got to know what fascism is. And I don’t think he has the mental power to even understand it” — but said that he knows the president personally from the New York real estate industry, and that he fears the worst.