Seventy-five years ago, on 19 January 1942, the then President of the United States, Franklin D Roosevelt, signed an executive order. I doubt it was treated as quite the photo opportunity that more recent executive orders have become – this was a few decades before Twitter and Facebook Live – but its effect was nonetheless immediate and devastating. This order, the now notorious Executive Order 9066, would ultimately lead to the internment of over 100,000 Americans with Japanese ancestry, on American soil.

There is a narrative in our press at the moment that tends to draw parallels between Donald Trump of the modern United States and Adolf Hitler of 1930s Germany. I see the superficial reasons for which these kind of parallels might be drawn, but I urge you not to fall into the trap of thinking this is “just like fascism all over again”. If you give it a closer analysis, there are some very clear differences between the America of 2017 and Germany of 1939.

The question isn’t so much “is this the same as that” but whether recent events in global politics – for instance Trump’s imposition of the travel ban (which he now refers to openly as a “ban”), a policy directly targeting people of certain ethnic backgrounds – is perhaps symptomatic of an underlying change somehow. Ten years ago, the idea of internment camps based on ethnicity would have felt very alien to me, even impossible. But now I’m not so sure.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Some of those comparing Trump to Hitler feel safer making those comparisons because, even though they draw certain parallels up to a point, there’s a feeling that somehow it could never really get quite that bad again, not in the 21st century – after all, this is America, not Germany.

We spend a lot of time considering the history of countries such as Germany in World War II, but perhaps we would be better served by broadening our perspective and looking to the history of countries closer to home, considering just how far they were prepared to go in the name of their “national security” – a rhetorical device Trump is particularly fond of. On this day, 75 years ago, it made sense to the American government of the time to imprison everyone of Japanese ethnicity. Is it so unimaginable that Trump would never consider putting comparable policies in place?

A much more interesting parallel is that between Trump and Roosevelt, but this is cited far less often, and is far more uncomfortable – Roosevelt is often hailed as an American hero. On the surface, Roosevelt’s America was at war, unlike Trump’s, and many would argue that the circumstances under which he operated and made decisions were radically different; nevertheless, there are many others who would attest that America is at war with Islamic fundamentalism.