In March 1930, Weimar Germany’s Great Coalition broke up when SPD quit over raising employees& #39; NI contributions at time when wages falling due to Great Depression.

This led to a general election. /1

That general election was inconclusive and resulted in a hung Reichstag. Weimar was wracked by political instability for next few years.

But it was also the breakthrough election for the NSDAP. /2

We all know what happened thereafter - how the leader of the NSDAP became chancellor, became Fuhrer and the terrible, terrible things that were done as a result. /3

But no historian claims SPD were “responsible” for this despite their action in 1930 being a key part of the chain of events

It would be absurd to do so. A philosopher of historical causation would regard it a fallacy - SPD did not force the NSDAP to do the things it did.

Yes this thread is a giant sub tweet.

No, folk don’t get to invoke Godwin’s law as a way of trying to avoid their logically fallacious ideas about historical cause, effect, responsibility and agency. /ends