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This article was first published on July 31, 2017 at 1.46 pm and has been republished on the occasion of Premchand’s birth anniversary at 1.30 pm on July 31, 2026.

“After the landslide victory of the Nazi Party in Germany, the question that arises is will Germany really turn into a fascist regime and will the Nazis be able to hold and consolidate power for at least five years? If it happens and the Nazis get an opportunity to establish themselves, they will suck the democratic life and vision out of Germany through its political and military strength in such a way that not a single opponent of the Nazi Party would be left in Germany for 25 years.”

Premchand recorded this apprehension in a brief commentary titled ‘Germany Ka Bhavishya’ (The Future of Germany) right after the victory of the Nazi Party in Germany in 1933. What is noteworthy in this excerpt is the part where he forebodes the “democratic vision” of Germany being sucked out. He says that the rise to power of one specific political force is a threat to democracy, endangering its existence. But this victory was nothing usual. “The growing repression of the illegitimate army of the Nazi Party in Germany and the crushing of all opposing powers prior to the election is the sole reason for Nazi victory,” he writes. “If not so, was it fair to conduct elections after incarcerating communists, beating up opponents and banning rival newspapers like Mussolini did and then declare it to be a victory of popular vote?”

It is not necessary to view Premchand’s observation in the context of the present times but the focus of his comment is the forced elimination of opposition before the victory of the Nazi Party. He does........

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