Is Nazism Coming Back?
Neo-Nazis: Harvard Magazine Suspended After Publishing "Blood and Soil" Manifesto
Harvard's conservative publication The Salient suspended after publishing column invoking Nazi "blood and soil" slogan, sparking campus-wide condemnation.
Harvard University's conservative publication, The Salient, has suspended operations after publishing a student column that explicitly invoked the notorious Nazi slogan "blood and soil" (Blut und Boden) and featured language nearly identical to a 1939 speech by Adolf Hitler. The swift, internal implosion was triggered by widespread campus condemnation over the piece, which defended a nation's right to ethnic and demographic preservation.
The Controversial Column and Immediate Backlash
The September essay, written by student David F.X. Army, argued that ethnic groups possess an inherent right to preserve their "blood, soil, language, and love of one’s own." The article also controversially framed population change resulting from migration as "the deliberate remaking of nations through demographic engineering."
Crucially, the essay included a quote that bore striking similarity to Hitler's 1939 Reichstag address: “Germany belongs to the Germans, France to the French.”
The invocation of the "blood and soil" slogan, a key tenet of Nazi ideology used to promote racial purity and homeland loyalty, drew immediate and severe criticism across the campus. Editorials in The Harvard Crimson and other student media quickly condemned the rhetoric as antisemitic and white nationalist.
Leadership Defiance and Internal Revolt
The magazine's leadership initially defended the publication. Editor-in-chief Richard Y. Rodgers claimed the resemblance to Nazi rhetoric was merely "coincidental" and insisted the article was "a meditation on belonging, not exclusion."
Rodgers not only dismissed the outrage but doubled down, telling The Crimson:
“To confuse a defense of belonging for a manifesto on exclusion is a fault of the reader, not the writer.” He then escalated the rhetoric by accusing critics of "liberal bias" and describing the political left as “our enemies.”
The defiance, however, led to an internal revolt.
Suspension and Internal Review
By Sunday, The Harvard Salient’s 10-member board of directors intervened to halt the controversy, announcing the suspension of all operations and the launch of an internal review.
The board’s public statement sharply condemned the article's language, stating that the rhetoric used "betrayed the conservative principles the magazine was founded upon." The board pledged a full investigation into the organization’s leadership, editorial process, and "broader culture."
Drift Toward Extremism
Founded in 1981 and revived in 2021 as a conservative forum, The Salient has reportedly displayed a "steady drift further to extremism" in recent years. Prior to the current controversy, the magazine had published deeply polarizing content, including calls to re-segregate Harvard’s colleges and articles labeling leftism as "a mental illness."
In a separate disturbing piece published in September, the magazine reportedly described the left as “our enemies,” following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a phrase that critics argue confirms a pattern of aggressive, dehumanizing political rhetoric that culminated in the use of Nazi-linked ideology.