Email correspondence between Norman Antokol and Armin Mruck, May 2018

Norm On May 8, 2018 at 10:23 AM "Mruck, Armin" < AMruck@towson.edu > wrote: Dear Nprman: What a pleasant surprise to receive mail from a former student at Morgan State, thank YOU so much. It makes my day. It is good to know what former good students take along lin and for their lives. I share your anxiety and fear of the current administration. Personally, I would love to hear more about your life. Thanks again. And please stay in touch. Armin Mruck. From: NORMAN ANTOKOL Sent: Tuesday, May 8, 2018 8:37:08 AM To: Mruck, Armin Subject: From an old acquaintance Dear Dr. Mruck: It's extremely unlikely that you would remember me, but I was a graduate assistant in your department at Morgan at the same time you were there, 1965-67. I hung around your office a good deal during that time, because I was anxious to absorb as much as I could about 1930s Germany from someone with your first-hand knowledge. As I've watched with horror the rise of Donald Trump in this country, I've often quoted something you once said to me -- "If it could happen in a relatively intellectual country like Germany, it could certainly happen in a relatively ignorant country like the United States." In case you're wondering, I've always credited you whenever I've quoted it. I recently saw a letter you'd written to the Baltimore Sun in 2016 making essentially that point, if somewhat more gently. I can't say that it reminded me of our conversations, because I had never forgotten them in the first place. But it certainly brought home to me how right you were. I'm writing now because I thought you might like to know how much influence you had on my thinking, even from this great distance.