September Travel News
Hi from Rick: My Fascism TV Special
Travel experiences are like seeds that grow in ways impossible to predict — like producing a TV special called "The Story of Fascism in Europe," debuting now on public television across the US.
Over decades of traveling, I've gathered impressions about Europe's experience with fascism. Riding up the elevator to Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat on a mountaintop in Bavaria, I noticed the precision of the stonework. As those imposing doors slammed open and shut, they seemed to demand obedience. In Rome's E.U.R., standing before the central palace of Mussolini's planned city, I looked into the eyes of mighty, bleached-white statues that left me reeling with the feeling that it's all for one in lockstep, and that individuality is to be consumed by the state. In Nürnberg, stepping into the gilded "Green Room" under the towering tribunal platform from where Hitler stoked the masses at his rallies, I imagined a charismatic despot getting prepped for his speech that would amp up both the fears and the anger of an entire nation.
These powerful sights — the physical remains of that period — inspired me to weave their important lessons into an hour-long TV special… Read more
