The outcome was clear to Dodd well before the votes were counted. He wrote to Roosevelt, "The election here is a farce." Nothing indicated this more clearly than the vote within the camp at Dachau: 2,154 of 2,242 prisoners-96 percent-voted in favor of Hitler's government. On
In Erik Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts," Dodd reflects on the predictable and manipulated nature of elections under Hitler’s regime. He expressed his disillusionment in a letter to Roosevelt, describing the election as a "farce," highlighting the lack of true democratic principles in Nazi Germany. This sentiment is reinforced by the overwhelming vote from prisoners at Dachau, where an astonishing 96 percent supported Hitler's government despite being in a concentration camp.
Dodd’s correspondence underscores the grim reality of political oppression and the facade of choice presented by the Nazi government. The extraordinary majority of votes in favor of Hitler among the camp inmates illustrates the coercion and control exercised over individuals, rendering any democratic process meaningless. This situation sheds light on the broader context of fear and manipulation that characterized life in Germany during that era.
