A sign at a store in Berlin requires proof of having been vaccinated for or recovered from the coronavirus, on Jan. 7. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

The Jan. 13 Metro article “GOP congressman compares vaccine mandate to Nazism” reported that Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) compared D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s (D) upcoming vaccine mandate to Nazi Germany. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said the same thing about mask mandates. 

Last week, my husband and I flew home from Germany, where we were visiting our son who supports our U.S. military forces there. It is illegal to display a swastika in Germany, and the evil of the Nazi regime is publicly and clearly communicated in schools, museums and memorials. To equate lifesaving vaccines with a movement to exterminate humans is preposterous. Such remarks mirror the incendiary rhetoric used by Hitler and all dictators to inflame emotions and create fear. 

During our visit, we enjoyed German restaurants after easily complying with the mandate to show our fully vaccinated status. We felt safe and relaxed eating out as hospitals filled up at home with unvaccinated Americans.

Sallie McElrath, Hyattsville