Rabbi sees reflections of Hitler in Darfur

(CNN) -- As Rabbi Marvin Hier scans the world, he sees a need for remembrance and a call for action.

A longtime fighter of intolerance, Hier, who founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, said current crises like the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan, are troublingly familiar.

He compared the conflict, where outside countries and international organizations like the United Nations have been largely ineffective in stemming the violence, to Adolf Hitler's rise in Germany prior to World War II.

"He wasn't sent there like a hurricane," he said. "It wasn't that we woke up one day and there he was."

Hitler began speaking on street corners in 1919 and took power years later, yet the world was dismissive of his aims, Hier said.

"Even when he became the chancellor of Germany, it is amazing to see that we just couldn't figure out where this is heading," he said.

"If the whole world is advised not to pay attention to these bigots and go about our business and pretend they don't exist, we'll pay a dear price later on." Read more >>>