Contrariwise, there was a widespread belief that we were at significant risk of cascading computer failures that could take out critical infrastructure when the year rolled over from 1999 to 2000. When midnight struck on January 1, 2000, nothing much happened, and skeptics said "See? It was no big deal. Turns out there was nothing to worry about after all." But actually, software engineers had been working since years before to update those critical systems since years before and their efforts paid off, making Y2K seem like a non-event.

Maybe we haven't observed Nazism rise again in Germany because the policies against Nazi expression, first implemented by the Allied occupying forces immediately after WWII, worked so well.