In order to successfully address this question, one must first consider the definition of the very nebulous term Volksgemeinschaft. It was an expression used to depict the harmonious, classless national community ideal made up of the Herrenvolk, or master race. As a term used polemically by the Nazis to engender a form of "identity politics" and therefore oppose any notion of politics based on universal and objective class interests that it aimed to transcend, it helped them gain collective support from an already economically, psychologically and politically distraught post-war nation. The Volksgemeinschaft ideal was one of the key elements of Nazi ideology and was used to legitimate much of the regime's social policy whilst also providing support for their opposition to liberal individualism and Marxist class antagonism. Although to some extent rather imaginary and mythical, it was the key component to encompass the National Socialist dogma of the party, one which integrated the collective Nationalist spirit with the Socialism of diminished class divisions. It operated as a form of psychological Gleischaltung toward the increasingly totalitarian restructuring of German society in a very radical way that disrupted traditional loyalties between members of the same social class, religion and group organisation towards a more Nazified awareness and consciousness. Every single German was obligated to unite with this community, to embrace and share the common faith. According to Hitler "No one is excepted from the crisis of the Reich. This Volk is but yourselves. There may not be a single person who excludes himself from this obligation." However, the Volksgemeinschaft ideal was flawed, it was duplicitous like much of Nazi policy. Con... ... middle of paper ... ...hed as such and remained on the most part a psychological concept, one that served as a technique of Gleischaltung towards the increasing totality of state authority. The classless society ideal remained as inherently flawed and never could be established given the economic climate, foreign policy goals and the various inconsistencies and paradoxes within government policy. The Volksgemeinschaft was established perhaps through perception, but through reality it remained a superficial, idealised myth towards which the German people could motivate themselves. However, if Germany remained uninterrupted by war, then it could have been possible for the Nirvana of national harmony to be established to a greater extent after this period of catharsis and thus renewal had completed. Nevertheless, once Germany went to war the fabric of the Volksgemeinschaft was torn apart.
By implementing the “Final Solution,” Hitler transformed the war from a war on Germany’s enemies, into a “war against the Jews.” Originally taken from Volkish ideals, the Nazi ideology was strictly based on race as the defining factor of nationalism. The Nazis consistently pushed this ideology of race in their propaganda, ultimately playing towards the overly popular Volkish ideals. In addition to tying in Volkish ideal in Nazi propaganda, other themes included were:
The German Weimar Republic was an attempt to make Germany a more democratic state. While this was a very good idea in theory, the Weimar Republic was ineffective due to the instability that came with it. Several factors contributed to the instability of Germany’s Weimar Republic, such as the new political ideals brought forward and the government’s hunger for war. To begin, one of the factors that contributed to the instability of the Weimar republic was the presence of new political ideals. Marie Juchacz unintentionally highlighted that reason in her speech to the National Assembly.
The period after World War One was very politically unstable. Many different kinds of governments, such as fascism and communism, were coming up all over Europe. One country that especially faced this political fluctuation was Germany. After the war, Germany was forced into a democracy known as the Weimar Republic, but this government soon collapsed and Hitler’s fascism took over. There were various factors that contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic, but three major ones were the lack of popular support for the government, the lack of efficiency and internal organization, and the competition of other, more conservative parties such as the Nazis.
Prior to the Nazi takeover of Germany, the nation had been suffering deeply. An economic depression, large-scale unemployment, and the shame of losing World War I had put Germany in a dark place. The Nazi’s were incredibly aware of this, and their propaganda at the time reflected a need to reunite the German people. Propaganda appealed to national pride, and putting ones country before themselves. Of course, a strong united people needed a leader that was just as strong, and the “myth of Hitler” would create that leader. Slogans like “One People, one Fuhrer, one Reich!” promoted national unity, and a Wochenspruch from February 1938 states, “The greatest of all sacrifices is to give one’s life to preserve the existence of the community.” Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will comes from this time period and helps form the mythological image of Hitler. Propaganda also focused on the good the Nazi party was doing. It discussed how well the Nazi welfare system was working, newsreels showed happy German people enjoying the benefits of the Nazi regime.
Techniques Used by the Nazis in Converting German Youth to the Ideals of the Volksgemeinschaft
Nazis and the Party had very similar ideologies. Although Nazis eliminated people because of their religion (Sauer 683) and the Party eliminated people because of their anti-Party feelings (Orwell 187), they both tried to eliminate anyone who did not agree with them. This practice was essential for controlling the masses and holding on to power. Retaining power is much easier for a government when the entire population that government rules agrees with its philosophies. No one would attempt to remove the current government from power if he or she agreed with that government.
The Songerweg emphasizes the particular model of history that Germany, unlike other Western countries, has gone through. Specifically, ‘proponents of this concept emphasize the peculiarities of German history, such as political institutions, social structures, or mentalities and experience, usually in comparison with other Western countries, to demonstrate the unique course of German history’ (Buse & Doerr, 1998, p. 934). Although initially the theory of Sonderweg viewed the characteristics of German historical development as positive, the situation has changed after the World War II. Specifically, in the 19th and early 20th centuries historians applied the Sonderweg model to stress a focus on the role of strong central state and military as the driving force of the development of the country (Buse & Doerr, 1998). In addition to this, historians regarded social reforms in Germany that were made from ‘above’ rather than being the outcomes of revolution to be a positive feature that depicted German state in a favorable way. Finally, the historical school viewed the course of German industrialization and culture as superior to similar processed in the rest of Western European
An exploration of Jewish mixed blood status in Nazi Germany renders a brief history of anticipatory racial conceptions leading up to the Third Reich. The use of Mischlinge as well as other labels intended to denote mixed blood naturally evolved out of well-established racial conceptions central to Germany and the Third Reich ideology. This ideology, which existed as “an uneasy fusion of different strands of racial elitism and popularism,” defined persons as according to not only their Rasse or racial identity, but also membership of the German people or Volk (Hutton 15, 18). The idea of the Volk denoted not only shared language and heritage as well as right of citizenship, but the ordained right to inhabit German lands. Above all, this idea concerned triumphant unification of a German people perceived to be under threat of dissolution by ethnic and religious groups such as the R...
Richard Bessel’s article stresses the political structure of Weimar Germany as the cause of its failure. Its structure was flawed in numerous ways, all of which contributed to its inevitable failure. First of all, the problems within Germany due to the First World War were massive. This caused economic, political and social problems which first had to be dealt with by the new Weimar government. The loss of the war had left Germany with huge reparations to pay, and massive destruction to repair. In order to gain the capital needed to finance efforts to rebuild, and repay the Allies, the economy had to be brought back to its prewar levels. This was not an easy task.
The definition of health generally varies from person to person; for me health is the state of well-being; whether it is physical, mental or social well-being. When making health decisions many people, myself included, consider finances before making decisions. For an example before joining a gym I consider the cost and quality of the gym before considering how vital exercise is to my health. The same goes for diet I often hear people say eating health is much more expensive than eating unhealthy. Being healthy comes from putting in effort; physically, mentally, and economically.
Marriage defined the Volksgemeinschaft, or “community of people,” of Germany because it was the basis relationship that connected the small world of the household to the larger German community. Also, marriage made it rightfully possible to produce "pure blood" German children with the genetically correct German parents. Marriage was so vital to the Nazis because it was the true basis of their socio-political perspectives. In effect, see if you agree with my thesis students...In order to define Volksgemeinschaft, the Nazis constructed marriage by associating the relationship with modeled public male and private female roles, and with the assumption of procreating “pure blood” Aryan children. The Nazis used marriage to define their Volksgemeinschaft because it enforced the vertical relationship in marriage into the Nazi based society and it would help increase the capacity and population of the Aryan race.
German people were unused to a democracy and blamed the government “November criminals”, for signing the Treaty of Versailles. From the very beginning, the new Weimar government faced opposition from both sides of the political spectrum. The Left wing Spartacist group, lead by Liebknecht and Luxemburg, looked up to the new Soviet councils in Russia, wanted to place Germany into a similar system.
The majority of people in this society try to exercise and eat right to stay healthy. The problem is that they worry more about exercising and not getting good nutrition. They do not understand that exercise is not enough to be healthy. In order to be healthy, people should be aware of what they eat. This may not be easy for everyone, but one can get support from family and friends in order for it to be easy. Good nutrition is more important than regular exercise because it helps in losing weight, helps to fuel the body, prevent the risk of getting diseases, and helps building muscles.
We always say I am healthy but what does being healthy actually means? The term healthy is defined different by different persons. Generally, being healthy means being void of illness or any form of injury. But is this actually true? Can anyone be really free from any form of illness of injury? The answer to this question is no. People are prone to illness or injury but after falling sick what? Then comes the step of visiting the provider. Number of visits (to physician offices, hospital outpatient and emergency departments) is 1.2 billion alone in the US [1]. Also, such visits turns out to be very costly. The only factor that makes it affordable is the health insurance
One factor with somewhat minimal impact in the unification of Germany, however one still worthy of mentioning, was cultural cohesion and social change. During the nineteenth century the Romantic movement developed throughout Europe and in Germany it took the form of celebrating the German heritage and promoting cultural pride. Romantics such as Friedrich Ludwig Jahn glorified the rich history of the German peoples. Through literature and art romantics expressed the idea of Germany as “an organic folk community wrapped in a cloak of tradition” They strived to create a homogenous identity for all Germans. Another force with widespread social impac...