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To what extent was propaganda mainly responsible for maintining popular support for the nazi regime between 1933 and 1945
How did Hitler use propaganda in WW2
How did Hitler use propaganda in WW2
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German Attitudes Toward the Jews and the Final Solution There are those that claim that Hitler’s conscious personal hatred of the Jews, his unique and central role in the rise of Nazi Germany were fundamental in the development of the anti-Jewish policies that emerged leading to the final solution. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that the anti- Jewish feeling in Germany reflected a much stronger, widespread support amongst its people and this essay will examine the role and attitudes of the German people towards the Final Solution. On the 1st of April, 1933, the boycott of Jewish businesses reflected evidence of widespread anti Jewish feelings amongst the lower bureaucracy of the SA. Prior to that there was very little evidence of a grand plan against the Jews, Hitler had only talked about legal discrimination and deprivation of human rights for the Jewish people. Yet Hitler claimed that he directly called for the shop boycott, which he felt would serve to strengthen anti-Semitic feelings although evidence suggests this might have failed. Many ordinary Germans were either apathetic or even sympathetic to the plights of the Jews and the international response predictably condemned this action. The boycott was called off after just one day and was never repeated although a more insidious and violent response would follow. The period between 1933 and the start of 1935 was relatively quiet but there were examples of serious anti Jewish feeling. On the 8th June in 1934 in Gunsenhausen in Bavaria, Kurt Baar, the son of a local SA leader, was evicted from a Jewish hostelry. Baar returned with a lynch mob and beat up t... ... middle of paper ... ...sm. But there is strong evidence to show that the early stages of anti Jewish policy were forced by the lower party elements of the SA and then by the SD, Gestapo and SS. Many German people would have been horrified by the anti-Semitic violence and the racial policies leading towards the Final Solution. Many would have feared for their lives and there is evidence to show that many did indeed suffer for voicing their concerns. But there is also evidence of a strong anti Jewish sentiment in Germany, a feeling that was sufficiently strong enough to be exploited by the SA thugs and those that later followed, that allowed the policies of racial exclusion to develop to the point of genocide. Perhaps the German people were conditioned to accept the point of anti-Semitism? Either way, the blame cannot be borne by Hitler alone.
Simon Wiesenthal lives throughout his life asking the same crucial question, “What would I have done?” (Wiesenthal 98). I would not accept the SS officer forgiveness, because I am not the one who was mentally and physically hurt by him. In the symposium section, Abraham Joshua Heschel quoted, “No one can forgive crimes committed against other people. It is therefore preposterous to assume that anybody alive can extend forgiveness for the suffering of any one of the six million people who perished.”
Many of the soldiers that comprised Reserve Police Battalion 101 were of random choosing; they were not picked due to their anti-Semitic sentiments nor for their prowess in previous battles. Browning argues that these ordinary men were not forced to become killers rather they had the option to speak out against these horrific actions and accept the consequences of that or to conform to the orders even if it was a violation of their moral standards. Browning argued that any man had the potential to become a killer if their values were at all compromised, if they were susceptible to peer pressure, if they did not want to seem cowardly in front of their comrades, or if they had a dislike towards Poles, Jews or Soviets which may have been instilled by Nazi propaganda or its ideological training. Through Browning’s research he found out that of the approximately 500 German soldiers that composed Reserve Police Battalion 101, only about ten to twenty percent (50 to 100 soldiers) of men totally abstained from killing altogether, which means at
Jews' Beliefs and the Holocaust In the eyes of many Jews, the Shoah was the most evil act taken out on. the Jewish community and the community. Shoah is a Hebrew word meaning "desolation." and has become the preferred term for the Holocaust for Jews. scholars who believe the word 'holocaust' has lost its significance.
Killing Squads managed to find a fast killing tactic. This is a crucial part of the topic because figuring out how Killing Squads kill could show why they were able to kill so many Jews, Gypsies, and Communist leaders. Killing Squad were also called death squads,mobile killing units, and Einsatzgruppen. The killing squads were often made of the German S.S and police personnel (USHMM). This means that the killing squads did have some military experience. Killing Squads act swiftly,usually tanking the Jewish population by surprise (USHMM). This is also why they were called mobile killing units. Killing Squads would enter towns and gather the people, usually in vast open areas. Open areas are easier to dig the mass graves that the dead would be put it. After victims gave their valuables to the killing squad and undressed, they were gassed in vans, shot it trenches, or shot in prepared pits (USHMM).People gassed in vans were killed by the carbon monoxide produced by the van because the exhaust pipes were blocked. These research findings reveal the harsh tactics of killing squads. The squads don't care how the Jews died, as long as it was cheap.
They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. They would have bombed the railways leading to Birkenau, just the railways, just once.”
I knew what would happen to the refugees if the Gestapo got hold of them
Christopher Browning believes that Hitler did not have a pre-existing plan to liquidate the Jews but rather, the Final Solution was a reaction to the cumulative radicalization amongst the German nation from 1939 to 1941. Although Hitler was notoriously one of the most anti-Semitic people to walk the Earth, he had not intended to mass slaughter the Jews, but rather attempted to find another solution to the Jewish problem. Hitler had such an obsession on finding this solution, that he promised one way or another he would reach his goal in perfecting a Judenfrei Germany (Browning 424). The first solution to the Jewish problem in Germany was through emigration. Once Hitler seized power he imposed the Nuremberg Laws, which stripped the Jews of all of their rights, expecting the Jewish people to comprehend the message and leave the country. The German officials even supported emigration and Zionistic movements. By 1939 only half of the Jews had left so the Jewish problem still rested unfinished. In September of 1939, the German declared war on Poland in an attempt to conquer Lebensraum. [Living space] After starting the war, they decided they could no longer let the Jews emigrate (Browning 12). By capturing Poland they inherited three million Jews. Hitler summoned all of the Jews in the German empire into ghettos in Poland until he could find another plan. Himmler, Hitler’s right hand man, proposed two plans to expel the Jews to either Lublin or to Madagascar. Hitler approved both but neither was put into affect. The Nazis’ inability to solve the Jewish question once again disappoints them. The obligation to solve the problem still weighed heavily upon them, which lead to frustration, which lead to the radical decisions to liquidate th...
A majority of these men were neither Nazi party members nor members of the S.S. They were also from Hamburg, which was a town that was one of the least occupied Nazi areas of Germany and, thus, were not as exposed to the Nazi regime. These men were not self-selected to be part of the police order, nor were they specially selected because of violent characteristics. These men were plucked from their normal lives, put into squads, and given the mission to kill Jews because they were the only people available for the task. “Even in the face of death, the Jewish mothers did not separate from their children.
at the end of your roads, or telling an SS officer about a Jew in your
The Change of Nazis' Treatment of the Jews From 1939-45 Hitler and the Nazi party managed to kill six million Jews throughout Europe by the end of 1945. This systematic process of killing between the years 1939 and 1945 is known as the holocaust. There were five key issues that led to the Wansee conference that took place in 1942 before the Nazi's decided upon the "final solution to the Jewish problem. These events included the outbreak of World War II, Hitler's personal agenda against the Jewish population, the rise and power of the SS and the failures of other solutions put forward to "get rid" of the Jewish problem.
The group was made up of both citizens and career policemen. Major Wilhelm Trapp, a career policeman and World War I veteran headed the battalion. Trapp joined the Nazi party in 1932, but never became an office in the SS. His two captains, Hoffmann and Wohlauf, were SS trained officers. The reserve lieutenants, all seven of them, were drafted into the Order Police because they were ordinary. They were middle class, educated, and successful in their civilian lives. Five of them were members of the Nazi party, but none were in the SS. Of thirty-two remaining officers twenty-two were Party members, but none were members of the SS. Sixty-three percent of the rest of the battalion were blue-collar workers. About thirty-five percent were lower-class workers. The remaining two percent were middle-class but not greatly successful. Many were in their late 30s, too old for active army duty, but just right for police duty. They were old enough to know of political ideology other than that of the Nazi party, even though most were members.
“The Final Solution” was a plan during the time of early 1930’s and 1940’s from the Nazi Party. This plan was a plan to expand Germany and destroy all of the Jews and make the world a German world. The Germans took on the whole world and almost won, except for some brutal mistakes they made. Hitler took over Germany and made it into a super power in less than 15 years, which is one of the best turn arounds in World History
With Hitler gaining power in the 1930’s, he needed to convince the German people that the Jews were an inferior race. The Nazi’s released copious amounts of propaganda. These advertisements were meant to create gaps in all areas of life between the Germans and the Jews. Much of this Nazi propaganda got collected and published in a book titled “The Eternal Jew” in 1937. I will be using a photograph from page 51 of this book. The picture depicts a Jewish artist looking at one of his sculptures. The opening line of Nazi propaganda is, “In sculpture even more than painting, Jews display their absolute lack of talent.” The Germans want to show that their race has superior artistic talent in comparison to the Jewish race. Thus they start by creating
Introduction: Jews have a long history in a world which is considered one of the ancient holy religions in the world. However, Jews are one of the most common people who suffer from discrimination and hate among other religions. Many Jews lose their identity and cultural identity because of the lock of the Jewish nationalism. On the other hand, Palestine is considered to be very valuable in a religious aspect to Arab Muslims. The Jew believes that by creating a state for Jews, they could solve their problem and unite them under one nationalism and identity that is the main ideology of the Zionist movement and to establish a new state for Jews.
The Gestapo, established in 1933, controlled originally by Georing and later in November 1934, was controlled under Himmler. The Gestapo’s job was to investigate and suppress all anti-state activities, and had a reputation of being very brutal and ruthless. It was not secret and was much feared. Terror atomised the nation, people thought the Gestapo was everywhere but in fact they were a very small number. The Gestapo controlled concentration camps.