During the Holocaust, around six million Jews were murdered due to Hitler’s plan to rid Germany of “heterogeneous people” in Germany, as stated in the novel, Life and Death in the Third Reich by Peter Fritzsche. Shortly following a period of suffering, Hitler began leading Germany in 1930 to start the period of his rule, the Third Reich. Over time, his power and support from the country increased until he had full control over his people. Starting from saying “Heil Hitler!” the people of the German empire were cleverly forced into following Hitler through terror and threat. He had a group of leaders, the SS, who were Nazis that willingly took any task given, including the mass murder of millions of Jews due to his belief that they were enemies to Germany. German citizens were talked into participating or believing in the most extreme of things, like violent pogroms, deportations, attacks, and executions. Through the novel’s perspicacity of the Third Reich, readers can see how Hitler’s reign was a controversial time period summed up by courage, extremity, and most important of all, loyalty. The main purpose of the book was to emphasize how far fear of Hitler’s power, motivation to create a powerful Germany, and loyalty to the cause took Germany during the Third Reich. During the Third Reich, Germany was able to successfully conquer all of Eastern Europe and many parts of Western Europe, mainly by incentive. Because of the peoples’ desires and aspirations to succeed, civilians and soldiers alike were equally willing to sacrifice luxuries and accept harsh realities for the fate of their country. Without that driving force, the Germans would have given up on Hitler and Nazism, believing their plan of a powerful Germany... ... middle of paper ... ...then and now by the immense controversy involved and the large amount of faith, responsibility, and bravery needed for the people. Pushing aside the major setbacks Germany had undergone, people today know Nazi Germany as the country that had always found a solution and pushed through, even during the least hopeful times. However, people also know the Third Reich as the horrific time of oppression and discrimination by Hitler and his colleagues; according to some, these actions that made Hitler all-powerful and everyone else weak or nonexistent actually led Germany to their success. This time period will always remain a many-sided topic of debate because of the many ways Nazis were victors, victims, and totalitarians. Works Cited Fritzsche, Peter. Life and Death in the Third Reich. 1st Ed. ed. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2008. 1-307. Print.
Hitler blamed the Jews for the evils of the world. He believed a democracy would lead to communism. Therefore, in Hitler’s eyes, a dictatorship was the only way to save Germany from the threats of communism and Jewish treason. The Program of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party was the instrument for the Nazis to convince the German people to put Hitler into power. Point one of the document states, “We demand the union of all Germans in a great Germany on the basis of the principle of self-determination of all peoples.” 1 This point explicates the Nazi proposition that Germany will only contain German citizens and also, that these citizens would display his or her self-determination towards Germany to the fullest.
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.
From the time Hitler and the Nazi’s took control of Germany in 1933 until the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945, the aim of the regime under the calculating guidance of Hitler himself sought no less than global conquest. This ambitious objective can be further dissected into short term and long term goals that provide insight into Hitler’s character, thoughts and actions.
Hitler and the Nazi Party's Total Control Over the Lives of German People from 1933-1945
Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; a History of Nazi Germany. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960.
The vast literature on Nazism and the Holocaust treats in great depth the first three elements, the focus of this book, is t...
After Germany lost World War I, it was in a national state of humiliation. Their economy was in the drain, and they had their hands full paying for the reparations from the war. Then a man named Adolf Hitler rose to the position of Chancellor and realized his potential to inspire people to follow. Hitler promised the people of Germany a new age; an age of prosperity with the country back as a superpower in Europe. Hitler had a vision, and this vision was that not only the country be dominant in a political sense, but that his ‘perfect race’, the ‘Aryans,’ would be dominant in a cultural sense. His steps to achieving his goal came in the form of the Holocaust. The most well known victims of the Holocaust were of course, the Jews. However, approximately 11 million people were killed in the holocaust, and of those, there were only 6 million Jews killed. The other 5 million people were the Gypsies, Pols, Political Dissidents, Handicapped, Jehovah’s witnesses, Homosexuals and even those of African-German descent. Those who were believed to be enemies of the state were sent to camps where they were worked or starved to death.
From 1933-1945 Adolf Hitler rose to the peak of his political power, by creating a stronghold over the German people. The use of oratory skills, in conjunction with his knowledge and use of propaganda and his suppression of details of the Holocaust, created a vibe of “electric excitement” for Germany. (Fritzsche, 1998) His targeting of the German minority and his radical push for anti-Semitism allowed Hitler to corrupt a weak and innocent nation. Manipulative leadership was a dominant force in the birth of his extremist beliefs and propagation, though this was assisted by the responsiveness of the negligent-minded German population to his plans. With Germany having an increasing need for a strong-willed political leader and with Hitler’s determined attitude and a seeming passion to the nation made him the best candidate for this role. This would mean that Hitler’s skills and manipulation strategies were not entirely responsible for his rise to power; the contributing factor of the plasticity of the German population is evident as well.
Commentators on the Third Reich tend to be divided into two groups: the Intentionalists and the Structuralists. The former emphasize that all essential political decisions were taken by Hitler, being the prime coordinator in domestic and foreign policy, essentially equating Nazism with Hitlerism. The latter emphasize the limitations on Hitler's freedom of action as a result of forces operating within the State. They argue that, under Hitler, Nazi Germany suffered from a leadership crisis. Preferring not to side so rigidly with either perspective, I rather, agree certain aspects from each commentary. I do believe however, that the Third Reich imploded due to Hitler's unreasonable amount of power, and the fear that circulated opposing the "Fuhrer."
On the 28th of October 28th, 1922 Benito Mussolini marched into Rome and overthrow the government becoming the Duce or Fuhrer in German which the Nazis adopted after this event. In the book "The Coming of the Third Reich" by Richard J. Evans states that the Nazi salute was inspired by the Roman salute that Mussolini used. The salute was an outstretched right arm, the leader would response with his right arm and crooked back elbow with the pal pointed towards the sky, as explained in his book Richard J. Evans's book. However, the largest contribution that Mussolini gave Hitler was the will to fight. Hitler believed that the only way to take power was throuw armed action and marching to the capital. and for a long time to come to Hitler would
In Christopher Isherwood’s, Goodbye to Berlin, we see a first hand account of the rise of early Nazi Germany. While the bulk of Nazi related material is reserved for the final chapter, there are traces of the growing mentality strewn throughout the rest of the book.
In his memoir Defying Hitler, Sebastian Haffner highlights the events and attitudes that eventually lead to the rise of the Nazi regime and the war that would change the world forever. He describes the struggle between and among the powerful forces at the time of his childhood as a duel, waged at the expense of the citizens, which supposed to be protected and cared for above all else. He goes on to describe how the priorities of the ruling powers slowly changed, attempting to hold back the Nazis, while still withholding their own dignity and influence. Haffner’s perspective gives the reader a unique insight into the minds and mentalities of the average German citizen at a time of massive governmental and social change in Europe. He goes on
The Holocaust officially began in 1933 as the hatred came upon the jews. Adolf Hitler, german leader, was one of the most predatory man recorded in history. He formed a society that did not consist of jews, gypsies, homosexuals, or people who resisted to follow through his commands. People soon referred to Hitler as a tiger, as being said “What will he gobble next?” (Maren Linett, Woolf Studies Annual). The german soldiers were called Nazis. Hitler encouraged the Nazis and other german people to be on his side by informing them that the only way to have a better life is to exterminate the jews. As a writer said,” Look at the masks these men wear--the brutal faces of baboons, licking sweet sweet paper” (Maren Linett, Woolf Studies Annual).
World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It struck devastation and fear into the many lives of the people who fell victim to the Third German Reich. “A Nazi Childhood”, written by Winfried Weiss, is an autobiography about the author’s childhood. The author gives his recaptured perspective of Germany and the Third Reich. Born in Germany in 1937 Winfried Weiss was raised alongside his two sisters by his mother. His father was an SS officer who suddenly disappeared one night in Russia because of an ambush. Nazi Germany was as successful as it was as they were able to get people to conform to their beliefs because they played on citizens’ sense of nationalism and could indoctrinate the youth of Germany.
Sebastian Haffner, born Raimund Pretzel, was a German journalist who wrote about events as they were happening, as such, demonstrates the reality of living under the Third Reich. He describes how the Nazis took over, “The result of this million-fold nervous breakdown is the unified nation, ready for anything, that is today the nightmare of the rest of the world” (Haffner 110).