Division, turmoil, and sabotage these are just some of the characteristics that made up post war Germany. After the end of the First World War and the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II Germany was transformed from authoritarian state to a representative democracy. This new government was poisoned from the start with the “stab in the back” legend and the Treaty of Versailles. Between the failings of the government and the rise of far right extremism a new form of ultra-nationalism was forming in Germany. In his book The Rise of the New Nationalism, the German essayist, Friedrich Jünger, describes why Germany must adopt the mindset of the ultra-nationalists or, as he puts it, “the new nationalists.” Jünger believes that for Germany to become powerful …show more content…
A distaste for non-Germans was not a new idea at the time, but it really took hold after general Erich Ludendorff created the “Stab-in-the-back” myth. This myth states that Germany did not lose the war, but was sabotaged by the Jews, socialists, Weimar politicians, and even Catholics. Right wing extremists used this to sow dissent and hatred for the government and foreigners. It is with this mindset that Jünger believes that nationalism is the only “guarantor of Germany’s collective future” and they must begin “preserving indigenous culture and destroying the alien elements that arrogantly push against it.” Jünger continues by explaining that community is deeply connected trough “blood bonds.” These bonds begin to break when they are cut off or “seek nourishment from alien roots.” Jünger is saying, in a very poetic manner, that for Germans to have a sense of comradery or oneness they cannot be divided or tainted by non-German culture and blood. The author makes many metaphoric references to blood as this bonding force. For Jünger, there is one German people, all connected through German blood; a blood-bonded community. The new nationalists want to make this blood-bonded community stronger and to accomplish this all foreign bodies and internationalists must be removed from Germany. In Jünger’s own words, “They [alien blood & internationalists] have to …show more content…
The German military had been sabotaged by the liberals and foreigners at home. This resulted in Germany losing the war and the establishment of the Weimar Republic. According to Friedrich Jünger and the new nationalists this was an inexcusable offense and it must be remedied. To solve Germany’s problems, Jünger recommended the strengthen of the blood-bonded communities by removing all foreign influences. Furthermore, the liberal democracy that had conspired against Germany during the war needed to be torn down. Democracy also aided and abetted the foreign bodies in Germany, thus was an affront to the blood-bonded communities. Finally, for Germany to truly be successful they must reestablish the authoritarian regime originally designed by Otto von Bismarck. Only a strong dictator is capable to right the wrongs of the Weimar Republic and restore Germany. Jünger and the ultranationalists fanned the flames of dissent in the Germany which eventually lead to the collapse of the Weimar Republic. This ultimately paved the way for Nazism and the rise of Adolf Hitler, the dictator Friedrich Jünger
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.
Rensmann, Lars. "Collective guilt, national identity, and political processes in contemporary Germany." Collective guilt: International perspectives (2004):
Germany. Nationalism is a complex concept that can be viewed as both a unifying and a disunifying force, depending on one's perspective and background knowledge. On one hand, it can bring people together who share a common bond based on a single "nationality" or ancestry. Those who view nationalism as a unifying force often reject loyalty to a monarch, instead choosing to remain loyal to their fellow citizens. On the other hand, some people see nationalism as a disunifying force because it can disrupt efforts to restore the old order before the French Revolution.
German History Path The ‘German catastrophe’ that happened in the 20th century presented an unprecedented phenomenon that was difficult to explain given the previous historical development of the country. Specifically, the rise of Nazi Germany led to the radical changes in the country’s system of governance, social values, changes in social institutions etc that were unexpected from the point of view of history. The Sonderweg is a theory in historiography that emphasizes the idea that German path to democracy was unique, if compared to other counties in the West.
...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.
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 phrase "a lesson to be learned and a tragedy to behold" has been indelibly attached to the Holocaust that to think of it in any other way is thought to insult all those of the Jewish community who lost their lives to the attempted genocide of their race by the Nazi regime. Despite such brevity attached to learning lessons from the Holocaust one must wonder whether the lesson has actually been learned or if people will continue to repeat the mistakes of the past. Angela Merkel, the current German Chancellor, has stated that the German experiment towards multi-culturalism has failed, those who wish to migrate into the country must learn the German way whether it is the language they speak, the culture they have or the very religion they hold dear . Such sentiments seem to echo those of the former Third Reich which held the German way, the Aryan way, as the only path to which people should attempt to pursue. While this paper is not trying to vilify the current German government nor is it trying to compare it to the Third Reich, the fact remains that the steps their government is taking fall uneasily close to that of their vilified predecessor. The fact is though, the German government is merely following through with the popular sentiment of its citizenry who believe immigrants coming into the country disrupts the German way of life and all attempts to live side by side in peace have failed. Despite being a predominantly Christian nation who supposedly follow the way of Christ, to hear them say that makes one wonder whether their claims truly reflects their deeds. It is from this situation that the essay of Eckardt and its view that the Holocaust is a "Christian Problem" becomes relevant to what is happening in the world today.
This society, in which Germans would be the conquerors of the world and the leader of every aspect of society, would be a society in which only German Aryans thrived, Hitler told the masses (Noakes). It was essential in order to have a society that was not tainted, to efface those who could poison this wonderful utopia, and thus crush the German dream. The Jews and other inferior races, Hitler told the population, were the ca...
“The Bushmen are primitive and naturally so, but we are primitive in an artificial sense, and by virtue of the utmost effort” (274). This quote written by Erich Maria Remarque in All Quiet on the Western Front calls attention to the division and inhumanity of the masses in the first World War. Ordinary people hated others that were across a non-physical border because they were convinced that they were the enemy. However, Paul argues that the people who the soldiers are killing are not the enemies. The enemies are the people who don’t risk their lives on the battlefield yet think they can make decisions about a war where thousands are brutally killed everyday. The concept of nationalism is a prime example of the values and misconceptions of European people at the start of the 20th century.
Turner, Henry Ashby. Germany from Partition to Reunification. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press, 1992. Print.
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...
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.
Prior to unification in 1871 the territory that would become Germany was comprised of thirty-nine independent states and city states joined together in a loose German Confederation. The most powerful among these states was Prussia, both geographically the largest state and that with the largest population. The influential politicians and policies that came out of Prussia were instrumental in the gradual formation of a united Germany. Beginning with the rise of Napoleon, the nineteenth century was a time of incredible change which dramatically altered the political balance of Europe. In order to understand the factors that culminated in official German unification on January 18 1871, it is necessary to examine the preceding decades. No single factor can be credited for the unification of the German states. Rather, the combined forces of social change, economic strength within a unified customs union, the moral justifications provided by nationalism, Bismarck’s careful manipulation of internal politics and the advantages gained through military action resulted in the unification of Germany.