The Success of the Nazi Party
The Nazi Party's leadership encompassed many aspects. Not least of
those was the use of fear and terror. Helping control the populace and
ensuring they remained subdued was a key factor in Nazi success.
However other factors were involved such as Hitler's economic policies
and foreign policy. Hence, how important was the use of fear and
terror to the Nazi Party's survival.
Fear and terror in Nazi Germany was a wide ranging policy. Many
different forces were required to maintain order amongst the often
dissenting masses. The SA [Stormabteilung] were the first of such
groups. Formed early in Hitler's political campaign, the SA were used
before he came to power to siege opposition party meetings and brawl
with the other paramilitary groups. The SA grew in strength to over
half a million men by the time Hitler's regime was in full swing in
the mid 1930's and with their new found strength came increased power,
and the desire for more. Thus, in 1934, the Night of the Long Knives
began. That fateful night saw Ernst Rohm - leader of the SA - and
other high ranking SA officials gunned down by squads of SA men
dispatched by Hitler himself. This came as a direct result of Rohm
wisihing for control over the Army [Reichswehr] as well as the SA.
Hitler felt with the Army and SA he could mount a realistic threat to
his dominance as leader so with typical bluntness, Rohm was removed.
Left with no protection force, the SS was born out of necessity. The
brainchild of Bavarian Minister Heinrich Himmler, the SS was Hitler's
new bodyguard and paramilitary arm of the state. Membership was not as
simplistic as the SA, ...
... middle of paper ...
...the German retaliation for the murder of a
German by a Jew - ended with 100 synagogues burned to the ground and
over 1,000 Jews arrested. Prior to this, Jews had been also been
forced out of the civil service and the professions such as doctors,
lawyers and teaching.The education system was rapidly changing towards
anti-semitism also. Jewish children were sent to the front of the
class where they were ridiculed by their classmates and later into
Hitler's reign they were forced out of the system altogether into
privately run schools with no assistance from the state.
The 1000-year Reich Hitler was building had so far focused on the
current generation of workers and civilians. However, for this to last
Hitler had to indoctrinate the new generation. With the Hitler Youth
and League of German Maidens, Hitler set to this.
How the Nazis Gained and Maintained Power in Germany Why did no one succeed in stopping Hitler? * 37% of votes in July * Higher than any other party * Good reason for Hitler to take control and power * Hitler had learnt the only way to achieve real power was through democracy thanks to the Munich Putsch. * Hitler established a secure position very quickly once he came to power * Papen and the other Weimar politicians believed that the constitution would stop revolutionary movements. Hitler turned down the position of vice-chancellor, good move, he. wanted to become the chancellor, which would give him far more power.
The Wall Street Crash and the Recession in Germany Were the Salvation of the Nazi Party
After the Great Depression and World War I, Germany was left in a fragile state. The economy was ruined, many people were unemployed and all hope was lost. The Nazis believed it wasn’t their own fault for the mess, but those who were inferior to the German people. These Nazi beliefs lead to and result in cruelty and suffering for the Jewish people. The Nazis wanted to purify Germany and put an end to all the inferior races, including Jews, because they considered them a race.
build up a name for himself, as well as, to get to know people in high
He further uses propaganda techniques to change the views of the German people. His book The Mein Kompf was spread to the people of Germany and his Nazi party. This book is Adolf Hitler’s manifesto in which he outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany such as the hierarchical status of the Aryan race towards the Jews and other inferior race. In his book he stated, that “The child is the objective of the struggle and the very first appeal is addressed to it: 'German boy, do not forget that you are a German. ' 'German maid, remember that you are to be a German mother.” Which means that Germanys race was to be kept at its purest form. He further targets young Germans to rise up to his cause because the future of their country is their hands and they have the right to claim its title. Other than his book, Hitler’s implicates fear tactics and speeches to manipulate the Nazi party. The Schutzstaffel, better known as the infamous SS, were established by Hitler, to act as protection force at Hitler’s mass meetings in public. This was due to early Nazis meeting that can turn to violent during its early rise to power because of competing factions within the party. In 1934 an event happened to which was called, “The Night of the Long Knives “; it was a cleansing of other political opponents of Hitler within the party. Hitler uses this to instill fear in the party and warns other that whoever imposed him shall suffer and die. Hitler’s speeches were also part of influencing the views of the party. In 1939 he made a speech that changes everything. This speech move thousands of people and change the views of Germany towards the Jews and other inferior race. He stated, “The peoples [of the earth] will soon realize that Germany under National Socialism does not desire the enmity of other peoples. I want once again to be a prophet. If the international Finance-Jewry inside and outside of
The boys and girls that were German citizens and healthy at the age of 10 - 18 years were required to join the Hitler Youth program. The boys from the age of 10 - 13 were put in the German Young people and then once they were 14 they would be in the Hitler Youth until 18. They both did a wide range of physical activities from biking, swimming, to even doing religious practice. The boys were to trained to become the best soldiers they can be for Germany, and also taught business skills. The were also taught how to shoot, boxing, and fighting. The boys could 60 meters in twelve seconds. Also the boys were required to enlist in the armed forces once they come of age. When the time came for the Youth to fight, the kids were fearless and did not fear death and people on the opposing team did not want to kill the kids. The girls of Germany where to be the mothers of Germany. They were supposed to provide a lot of “perfect Aryan” kids for Germany and they were also taught good homemaking skills. They also did camping and other physical activities. Some girls were “accidently” put in the boys cabin, and some of the girls came back pregnant as that type of stuff was actually
The Nazi Party, controlled by Adolf Hitler, ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. In 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany and the Nazi government began to take over. Hitler became a very influential speaker and attracted new members to his party by blaming Jews for Germany’s problems and developed a concept of a “master race.” The Nazis believed that Germans were “racially superior” and that the Jewish people were a threat to the German racial community and also targeted other groups because of their “perceived racial inferiority” such as Gypsies, disabled persons, Polish people and Russians as well as many others. In 1938, Jewish people were banned from public places in Germany and many were sent to concentration camps where they were either murdered or forced to work. Many individuals and groups attempted to resist Nazism in Germany, but were unsuccessful. The White Rose, The Red Orchestra and the Kreisau Circle all advocated non-violent resistance to oppose the Nazi regime and even with the high risk of getting caught and potentially killed, the courageous members of these groups went after what they believed was right despite the serious consequences.
The Nazis are infamous for their heavy use of propaganda during their reign in the Third Reich, they used many means of propaganda such as posters, cartoons, radio, film, etc. The German citizens’ constant exposure to all of this propaganda from all directions had a deep psychological and psychoanalytical impact on them, it redefined their identity and who they were as well as what they thought of the world around them. Nazi propaganda often had deep symbolic meaning usually associated with anti-semitism and German nationalism, these elements were already present in the minds of the majority of Germans so it wasn’t hard for Adolf Hitler and the rest of the Nazi party to further provoke and enrage the emotions of people concerning these things, they merely had to tap into these pre disposed emotions in a way that would have the most favourable psychological impact for the Nazis. Some of the opinions and mindsets that German citizens had may have been there even before the Nazis came into power and made it seemed like they were brainwashing people with their propaganda, but with what justification can it be said that Nazi propaganda had a psychological and psychoanalytic impact on the German population to a great extent, rather than it being the work of pre set psychological states of mind of people due to the Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression, Hyperinflation, and other sources which may have led the German population to support and hold anti-semitistic and nationalistic ideologies.
The Schutzstaffel or SS was created in 1925 by the Nazi party to protect Adolf Hitler and other important Nazi leaders. Heinrich Himmler was appointed leader of the SS by Hitler in 1929. The SS were racial elites with profound loyalty to Hitler and the promotion of Germany. (SS, 2013) In order to become a member of the SS all candidates had to endure selections based on their racial ancestry and support of the Nazi party. In Nazi Germany the SS was responsible for security identification of ethnicity, settlement and population policy and intelligent collection and analysis. (SS, 2013) They also were responsible for the concentration camp system and police forces. In 1939 the SS assumed the responsibility for “solving” the Jewish Question. (SS And The Holocaust, 2013) In the imminent invasion of the Soviet Union Hitler ordered the SS implementation of settlement plans and population policy in conquered Soviet territories. Special SS Einsatzgrupp...
To this day it remains incomprehensible to justify a sensible account for the uprising of the Nazi Movement. It goes without saying that the unexpectedness of a mass genocide carried out for that long must have advanced through brilliant tactics implemented by a strategic leader, with a promising policy. Adolf Hitler, a soldier in the First World War himself represents the intolerant dictator of the Nazi movement, and gains his triumph by arousing Germany from its devastated state following the negative ramifications of the war. Germany, “foolishly gambled away” by communists and Jews according to Hitler in his chronicle Mein Kampf, praises the Nazi Party due to its pact to provide order, racial purity, education, economic stability, and further benefits for the state (Hitler, 2.6). Albert Speer, who worked closely under Hitler reveals in his memoir Inside the Third Reich that the Führer “was tempestuously hailed by his numerous followers,” highlighting the appreciation from the German population in response to his project of rejuvenating their state (Speer, 15). The effectiveness of Hitler’s propaganda clearly served its purpose in distracting the public from suspecting the genuine intentions behind his plan, supported by Albert Camus’ insight in The Plague that the “townsfolk were like everybody else, wrapped up in themselves; in other words, they were humanists: they disbelieved in pestilences”(Camus, 37). In this sense “humanists” represent those who perceive all people with virtue and pureness, but the anti-humanist expression in the metaphor shows the blind-sidedness of such German citizens in identifying cruel things in the world, or Hitler. When the corruption within Nazism does receive notice, Hitler at that point given h...
The Night of Long Knives, one of the most noteworthy events during Hitler’s rule, was a purge that occurred on the 30th June 1934. Hitler ordered the murders of conspicuous Conservative anti-Nazis such as Kurt Von Schleicher and Gustav Ritter von Kahr, Left wing Nazis such as Gregor Strasser and many members of the SA including its leader Ernst Rohm. It could be claimed that the murders were significant as they ended a possible takeover by the SA, deterred and intimidated Conservative critics while gaining their support, saw the rise of the SS, introduced terror and dictatorship into mainstream life and reassured the elites and the army. It could be alleged that a significance of the Night of Long Knives was that it prevented a possible takeover by the SA.
6,000 Jehovah witnesses, over 15,000 homosexuals, 400 “colored” children, and over 5,000,000 Jews were killed. Hitler’s anti-Semitism grew out of anger because the Germans lost the war. He blamed the Jews for Germany’s defeat in the war. Hitler also used the Jews as an excuse for all the problems that Germany was facing. To get the Jews to get deported, Hitler and his Nazis made the Jews think that they were moving to a better, happier place, when in reality, they were moving to concentration camps, or death camps.
In the early 1920, Ernest Röhm organized a group called Stormtrooper. They played a powerful role in making Hitler’s new regime stronger and weakening the Weimar Republic. Röhm emigrated to Bolivia in 1928 after a few scandals and setback. In 1930, Röhm was brought back to Germany by Hitler to reorganize the Stormtroopers. Once Hitler became chancellor, he started to view the Stormtroopers as a liability. The Stormtroopers had grown restless for action; dissatisfied with the slow pace of change. Many believed Hitler sold them out for the sake of respectability. The Schutzstaffel wanted the upper hand on their rivals, Stormtroopers. Hitler moved against the Stormtroopers because he considered them thugs with no public order. On June 30,1934, Hitler ordered the Schutzstaffel to strike. This attack was used to get rid of people Hitler believed to be problematic, such as Gregor Strasser, Ernest Röhm, General Kurt von Schleicher, and the priest who helped write Mein Kampf. The number of people killed is unknown; however, more than eighty high-ranking Stormtroopers were shot. Germany military leader considered this attack appropriate in the interest of public safety. President Hindenburg even congratulated Hitler for restoring order. Many believed the Nazi regime had become an ordinary government, but Victor Klemperer had different beliefs. He
The Success of Nazi Policies Toward Education and Youth Hitler and the Nazi party had a range of policies to control education and the German youth. This was mainly to ensure loyalty to Hitler and the Nazi party. Some believed in these policies and other did not but it was fear and glory and the fear of social inadequacy that made most comply. Hitler and the Nazis wanted to control the education system and youth by controlling the teachers, pupils and the curriculum.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Germany was experiencing great economic and social hardship. Germany was defeated in World War I and the Treaty of Versailles forced giant reparations upon the country. As a result of these reparations, Germany suffered terrible inflation and mass unemployment. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party who blamed Jews for Germany’s problems. His incredible public speaking skills, widespread propaganda, and the need to blame someone for Germany’s loss led to Hitler’s great popularity among the German people and the spread of anti-Semitism like wildfire. Hitler initially had a plan to force the Jews out of Germany, but this attempt quickly turned into the biggest genocide in history. The first concentration camps in Germany were established soon after Hitler's appointment as chancellor in January 1933.“...the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew.” –Adolf Hitler