After the downfall of Nazism under the rule of Adolf Hitler in 1945, the Allied Forces and the newly established German governments made efforts to hinder the emergence of a new Nazi movement in the area through the denazification process . Neo- Nazi activity was limitedly seen on the outside perimeters of German society. Some former Nazis in the 1960’s, however, have once again grasped the Nazi ideologies and beliefs and have tried to pass it on to the new generations. They worked to reintroducing the concepts which were widespread during the Nazi period from 1933 to 1945 like racial nationalism, anti- Semitism, white supremacy, policies of fascism and a philosophy centered on their allegiance to Hitler.
The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1990 and the succeeding unification of East and West Germany have contributed to the possible expansion of neo- Nazism in the region. The reunified country, which had been at the core of conflicting ideologies between the East and the West during the Cold War, saw a rebirth of nationalism which marked violence and discrimination against minorities and foreigners. City marches were held by neo- Nazis around both Germanys, and there was growing terrorism by the youth who were disappointed with occurring events and governmental policies. The said youth, who largely composed and believed in neo- Nazism during these years of the 1990’s, were mostly teenagers who emerged from East Germany having experienced economic instability and rise of unemployment during the rule of the communists. But it is not to say that only East Germans would be considered as the source of the movement. West Germany, too, did live through extreme right-wing rhetoric and neo- Nazism behavior by small and few groups. It was ...
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“The future of the German nation depends on its youth and the German youth shall have to be prepared for its future duties”
Overseas News 21. "Modern World History: Nazi Germany." British Broadcasting Corporation. 27 November 2001 < http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/modern/nazi/nazihtm.htm >.
After World War I, there was a spiritual void left within the people of Germany. The outcome of the war had ripped the German society along the class lines causing great stress and tension among the people. The people of Germany had believed all along that they were winning the war, and therefore the news of surrender came as a great shock to them. To make things worse, the peace treaty established placed the entire fault of the war on Germany and left them responsible for paying for the costs of the war for all who were involved. This sparked a conflict between the middle and working classes in society. Then, the depression followed, creating even more unhappiness among the people. With all of this unhappiness because of the class divisions and the depression, the Nazi...
In the 1960’s-1970’s, violence increasingly became an important factor in the Student movement for liberation in West Germany. Different levels of oppression were applied to various countries around the world, including Vietnam which was oppressed by the U.S. Student activists shadowed the different movements, and slowly incorporated the various methods into their own movement in West Germany. Indeed, Student activists fought for their liberation through a combination of international methods, however, the fuel for their violent actions mainly came from the Black Power Movement in the U.S which was motivated by Frantz Fanon’s ideas on decolonization. During the 1960s-70s, West German activists began to view that the elite higher class exploitation of the youth who went against societal norms in West Germany was very similar to the discrimination towards the Black population of America due to their skin color. Because of the newfound similarities, the two groups decided to exchange ideas on gaining liberation. The student activists and the African-Americans involved in the movement engaged in personal exchanges by traveling to each other’s countries and observing the corruption on their own, while studying tactics of fighting back. Indeed, Rudi Deutschke, the face of the SDS himself, made a trip to America and visited the slums of New York and Chicago to witness accounts of oppression with his own eyes. Through their observation of the Black Power Movement in America, as well as their interactions with members of the movement, many West German activists (SDS) increasingly supported the idea that a violent approach was the only way to seek liberation. The Black Power movement also motivated Left Wing terrorists, such as Bommi Baum...
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.
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...
During the years 1933 to 1945 was the twelve years of the Third Reich, a regime that changed history and the world forever; Hitler youth, a branch of the Nazi Party, was officially formed in 1926, but did not become popular until Hitler’s term of service. This gave its members excitement and a chance to revolt against parents and schoolteachers. Millions of boys and girls who belonged to this group wore the name proudly. At a time when the Fatherland, Germany, was suffering from a inadequate, rickety government, high-unemployment, and prevalent poverty, the Nazi Party promised young Germans a great future within the country- if they become loyal members of Hitler’s’ Youth. These children lived by the motto “For the flag we are ready to die.” Melita Mashmann, a fifteen-year old member of the girls’ branc...
'Nazi Germany ' represented the period from 1933s to 1945s, which played an important role in prosperous German history and the modern European history. After Germany participated in First World War in the first half of the 20th century, the whole society was glutted with unemployment, poverty, hunger, inflation and moral corruption. The public couldn’t feel the republican democracy benefits.
...ism is determined to make that authoritarianism absolute, all-surpassing, consolidating the state as the new steel-like instrument of power.” The German people tolerated these actions because they felt that Hitler and the Nazi party would bring Germany out of economic ruin and back to the forefront of European affairs. Nazi doctrine of militarism, expansionism, and ultra-nationalism appealed to the attitudes and beliefs inherent in the conscience of the German people at the time.
MODERN HISTORY – RESEARCH ESSAY “To what extent was Nazi Germany a Totalitarian state in the period from 1934 to 1939?” The extent to which Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state can be classed as a substantial amount. With Hitler as Fuhrer and his ministers in control of most aspects of German social, political, legal, economical, and cultural life during the years 1934 to 1939, they mastered complete control and dictation upon Germany. In modern history, there have been some governments, which have successfully, and others unsuccessfully carried out a totalitarian state. A totalitarian state is one in which a single ideology is existent and addresses all aspects of life and outlines means to attain the final goal, government is run by a single mass party through which the people are mobilized to muster energy and support.
Historians are often divided into categories in regard to dealing with Nazi Germany foreign policy and its relation to Hitler: 'intentionalist', and 'structuralist'. The intentionalist interpretation focuses on Hitler's own steerage of Nazi foreign policy in accordance with a clear, concise 'programme' planned long in advance. The 'structuralist' approach puts forth the idea that Hitler seized opportunities as they came, radicalizing the foreign policies of the Nazi regime in response. Structuralists reject the idea of a specific Hitlerian ideological 'programme', and instead argue for an emphasis on expansion no clear aims or objectives, and radicalized with the dynamism of the Nazi movement. With Nazi ideology and circumstances in Germany after World War I influencing Nazi foreign policy, the general goals this foreign policy prescribed to included revision of Versailles, the attainment of Lebensraum, or 'living space', and German racial domination. These foreign policy goals are seen through an examination of the actions the Nazi government took in response to events as they happened while in power, and also through Hitler's own ideology expressed in his writings such as Mein Kempf. This synthesis of ideology and social structure in Germany as the determinants of foreign policy therefore can be most appropriately approached by attributing Nazi foreign policy to a combination as both 'intentionalist' and 'structuralist' aims. Nazi foreign policy radicalized with their successes and was affected by Hitler pragmatically seizing opportunities to increase Nazi power, but also was based on early a consistent ideological programme espoused by Hitler from early on.
The Oxford Dictionary defines totalitarianism as ‘a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state’ . A totalitarian regime possesses power over affairs of the state and its inhabitants under one party and bears no opposition. A key attribute of a totalitarian government is that is looks to shape the mind and actions of society through determination, philosophy, and in general, force.
Despite anti-Semitic views being represented throughout Germany’s history, they were nowhere as severe as the views that were prevalent during the Nazi rein. Being traced back to as early as third century B.C., anti-Semitism has almost always played a role in society. In Germany before the rise of Hitler Jews were often tormented and disliked by members of society, but could still hold jobs and be members of society. This attitude towards Jews changed drastically when Nazis came into power. In 1920, Hitler announced to the Nazi Party the Five Points of National Socialism. It was one of these points that stated that no one except those of German blood could be a member of the nation. Therefore no Jew could be a member of the nation. This was the beginning of Hitler’s shift in the ideals of anti-Semitism because not only were Jewish people treated differently then other members of society, but were no longer members of society at all. To further excommunicate Jews from society, Nazis prevented Germans from shopping in stores owned or run by Jews. By 1934, all Jewish shops were marked with the yellow Star of David or had the word "Juden" written on the window. This was no...
I have a hard time thinking that anyone could believe the Nazi’s were a moral people. The Nazi people are unparalleled in the level of criminal unjust committed against a group of persons. Nazi’s however did believe they were moral and were justified in their actions. The idea of Nazism was a way of life and one must think, feel, and act as in the best interest of Nazi beliefs. The moral code of the Nazi people was one that followed the idea that Nazi’s were superior, competent, and pure. The moral code included the idea that those under persecution of the Nazi’s were inferior, less morally sound, and must use their tribulations to correct themselves to become a more loyal citizen of the community. One could classify their actions as racism and Social Darwinism. The Nazi people believed in filth and in accordance with the history of what happened in concentration camps, cleansing. Harold Ofstad is quoted of saying, “…The Nazi faith must permeate one’s entire being, penetrate the very core of one’s soul…” The moral code of the Nazi’s can be fairly labeled as a mistake of disastrous proportions, a group of people brainwashed from the strong sense of duty to a dictator’s beliefs, and a stain in history that will never be forgotten. Nazi’s believed that they were superior, they were morally sound in any action they may choose to take, they were justified to correct and or exterminate anyone being that was different from themselves, and that the Nazi belief and code of ethics was a way of life to carry one for eternity and to pass on for future generations. The moral code was one of imperfection, and many flaws that entitled the Nazi people to kill millions of Jews. The thought that the Nazi people were morally sound, or competent for that matter, is one that I hope every sane being can tell is false.
National Socialism (or Nazism) had many points in common with fascism. However, its roots were typically German: authoritarianism and expand military of Prussian Heritage; the German romantic tradition opposed to rationalism, liberalism and democracy; various racist doctrines that Nordic peoples - the pure Aryan called - were not only physically superior to other races, but they were also their culture and morals; as well as certain philosophical doctrines, especially those of Friedrich Nietzsche, who idolized the State or uplifting worship superior individuals, which is exempted from abide by the conventional limitations. Among the theorists and planners of National Socialism was General Karl Ernst Haushofer, who exerted a great influence on the Germany foreign policy. Alfred Rosenberg, editor and leader of the Nazi party, formulated the racial theories based on the work of the writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain. The financial Hjalmar Schacht was responsible for develop and put into practice much of the economi...