Comparison of Hofffman’s work, The Sandman, and Mosse’s, From Romanticism to the Volk

The motive of this investigation is to analyze the extent of which the Volksgemeinschaft policy affected the rising of German anti-Semitism. The policy arose from the yearning of a society in which there would be less to no differences in class and more unification within the people. The Volkgemeinschaft itself can be defined as a “people’s community.” One of the aspects to consider when analyzing the importance of the Volksgemeinschaft is the terrific and grand impact it had on millions of people. Many people in recent years, as well as in previous years have had numerous unanswered questions about this policy, and this researcher intends to answer a major and essential question; the effect of the policy on German anti-Semitism. Some of the ways in which this investigator plans to analyze and answer this inquiry include collecting information from various reputable internet sites, as well as books such as Michael Wildt’s “Hitler 's Volksgemeinschaft and the Dynamics of Racial Exclusion,” and newspaper articles regarding the policy. The parameter to this investigation will be within the time frame of 1919 and 1939 during which we can see the various changes in German society taking place.

To answer the midterm essay assignment I will detail my view of the Sonderweg thesis. I will then offer my opinion on the relationship of Sonderweg within the timeframe of Imperial Germany. I will summarize the thoughts of two historians who I believe to have an impressive influence on the debate of the Sonderweg theory: Wehler and Blackbourn. My essay will include a description of German character and how it impacted the perpetuation of the Sonderweg thesis, and the role of the “elites” in doing so as well. In conclusion, I will give my impression as to the influence that Imperial Germany had on the rise of Nazism within the context of the Sonderweg thesis.

Germany and why it has gone through First World War has been subject of debate among scholars, academics and historians. Several documents have been analyzed in order to understand the subject and aims of Germany were when it went on war. Wide ranging literature is available on the subject, which concentrates on discussing the start of World War I. History is based on evaluation and examination of facts. The

The reign of Adolf Hitler and his actions were absurd and evil. However, the investigation and acknowledgement of his reign is important for the historical values. It is important to study the causes and effects of how an evil leader gained his perspectives and possibly prevent any future leader from committing any crimes against humanity. This essay will focus on the historical works Richard Wagner and how he influenced Adolf Hitler in his reign during the Third Reich. The research question of this essay is, “To what extent did Richard Wagner’s works influence Adolf Hitler’s views during his reign of the Third Reich?”

The ethnic cleansing of the United States has been a topic of discussion in Germany for more than a century. Authors like Karl May and James Fenimore Cooper popularized western fiction. Adolf Hitler discovered May at the time he entered realshule and Cooper at the time he entered volksschule. After the Munich putsch of 1923, Karl Haushofer taught Hitler of lebensraum, the idea of Manifest Destiny in the United States transposed to a German-defining East in Poland and Russia. Inspired by the stories of May and lebensraum, Hitler repeatedly compared Manifest Destiny in the United States and a German-defining East in Poland and Russia. To what extent did western fiction influence the political landscape and Hitler’s War in East Europe?

The Romantic movement throughout Europe was in response to the rationalism and Enlightenment movement of the 18th century. This time period was seen as a Segway between two time periods, the Enlightenment and the Romantic movement, creating a conflict between cultures. Whereas most of Europe was transitioning into a time of Romanticism, German culture didn’t accept the movement until later 1790’s, due to the thought that it was undermining the national identity. It wasn’t until a new generation decided to break away from established tendencies in the culture and focus on the unique experiences of the individual. Goethe previously encourages the movement in the development of the Faust figure which in many ways reflects change and Romanticism. The new modern age of the Romantics distrusted the Enlightenment views of reason as the supreme guiding force of human action and they sensed a new age was dawning.

From 1933, the Nazis Party have aimed to create the policy of Volksgemeinschaft, this is a component focused on the heart of the people’s community based on traditional values of the German people. The German society underwent radical changes under the Nazi regime as Hitler introduced various policies that have had a substantial effect on 6 prominent groups: German women, youth, schools and universities and churches, working class and the Jews. The implementation of Hitler’s new policies in the period 1933-1939 can be assessed to have significantly effected and transformed Germany society socially and culturally.

Peter Fritzche’s book, Germans into Nazis, contends that, “Germans became Nazis because they wanted to become Nazis and because the Nazis spoke so well to their interests and inclinations…however, voters did not back Hitler mainly because they share his hatred of the Jews…but because they departed from established political traditions in that they were identified at once with a distinctly popular form of ethnic nationalism and with the basic social reforms most Germans counted on to ensure national well-being.” (8-9) His argument rests on the notion that the Nazis had a vision for Germany that incorporated Germans into a national community, throwing off the restraints of a tired government, and propelled them towards a future that would

The ideologies of Germany changed many times over the course of history, especially in regards to that of ethics and culture. However, one of the main ideas that changed in Germany was that of masculinity. The concept ranged from classic military dominance to masculinity not being even remotely important. In my estimation, the concept of masculinity was approached differently in an alternating pattern throughout German history.

The rise and subsequent take-over of power in Germany by Hitler and the Nazi Party in the early 1930s was the culmination and continuation not of Enlightenment thought from the 18th and 19th century but the logical conclusion of unstable and cultural conditions that pre-existed in Germany. Hitler’s Nazi Party’s clear manipulation of the weak state of the Weimar Republic through its continued failure economically and socially, plus its undermining of popular support through the signing the Treaty of Versailles all lead to the creation of a Nazi dictatorship under the cult of personality of Hitler. This clear take-over of power and subsequent destruction of any

German history is seen as a ‘painful issue for thousands of Germans and other Europeans’ . However it has interested many historians over the years into inquiring how and why Hitler came to power and how much of this was to do with the failure of parliamentary democracy in Germany. To fully ascertain to what extent these events have in common and what reasons led to the fall of democracy and rise of the Nazis, each have to be looked at individually. Also it seems beneficial, to be able to evaluate these in the relevant context, to look at the situation in Germany was in prior to 1920.

Historical scholars, patriots, and entertainers of an accidental nature: all have been used to describe Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the two German brothers who, in the 19th century, dedicated much of their lives to the collection and publication of folk-tales in an attempt to help define the cultural identity of their country. The entertainment value of this collection was probably not considered at the time of its origination, especially by the collectors themselves, whose main motivation was a sense of “nationalism and Romanticism” (Hallett, xvii). Yet, nearly two hundred years later, it is impossible to ignore the influence that the Brothers Grimm have had on the modern

The themes expressed in Volkslieder represent and reflect the German identity, as the Germans are a proud, patriotic people, whose love for nature and their country

Since the unification of Germany in the late 19th century, attitudes of nationalism, Prussian militarism and expansionism saturated German society. As one can clearly see in the

The emergence of postmodernism in the wake of the manifold carnage and destruction left by World War II (1939-1945), induced a fundamental shift in paradigms of historiography. This is patently evident when assessing the multi-faceted impacts of postmodern critiques on the critical variant of the Sonderweg master narrative. An assessment of these impacts will be achieved through a close analysis of three historical works, namely Hans Ulrich Wehler’s seminal social history on Imperial Germany 1871-1918 (1973), David Blackbourn and Geoff Eley’s neo-Marxist “The Peculiarities of German History” (1984) and Konrad. H. Jarausch and Michael Geyer’s “Shattered Past: Reconstructing German Histories” (2002). Postmodernism’s impact manifests in these three works by revealing an inherent tension between the postmodern approach to history and the differing interpretations of the Sonderweg master narrative. This results in a weakening of the Sonderweg thesis’ validity as its contribution to the historiographical debate surrounding the rise of National Socialism in Germany, is constrained by such critiques and tensions. However, the Sonderweg thesis’ “facilitation of retrospective discussion through amplification of meaning”, emphasises a different facet of historical ‘validity’. What prevails from this analysis, is that the Sonderweg thesis’ attempt to explain the rise of National Socialism in Germany; while problematic, has generated prolific historiographical debate and in this respect,