Peter Fritzche 's Book ' Germans Into Nazis '

The ability to inspire people to feel pride towards one’s country, can hinder the ability for people to realize what is morally right and wrong. Heinrich von Treitschke, a German historian, argued that Germans should view nationalism as the ideology to live by. Whether it involved having to fight in wars or allowing the monarchy to obtain the majority of the power, Germans had to do what is right for the country. Treitschke argued that if Germany was going to thrive among other countries, the people of Germany had to accept the fact that not all races are created equal. These ideologies proved to have a significant impact in the twentieth century due to the fact that Hitler used the same ideologies in the nineteen thirties. This eventually lead to genocide as many people were unaware of the negative consequences of nationalism. The ideas of one person can be devastating, as it can lead to a misconception on how to properly run a country.

During the time of the Nazis coming to power, some of German citizen soon questioned the Nazi empires authority. Then soon after the German citizens at the time question if they went against the Nazi Empire what would happen. “Most Germans worried primarily about their own survival and thus, as information began to leak out about the deportation of Jews and the other Nazi abuses, they kept any concerns they might had to themselves” (Hoffmann 1). Showing the oppression of the Nazi empire affecting their citizens and not only the Jews. This however started to oppress the people that did not agree with the Nazi ideology at the time. Than citizens were questioning why no one would go against the Nazi rule and try to rebel against their ideas and the

The passing of time certainly increased this sense of national identity in a way state building could not. Even cultural and racial minorities felt assimilated to a surprising degree. Jewish success in the bourgeoisie and High society made them feel “thoroughly German” and the political successes of the Centre party and SDP made Catholics and workers feel as though they were a well-represented part of the country’s political and social make up, and not subjugated by their protestant or cultural overlords.

3) The ascent of National Socialism. In 1923, Hitler held a meeting of all high-ranking Nazis in a beer hall in Munich, where he revealed his plans for a coup. This failed attempt to overthrow the Weimar government would later be known as the Munich Putsch, which “gave the Nazi’s unparalleled publicity”. The use of the radio in order to spread the National socialist message played a pivotal role in the Nazi parties’ popular rise in society. Due to the ramifications that Germany faced after the First World War, the nation had unquestionably lost faith in tradition and their priorities had shifted to populist nationalism. On the eve of Hitler’s appointment, victory parades took place in dozens of German settlements. The capital saw nearly a million Berliners demonstrate their commitment to the National Socialist party who had pledged to establish “a strong-willed and strong-armed racial state” in “a very new twentieth-century Germany”. History shows that Hitler’s tremendous and irrefutably passionate presence came about at the perfect time, filling the void created by populace sentiment. Much of the

‘To what extent did support for the Nazi party change between the years of 1923-33?’

German society is a topic of discussion for all historians who study the period of World War II. Many Germans at the time said that they were not associated with the Nazi party nor supporters of their ideologies. But throughout this analysis, Peter Fritzsche provides claims that the German people were greatly involved in the Nazi regime goals, which is a controversial subject for today.

In the time just before the Nazi regimes rise to power, the German people were still paying back war reparations and forced in the treaty of Versailles to accept the full blame of causing World War One. Being German was not at this time to be proud; there was guilt and shame amongst the population. The Nazi ideology appealed to the German people because it advocated unification, equality, power, and put the blame of their suffering on the Jews. The Nazi way was attractive and no one at the beginning of the rise of the Nazis could have foreseen just how extreme their beliefs and actions would become.

This essay will examine how the lack of effective opposition and the weakness of the Weimar, was a major factor in the Nazis rising to power between 1919 and 1933.

The Nazi movement within Germany purposefully and methodically concentrated power within Adolf Hitler. This concentration of power ultimately created a society of dependence, instigating a state of confusion fuelled by paranoia and duplicity. This climate of terror is essential in maintaining a totalitarian state, as it leads to the populace’s subservience of the government. Concentrating all the power within the state, the German citizens essentially have none themselves, resulting in the autonomy of the populace and the loss of individuality; replaced by a group identity mandating that the primacy of the state overrules the needs and desires of any single citizen.

Adolf Hitler, and understanding the history of Nazi Germany is you’ll firstly must reverser time back to World War One. Also known as the war to end all ware for future, but obviously this wouldn’t remain true. Shortly after the end of First World War, Germany was blamed for the whole incident with Treaty of Versailles officially signed by the Allies Power and Germany on June 28, 1919. Inadvertently would directly become one various reason to rise of Nazi Germany and their lunatic Hitler. Through various covets means he slowly accumulated power through legal means and contraction on the National Socialist ideology. Even though from what I understand about the socialist it was possibly mainly ploy to gain more of populous vote. Additionally, from various means gained more power through desperation of German citizens through of global economic depression, rise of communism, modernization of world, and capitalism directly associated racial hate towards the Jews and or various other groups of individuals. These events would later to World War Two, various European nations giving into the demands of Nazi in the fear

The propaganda made the Nazi Party be seen as the “party of change, dynamism, and movement to a better Germany” (Moeller 6). The party “appealed to specific interests such as creating organizations for farmers, civil servants, and women that worked in the household” (Moeller pg. 7). Although Hitler’s propaganda made the party be seen this way, the “original intent of the party was to combine Nationalist and Socialist ideologies” (Bendersky pg. 34). The National Socialists didn’t “threaten the private property of the middle class and wanted a strong middle class” (Bendersky pg. 34). The Nazi wanted to “represent the worker, farmer, or middle class over the power economic forces” (Bendersky pg. 34). The party’s economic programs were more towards helping the lower class than the

German identity as defined by Hitler, equated a sense of threat against the German way of life; Germanness. Anyone that posed a dangerous opposition to the ideal German citizen; Aryan race, was targeted. The various groups of “social outsiders”, such as those who differentiated from the German norm of religious affiliations, sexual orientation, or political views shaped Hitler’s notion of German

When Hitler fully reached power in 1933, he blamed the Jews for all problems throughout Europe and the World. In his eyes, he was never responsible for any problems and failures, it was always the Jews. Hitler’s new party gained massive traction due to the fact that he recruited a “social cross-section” (Paxton 189). This “cross-section” consisted of “artisans”, nationalist journalists, intellectuals, “wealthy people, and politically minded army officials”(Paxton 189). This cross-section helped Hitler’s ability to appeal to German people. The Nazi party was aimed towards the lower-middle class, a decently sized portion of the German population. They did successfully win over the lower-middle class, leading to Hitler’s rise.

After World War I, many of the European countries, especially Germany, were living in a time of political disorder, global depression, and economic crises. In the mid-1920s, a Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party, or more commonly knows as the Nazi Party, began to form. Because Germany was under a weak constitution and a crippled government, the people began to support the Nazi’s ideas. Among them was a political leader and WWI veteran, a man named Adolf Hitler. Hitler and the Nazi party rose to power by promising to revive the economy, punish those responsible for the hard times that Germany had endured, and restore

In 1936, British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George described Adolf Hitler as a “ born leader of men… A magnetic and dynamic personality with a single-minded purpose, a resolute will and a dauntless heart”. In Post World War 1 Germany, The Weimar Republic was doomed from its founding in 1918; an unstable, struggling republic in state of crisis. As the Weimar republic struggled to survive, a new political party was rising. The National Socialist German Workers’ party, also known as the Nazi party, gained popularity during the failings of the Weimar because of their plausible contrasts. These specific and extreme circumstances predisposed German citizens to Hitler’s ability to sway the masses, and lead to the rise of Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s political intrigue, and party representation as well as his personal magnetism and charisma aided him in his rise to power in January 1933, but exclusively in the context of Germany’s post World War 1 circumstances.