The Totalitarian Aspects of Nazi Germany Essay

The chaos that followed in the wake of World War I allowed and encouraged the establishment of totalitarian regimes. Totalitarianism is a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and required complete subservience to the state. It took place in Germany, Italy,and Japan. This type of militarism went on in many different countries and for many different reasons.

As time went on Hitler established new ways to deal with perceived enemies of the Nazi Regime while hiding his actions under an assortment of lies with propaganda. By using new methods of suppression, against those who threaten his rule, Hitler was able maintain power over Germany as a whole. One system that the Nazi party created gave birth to an organization called The Gestapo. The Gestapo was formed by Goring, the Prussian secretary of the interior by merging political as well as espionage units within Nazi ranks. Command of this branch was later transferred to Himmler, the head of the SS, who would create a connection between the two groups to solidify his power. The Gestapo helped enforce Nazi rule by quieting those who seemed to threaten their laws. They would do whatever they wanted without being held responsible for their crimes. In some instances Jews and other inferior people just disappeared. They had full control over the lives of the prisoners. They dealt with any threat within German Society, spreading fear throughout the country (Britannica, 2014). By creating a unified force that deals with domestic threats within the German province, Hitler was then able to do as he pleased without opposition from anyone. The Gestapo was feared by many and they had the power of search and seizure without an official warrant. Being given this power they could arrest anyone they wanted, for any small crime, that they considered an offense against the

At first, Germany was no different than it was before Hitler’s Chancellorship, but it wasn’t long until things began to take a sharp turn on a road that had never been traveled before. Hitler soon adopted a policy called “coordination” which aligned individualism with Nazi goals. In doing this, Hitler aimed to create a volk community, “a society that would transcend class and religious differences” (Third Reich:An overview). The creation of the volk community however, would remain a near impossible feat until Hitler gained the power to put make his goals a reality, which he eventually did. First, The Reichstag Fire Decree, permitted the suspension of basic civil rights and then the SS, Hitler’s “army” gained control over the police. Soon after, the Civil Services Act of 1933 was passed, and this law gave German authorities

Leaders used scapegoats as common enemies to unite the masses against. Hitler used propaganda to villainize minorities, portraying them as animals, unfit to socialize with white “Aryans,” and corrupt. In Germany these minorities faced the constant threat of Hitler’s police force. Hitler’s police force, or Gestapo, arrested perceived enemies before they committed crimes. These Gestapo sent opposing political party members, Jews, “work shy,” homosexuals, and professional criminals to harsh concentration camps. In these camps, inhumane punishments were common, long laborious work was expected, food and water was few and far in between, and deaths occurred on a daily basis. Neighbors and friends disappeared in the middle of the night to concentration camps. People did not stand up to the Gestapo due to the fear of being persecuted themselves. This gave an undeniable power to Hitler. To prevent being targeted, the people united against these minorities. All perceived enemies could mercilessly killed without protest. Along with executing political enemies,

Germany, between the years of 1933-1945 was a totalitarianism society under its charismatic and “crazy” leader, Adolf Hitler. A Totalitarian Society is one in which the leader, in this case Hitler, has total control over its Government and the people. Hitler controlled the media, education, culture and the glorification of the state, the use of a scapegoat and systematic use of terror to make Nazi Germany a totalitarian society.

On 30th January 1933, through ruthless determination, Adolf Hitler became Germany 's 24th Chancellor, bringing the totalitarian Nazi party into power and creating a fascist Nazi State. Ultimately this led to the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the creation of a terror state, in which the German society was forced to conform to the regime due to the excessive use of violence, fear, and intimidation. The Nazi regime created various economic benefits, which served to disguise the detrimental effects the regime had on youth and education, the segregation of minority groups, and women 's rights. Furthermore, the German population was oppressed through the consolidation of a ruthless and merciless police state. This police state served to

As we know Nazism is a branch of totalitarianism and was the main ideology in Germany after the Great Depression that was caused by “massive unemployment, social unrest, and the loss of national confidence”. (Michael Berenbaum, “The World Must Know”) Nazi is a shortened word of National-Socialist party that ruled under Adolf Hitler’s control. Political ideology was based on nationalist and anti-Semitic movements. After being defeated in the First World War and very strict conditions of The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 (The Allies demand of full demilitarization of Germany), of course, the atmosphere in the country was revengeful. Exacerbation of economical and social contradictions gives a chance for Nazi party to rule. Any kind of opposition was severely persecuted; also members of communist party were immediately killed. “Hitler’s first hundred days in power were marked by the mass arrest of trade unionists; the suppression of free speech, the opening of the first concentration camps, where those arrested were held without trial; the purging of opponents of the regime from civil service – which included teachers; the gutting of the judicial system; and the first steps of an orchestrated policy of persecution of German Jews.”(Michael Berenbaum, “The World Must Know”) “Bible” of Nazi was

In the Second World War, a man named Adolph Hitler, the leader of the infamous Nazi regime, had a plethora of things on his mind. From guarding the stricken land of Poland against Soviet advancement, to making sure the western shores of the Atlantic Ocean in France were closely guarded, Hitler had much to worry about. Unfortunately, it was during Hitler’s reign when a most horrible atrocity took place.

“The deepest sense of social responsibility for the creation of better foundations for our development, coupled with brutal determination in breaking down incurable tumors.”

This chapter was about Totalitarianism, American Neutrality, Japanese Threat, World War II and American Society, Road to Allied Victory, The Pacific War, and Postwar World. This chapter is mainly about our allies and what we faced. I will now be answering the focus questions at the beginning of this chapter.

Many historians claim that Hitler introduced a totalitarian state in Germany in the years between 1933 and 1939. A totalitarian state was defined as a government that promotes the individual to the state and strictly controls all aspects of life by extreme measures. There is no doubt that radical changes occurred as a result of significant decisions made and policies introduced by the party, but there appears to be strong evidence to suggest that their desire for popularity and power was not completely fulfilled. In order for Germany to be considered a completely successful totalitarian state they must achieve the key features of a totalitarian state. The features of a totalitarian state were defined by German historian and political theorist, Carl Friedrichs, as the following six areas; control of the economy, control of opposition, control of the police and armed forces, total control of the media, the use of terror to control the people and control by one party. If the Nazis could not successfully control all of these areas, Germany would not be considered a totalitarian state. In order to assess whether they did, it is necessary to examine all of these factors covering their key points.

Hitler created the Gestapo like no other police force. The Gestapo was capable of anything they wanted to, because “it answered to no judicial or legal oversight. It could carry out particularly ruthless actions without fear of any civilian repercussions” (Holocaust Memorial Museum, Gestapo). Since the Gestapo had no rules that they were required to follow, they were able to use fear and violence to achieve power. This unethical power was manipulation under Hitler’s wing because the Gestapo could target and kill whoever they wanted.

Hitler’s Germany was a characteristic totalitarian state as it was a one party, one person driven country in which the leader was idolised to the extent of Godly worship and fanatic followership with its own set of stringent rule book. The nazi regime had intruded into all aspects of common man freedom,living,rights and communication with the aid of german police. They had spread throughout the whole country with their policies and beliefs with no scope of non compliance entertained from any citizen.Non compliance of the smallest order as in talking ill about Hitler was treated as a traitor like offence and the punishment for the same was usually very brutal and evil in order to create fear and bring people under one roof with no space for

The Nazi Party developed a totalitarian state in Germany by enforcing the Enabling Act. The Enabling Act would “give his Cabinet the power to make laws without the approval of the Reichstag or the President.” (Hitler’s Rise to power, n.d) The Law gave Hitler the power to do as he pleased.

When Hitler gained power, he set up a police state and a secret police called the Gestapo who arrested anyone hostile to the Nazis government. Jews and other innocents were arrested and housed in concentration camps. Also, even though unemployment decreased under Hitler, women and Jews were no longer included in the figures. Trade unions were banned and there was a loss of personal freedoms in the workplace. The Nazi’s also used propaganda and censorship to control everything that the German people read, heard and saw. There were also negatives about the youth movement; children were afraid of its motives and didn’t like how harsh it was and that attendance was compulsory. Then there was education; teachers and the curriculum were controlled and specialist schools were established, all to create Nazis. Women were also controlled. They were and encouraged to behave in certain ways and were pushed to have lots of ‘good quality’ children. All this meant that there was a loss of many personal freedoms. It was also obvious that Hitler was creating a road to war with the four year plan (rearmament, conscription, and the building of autobahns) and the youth movement preparing children for their roles during war. All this leads to the fact that Nazi rule between 1933 and 1939 had many