Human Rights According to Adolf Hitler - Essay Example

?Fundamentals of Human Rights; A Contrast Introduction The modern world has experienced several regimes and ities each with its own style of leadership and definition of democracy and human rights. As Mathew Arnold once wrote, “the nineteenth century is a terrible place, ‘caught between two worlds, one dead, the other struggling to be born’. A new society, formed mainly by the middle class and based on capitalism, was struggling to be born. This new society prized rights and property over hereditary birth, regional over national government, contractual over class relationships” (Marx web). This statement has significant implication of both the modern France and Germany. The Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany depict authorities that struggled to their death as new states were born. This paper will therefore compare and contrast excerpts from Hitler’s speech and French national assembly declaration of human rights. The definition of human rights has raised numerous controversies in the new era of democracies (Docker 121). It is evident that every regime has its own definition of human rights. In addition, different countries or governments cannot share their ideologies concerning human rights. For instance, the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were initiated in the disguise of human rights. According to the Americans, toppling authoritarian Taliban led regime was a way of promoting human rights in Afghanistan. However, the move might not have had a similar implication to the Afghan people. Similarly, the two excerpts demonstrate the conflicting views of human rights according to Hitler and the French national assembly declaration of man and human rights. According to Adolf Hitler, human right should be an aspect of survival. Thus, every individual should struggle to ensure that he or she lives according to his own definition of human rights. Hitler believed that “The fundamental motif [theme] through all the centuries has been the principle that force and power are the determining factors. Thus, according to Hitler, force was a significant determinant of human rights. On the other hand, the French national assemble declaration of human rights considers enlightenment and ideals of Rousseau as instrumental factor of human rights. This indicates that citizens need to understand their rights for the government to be able to implement human rights on its citizens. According to the extract on the French national assembly human rights declaration, “the assembly was organized believing that ignorance, neglect or contempt of the rights of man is the main cause of public misfortune.” This indicates that the French believed in the self-made human rights while the Nazi Germans believed in a regime sustained human rights. Hitler’s’ elimination of the Jewish people was inspired by his definition of human rights (Quist-Adade web). His involvement in World War I was a symbol of his devotion to the human rights of the Germans. Although Hitler came into power through democratic elections, he did not believe that the people had the rights to choose their leaders through elections. His support for a democratic election was a scheme to gain control of the country. After gaining power, Hitler imposed a dictatorial authority over Germany until his death in April 1945. Hitler’s speech indicates his resistance towards democracy. In fact, Hitler can be described as a symbol of anti-democracy. On the other hand, the French national assembly of human right supports democracy. The assembly supports a people driven democracy or democracy that is based on people’s understanding of their human rights. On the other hand, Hitler considered the regime as the paramount determinant of human right. Thus, a regime has the right to impose its own definition of democracy on the people. However, from the French national assembly on human rights, the citizens are vital in the formation of a government. Thus “ they saw government as a creation of the people, when the social contract had been broken, then the people had a right to revoke that contract and set up a new government” (Marx web). This indicates that the people are the main stakeholder of any government. This may have been the basis of the current voter system where people are given the right to choose their leaders through the ballot box. The French declaration of human rights considers democracy or the ability of the people to choose their leaders as the main source of national development in a capitalist country. This is because capitalistic economy gives people the ability to compete and meets their own social and financial requirements. On the other hand, a capitalistic country considers all candidates of a political contest to have similar chances of gaining leadership of the country. On the other hand, Hitler’s speech excerpt depicts his views towards democracy and a people led regime. After gaining control of Germany in the early 1920’s Hitler eliminated all opposition and political and economic systems that existed in Germany before launching his ambitious program to eliminate the Jews. Hitler considered the elimination of the Jews as a way of imposing democracy over the Germans. The two excerpts have considerable differences on their views towards the notion of natural rights. Hitler has a strong preference for the Darwin’s theory of natural selection. On the other hand, the French assembly for human rights bases its definition of human rights on the well-being of the people. Thus, Hitler’s speech excerpt considers natural human rights to be equivalent to their ability to survive and the ability or the powers of the government. “The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural . . . rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.” This defines the political system or government as the custodian of natural human rights. On the other hand, the excerpt liberty, prosperity, security, and resistance towards oppression are the main indicators of natural human rights. Liberty is a fundamental human right that allow all human beings to do everything that they deserve provided it does not harm anyone else. The excerpt depicts natural human rights to be intertwined between fundamental ethics and social values. National prosperity is the basic indicator of natural human rights according to the French national assembly declaration of human rights. The French policy on human rights has a similar approach with that of American democracy. According to Goldman, “The history of the American kings of capital and authority is the history of repeated crimes, injustice, oppression, outrage, and abuse, all aiming at the suppression of individual liberties and the exploitation of the people” (1). From the statement, capital and authority is an act of repeated crimes and injustices against individual liberties. Thus, an authoritarian regime acts against the natural or fundamental rights of the people. The citizens of a country are also responsible for their individual rights. According to the excerpt, citizens are responsible for the governance of their country. Voting for a preferred candidate through a democratic election is an indicator of people’s basic human rights. Goldman continues to argue that fundamental human rights or natural human rights are basic to all human beings irrespective of their colour, race, or sex. However, Hitler’s speech introduces the concept of survival on natural or basic human rights. The incorporation of struggle on the basic concept of human rights indicates lack of government’s involvement in people’s natural right. The extract also depicts social differences of people living in a country. The notion of survival for the fittest also indicates variation of people’s basic or fundamental rights according to their association with the regime. Hitler considered struggles and conflicts as the fundamentals of human rights. Hitler came into power after serving in the military for ten years. During the First World War, Hitler served in the first German battalion against the British and the Belgium. His involvement in the world war might have influenced him concerning the role of armed conflict in restoring human values and dignity. During his youthful days, Hitler encountered what he considered as a racial superiority of the Jews against the Germans. This made him to declare his hatred for the Jews. His involvement into politics and ascends to power was intended at executing a revenge against the Jews. Unlike the French, Hitler considered superiority as basic indicator of natural human rights. On the other hand, the French declaration of fundamental human rights excerpt considers liberty and enlightenment as the basic indicators of natural human rights. This notion depicts the differences between German and French regimes during the early 1930s. Although Hitler managed to revive German’s economy, his fundamental plan did not work out as expected. His role in World War II and execution of the Jews left the country in a major economic turmoil. This nullifies his proposal of greatness as the basic indicators of natural human rights. Hitler has a strange view of prosperity and human developments. Hitler intended to create a monarchy that would rule the world for over 1000 years. Although Hitler did not achieve this objective, his views towards governance and superiority were evident throughout his government. Thus, the success of his objectives could have proved his views towards human development and authority. From his speech, Hitler considered democracy, peace, and internationalism as the downfall of humanity. On the other hand, the declaration of human rights considers ignorance, neglect, and contempt as the basic cause of all human misfortunes. In the most famous counter-revolutionary theoretical work, Edmund Burke declared, “human beings were not abstract entities, but products of tradition and history (Marx web). Burke believed that all governments are formed on social organizations and past governance structures. This mistakes that were in the former regimes are propagated in any new government. This statement depicts the role of the people in influencing the governance of their country. Hitler’s negative attitude towards peace and internationalism led to the creation and the fall of the Nazi Germany. The main similarity between the two excerpts concerning national prosperity is their view on the significance of human prosperity. Although Hitler was accused of establishing an authoritarian regime over the Germans, he had a vision for the country. Hitler was born and raised in a poor family. He was also a victim of ethnic abuse and government’s authority. His project of making Germany the most powerful country in the world was inspired by his needs of eliminating suffering among the Germans. Thus, he considered democracy as the basic cause of human down fall. Similarly, the French revolutionists considered human development as a significant aspect of their authority. This indicates a similarity between the two excerpts. Despite the similarity, the excerpt has a different approach towards fulfilling basic human values and rights. In addition, the two excerpts consider the downfall of human beings to be harmful to the progress of a nation. Thus, a government is expected to maintain privilege and prosperity among its people. On the other hand, the people are expected to ensure that the government observe its pledges of promoting prosperity and human development. This aspect introduces an aspect of conflict between the French authority and the Nazi Germany. According to Hitler, human superiority is equivalent to human development. Thus, democracy and international relations are not indicators of human superiority since, they preaches cowardly and pacifism. This was the Hitler’s version of a successful government. Hitler considered the French authority inappropriate and unsuccessful. This is because the French authority advocated for social equity and strong international relation. This is evident from the role of France in promoting global peace. Immediately after Hitler came into power in 1938, Hitler’s army invaded Poland. This invasion depicts Hitler’s views towards prosperity and good governance. Following the German invasion of Poland, England and France declared war on Germany. The French declaration of war against the Germans indicates the role of Germany in international peace and prosperity. In addition, the French authority considered international understanding to be a vital element of national and human prosperity. However, Hitler considered racial dominance as a significant aspect of national prosperity. In addition, Hitler considered his policies significant to the development of the Germans. The two excerpts demonstrate the most famous characteristics or phenomenon of the German revolutionist and the Nazi government. Hitler is considered as the greatest dictator of the 19th century. On the other hand, the Nazi government is considered as the most ruthless and authoritarian regime of the modern world. These aspects are evident from the two extracts. The first extract depicts the democratization of France. The second excerpt depicts Hitler as a dictator and a ruthless leader. However, the extracts have contradicting views on the role of each authority in exercising prosperity and civil liberties. Hitler considers it unfortunate that “the contemporary world stresses internationalism instead of the innate values of race, democracy and the majority instead of the worth of a great leader.” On the other hand, the French revolutionist considered internationalism instrumental in international prosperity and governance. The author of the article titled “The Women and the French Revolution article” was concerned with the anticipated generosity of Mother Nature. The author notices that nature has not been generous to all individuals. The author continues to argue that Mother Nature has been stingy to us and that shed grants her favour to our pitiless tyrants (Marx web). This statement contradicts the Darwin survival for the fittest analogy. From the article, it is evident that not every individual is endowed with wealth and prosperity. Thus, equality cannot be based on individual’s wealth or superiority. In addition, the wealth or prosperity of a country cannot be determined by its economy and military superiority. However, Hitler had an opposing view towards national superiority and economic growth. From Darwin’s theory of origin of species, Darwin considered natural selection as a fundamental force that led to extinction and survival of different species. Hiller had a different approach towards the Darwin’s theory. According to Hitler’s interpretation, survival of the fittest depends on their ability to dominate other people. According to Goldman, it is evident that all human beings are equal irrespective of their race, colour, or sex (5). The equality of races as depicted by the article nullifies Hitler’s views towards racial cleansing. Hitler considered racial cleansing as a method of survival or natural selection through elimination of the Jewish society. Although his decision to annihilate the Jews was driven by stereotypical hatred, it is evident that the Jews were more successful than ordinary Germans. This concurs with Darwin’s views towards racism and economy. Conclusion The Nazi German and France during the French revolution had various similarities and differences, which are evident from the two excerpts. According to the Hitler’s speech extract, Hitler was inspired by social Darwinism on survival for the fittest. On the other hand, the French revolutionists were inspired and enlightened by the ideals of Rousseau. This made them to support democracy while Hitler was a symbol of anti-democracy. Hitler considered the notion of survival for the fittest as equivalent to power and authority. In addition, Darwin considered peace and internationalism as the basis of human downfall. His views towards democracy made him to become a dictator and establish the Nazi regime. On the other hand, the French revolutionist considered ignorance and neglect as the basis of human downfall. This led to the French revolution and creation of the modern day France. Works Cited Asma, Stephen. The New Social Darwinism: Deserving Your Destitution. 2009. Findarticles. Web 7, July 2012. Goldman, Emma. A New Declaration of Independence. Mother Earth, 4.5 (1909): 5-16. Print. Marx, Karl. Revolution and After: Tragedies and Farce. portfolio.richard-hooker. 2009. Web 7, July 2012. < http://portfolio.richard-hooker.com/sites/worldcultures/REV/INTRO.HTM> Quist-Adade, Chales. What Is 'Race' and What Is ‘Racism’. Economy, Race, and Darwin. business.highbeam. 2006. Web 7, July 2012. Docker, John. Postmodernism and Popular Culture: A Cultural History. Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Read More