Historiographical Survey of Nazi Germany - Essay Example

? Historiographical Survey of Nazi Germany Twentieth century can be considered as the most important and “decisive” for the political activities of the world. This is because of the fact that most of the deciding events occurred in this century such as world war one, world war two and cold war being the most important and prominent ones. However, one of the deciding factors of all what happened in that century was an ideology called “Fascism”. This idea was brought forward by Adolf Hitler who contributed to the growth of Germany economically and militarily and eventually started Second World War. Moreover, the country lead by Hitler was called as Nazi Germany which was one of the most powerful countries in that era. There are many aspects of Nazi Germany which can be discussed and there are many factors and questions which can be raised in this topic. As the twentieth century is filled with revolutions, the movement of Nazi Germany is also considered as or can be perceived as a “Revolution” and Hitler being the “Revolutionist” for some people because it was the time when Germany was “Progressing” economically and militarily. Even though Nazi Germany and policies made by Hitler could be perceived as “Revolution” for some people, however, the movement of Nazi Germany was not a revolution because it was not well supported and appreciated by the people of the country. The debate of “Nazi Germany as a Revolution” is really important because it was the Nazi Germany which was one of the most prominent causes of world war two. Moreover, it was actually lead by an ideology called as “Fascism” on the basis of which the movement of Nazi Germany got its support from the people. In this way, this debate is also very important because it involves an ideology which was affecting not only the political but economic aspects of Japan, Italy, Austria and Germany. Furthermore, one of the most important features of Fascism and Fascist Nazi Germany headed by Adolf Hitler is that the economy tends to be independent from other countries and the economic needs of the country must be fulfilled y its own money and resources. In this way, the country also tends to be economically independent for its progress. In this way, the debate over Nazi Germany is very important because it was fascism and fascist Nazi policies due to which the economy of Germany was growing so fast. On the other hand, this debate over Nazi Germany also deals with the matter of the fact that their ideology known as “Fascism” was totally opposite to that of communism and, later on, Germany fought with the Soviet Union which was a Communist regime. Besides this, the importance of this debate can also be estimated by the by the fact that it was Nazi Germany which started Second World War in which Nuclear Bomb was used for the first time in the history of human kind in which a large number of people were killed out of whom 22,565 are still alive. So this was the Germany itself which challenged the world and destroyed itself, and eventually leaving the rest of the world for the Cold War between Communism and Capitalism. Besides this, the debate over Nazi Germany is also very important because it involves and discusses the brutality over the Jews and, hence, teaches the younger generation about tolerance for the diversity of beliefs and equality for the people of all religions. Another important question can also be that even if it was a revolution then whether it was supported by bourgeoisie according to the Marxist view point (Henry, 185) or it was supported by the common masses of all classes? 1 The debate over the very controversial issue “Nazi as a Revolution” involves many questions and aspects which can be argued and discussed. For example, an 2important question surrounding this debate is that was Nazi policies and movement supported by the people of Germany? Similarly there are also many other questions surrounding this debate such as the question about the formation and building block of Nazi Germany. In this way, it is also a major question and dilemma that was Nazi Germany created by the Bourgeoisie of the country because Fascism is totally against communism or it was just a way of governing through an ideology called Fascism used by the Hitler? Another question regarding this debate is that was Germany really progressing under the regime of Hitler? This is an important question because, even though, Germany was progressing economically under the Hitler but the basic human rights were being violated on daily basis. For example, many Jews were killed under the orders of Hitler because they were considered as “Sub-Humans” and against their country. Moreover, Jews were also deprived of their basic fundamental human rights because they were seen in a stereotypic way by the people, they were not even given equal opportunities for jobs and were not allowed to study in the schools in which Aryans were studying. Moreover, as the Germany was portrayed as a “Superior” nation so Germans were also portrayed as “Superior”. However, this superiority was just for the Aryans who were considered as “pure” national Germans and Jews and other non-Aryans were not considered as “pure” Germans. Abortion was made illegal in 1933, but there were also some women who would have some “bad news” because they were non Aryans or were Jews. There were also some forced sterilization of the children and new born babies of Jewish community and non Aryans. Overall women had to face a great problem during era of Nazi Germany. Hence, Germany seemed to be progressing for the outside world but it was actually deteriorating for its own people inside the country. 3 Besides all these questions, the most important and persuasive question is that whether it was the necessity of the time to make Germany economically self sufficient and military strong so that it could defend itself from the outside world or was it just the planning of Adolf Hitler for the second world war? This question and this aspect of the debate can be considered as the most important and persuasive because it was the time just after a few years of First World War when Hitler came to power in Germany and Fascism was being implemented in Germany. In this way, it was the time when the great empires of the world were broken into smaller countries and weaker or smaller countries were being invaded by the militarily stronger and powerful countries. For example, after the First World War, the great empire of United Kingdome was broken into the countries such as Pakistan and India etc. which were previously united under the colonization of United Kingdome or Great Britain. In this way, the disputed territory of Kashmir was open for the invasion for the country which would have stronger military might and was eventually divided between the two countries. Another example here would be the partition of Palestine and making Israel a new country which could be accomplished only because Palestine was not able enough to fight. Similarly, the Ottoman Empire was broken into smaller countries on the basis and spirit of Nationalism. After the World War One, Middle East was divided into almost 22 countries despite having the same religion, faith and, to a great extent, same language. Hence all of those divisions were accomplished by the stronger national identity and, most importantly, military support from the outside world or from within. In the same way, Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires were also broken and collapsed. Hence, it was the time when invading a smaller and weaker country was not a difficult task to accomplish so long a country has great military power. Similarly, after the Second World War, many countries were invaded, divided and destroyed by the ones which had greater military power. So it could be argued that it was the necessity of the time to make the people of Germany aware of their surroundings i.e. United Kingdome and Soviet Union etc and make them stronger enough to defend an incoming assault. However, this argument could not be justified with such reasons because it was Germany which invaded Poland and attacked the rest of the European countries first and not other countries. Moreover, even if it was the necessity of the time to be stronger militarily and to be able enough to defend them, however, starting the war does explain that it was the planning of Adolf Hitler to invade other countries and not the desire of the people to be stronger militarily. Bibliography Gellately, Robert. Backing Hitler: Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany . Oxford University Press, 2002. Glenn, Collins. "Women in Nazi Germany." New York Times, 1987. Steinwais, Alan. Art, Ideology, and Economics in Nazi Germany. The University of North Carolina Press, 1996. Read More