Hitler and Nazi Germany: Historical Importance of Nazi Administration - Case Study Example

Hitler and Nazi Germany are still hot topics among political world because of the historical importance of Nazi administration. The world for the first time realized the effects of true dictatorship during the Hitler/Nazi regime. Even now, teachers of politics utilize examples from the Nazi regime while they teach dictatorship in classrooms. Immediately after the appointment as the head of a coalition government, Hitler has started to dictate the administration. The major aim of Hitler was to take full control of the administration in order to prepare the Germans for their future efforts to take revenge for the World War 1 defeat and to conquer Europe. Hitler utilized anticommunist stands, racial issues and the principles of lebensraum to motivate German people towards the Second World War. Hitler was a good orator and he mesmerised the German people with his sharp criticism against the Jews and communism. Jews were strong opponents for the German supremacy as far as races were concerned. Many of the prominent scientists and world leaders were of Jewish origin which was not acceptable to Hitler. Second World War is the best example for studying Nazism and during Second World War many of the European countries were invaded by Hitler. This paper briefly analyses the resistance to the Nazi regime in the occupied territories during the World War 2 Nazi occupation during World War 2 In 1938 an international crisis developed around Czechoslovakia, populated mostly by ethnic Germans known as Sudetenland, has started to shake the global peace and Hitler has threatened to go to war with Czechoslovakia unless so-called Sudetenland was immediately ceded to Germany. The British Prime Minister Chamberlain flew to Germany in order to avoid a possible Second World War which resulted in the Munich Peace of 1938 (Zuljan) Hitler’s main aim of raising the Sudetenland issue was to shake the world. He had a point to prove the world that Germany was ready for one more war. The Sudetenland problem has been rectified by accepting all the demands of Hitler in a negotiation consisting of Chamberlain, Daladier (the French prime minister) and Hitler, gathered in Munich with Mussolini as mediator. Many people thought that the problems were solved there. But it was the beginning of the major problems. Hitler started to make claims on other territories in Europe after gaining political victory in the Sudetenland issue. He realized that most of the Europeans were afraid of the Germans and their military power and started the effort to expand the German Empire. “At dawn on September 1, 1939, the German army launched a ferocious assault across the Polish border. By October 6, it was all over. Poland ceased to exist as a country. World War II had begun” (The Nazi Occupation of Poland). The invasion of Poland has raised fear in many of the other European countries like France, Britain, Australia etc. These countries demanded immediate withdrawal of German troops from Poland and Hitler denied it. Hitler never thought that Britain and France may take side of the Poland if an encounter occurs between Poland and Germany. But Poland was sure that France and Britain would come into the rescue of Polish people. Poland’s military strength was negligible compared to that of the German’s and hence Hitler calculated an easy walkover against Poland. But Hitler’s calculations went wrong as Britain along with its allies demanded an immediate withdrawal of German troops from Poland. Because of Hitler’s refusal to withdraw the troops from Poland, many European countries including Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war against Germany. Even though Britain was the first who came forward to the rescue of Poland, France was reluctant initially. But later France also forced to declare war against Germany after a 6 hour time delay (Dziewanowski). Even though France and Britain declared war against Germany in order to rescue Poland, they did not commit any serious attacks against the Germans. Moreover, Hitler needed to secure the eastern front so that he could deal with England and France (thus avoiding a two-front war). The war declared by Britain and France remained on papers only and Germany was able to conquer Poland easily. It was not possible for the Poland soldiers to negotiate the technically sound attacks by the German military. “The destruction of Poland was followed by the disintegration of all other sovereign states in East Central Europe. The unfolding of events in East Central Europe in 1938-1940 is evidence of the close interdependence of the countries of the area” (Dziewanowski). After the invasion of Poland, Germans were inactive for a lengthy period till April 9, 1940. Many people thought that the German efforts were ended and the peace was established in Europe. But such calculations were gone wrong as Germans resumed their attacks in Europe on April 9, 1940. “The inactive period ended with the surprise invasion (Apr. 9, 1940) of Denmark and Norway by the Germans. Denmark offered no resistance; Norway was conquered by June 9. On May 10, German forces overran Luxembourg and invaded the Netherlands and Belgium” (World War 2). Germany attacked the Western European countries like France, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg etc on May 10, 1940 (German Invasion of Western Europe, May 1940). Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands have not shown much resistance. Netherlands surrendered within 6 days from the beginning of the war whereas Belgium took 18 days to surrender. France was forced to divide its territories into to two on 22 June 1940; one occupied by the Germans and the other by the French government under Petain in Vichy. The Germans continued their invasion; they invaded Greece and Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941(The Invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia, 6–8 April). The Nazi occupation in these countries lasted until the German withdrawal from the mainland in October 1944. Even though, Germans succeeded in invading many prominent countries in Europe, they failed to conquer Britain because of the great leadership of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Germans did everything possible to invade Great Britain, but under the strong leadership of Churchill, Britain was able to defeat all such efforts of Hitler. At the same time, Germans never showed any signs of aggression towards Soviet Union initially, even though Hitler was a severe critic of communism. The external world was not aware of the secret agreement; Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact, at the beginning of Hitler’s effort to conquer Europe. “For agreeing, not to join the possible future war, Germany has given the Soviets the Baltic States; Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Poland was also divided between and shared by Soviet Union and Germany (Rosenberg) Hitler reached the agreement with Stalin for mutual benefits. Hitler realized that it was impossible for them to open many war fronts at the same time. But later both Soviet Union and Germany started to violate the agreement because of the suspicion developed in between them. “In May 1942, the British Royal Air Force carried out a raid on the German city of Cologne with a thousand bombers, and in November, 1942, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive at Stalingrad and on February 2, 1943, the German Sixth Army surrendered to the Soviets”(World War in Europe). The entry of United States in the World War 2 was an unexpected one for the Germans and they forced to surrender unconditionally on May 7, 1945 (World War in Europe). Conclusions Even though, Germany succeeded in invading a major part of Europe during the World War 2, the brave and combined efforts of Britain, Soviet Union and United States came to the rescue of the Europe. Even though, Hitler failed in his attempt to expand the German empire across Europe, his war strategies and military actions are still remembered as a miracle. Works Cited 1. “German Invasion of Western Europe May 1940.” 2010. Web. 16 November 2010. 2. Rosenberg ,Jennifer. “The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.” 2009. Web.16 November 2010. 3. “The Nazi Occupation of Poland.” Web. 16 November 2010. 4. “The Invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia, 6–8 April.” Web. 16 November 2010. 5. “World War 2.” The Free Dictionary. Web. 16 November 2010. Read More