Hitler's Position & The Rise of National Socialism - Literature review Example

Introduction The Second World War was began when Germany invaded Poland, then a British protectorate in 1939 (Baranowski, 12). This was against the principles of the League of Nations which was then the association of the major global powers at that time. Most of these global powers that formed the League of Nations were countries that had played a major part in the defeat of Germany in the First World War. The invasion of Poland and the invasion of other countries in Europe and other parts of the world was engineered and directed by the German National Socialist Party (Nazi). The Nazi under Hitler had very strong, motivated and committed soldiers who fought on all the major fronts of the German advances throughout Europe. During the war, many minorities were killed, particularly Jewish people were killed and there were large scale human rights abuses meted out against non-Germans by German soldiers in the war. Also, Germany maintained the most advanced military technical tools and systems that ensured that the German army remained formidable for all major military forces at that time. It eventually took the combined forces of the American, Soviet and British/Commonwealth troops to enter Germany and destroy the Nazi Army. And even with this spectacular combination of military forces from the powers that were at that time, there was a lot of casualty inflicted on all these major military forces before they could enter the German capital, Berlin and force the German Army to surrender after Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker. The strong opposition that German troops gave to the Allied forces is quite shocking and includes some of the biggest military advances and resistance ever to be mobilized in history. This therefore means that there was something very strong urging the Germans on before and during the war. This paper examines the main elements of the Nazi system that caused German soldiers to maintain their strong positions in the Second World War. It examines this in three major frameworks. Firstly, it examines the main nationalistic structures that Hitler put in place that made the German military so committed to the Nazi cause. It then goes on to examine why ordinary Germans gave their unconditional support to the Nazi military and kept on enlisting to provide support for the Nazi campaign which caused serious humanitarian crises for different people around the world. Finally, the paper examines the combat motivation of the German soldiers in the Second World War. Hitlers Position & The Rise of National Socialism Hitler rose into prominence as the leader of the major party of Germany in 1933 (Victor, 2007 6). At that time, Germany had suffered a devastating defeat in the First World War and had been treated harshly in the division of territories and in the payment of damages for their role in the war by the League of Nations (Fleming 1987 xvi). Right after Hitler came into power, he looked skeptically at the League of Nations and he harbored the view that the First World War was the cause of all of Germanys problems. He stated that the League of Nations targeted ordinary Germans and gave amnesty to the German Royal Family and its oligarchs who had entered the war unilaterally without the involvement of ordinary Germans in the decision (Victor 2007 6). At that time, the head of the German monarchy that started the First World War was living comfortably in exile in the Netherlands whilst the rest of Germany was made to bear the sanctions and limitations laid forth by the League of Nations. In the Mein Kampf, which became the writings of Adolf Hitler which showed his explanations of Germanys sufferings, he identified that England was the primary cause of Germanys woes because they had put together the League of Nations to specifically cause the world to oppress Germans (Victor 2007 8). Also, Hitler identified that the Jews were the enemies within and they had supported the British to defeat Germany in the First World War. Additionally, he pointed out so many nations and ethnic groups in mainland Europe that had aligned itself with Britain to defeat Germany and oppress Germans. Thus, as a political leader, Hitler believed that it was important for him to set up a system that will encourage the Germans to rise up to the occasion and fight against British and foreign domination. Hitler wrote in the Mein Kampf that “In view of the primitive simplicity of their minds, [the masses] more easily fall victim to a big lie than a little one.” (Axelrod 2008 27). So Hitler designed various propaganda tools and techniques to promote the concept of National Socialism (Nazi) which sought to build German institutions to defend the interest of Germany against foreign domination. The Role of Propaganda Prior to the invasion of Germany, Halasz (2009 3) states that American soldiers were given copies of the book What is Nazi Propaganda which compiled the various tools and techniques used by the Nazi government to indoctrinate the German people and draft them into the trap of Hitler. The document shows that the Germans were absolutely brainwashed and the propaganda of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment & Propaganda formed in 1933 and was under the control of Joseph Goebbels had centralized every information flow system and ensured that the German people only heard what Hitler wanted them to hear. All journalists, writers and artists were to register with one of the Ministrys chambers and they were required to only write things that were in sync with Nazi ideologies (Halasz 2009 1). Due to this, there was a firm control maintained by Hitler on the minds and thoughts of the German people. One of the biggest tools used by the Nazi party was the tool of hatred. Goebbels, head of propaganda in the Nazi government once said: “Thats my trade: hatred. It makes you a long way further than any other emotion.” (Axelrod 2008 30). This shows that the Ministry for Propaganda did a lot of things to promote hatred and stir up passion amongst the German people and this passion was ultimately responsible for the commitment and zeal that the average German people used to destroy people of other races and backgrounds in the war. It blinded them to the facts of life and made them ruthless to all other people that were different from them. Most of the hatred was spread across racial lines and this was the best way of segregating the German from all other people and getting them to hate other people with a passion. Germans & Aryanization The concept of Aryanization was based on the premise that Germans were a superior White Western European race that was mentally and physically superior to all other races (Fleming 1987 xv). Based on this thesis, Hitler sought to rid Germany of foreign elements like Jews and Gypsies to form a nation that was made up of only members of the superior race. Since the Germans were the superior race, Hitler urged the people on by saying that there was the need for them to get a Lebensraum or a living space in the rest of Europe from where they could exploit resources and build a superior nation. After the superior race was established, the rest of the world could be literally enslaved and Germans will enjoy the most prosperous and luxurious life imaginable. Based on this promise, Germans, who had lost their self confidence after the loss of the First World War and were living under harsh economic conditions bought into the ideas of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist concepts. Jones (1999 122) states that if Hitler had died in 1938, he would have died as Adolf the Great and one of the most outstanding figures in German history. His National Socialist ideas showed that if the British had been able to get the whole world to abide by its rules through the League of Nations, then Germany could do same. Between 1933 and 1939, Hitler continued to build the structures of the nation. He built the military, promoted nationalism, promoted efficiency, encouraged good governance and nurtured all the intellectual institutions in the country. By 1939, Germany could stand tall amongst all the major powers in the world at that time. This led to frictions and suspicions of conflicts in the region. The Further Expansion of the Army By 1939, when Germany felt strong enough, it captured some territories in Europe against the principles of the League of Nations. Britain responded by giving some concessions to the Germans. Germany continued to flex its muscles and began to demand more things from the League of Nations. In an address to the leaders of the German military in 1939 after some of such demands had been made with Britain, Hitler stated that: “The Fuhrer [Hitler] does not see the possibility of peaceful settlement with England. We must prepare ourselves for the conflict. England sees in our development the foundation of a hegemony that would weaken England. England is therefore our enemy and the conflict with England will be a life-and-death struggle.” (Victor 2007 6). This shows that Hitler, although unprovoked sought a way of getting even with the British for what he considered to be past atrocities and humiliation. And due to the fact that the German people and the German military was highly indoctrinated, he was very certain that he would succeed in this quest against Britain. Most Germans did not want war, but when Germany achieved low cost victories shortly after this speech to the military in Poland and other European nations between 1939 and 1940, the confidence of the German people were rekindled (Jones 1999 123). The victories were heralded in the German media through the propaganda machinery which had always been efficient. The Germans were happy with the victory and they became more certain that the Fuhrer (Hitler) would be able to deliver his promises. Thus, with the spirit of nationalism, more Germans who were of the military age enlisted in the German Army and they were very committed to achieving their own share of the development and advancement that Hitler had promised to Germans. Due to the continuous flow of propaganda into the minds of Germans, everyone who enlisted in the Army was conscious of the fact that Germans were Aryans. All these new soldiers believed and main way Germans could build a lasting empire was to eliminate other non-Aryans like the European Jewry, the Soviet Union which was seen as Jewish Bolshevism and other nations that were seen to have sided with the British (Jones 1999 123). This point of view was further enhanced by the mammoth military rallies that Hitler held in Nuremberg and other major cities around Germany where he proved himself as a great orator and convinced the soldiers further. Secrecy of the Genocide Plan As the Nazis continued to expand their influence throughout Europe, they kept information about their wicked activities like the Concentration Camps and Death Centers in Auschwitz very secretly. Only close confidants of Hitler were allowed to go to the death chambers where Jews and other undesirable elements were killed in large numbers through a system similar to a mass production chain (Jones 1999 123). Information that kept the German masses supporting the Nazi agenda was the only information available to the masses. Details of the exterminations and the wicked deeds of the Germans were kept away from the masses. And only carefully chosen officers who were trained to cause massive exterminations were allowed to handle these wicked and cruel events that sought to exterminate generations of innocent people like Jews. So whilst the average German civilian was made to see a positive picture of the German defense and empire plan, the average soldier was also given just enough information he needed to execute the plans that were strictly appropriate to them. On the other extreme, carefully selected and inhumanely trained soldiers were made to handle the cruel tasks. Information flow was severely restricted and this allowed the Nazis to continue to kill and destroy people en masse to fit their personal agendas and plans. Combat Motivation The World War was presented to German soldiers as a preventive war (Bananowski 2010 85). Each soldier was given a precise deadline and trained well through the use of tough measures and systems (Bananowski 2010 85). The soldiers were thought how to destroy properties, use human shields, take hostages, use exemplary punishments and mass executions (Bananowski 2010 85). And once these systems worked, they continued to use it further and this enabled them to attain victories that spurred them on in the war. In combat, the Germans deployed small units that had stronger cohesion and discipline (Vego 2009 137). The German commanders were also trained to strengthen morale factors and mitigate adverse environmental effects. Soldiers were to perceive higher authorities as legitimate and were subjected to numerous rules and regulations that kept them efficient (Vego 2009 137). German soldiers were motivated to avoid fear and they used the most sophisticated weapons at that time. Nationalist symbols increased the motivations of Nazi soldiers and they were motivated to kill due to the routine training and exercises they had studied continuously (Brooks & Stanley 2007 47). German soldiers and professionals were all Nazi ideologues and that determined all their actions during the war (Brooks & Stanley 2007 47). Conclusion Hitler entered the power vacuum that was created due to the injustices of the League of Nations. Hitler used conceptions of racism to encourage Germans to fight against foreigners and foreign policies. He maintained a strong propaganda system and censored information heavily. The expansion of the German military under Hitler and the early victories of the Nazi war effort caused the Germans to believe his plans and promises. Also, the secrecy of the genocides and the good combat motivation techniques ensured that the German soldiers remained committed and efficient on the battlefield. Reference List Axelrod, Alan. 2008. The Real History of World War Two: A New Look At the Past. Sterling Publishing Company Inc. Baranowski Shelley. 2010. Nazi Empire: German Colonization & Imperialism from Bismark to Hitler. Cambridge University Press. Brooks Risa & Stanley Elizabeth. 2007. Creating Military Power: The Sources of Military Effectiveness. Stanford University Press. Fleming Gerald. 1987. Hitler & The Final Solution. University of California Press. Halasz Joachim Von. 2009. What is Nazi Propaganda? An Introduction to Hitlers Propaganda Techniques. Foxley Books. Jones David. 1999. Moral Responsibility in the Holocaust: A Study in the Ethics of Character. Rowman & Littlefield Books. Vego Milan. 2009. Joint Operational Warfare: Training & Practice & V2: Historical Companion Government Printing Office: Naval War College Press (USA) Victor George. 2007. Hitler: The Pathology of Evil. Washington DC: Potonace Books Inc. Read More