Nazi Germany - Dictatorship - Essay Example

Germany (National Socialist; Hitler, 1933-1945) RubyZou HIST 20444 GD Prof: Mauro Marsella Feb 21, The National Socialist German Workers’ Party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler is associated with the extermination of more than six million European Jews between 1933 and 1945 (history.com, 2014). The party consolidated its powers based on the premise that it was dedicated toward liberating the Germans from the problems they were facing following the First World War. Hitler assumed power following the death of the then President of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg. Hitler proved to be a modern dictator considering that he assumed leadership of Germany through the popular vote and with a promise to save the country from many of its ills only later to mete out violence against dissenting voices and deny the people of many of their freedoms. Hitler and his Nazi Party came to power in between 1932 and 1933. In 1932, the Nazi party captured 230 seats out of the available 608 in the German parliament. In 1933, Hitler was appointed to be the German chancellor - a position he used to win his party more popularity and gain control of every aspect of life in Germany (Fritzsche 1998). At the time Hitler took over power, the country was in disunity and faced political and economic instability. In response to the situation, the Nazi party promised the people that its mission was to unite Germany unite the country, assert German nationalism, create work opportunities, and lead the country to economic recovery. Ruling Party and Leadership Cult Hitler convinced President Hindenburg to give him emergency powers in line with the German constitution in 1933. He did this in pretence that he was against the communists who had burnt down the Reichstag building and that they were taking over the country by force. Through deceit, Hitler managed to garner the emergency powers that he needed to overthrow democracy (History Learning Site, n.d.). His first step with the immense powers he enjoyed was to declare a ban on the socialists and communists from participating in the campaigns for the forthcoming elections. Hitler oversaw the arrest of the leaders of the Socialist and Communist parties and went further to stop them from publishing newspapers. Thos who opposed Hitler in any way were arrested or beaten up by the feared SA who roamed the streets. Soon after the elections that saw Hitler garner majority votes Hitler organized for the surrounding of the Kroll Opera House in Berlin that was to be used as a meeting ground for the elected leaders by SS and SA thugs (History Learning Site, n.d.). The thugs saw to it that only Nazi politicians entered the building. This strategy served to ensure that Hitler got all the votes that he needed to enjoy immense powers by law with the passing of the Enabling Act. The Nazi politicians passed a law that effectively implied that any bill to which Hitler appended his signature was law. This law gave Hitler the powers he needed as a dictator. Hitler made every use of the powers he had to run the country as he wished. He put Nazi officials to be in charge of provincial and local governments within days of the passing of the law. Leaders of trade unions who for a long time had served to press for the rights of workers were arrested and imprisoned even as trade unions were banned (History Learning Site, n.d.). In July 1933, Hitler passed a law that outlawed other political parties, making Nazi Party the only legitimate political party in the nation. The Nazi party and the leadership of Hitler monitored and controlled virtually ever aspect of life in Germany. In every street, complex, and building, the government employed people whose jobs were to keep an eye on other people within their allocated areas and report to the authorities anything they thought was not “normal” (History Learning Site, n.d.). The Nazi police and the secret police employed by the Nazi government were greatly feared for their ruthlessness. For fear of being brutalized, the German people kept their thoughts to themselves. By imposing fear upon the people, Hitler brought the masses under strict control. What this ideally means is that any person, party or organization that spoke for the welfare of the people was disbanded or somehow thwarted. The people thus remained voiceless. Hitler was such a dictator that even those within his inner circle were not immune to oppression. On the Night of the Long Knives, the leaders of SA who had displeased Hitler were wiped out (History Learning Site, n.d.). The Night also saw him veto the respect of the Army which he had all along feared. Having secured the loyalty of the army, Hitler increased the number of the SA to over two million men within a few months after his election. Many members and leaders of the SA who had previously supported Hitler to get the power he needed were executed on charges of treason. Hitler relied on the Army, SA, SS, and secret police to mete out terror on people and to subject every national to control. Ideologies of the Nazi Party One of the ideologies of the Nazi party was that the Aryan community was superior to all other communities and that the Jews were their exact opposite and their number one enemy. Through his writing, Mein Kampf, Hitler expressed his hatred for the Jewish community (history.com, 2014; Adolf 1925). In line with the ideologies expressed in the Mein Kampf, Hitler and the Nazi party instituted several measures that were dedicated to cleansing the Jewish population off Germany. He banned the Jews from going to public places in Germany and confined many of them to ghettos (history.com, 2014). In the concentration camps, the Jews were brutalized, starved to death, or subjected to hard labor. In 1941, tens of thousands of Jews were fired to death by the Nazi death squads in parts of Soviet Russia. Ideologies of the Nazi Party One of the ideologies of the Nazi party was that the Aryan community was superior to all other communities and that the Jews were their exact opposite and their number one enemy. Through his writing, Mein Kampf, Hitler expressed his hatred for the Jewish community (history.com, 2014; Adolf 1925). The Nazis believed that Germany was supposed to be devoid of any blemish or less-than-perfect character. In this respect, they embarked on a mission to kill anyone who was physically or mentally handicapped (Fritzsche 1998). The concentration camps that the Nazis made were filled with Gypsies, artists, and even intellectuals whom they thought to be unfit to live in Germany. In line with the ideologies expressed in the Mein Kampf, Hitler and the Nazi party instituted several measures that were dedicated to cleansing the Jewish population off Germany. He banned the Jews from going to public places in Germany and confined many of them to ghettos (history.com, 2014). In the concentration camps, the Jews were brutalized, starved to death, or subjected to hard labor. In 1941, tens of thousands of Jews were fired to death by the Nazi death squads in parts of Soviet Russia. Propaganda and Communication Hitler appreciated the power of propaganda in directing the masses and made effective use of it. To this effect, he appointed Joseph Goebbels to head his propaganda machinery (History Learning Site2, N.d.). Through propaganda, the Nazi leader brought the masses to believe that the Nazi side of the story was correct. Goebbels duty was to ensure that no one saw or read anything that was not favorable to the Nazi party. Furthermore, he was to ensure that the views of the Nazis were passed such as to be as persuasive as possible. The use of propaganda went hand in hand with the use of force in Nazi Germany. While Gestapo’s ministry strove to pass information that favored the Nazi party, the SS and Gestapo worked toward ensuring that publications that were defamatory to the Nazi party and Hitler never saw the light of day (History Learning Site2, N.d.). Those who published such articles were arrested and detained or altogether killed. The formation of the Reich Chamber by Goebbels went a long way in ensuring that every piece of art, music, film, radio or pint media was in line with the views of the Nazis. For example, such films as The Triumph of the Will (1935) by Leni Riefenstahl that gave a lot of credit to Hitler and the National Socialist movement were highly favored by the Nazi government (History Learning Site2, N.d.). No one outside the chamber was not allowed to publish their artworks and would be severely punished for going against this regulation. This effectively served to censor and silence any dissenting voices. Hitler and the Nazi party appreciated the fact that they needed a strong following. To achieve the kind of loyalty to government and the leader that they so desired, the Nazi regime resorted to controlling the education of children and the youth. Through the Hitler Youth program, children and youths were indoctrinated and fed on propaganda that favored Hitler and the Nazi party. The effectiveness of the curriculum that was developed by the Nazis relied on the effectiveness of teachers. In this respect, school teachers were vetted by officials of the Nazi party. Those who were considered disloyal to the party were sacked. Teachers were supposed to join the Nazi Teachers’ Association which effectively meant that they pledged their loyalty to the Nazi party. Biology and history were some of the subjects that the Nazi regime insisted on. Through the teaching of Biology, the regime sought to show that the Aryan race was superior. History was taught to put the Nazi party and German nation in positive light while putting Jews in negative light. Science on its part was taught with a bias toward the military. Generally, children were indoctrinated to believe that the Jews deserved to be attacked and that the German people were of the master race. Jewish children were not allowed to go to school based on the premise that they would contaminate the German children somehow. In general, the education system that prevailed during Hitler’s rein was designed to see the creation of a future generation that would be unreasonably loyal to the Nazi party and Hitler. Control of Business Although the Nazi party initially won support for its stance toward fighting poverty, unemployment and other ills that the German society was facing, once in power, its focus shifted toward rearmament as opposed to job creation (Fritzsche, 1998). Although the Nazi regime favored the private ownership of property and especially big corporations, it controlled the prices of good s produced which means that private owners had no control over the prices of their goods (Gordon, 2009). In effect, business activities were greatly controlled by the state, each business move encountering several legal traps. The business environment was hard for many potential investors given that the Nazi officials made several decrees that were in effect regulations on the business environment (Fritzsche, 1998). Conclusion Soon after assuming overall power, Hitler outlawed all political parties effectively making Nazi Germany a one-party state. In his capacity as president, Hitler made all important decisions regarding the country and appointments without regard to the law. He applied his authority to the extent that anyone who opposed him or had a view that was different from his was subjected to extreme torture or execution. The Nazi party was based on the ideology that the Aryan race was superior to any other race in the world. The Nazi’s, as influenced by Hitler, believed that Jews were the exact opposites of Aryans and were the main cause of the problems that Germany was facing. Based on these ideologies, Hitler was quick to oversee the capture, torture, and execution of millions of Israelites and other people considered to be unfit for the German society. The Nazi party was also based on the ideology of propaganda and mass control. In his prison cell, Hitler wrote in his autobiography (Mein Kampf) detailing how propaganda and mass control could be done effectively. As leader of Germany, he used propaganda to convince Germans that Jews were the cause of their problems and that they should therefore be destroyed. Hitler was so effective in using propaganda and controlling the masses that people had almost no choice but to obey his voice even if it meant doing what they knew was unethical. As can be seen, the Nazi party was a modern dictatorship that was quite different from traditional dictatorships. Traditional dictatorial regimes commonly assume power through illegitimate means and have no good intentions for the people from the very beginning. The Nazi regime assumed power legitimately through an election and had policies that seemed to favor the people initially. However, it turned out to be a one man and one party show in the end. References  Fritzsche, P. (1998). Germans into Nazis, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. history.com (2014).Nazi Party. Retrieved February 20, 2014 from http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nazi-party Hitler, Adolf (1925). Mein Kampf. History Learning Site (N.d.). Nazi Germany – Dictatorship. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Nazi_Germany_dictatorship.htm History Learning Site2 (N.d.). Propaganda in Nazi Germany. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/propaganda_in_nazi_germany.htm Gordon D. (2009). Nazi Economic Policy. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://mises.org/daily/3274 Read More