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Nazism
*** Shopping-Tip: Nazism
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{{Nazism}}
:''The term "'''National Socialism'''" has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see
National socialism (disambiguation).''
----
'''Nazism''' was the
ideology held by the
National Socialist German Workers Party (''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'', commonly called NSDAP or the Nazi Party), which was led by its
Führer (leader),
Adolf Hitler. The word ''Nazism'' is most often used in connection with the
government of
Nazi Germany from
1933 to
1945 (the "
Third Reich"), and it is derived from the term '''National Socialism''' (
German language German: '''''Na'''tionalso'''zi'''alismus'', often abbreviated ''NS''). Adherents of the Nazi ideology held that the
Aryan race were superior to other races, and they promoted
Germanic peoples Germanic racial supremacy and a strong, centrally governed state. Nazism has been outlawed in modern Germany (including all types of its propaganda), yet small remnants and revivalists, known as "
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazis", continue to operate in Germany and abroad.
Originally, ''Nazi'' was invented by analogy to ''Sozi'' (a common and slightly
pejorative term for the Nazis' main opponents, the
socialists in Germany). The Nazis from the era of the
Third Reich rarely referred to themselves as "Nazis", preferring the official term "National Socialists" instead. ''Nazi'' was most commonly used as a pejorative term; however, its use became so widespread that, currently, some
Neo-Nazis also use it to describe themselves.
Since
World War II, in which Nazi Germany was allied with
Fascist Italy, there has been a widely held view among historians and the general population that Nazism and
Fascism are closely related. The term ''Fascism'' is often used in a very broad sense, to refer to a variety of
authoritarianism authoritarian nationalism nationalist political movements that exist or existed in many countries. As such, Nazism is usually classified as a particular version of Fascism.
However, if one restricts the definition of ''Fascism'' to those movements and governments that called ''themselves'' Fascist (e.g.
Benito Mussolini's regime in Italy and the
British Union of Fascists), a number of differences between Nazism and Fascism can be observed. Fascists tended to believe that all elements in society should be unified through
Corporatism to form an "Organic State"; this meant that Fascists often had no strong opinion on the question of
race, as it was only the State and
nation that mattered. Nazism, on the other hand, emphasized the
Aryan race or "Volk" over state to the point where the state simply became a means through which the Aryan race could realize its true destiny. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany came close to war against each other in
1934, when the
Austrofascism Austrofascist Chancellor of Austria
Englebert Dolfuss was assassinated on Hitler's orders.
Nazi theory
According to ''
Mein Kampf'' (''My Struggle''), first published in 1925, Hitler developed his political theories during a short stay in prison. Hitler outlined his views based on a racial, religious, and cultural hierarchy, placing "Aryans" at the top as the superior race, and Jews, Gypsies, and Slavic people at the bottom. His political policies emerged after closely examining and questioning the policies of the
Austria-Hungary Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hitler was born as a citizen of the Empire, and believed that
ethnic and
linguistic diversity had weakened it. Further, he saw
democracy as a destabilizing force because it placed power in the hands of
ethnic minorities who, he claimed, "weakened and destabilized" the Empire by dividing it against itself. These ideologies emerged at a critical time for Germany, having just lost the
World War I first World War and then entering a period of great
economic depression.
The Nazi rationale was heavily invested in the
Militarism militarist belief that great nations grow from military power, which in turn grows "naturally" from "rational, civilized cultures". Hitler's calls appealed to disgruntled German nationalists, eager to save face resulting from Germany's defeat in World War I and to salvage the militaristic nationalist mindset of that previous era. After
Austria's and Germany's defeat in World War I, many Germans still had heartfelt ties to the goal of creating a
greater Germany and thought that the use of military force was necessary to achieve it.
Many placed the blame for Germany's misfortunes on those, such as
Jew Jews and
Communism communists, whom they perceived, in one way or another, to have sabotaged the goal of national victory by obtaining a stranglehold on the national economy and using the nation's own resources to control and corrupt it.
Alfred Rosenberg's racial philosophy wholly embraced the
Aryan Invasion Theory, which traced Aryan peoples in ancient
Iran invading the
Indus Valley Civilization of
India, and carrying with them great knowledge and science that had been preserved from the
antediluvian world. This "antediluvian world" referred to
Thule, the speculative pre-Flood/Ice Age origin of the Aryan race, and is often tied to ideas of
Atlantis. Most of the leadership and the founders of the Nazi Party were made up of members of the "Thule Gesellschaft" (the Thule Society), which romanticized the Aryan race through theology and ritual.
Hitler also claimed that a
nation was the highest creation of a
race, and great nations (literally ''large'' nations) were the creation of homogeneous populations of great races, working together. These nations developed cultures that naturally grew from races with "natural good health, and aggressive, intelligent, courageous traits". The weakest nations, Hitler said, were those of impure or mongrel races, because they had divided, quarrelling, and therefore weak cultures. Worst of all were seen to be the parasitic
Untermensch (''Subhumans''), mainly Jews, but also Gypsies, homosexuals, the disabled and so called anti-socials, all of whom were considered ''lebensunwertes Leben'' (''Life-unworthy life'') owing to their perceived deficiency and inferiority, as well as their wandering, nationless invasions ("the International Jew"). The
History of Gays during the Holocaust persecution of homosexuals as part of
the Holocaust has seen increasing scholarly attention since the 1990s.
According to Nazism, it is an obvious mistake to permit or encourage
multilingualism and
multiculturalism within a nation. Fundamental to the Nazi goal was the unification of all
Germanic tribe German-speaking peoples, "unjustly" divided into different
Nation States. Hitler claimed that nations that could not defend their territory did not deserve it. Slave races he thought of as less worthy to exist than "master races". In particular, if a master race should require room to live (''
Lebensraum''), he thought such a race should have the right to displace the inferior
Indigenous peoples indigenous races.
-----------
{{Unreferencedsect}}Hitler drew parallels between Lebensraum and the American
ethnic cleansing and relocation policies towards the
Native Americans in the United States Native Americans, which he saw as key to the success of the
United States U.S. Hitler had always admired the Americans for their treatment of the Native Americans, and considered America to be a shining example of what Germany's ambitions should be. Hitler often compared his Lebensraum policies to the
Manifest Destiny policy of the United States, in which the ultimate destiny of the American people was to expand west and defeat the Indians.
------------------
"Races without homelands", Hitler proclaimed, were "parasitic races", and the richer the members of a "parasitic race" were, the more "virulent" the parasitism was thought to be. A "master race" could therefore, according to the Nazi doctrine, easily strengthen itself by eliminating "parasitic races" from its homeland. This was the given rationalization for the Nazis' later oppression and elimination of
Jews,
Roma (people) Gypsies, Czechs, Poles, the mentally and physically handicapped, the homosexuals and others not belonging to these groups or categories in the
Holocaust. Hitler and his ''living space'' doctrine found immense popularity among the German population. The
Wehrmacht,
Waffen-SS and other German soldiers as well as civilian paramilitary groups in occupied territories were responsible for the deaths of an estimated eleven million men, women, and children in concentration camps, prisoner-of-war camps, labor camps, and death camps such as
Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz and
Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka.
Hitler extended his rationalizations into
religious doctrine, claiming that those who agreed with and taught his "truths", were "true" or "master" religions, because they would "create mastery" by avoiding comforting lies. Those who preached
love and tolerance, "in contravention to the facts", were said to be "slave" or "false" religions. The man who recognized these "truths", Hitler continued, was said to be a "natural leader", and those who denied it were said to be "natural slaves". "Slaves" – especially intelligent ones, he claimed – were always attempting to hinder their masters by promoting false religious and political doctrines.
The ideological roots which became German "National Socialism" were based on numerous sources in European history, drawing especially from
Romanticism Romantic 19th Century
idealism, and from a biological reading of
Friedrich Nietzsche's thoughts on "breeding upwards" toward the goal of an
Ãœbermensch (''Superhuman''). Hitler was an avid reader and received ideas that were later to influence Nazism from traceable publications, such as those of the
Germanenorden (''Germanic Order'') or the
Thule society. He also adopted many
populist ideas such as limiting profits, abolishing rents and generously increasing social benefits - but only for Germans.
Hitler's theories were not only attractive to Germans: people in positions of wealth and power in other nations are said to have seen them as beneficial. Examples are
Henry Ford, founder of the
Ford Motor Company, and
Eugene Schueller, founder of
L'Oréal. Nevertheless, the support for these theories was highest among the general population of Germany.
It must be noted that Nazism, as a doctrine is far from being
homogeneous and can indeed be divided into various sub-ideologies. During the 20s and 30s, there were two dominant NSDAP factions. There were the followers of
Otto Strasser, the so-called Strasserites and the followers of
Adolf Hitler or what could be termed Hitlerites.
The Strasserite faction eventually fell afoul of Hitler, when Otto Strasser was expelled from the party in 1930, and his attempt to create an oppositional 'left-block' in the form of the
Black Front failed. The remainder of the faction, which was to be found mainly in the ranks of the SA was purged in the
Night of the long knives, which also saw the murder of
Gregor Strasser Otto's brother. After this point, the Hitlerite faction became dominant.
In the post war era, Strasserism has enjoyed something of a revival with many neo-Nazi groups openly proclaiming themselves to be 'Strasserite'. Whether they genuinely eschrew Hitlerism in favour of Strasserism, or whether they simply think that by distancing Nazism from Hitler they can somehow make the ideology more acceptable is a matter of intense debate however.
The role of homosexuals in the Nazi Party is considered anecdotal by most historians. Some tiny groups, like the International Committee for Holocaust Truth, and authors Scott Lively and Kevin E. Abrams in ''The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party'', (ISBN 0964760932), argue that many homosexuals were involved in the inner circle of the Nazi party:
Ernst Röhm of the SA (whose execution was thinly rationalized as being based on his homosexuality),
Horst Wessel,
Max Bielas, and others. This perspective is denounced as hateful propaganda by most human rights associations and groups, stirring heated debates and accusations of censorship and "hate-speech" from both sides. Most historians and scholars of fascism do not take the work of Lively and Abrams seriously, and dismiss it as part of a
Christian Right campaign against gay rights. Conversely, some Nazi supporters argue that such claims are simply more attempts to discredit Nazi ideology.
Key elements of the Nazi ideology
*
National Socialist Program
*
Racism
** Especially
anti-Semitism, which eventually culminated in
the Holocaust.
** The creation of a ''
Herrenrasse'' (or Herrenvolk) (''Master Race'' = by the
Lebensborn (''Fountain of Life''; A department in the Third Reich))
**
Anti-Slavism
** Belief in the superiority of the White, Germanic, Aryan or
Nordic races.
* Anti-
Marxism,
Anti-Communism, Anti-
Bolshevik Bolshevism
* The rejection of democracy, with as a consequence the ending the existence of political parties, labour unions, and free press.
*
Führerprinzip (''Leader Principle'') Belief in the leader (Responsibility up the ranks, and authority down the ranks.)
* Strong show of local culture.
*
Social Darwinism
*
Eugenics; sometimes included sterilization and
euthanasia
*
Religious freedom (Point #24 in the 25 point plan) [http://www.hitler.org/writings/programme/]
*
Environmental protection
* Rejection of the
modern art movement and an embrace of
classicism classical art
* Defense of ''Blood and Soil'' (
German language German: ''"Blut und Boden"'' - represented by the red and black colors in the Nazi flag)
* "Lebensraumpolitik", "
Lebensraum im Osten" (The creation of more living space for Germans in the east)
* Related to
Fascism
Nazism and romanticism
According to
Bertrand Russell, Nazism comes from a different tradition from that of either liberalism or Marxism. Thus, to understand values of Nazism, it is necessary to explore this connection, without trivializing the movement as it was in its peak years in the
1930s and dismissing it as little more than
racism.
Many historians say that the anti-Semitic element, which did not exist in the sister fascism movements in
Italy and
Spain, was adopted by Hitler to gain popularity for the movement, as anti-Semitic prejudice was very common among the masses in the
German Empire at that time. Likewise, anti-Semitism fit very well with the ''
Dolchstosslegende'' (betrayal myth) which blamed "non-German" Germans for the loss of
WW I. Historians universally accept that Nazism's mass acceptance depended upon nationalistic and anti-immigrant (i.e. anti-Semitic) appeals, and a patriotic flattery toward the wounded collective pride of defeated WW I veterans. Others have focused on
anti-Semitism (rather than the general
anti-immigration) claiming it to have been central to Hitler's ''
Weltanschauung'', or ''world view.''
Many see strong connections to the values of Nazism and the
irrationalist tradition of the
romanticism romantic movement of the early
19th century. Strength, passion, frank declarations of feelings, and deep devotion to family and community were valued by the Nazis though first expressed by many Romantic
artists,
musicians, and
writers.
German romanticism in particular expressed these values. For instance, Hitler identified closely with the
music of
Richard Wagner (a noted
anti-Semite, author of ''
Das Judenthum in der Musik'', and idol to the young Hitler). Wagner's most important
operas, the
Ring cycle, express Aryanist ideals, contain what some people interpret as anti-Semitic caricatures.
The idealisation of tradition, folklore, classical thought, the leadership of
Frederick the Great, their rejection of the liberalism of the
Weimar Republic and the decision to call the German state the Third
Reich (which traces back to the medieval
First Reich and the pre-
Weimar Republic Weimar Second Reich) has led many to regard the Nazis as
reactionary.
Nazi mysticism
Image:Thule-gesellschaft emblem.jpg frame|right|''Thule Society emblem''
Nazi mysticism is a term used to describe a
philosophical undercurrent of
Nazism which denotes the combination of Nazism with
occultism,
esotericism,
cryptohistory, and/or the
paranormal. The esoteric
Thule-gesellschaft Thule Society and
Germanenorden were
secret societies which while only a small part of the
Völkisch movement, led into the Nazi party.{{ref_label|Levenda2002|1|a}}
Dietrich Eckart, a member of Thule, actually coached Hitler on his
public speaking skills, and while Hitler has not been shown to have been a member of Thule, he received support from the group. Hitler later dedicated ''
Mein Kampf'' to Eckart.
Himmler Heinrich Himmler showed a strong interest in such matters, although as Steigmann–Gall points out, Hitler and many of his key associates attended Christian services.
Nazi mysticism, however, plays a major role in some forms of contemporary Nazism, with a mythology including such ideas as interdimensional
vril-powered
UFO's,
hyperborean supermen, and a
nazi moon base, along with the more widely known myth of Hitler having escaped to
Neuschwabenland the Antarctic.
Ideological competition
Nazism and Communism emerged as two serious contenders for power in
Germany after the
World War I First World War, particularly as the
Weimar Republic became increasingly unstable.
What became the Nazi movement arose out of resistance to the
Bolshevik-inspired insurgencies that occurred in Germany in the aftermath of the First World War. The
Russian Revolution of 1917 caused a great deal of excitement and interest in the
Leninist version of
Marxism and caused many socialists to adopt
revolutionary principles. The
1918-
1919 Munich Soviet and the 1919
Spartacist uprising in Berlin were both manifestations of this. The
Freikorps, a loosely organised
paramilitary group (essentially a
militia of former World War I soldiers) was used to crush both these uprisings and many leaders of the Freikorps, including
Ernst Röhm, later became leaders in the Nazi party.
Capitalists and conservatives in Germany feared that a takeover by the
Communist Party of Germany Communists was inevitable and did not trust the democratic parties of the
Weimar Republic to be able to resist a communist revolution. Increasing numbers of capitalists began looking to the nationalist movements as a bulwark against
Bolshevism. After
Mussolini's
fascists took power in
Italy in
1922, fascism presented itself as a realistic option for opposing "Communism", particularly given Mussolini's success in crushing the Communist and anarchist movements which had destabilised Italy with a wave of strikes and factory occupations after the First World War. Fascist parties formed in numerous European countries.
Many historians, such as
Ian Kershaw and
Joachim Fest, argue that Hitler's Nazis were one of numerous nationalist and increasingly fascistic groups that existed in Germany and contended for leadership of the
anti-Communism anti-Communist movement and, eventually, of the German state. Further, they assert that fascism and its German variant, ''National Socialism'', became the successful challengers to Communism because they were able to both appeal to the establishment as a bulwark against Bolshevism and appeal to the working class base, particularly the growing underclass of unemployed and unemployable and growingly impoverished middle class elements who were becoming declassed (the
lumpenproletariat). The Nazis' use of pro-labor rhetoric appealed to those disaffected with capitalism by promoting the limiting of profits, the abolishing of rents and the increasing of social benefits (only for Germans of course) while simultaneously presenting a political and economic model that divested "Soviet socialism" of elements which were dangerous to capitalism, such as the concept of
class struggle, "the
dictatorship of the proletariat" or worker control of the
means of production.
Support of anti-Communists for Fascism and Nazism
Various
right wing right-wing politicians and political parties in Europe welcomed the rise of fascism and the Nazis out of an intense aversion towards Communism. According to them, Hitler was the savior of
Western civilization and of capitalism against
Bolshevism. During the later 1930s and 1940s, the Nazis were supported by the
Falange movement in Spain, and by political and military figures who would form the government of
Vichy France. A ''
Legion of French Volunteers against Bolshevism'' (LVF) and other anti-
Soviet fighting formations were formed.
The British Conservative party and the right-wing parties in France
appeasement appeased the Nazi regime in the mid- and late-1930s, even though they had begun to criticise its
totalitarianism. However Britain under both Conservative and
Labour Party (UK) Labour had appeased pre-Nazi Germany as well. Left-wing contemporary commentators suggested that these parties did in fact support the Nazis. Important reasons behind this appeasement included, first, the erroneous assumption that Hitler had no desire to precipitate another world war, and second, when the rebirth of the German military could no longer be ignored, a well-founded concern that neither Britain nor France was yet ready to fight an all-out war against Germany.
In 1936, Nazi Germany and
Japan entered into the
Anti-Comintern Pact, aimed directly at countering Soviet foreign policy. This later became the basis for the
Tripartite Pact with Italy, the foundation of the
Axis Powers. The three nations were united in their rabid opposition to
Communism, as well as their militaristic, racist regimes, but they failed to coordinate their military efforts.
Image:Nazi Swastika.svg swastika.html" title="Meaning of frame frame|'''The Nazi Party''' used a right-facing [[swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent ''Blut und Boden'' (blood and soil). Black, white and red were in fact the colors of the old
North German Confederation flag (invented by
Otto von Bismarck, based on the
Prussian colors black and white, blended with the red and white of the medieval
Hanseatic League Hanse cities). In
1871, with the foundation of the German Reich, the flag of the North German Confederation became the German ''Reichsflagge'' (Reich's flag). Black, white and red subsequently became the colors of the nationalists (e.g. during
World War I and the
Weimar Republic)..html" title="Meaning of '''The Nazi Party''' used a right-facing [[swastika">frame|'''The Nazi Party''' used a right-facing [[swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent ''Blut und Boden'' (blood and soil). Black, white and red were in fact the colors of the old
North German Confederation flag (invented by
Otto von Bismarck, based on the
Prussian colors black and white, blended with the red and white of the medieval
Hanseatic League Hanse cities). In
1871, with the foundation of the German Reich, the flag of the North German Confederation became the German ''Reichsflagge'' (Reich's flag). Black, white and red subsequently became the colors of the nationalists (e.g. during
World War I and the
Weimar Republic).">'''The Nazi Party''' used a right-facing [[swastika">frame|'''The Nazi Party''' used a right-facing [[swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent ''Blut und Boden'' (blood and soil). Black, white and red were in fact the colors of the old
North German Confederation flag (invented by
Otto von Bismarck, based on the
Prussian colors black and white, blended with the red and white of the medieval
Hanseatic League Hanse cities). In
1871, with the foundation of the German Reich, the flag of the North German Confederation became the German ''Reichsflagge'' (Reich's flag). Black, white and red subsequently became the colors of the nationalists (e.g. during
World War I and the
Weimar Republic).
In his early years Hitler also greatly admired
United States the United States of America. In ''Mein Kampf'', he praised the United States for its
race-based
anti-immigration laws and for the subordination of the "inferior" black population. According to Hitler, America was a successful nation because it kept itself "pure" of "lesser races". However, as war approached, his view of the United States became more negative and he believed that Germany would have an easy victory over the United States precisely because the United States, in his later estimation, had become a mongrel nation, calling it "half Judaised, half Negrified".
Economic practice
Nazi economic practice concerned itself with immediate domestic issues and separately with ideological conceptions of
international trade international economics.
Domestic economic policy was narrowly concerned with three major goals:
* Elimination of unemployment
* Elimination of hyperinflation
* Expansion of production of consumer goods to improve middle- and lower-class living standards.
All of these policy goals were intended to address the perceived shortcomings of the
Weimar Republic and to solidify domestic support for the party. In this, the party was very successful. Between
1933 and
1936 the
Nazi Germany German Measures of national income GNP increased by an average annual rate of 9.5 percent, and the rate for industry alone rose by 17.2 percent.
This expansion propelled the German economy out of a deep
Depression (economics) depression and into full employment in less than four years. Public consumption during the same period increased by 18.7%, while private consumption increased by 3.6% annually. However, as this production was primarily ''consumptive'' rather than ''productive'' (make-work projects, expansion of the war-fighting machine, initiation of conscription to remove working age males from the labor force and thus lower unemployment), inflationary pressures began to rear their head again, although not to the highs of the Weimar Republic. These economic pressures, combined with the war-fighting machine created in the expansion (and concomitant pressures for its use), has led some to conclude that a European war was inevitable. (See
War Causes of war.)
Some economists argue that the expansion of the German economy between 1933 and 1936 was not the result of the measures adopted by the Nazi Party, but rather the consequence of economic policies of the prior Weimar Republic which had begun to have an effect. In addition, it has been pointed out that while it is often popularly believed that the Nazis ended
hyperinflation, the end of hyperinflation preceded the Nazis by several years.
Internationally, the Nazi Party believed that an international banking cabal was behind the global depression of the
1930s. The control of this cabal was identified with the ethnic group known as
Jews, providing another link in their ideological motivation for the destruction of that group in
the Holocaust. However, broadly speaking, the existence of large international
banking or merchant banking organizations was well known at this time. Many of these banking organizations were able to exert influence upon nation states by extension or withholding of credit. This influence is not limited to the small states that preceded the creation of the
German Empire as a
nation state in the
1870s, but is noted in most major histories of all
European powers from the
16th century onward.
Effects
These theories were used to justify a
totalitarianism totalitarian political agenda of racial hatred and suppression using all the means of the state, and
Suppression of dissent suppressing dissent.
Like other fascist regimes, the Nazi regime emphasized
anti-communism, opposition to corporate interests not aligned with the state, uniting all workers to work for the common good, and the '''leader principle''' ''(
Führerprinzip)'', a key element of fascist ideology in which the ruler is deemed to embody the political movement and the nation. Unlike some other fascist ideologies, Nazism was virulently racist. Some of the manifestations of Nazi racism were:
*
Anti-Semitism, culminating in
the Holocaust
*
Ethnic nationalism, including the notion of Germanic people's status as the ''
Herrenvolk'' ("master race") and ''
Ãœbermensch''
* A belief in the need to purify the German race through
eugenics - this culminated in the involuntary
euthanasia of disabled people and the
compulsory sterilization of people with mental deficiencies or illnesses perceived as hereditary
Anti-clericalism was also part of Nazi ideology, although it was never acted on as the Nazis often used the church to justify their stance and included many
Christian symbols in the Third Reich.
Backlash effects
Perhaps the primary intellectual effect has been that Nazi doctrines discredited the attempt to use
sociobiology biology to explain or influence social issues, for at least two generations after Nazi Germany's brief existence.
The Nazi descendants have been mute in the post-war democracies, with some exceptions, when interviewed by psychologists and historians. In Norway, a group of descendants have taken the official stigmatizing appellation "
Nazi children" in order to break the silence and to protest against the continuous demonization of their families. Some
historical revisionism historical revisionists disseminate
propaganda which minimizes
the Holocaust and other Nazi acts, and attempts to put a positive
spin (politics) spin on the policies of the Nazi regime and the events which occurred under it.
These revisionists are often, however, either aligned with, or in the employ of, neo-Nazis, and this fact itself often casts suspicion on their beliefs.
People and history
Image:Hitler walking out of Brown House after 1930 elections.jpg thumb|200px|Hitler walking out of Brown House after 1930 elections
The most prominent Nazi was
Adolf Hitler, who ruled
Nazi Germany from
January 30,
1933, until his suicide on
April 30,
1945, and led the German
Reich into
World War II. Under Hitler, ethnic nationalism and racism were joined together through an ideology of
militarism to serve his goals. After the war, many prominent Nazis were convicted of
war crimes and
crime against humanity crimes against humanity at the
Nuremberg Trials, where 21 were executed.
A few scattered people, mostly not from Germany, converted to Nazism during or after
World War II and contributed to further development of the ideology, especially in a spiritual or esoteric direction:
Sean Russell,
Savitri Devi of India,
Miguel Serrano of Chile,
George Lincoln Rockwell of the United States.
The role of the nation
Image:CWswastika.png swastika.html" title="Meaning of frame frame|left|'''Nazi symbol''' – the [[swastika or ''gamma cross''.html" title="Meaning of left|'''Nazi symbol''' – the [[swastika">frame|left|'''Nazi symbol''' – the [[swastika or ''gamma cross''">left|'''Nazi symbol''' – the [[swastika">frame|left|'''Nazi symbol''' – the [[swastika or ''gamma cross'' The Nazi symbol is the right-facing
swastika.
The Nazi state was founded upon a racially defined "German Volk". This is a central concept of ''
Mein Kampf'', symbolized by the motto ''Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer'' (one people, one empire, one leader). The Nazi relationship between the Volk and the state was called the
Volksgemeinschaft—a concept that defined a communal duty of citizens in service to the Reich. The term "National Socialism", arguably derives from this citizen-nation relationship, whereby the term ''socialism'' is invoked (despite the fact that socialism is traditionally defined as "worker's ownership over the means of production") and is meant to be realized through the common duty of the Volk to the Reich or German nation; all actions are to be in service of the Reich. This notion of the Reich, in turn, was a virulently ''nationalist'' ideology, a tendency which decisively defined its organizational thrust and overall immediate and long-term aims. In practice, the Nazis argued, their goal was to bring forth a nation-state as the locus and embodiment of the people's collective will, bound by the ''Volksgemeinschaft'' as both an ideal and an operating instrument, geared to serve the interests of the German people.
In comparison, many socialist ideologies oppose the idea of nations, which they see as artificial divisions that support the
status quo and
oppression. They argue that one crucial consequence of national divisions is that they lead to wars of aggression, waged for the interest of the
ruling class.
Factors which promoted the success of Nazism
An important question about Nazism is that of which factors promoted its success in Germany. These factors may have included:
*
Economic devastation all over
Europe after
World War I.
* Humiliation of Germany at the
Treaty of Versailles, and the widespread belief that the German military were not defeated on the battlefield but "
Dolchstosslegende stabbed in the back" by politicians,
Jews and
socialism socialists.
* A perception that there were a disproportionate number of rich
Jewish bankers controlling Germany's finances.
* Perceived Jewish involvement in
war profiteering during WWI.
* Appeal of
nationalism nationalist rhetoric.
* Rejection of
Communism and the perception that Communism was a Jewish-inspired and Jewish-led movement; hence the Nazi use of the term ''Judeo-Bolshevik''.
* The split in the working class between Social Democrats (SPD) and Communists, exacerbated by the Communists' policy of treating the SPD as
Social fascism "Social Fascists"
* The
Great Depression.
* Hitler's choice of taking power through legal political means rather than a violent
coup after the failure of the
Beer Hall Putsch.
Nazi / Third Reich terminology in popular culture
The multiple atrocities and racist ideology that the Nazis followed have made them notorious in popular discourse as well as history. The term "Nazi" has become a genericised term of abuse. So have other Third Reich terms like "Führer" (often spelled "fuhrer" or less often, but more correctly, "fuehrer" in English-speaking countries), "Fascist", "
Gestapo" (short for ''Geheime Staatspolizei'', or ''Secret State Police'' in English) or "Hitler". The terms are used to describe any people or behaviours that are viewed as thuggish, overly authoritarian, or extremist.
The terms are also used to describe anyone or anything seen as strict or doctrinaire. Phrases like "
grammar nazi", "
Feminism Feminazi", and "
Open Source Nazi" are examples of those in use in the USA. These uses are offensive to some, as the controversy in the popular press over the ''
Seinfeld'' "
Soup Nazi" episode indicates, but still the terms are used so frequently as to inspire "
Godwin's Law".
More innocent terms, like "fashion police", also bear some resemblance to Nazi terminology (Gestapo, Secret State Police) as well as references to
Police states in general.
Another similar effect can be observed in the usage of
typefaces. Some people strongly associate the
blackletter typefaces (e.g.
fraktur (typeface) fraktur or
schwabacher) with Nazi propaganda (although the typeface is much older, and its usage, ironically, was banned by government order in
1941). A less strong association can be observed with the ''
Futura (typeface) Futura'' typeface, which today is sometimes described as "germanic" and "muscular".
In popular culture such as films like the ''
Indiana Jones'' series, Nazis are often considered to be ideal villains whom the heroes can battle without mercy.
Video game website
IGN declared Nazis to be the most memorable
video game villains ever [http://cube.ign.com/articles/694/694410p1.html].
Nazi sites
Nazism, both before and after World War II, was a quasi-religion to its followers, and like many world religions it had its own venerated locations or sites.
Savitri Devi visited many of them during a
Pilgrimage (book) tour of the sites in 1953.
*
Berchtesgaden, home of the
Berghof (Hitler) Berghof.
*
Braunau am Inn, birthplace of Adolf Hitler.
*
Feldherrnhalle, site of, the end of, the failed
Munich Putsch
*
Leonding, where the parents of Adolf Hitler were buried.
*
Linz, where Hitler went to school.
*
Landsberg am Lech, where Hitler was imprisoned.
*
Nuremberg, site of the enormous Nazi rallies.
*
Wewelsburg, headquarters of the
SS.
*
Wunsiedel, burial site of
Rudolf Hess.
Devi also visited some sites, not directly connected to Nazism, but perceived to be of spiritual or German-national significance:
*
Externsteine, pre-christian formation
*
Hermannsdenkmal, statue of Germany's national hero
Arminius the
Cheruscan
Source: [http://library.flawlesslogic.com/devi_bio.htm]
Notes
# {{note|Levenda2002a}}
Peter Levenda, ''Unholy Alliance: A History of the Nazi Involvement With the Occult'', 2002 2nd edition ISBN 0826414095
References
Richard Steigmann–Gall, ''The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003).
David Redles. 2005. ''Hitler's Millennial Reich: Apocalyptic Belief and the Search for Salvation''. New York University Press. ISBN: 0814775241
Further reading
*
List of Adolf Hitler books
*
Alfred Sohn-Rethel, ''Economy and Class Structure of German Fascism'',London, CSE Bks, 1978 ISBN: 0906336007
*Fritzsche, Peter. 1990. ''Rehearsals for Fascism: Populism and Political Mobilization in Weimar Germany''. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0195057805
External links
-
National Socialism - Modern day National Socialists
-
Hitler's National Socialist Party platform
-
Nazi Beliefs
-
Blind Obedience: Fuhrerprinzip and Befehlnotstand
-
Pictures Tell the Tale: The Vatican and Nazism in Germany and Croatia
-
"Hitler's Boyhood" - excerpt from contemporary Hitler biography about his boyhood
-
German Propaganda Archive
-
Lithuanian National Socialist Party
-
Estonian SS men
-
NS-Archiv - Large collection of original scanned Nazi documents
-
AxisHistory - contains a lot of information on the Axis countries
-
Neo-Nazis - real Neo-Nazis tell about their Party
-
Why Nazism Was Socialism and Why Socialism Is Totalitarian by George Reisman
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| align=center |This article is part of the
'''
Nazism''' series.
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'''''Nazi organizations'''''
National Socialist German Workers Party National Socialist German Workers' Party
Sturmabteilung
Schutzstaffel
Hitler Youth
Lebensborn
'''''Nazism in history'''''
Early Nazi Timeline
Hitler's rise to power
Nazi Germany
Night of the Long Knives
T-4 Euthanasia Program
The Holocaust
'''''Nazi concepts'''''
Glossary of the Third Reich
Hitler's political beliefs
Racial policy of Nazi Germany
Führerprinzip
Lebensraum
Positive Christianity
Volk
'''''Nazi political parties and movements outside Germany'''''
Canadian National Socialist Unity Party
German-American Bund
Nasjonal Samling
Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging
National Socialist Bloc
National Socialist League
'''''Related subjects'''''
Nazism and religion
Nazi mysticism
Nazi architecture
Hitler salute
''
Mein Kampf''
Swastika
Völkisch movement
Racial purity
Aryan race
Nordic theory Nordic race
Nazism and race
Anti-Semitism
Führer
Neo-Nazism
Fascism
'''''Relevant lists'''''
List of Nazi Party leaders and officials
List of fascists
List of Adolf Hitler books
List of Adolf Hitler speeches
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