Friday, October 16, 2009
national nazis?
Actually I want to throw out there that i was going to go on a rant about the selfish ignorance of the German people. How on earth could they support a political group such as the Nazi's!? They were a part of the problem, not the solution. In fact, they created a whole new set of problems! But after talking about them in class i have reached a new understanding of the Nazi party, and yes, i am a touch impressed. They saw the needs of the people and modified their doctrine and methods to appeal to the majority. To me, that is extremely clever. Especially in a time that was so divisive, where individual interests groups reigned, to recognize that the people truly desired unity and then to offer them that security is astounding. No other political party can truly make that claim. Every single on was angled to a specific set of people- which in turn inherently divides the nation. So by bringing all of these divisions together, the Nazi's were essentially creating a brand new country, not just government or economic system. Therefore the Nazi party garnered and unprecedented sense of nationalism, pride and unity that I would argue hasnt been replicated. That is not to say this party did not have enemies, or that they maintained this support, but for that moment in time, they were a forced to be reckoned with.
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The Nazis were impressive, but I don't think they would have gotten anywhere without fearmongering. The groups the Nazis assimilated were para-military thugs. They roamed the streets throughout the 20's, Germans knew who these people were. I can see the common German accepting the party's rise on the basis of solidarity, and siliently fearing the repercussions of non-submission. Such fears proved to be grounded in the 1930's. Without the element of fear, I don't think the Nazi party exists.
ReplyDeleteThe charisma and enthusiasm of the Nazi mobilization was a very significant part of their power. Their solidarity and promises were exactly what people wanted to hear. Still, this was not enough to convince every German citizen to advocate Nazism. I have to agree with the other post. The SA and other militant groups made people wonder if resisting Nazism was a good idea, let alone a safe one. In combination with their appeal to the masses, Nazi fear tactics would cement their power and influence over Germany.
ReplyDeleteI'm there with you.. Though the ugliness of the Nazi regime was only recognized after 1940, the years from 1933 to 1940 were extremely important for the Nazi movement. Though this is hindsight, the Nazis did offer security and a strong arm to answer back to the naggings of the "victorious powers". I put that in quotes because I don't believe that there was a true victor in WWI, there would be no way political way for the Allies to sacrifice another few million troops to fully overtake Germany in WWI, and the treaty was drafted for political reasons foremost. Everybody knew this, and the Nazi power base... who could put them in the first-class of nations again? nobody was prepared.. France had the largest standing army in the world, but where did that get them? Czechlosovakia had the 4th largest army in the world, plus a huge industry in munitions, where did that get them? The Nazis challenged traditional European power and shut them down.. how could this be construed otherwise to ordinary Germans, especially with the real fear of the prospects of a bolshevik takeover... The Nazis gave Germans- a new Germany, a new hope, return to global influence, economic prospects, and a unified nation.. these all are seductive themes and made the Nazi mission so easy to support. the complexity of the organization and its hidden agenda was easy to hide with its domestic "successes." The reasons why Germans fell into Nazism is because there were no better options and there was no way to see through the gray matter to the ugliness that the movement would become
ReplyDeleteThe appeal of Nazism is both simple and complex: they reached out to people on a variety of levels and appealed to what people desired while at the same time continuing to create and sustain a background of political violence that preys on the fears and desires of the population. Yet, while fear and violence certainly played a role in bringing the Nazis to power, so too did genuine support and the belief of a large percentage of the population that the Nazis offered the best hope of unifying Germany and solving the many problems facing the nation.
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