Nazism simplified.

Dear reader,

I am writing this post for all my students that are currently studying the wonders of WW2, paying special attention to Germany, Hitler and his “child”, the Nazi movement.

I will try to simplify the information as much as possible so that it is easily understandable and only the most important ideas are mentioned:

• Germany in the early 1920s was a sad place to be;
• WW1 is barely over – the country was defeated; Mass starvation –> 500.000 Germans died;
• Wall Street Crash of October 1929 -> American economy in recession triggering a worldwide economic crisis;
• Communists and nationalists fight each other in the streets –> “the people are desperate for a radical solution to their terrible problems” a.k.a Revolution is in the air;
• 35% of the German people were unemployed when the Nazis came to power; At its worst, in 1932, German unemployment stood at 6 million or 1/3 of the workforce (10% higher than the unemployment levels in other capitalist countries such as France, Britain, Japan);
• In the 1920s Germany had fewer motor vehicles per capita than either Britain/France/the US;
• 1922 in Munich …. a new party was created – NAZI!
• When the Nazi movement began, it was tiny, insignificant, limited to Munich; they had no resources and no money;
• Contrary to the belief they didn’t have a strict program; Hitler was a unifying and integrating figure within the party – and he was remarkably good. In just 15 years, Nazi had grown from a tiny party to a huge political force totally dominating Germany;
• The Nazi’s ability to manipulate their image is crucial for their rise to power!!!
• Nazis made schools for public speakers – more than 6000 speakers brought the Nazi message to places where no political leaders went;

• In the last general election held under the Weimar Republic in March 1933, the Nazis gained support from nearly 44% of the German population; More than half of the country preferred a non-Nazi option at this point;

Nazi meetings:

A show + a political meeting = one of the best places you can spend your time in 1930s Germany

In the 30s they appealed to almost every part of the society

Violence is the center of Nazism from start to finish – it was means to intimidate their opponents.

• 1930s the 1^st concentration camp was built – Dachau (16 km northwest of Munich); Opened in 1933 by Heinrich Himmler, intended to hold political prisoners. 

P R O P A G A N D A

Basic principles of propaganda:

1. Simplicity 2. Repetition 3. Emotional appeal => the message had to be understood by everybody

Nazi propaganda tells a very different story:

• Promoted exciting new technology
• Industrial reconstruction
• Promised order and discipline
• Artistic Renaissance

In 1933, Josef Goebbels was appointed Minister for Propaganda and Enlightenment. It was his job to persuade the German people of the benefits of Nazi rule.

The man. The monster. Adolf.

His image was central to Nazism, we cannot imagine it without him!

(Imagine Christianity without Christ?)

Without him there was no Nazi movement.

• He keeps the party together; Nazi movement revolved around him;
• Massive propaganda for Hitler -> Hitler myth was created
• His greatest challenge -> overcoming the most powerful political force of the 20^th century – the communist party; He had a plan to start a great war of conquest -> it became the deadliest in the world.
• He realized that he was very gifted -> No other nationalist leader could grow such crowds (he could hold an audience for weeks) He takes charge of his speeches and propaganda -> the impact is immediate!
• Because the posters were so good, people started showing up in meetings out of curiosity!
• He made 46 speeches in 1 year!!! That made a big impression.

His party promised 3 things:

1. Jobs 2. Cars 3. Roads

= for everyone

He captivated people with his simple, racist message:

“Germany has been betrayed. The Jews are to blame. Only Hitler and the Nazis can make Germany great again.”

• Although the Munich Putsch (1923) was a failure, leading to Hitler’s trial and imprisonment and the banning of the Nazi party, the event gave Hitler considerable publicity (his trial was given national coverage in the newspapers);
• This putsch convinced Hitler that his tactics had been wrong -> he decided to achieve power by constitutional means (that meant developing and expanding the organization of the Nazi party)
• Sentenced to 5 years imprisonment but served less than 9 months in Landsberg Castle; He made use of his time by writing a book “Mein Kampf” (My struggle) -> became a bestseller;

• Dispute about the originality of the salute – genuinely Germanic or taken from the Italian fascists?
• Anyways, it was a pledge for fidelity – if you don’t use it, you become suspect immediately and could even end up in Dachau!) 1930s “Hail Hitler” becomes the only salute (massive propaganda, even on the beers)

Freeways (Roads of Fuhrer) & Car manufacturing

• German economy would be reconstructed through mainly car manufacturing and road construction;
• Building them as a way to bring back Germany to power;
• Millions of young Germans to build them by hand!
• Promises to build millions of cheap people’s cars for the workers (but steals their money) Ferdinand Porsche to make the design!!!
• Not even one person who paid for the people’s car ever got one, because the war came and the funds were converted for military purposes; 600 cars were build; Only used for display
• More than 300.000 German workers paid their weekly contributions in hope of owning a people’s car;

• Henry Ford’s autobiography was Hitler’s favorite book -> he was inspired by his vision of mass motorization (he was a big car fan!!);
• However cars were still privilege of the rich; very few Germans are owning a car;
• Hitler builds a new factory -> planned to be the largest in the world, even bigger than Ford’s;
• 1933 Fritz Todd –> road builder, he was very competent in his field; He joined the Nazi party from the beginning; He was the most important and crucial person for the freeways -> He was appointed “General inspector of roads”; He presents a plan for a national freeway network (the idea of the autobahn wasn’t his; it was created earlier in the Weimar republic – Bonn-Cologne 1^st autobahn)
• Building the autobahn was not mechanized, “just a lot of guys out there with shovels” . This was made deliberately -> to make work for as many hands as possible!!

Physical labor should be admired and experienced by every German, regardless of class.

Nazi Propaganda

The death toll of Nazi persecution ranges from 9-11 million.

6 million of that range were Jewish people.

Dwell on that.