Nazism_as_Totalitarianism

There are some characteristics of a totalitarian state that fit with the description of Nazi Germany, however not all aspects of the totalitarian model are features of the Nazi state. The downfall of the 14 years of democracy and the Weimar Republic in 1933, correspondingly led to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party and the beginning of a totalitarian state. However, through an examination of historian’s lists of criteria for totalitarianism, the extent to which the Nazi state is classified as totalitarian can be evaluated. ONE RULE PARTY Nazi Germany had the appearance of a totalitarian state, and Germany was an authoritarian state in the early 1930s and was moving progressively closer to a totalitarian system by 1933. This was welcomed by many German citizens such as the Conservative Elites who were determined to replace the Weimar Republic with an authoritarian system. Thus, the Nazi Party found increasing success in the elections such as in the significant July 1932 elections, where the Nazi Party won 230 seats and became the largest party in the German parliament. Hitler’s chancellorship on January 1933 gave him the authority to bring in principles of totalitarianism. The passing of the Enabling Act in March 1933 which was immediately introduced after his chancellorship and the process of Gleichschaltung led to the destruction of democracy and the establishment of totalitarian rule by one-party. The process of Gleichschaltung promoted the cause that Germany was to be Nazified so that the philosophy of National Socialism and the control of the party pervaded every aspect of German life. Thus, every aspect of the German state was brought under the authority of the Nazi Party including the political system, the civil service, trade unions, the law, the education system, the economy and the cultural and social life. It is generally accepted that with the process of Gleichschaltung and the elimination of opposition to his regime through propaganda and a system of terror and repression, Hitler had by 1934 established a totalitarian state. WEAK DICTATOR Additionally, there are main features of a totalitarian state which are also features of the Nazi state. The Nazi party was a single mass party led by the charismatic dictator Adolf Hitler and Nazism was the official ideology. Hitler was presented as the charismatic leader and Fuhrer, destined to lead the German people. Though he passed laws to restrict the German people’s rights and freedoms, Hitler was able to mesmerise the German people through his appealing nationalistic agendas. However, not all aspects of the totalitarian model fit under the Nazi state as Hitler was in fact a lazy and weak dictator who relied on other party members to make decisions. Historian Mommsen states that Hitler was in fact a ‘weak dictator’, presiding a state of ‘unparalleled institutional anarchy’. Furthermore, Nazism was in truth a vague ideology rather than a systematic ideology and was less organised, rigid and had a polycratic administration structure and Hitler exploited the chaotic structure to procure fanatical devotion to him. Thus, the term of the Nazi state totalitarian is questionable as Nazism was a vague ideology with a chaotic government structure and a leader who was dependent on other minister’s decisions. PROPAGANDA,SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE – ENEMIES TO THE STATE (JEWS AND COMMUNISTS) Analogous to the features of a totalitarian state, the Nazi state had total control over mass communications and the armed forces of the state. Propaganda was the medium to promote Nazi ideology and this was disseminated in various forms through the work of Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Dr Joseph Goebbels. Hitler and the Nazi party promoted their ideology including their vision of Volksgemeinschaft, the abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles, lebensraum, the supremacy of the Aryan race and disseminated a constant stream of anti-Semitism with the Jews portrayed as the Untermenschen in society. Through the Reich Chamber of Culture, German newspapers, radio, film, architecture and literature came to control and the Nazi state imposed many limitations on the German people’s freedoms by censorship regulations and inundated their lives with a constant exposure to propaganda. Propaganda Minister Goebbels stated that ‘the aim of the Nationalist Socialist Revolution must be a totalitarian state, which will permeate all aspects of public life’ and thus the Nazi party thrived on social disillusionment and utilised propaganda for the cause of having wide-spread support and present the image of Nazism as having supreme power. Furthermore, Goebbels was central to the portrayal of Hitler as Fuhrer and created the Fuhrer myth. This was a strategic propaganda approach and exaggerated Hitler’s charismatic leadership and this perpetuated throughout the 1930s. Nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the state such as the Hitler Youth and women. The Hitler Youth aimed to control and shape the entire youth of the nation to support the aims of the Nazi state and membership was made compulsory in 1936. Furthermore education syllabuses changed to reflect Nazis views with emphasis on physical education, history and biology. There were awards and incentives for women to have children and the establishment of the League of Maidens reinforced that the role of women was confined to family life and motherhood. Furthermore, the Army swore an oath of allegiance to Hitler personally in 1934 and simultaneously, he became the Commander-in-chief of the Armed forces in 1934. However, in reality, the Nazi Party shared authority with a number of significant power groups such as the Industrialists and the Army and Hitler’s movement relied on a degree of popular appeal which was deliberately prompted by the Propaganda ministry, thus defying the totalitarian feature of having complete control over all groups in society. ‘I consider radio to be the most modern and most effective way to influence the masses” “With this instrument… you make public opinion.” “We are living in an age in which the masses must support the policies.” TERROR AND REPRESSION Moreover, corresponding to the feature of a totalitarian state, the Nazi state implemented a system of terror and police control and Hitler used the SA, SS and Gestapo as organisations to spread fear. The SS acted as Hitler’s personal guards and was an elitist force and totally devoted to Hitler and the philosophy of National Socialism. Unlike the SS, the SA attracted rough street fighters and carried out public executions to explicitly intimidate the German people. The SS carried out police functions and ran the concentration camps and Heinrich Himmler was leader of the SS and secret state police, the Gestapo. The Gestapo was responsible for the internal security of the Reich, carried out surveillance, sought to identify enemies of the state and instilled terror in the population. Furthermore, propaganda created the image that the Gestapo was able to detect all opposition. Whilst there was terror and coercion in Nazi Germany, recent historical figures suggests that Hitler’s regime had a significant level of popular support and a significant degree of consensus. In the Nazi state, citizens were encouraged to report on each other, and the Gestapo depended very much on denunciations or reports from ordinary Germans for the bulk of its work. Hence, the consensus by the German population of the Nazi regime, defies the feature of the totalitarian model and the definition of the Nazi state as totalitarian . Nazi Justice Official Dr.Werner observed, “as long as the Gestapo is carrying out the will of the leadership… it is acting legally” There are various aspects of the totalitarian model that are features of the Nazi state, however there are important aspects of the Nazi state that do not fit this all-embracing concept of totalitarianism. Thus, as not all the features of a totalitarian state fit under the Nazi state many historians deem the term ‘dictatorship by consent’ to be a better description of Nazi Germany, due to large civilian support and consensus of the regime, Nazism as a vague ideology and the polycratic nature and sharing of authority with a number of significant power groups.