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Hitler's rule between 1933 and 1939, please help


Llanea

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The Nazi system made most of the young men in Germany feel strong and powerful and ready to dominate the world. It was a heady feeling that built among them and the women who loved them a sense of unity and brothehood, mutual respect---which they shared with no other people. That is the trouble with racist systems throughout history. In the end they are doomed. No race is better than the others.

 

Most Germans loved the system. The economy grew by leaps and bounds after they came into power. They believed the propaganda. To them, it was simply idealism. In the schools, young men and boys studied with intensity. They loved to march and attend immense military parades with grand lines of impressive flags flying. The military hardware was intoxicating to them. They felt merged into the system.

 

I have lived a while in Germany, married a German, lived with Germans and studied the Nazi system. The reason is was so dangerous was that it was not based upon fear, that is was a success in Germany and that is why it was a big threat to the whole rest of the world.

Unless you happened to be a Jew, Gypsy, dissenter, or disabled person in Nazi Germany the Germans had nothing to fear from Hitler.

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I agree with Charles But I think Fear was a part of the mix of economic reforms, great propaganda, low unemployment, sense of purpose; almost religious use of ceromony & techniques; Hitler youth, National pride for the first time since 1918 etc.,

I think the use of fear was gradual and started on despised minority groups. The communists, jews etc were blamed by many for stabbing Germany in the back during WW1. Hitler merely encouraged the "in-group/ out-group " psychology of prejudice that was already present.

Hitler was admired my many outside of Germany including England and USA.(The elder Kennedy was the US diplomat in London. He was a very strong Hitler supporter! ironic when you remember his son's "I am a Beliner" speech!) Part of the reason Churchill found it so hard to get the US into the War

 

Have you read the Rise and Fall of the First Reich (Sherer?) You should, It is long, but a good definitive read. Though I read it in school so it may be a bit dated now.

 

Recently the Oz Chaser's a satirical/comic show (well known know for their APEC prank) interviewed Americans on the street -(The clip might be on their site?)

Q Do you think Arabs living in America should be registered?

A God yes etc

Q Do you think Arabs living in America should have special arm bands?

A yes yes yes

etc etc then

Q Do you think Arabs living in America should be tattooed so you can recognise them?

A yeear, and it should be able to glow thought their clothes

Charles said:-

The reason is was so dangerous was that it was not based upon fear, that is was a success in Germany and that is why it was a big threat to the whole rest of the world.
Original

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,

habe ich geschwiegen;

ich war ja kein Kommunist.

 

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,

habe ich geschwiegen;

ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

 

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,

habe ich nicht protestiert;

ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

 

Als sie die Juden holten,

habe ich geschwiegen;

ich war ja kein Jude.

 

Als sie mich holten,

gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

Translation

When the Nazis came for the communists,

I remained silent;

I was not a communist.

 

When they locked up the social democrats,

I remained silent;

I was not a social democrat.

 

When they came for the trade unionists,

I did not speak out;

I was not a trade unionist.

 

When they came for the Jews,

I remained silent;

I wasn't a Jew.

 

When they came for me,

there was no one left to speak out.

More variations on the same theme here

First they came... - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Many people ( not just Germans) thought the war was the best part of their lives. (Exceptmaybe Spike Milligan "Hitler My Part in his Downfall"- even then he had some great times and made life-long friends) Due to the camaraderie, the sense of shared purpose, the sense of community and belonging. The feeling one was involved in a great and noble cause. I don't think historians emphasise these feelings enough.

Perhaps too, later during the war, 'lets make this moment last for tomorrow we may die'. Sexual favours were a lot easier to come by than they had been pre war:)

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I just stmbled across this

General Electric Funded Hitler

In brief, we have hard evidence of unquestioned authenticity (see p, 56) to show that German General Electric contributed substantial sums to Hitler's political fund. There were four American directors of A.E.G. (Baldwin, Swope, Minor, and Clark), which was 80 percent owned by International General Electric. Further, I.G.E. and the four American directors were the largest single interest and consequently had the greatest single influence in A.E.G. actions and policies. Even further, almost all other directors of A.E.G. were connected with firms (I. G. Farben, Accumulatoren Fabrik, etc.) which contributed directly " as firms " to Hitler's political fund. However, only the German directors of A.E.G were placed on trial in Nuremburg in 1945.

I don't know how reliable asource this is and it is alittle hard to read but. . .

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Unless you happened to be a Jew, Gypsy, dissenter, or disabled person in Nazi Germany the Germans had nothing to fear from Hitler.

 

This may be true, but it does not mean that fear was not important. In fact, a government inspired fear is pretty much a constant in the Germany of the first half of the 20th century. It was not a fear of the government, the system or the police force, but a fear inspired by the government and stirred up by most of the press.

  • There was the fear of "Einkreisung" (encerclement) early in the 20th century, that contributed greatly to the enthousiasm among the young Germans to volunteer when the WW1 actually started. This same fear was stirred up again by Hitler and the Nazis.
  • There was the fear for revolution and disorder or even chaos, fed by onesided reports of what was going on in the Soviet Union (and later in the Spanish civil war). It is said that Germans fear disorder more than oppression (but I don't know if I can fully aggree to that)
  • There was the fear of the "enemy within" that extented itself towards everyone that was not standard : Jews, gipsies, gays, but also intelectuals and artists. Artists that produced anything that did not simply glorify Germany and the Nazi system were suspect at least.

The system was based of tuning this fears into hate, the system before WW1 just as much as the Nazis in the thirties.

Much of this changed in the 1950's when the Bundesrepublik became a major economic force again. But even in the sixties and early seventies the fear of what might come from the East was still very much there., as I had different occasions to observe.

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This may be true, but it does not mean that fear was not important. In fact, a government inspired fear is pretty much a constant in the Germany of the first half of the 20th century. It was not a fear of the government, the system or the police force, but a fear inspired by the government and stirred up by most of the press.

  • There was the fear of "Einkreisung" (encerclement) early in the 20th century, that contributed greatly to the enthousiasm among the young Germans to volunteer when the WW1 actually started. This same fear was stirred up again by Hitler and the Nazis.
  • There was the fear for revolution and disorder or even chaos, fed by onesided reports of what was going on in the Soviet Union (and later in the Spanish civil war). It is said that Germans fear disorder more than oppression (but I don't know if I can fully aggree to that)
  • There was the fear of the "enemy within" that extented itself towards everyone that was not standard : Jews, gipsies, gays, but also intelectuals and artists. Artists that produced anything that did not simply glorify Germany and the Nazi system were suspect at least.

The system was based of tuning this fears into hate, the system before WW1 just as much as the Nazis in the thirties.

Much of this changed in the 1950's when the Bundesrepublik became a major economic force again. But even in the sixties and early seventies the fear of what might come from the East was still very much there., as I had different occasions to observe.

 

Ordinary Germans who followed Hitler and the Nazis had little to fear. That is why I included dissenters, those who openly opposed the Nazis and those who did not openly support them either, in the list.

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Ordinary Germans who followed Hitler and the Nazis had little to fear. That is why I included dissenters, those who openly opposed the Nazis and those who did not openly support them either, in the list.

 

You seem have missed the point : "ordinary" Germans indeed had little to fear from Hitler and the Nazis, but the Nazi propaganda made them fear the surrounding countries, the chaos, the "others"... In this they just followed a line that had been followed by the German Empire before, and by other rulers in other nations as well.

And once the fear was generally accepted as being founded on a real threat, the fear could be turned into hatred.

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You seem have missed the point : "ordinary" Germans indeed had little to fear from Hitler and the Nazis, but the Nazi propaganda made them fear the surrounding countries, the chaos, the "others"... In this they just followed a line that had been followed by the German Empire before, and by other rulers in other nations as well.

And once the fear was generally accepted as being founded on a real threat, the fear could be turned into hatred.

 

Fear and hatred are the same thing, just viewed from different angles. You make a good point - it was the feeling of superiority that led to the war, in the same way of being drunk leads us to attempt things we wouldn't do when sober (Drunk on power, rather than drugs or alcohol). The deeper the thoughts of the thinker, the greater their conscience as well as consciousness of the being. The thoughtless (inexperienced/ unaware) young, whether individuals or countries, lead to actions the more sober (survivors of their own youthful indescretions)adults would hold back from.

 

This is not just a sociological question but a psychological one too.

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