Nazi Foreign Policy
Essay Preview: Nazi Foreign Policy
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Germany was a country fraught with tensions-social /political allegiances spit the country apart. Religion divisions made a protestant and Catholic population divided (while protestant tended to be proNazis, the Catholics – pro Centre political party- less so). The German communist party (KPD) played off the success of Bolshevism, with such a large, industrial work force the KPD and social democrats stood as immediate opposition to Hitler. This threat was short lived, with non-nazi parties being dissolved, those not complying with Nazism left the country /ended up in concentration centres. Hitlers support came from the Mittelstand, and from areas of the rural peasantry although this social class on the whole disagreed with Nazism due to centuries of catholic faith. Hitlers Germany was not Ðone in any sense.
This was Hitlers goal; ÐUnity Ð-Volksgemeinschaft, the ÐVolk Ð- one people, a social revolution, which heralded the break down class boundaries. He also wanted revenge (against Versailles), all allegiances would be with the leader Ðfurher.
Hitler wanted to destroy the social elite, idealizing, clean, honest citizens in the peasants (Ðblood and soil) Nazi loyalty also lay with disillusioned (Weimars failings) workers a
Hitler was doing what propaganda so readily conveyed to the German people, cleansing society in order to produce his ÐVolk. Nazi imagery was of a domestic housewife, the producer of Aryan children and upholder of conservative principles -traditional.
This immense pressure of propaganda meant people had no other alternative view point to turn to, feed by media hype everydayÐ- to the extent that a picture of Hitler was to be hung in every house, the dictatorship was more idealized as war began. The nazi policy which created so many jobs in the cities began having repercussions in rural areas, workers left rural life to find higher wages in industrial areas.
Propaganda became so extensive that one writer announced Ðsleep is the only privacy of a German. This sort of blatant racism became commonplace throughout Germany post 1933; the idealized German Ðpurity put forward in Volksgemeinschaft was to ensure that Germany was free of all social Ðimpurity. While these policies isolated women from the regime and lost their identities many enjoyed a return to conservative principles-the camaraderie of integration into Ðfrauenfront Rising birth rates suggest a shift in womens values- compiling to the nazi ideals yet this was probably due to increased prosperity as opposed to social revolution. culture suffered as radio flooded peoples homes with Hitlers speeches, Jazz was banned on the grounds of ÐNegro dissent, the new medium of film promoted Hitlers policies such as I accuse Ð- euthanasia programme. Opposition came from individual priests such as Galen; Nazis showed awareness of religion the one policy it reversed (in 1941) was euthanasia (yet this was merely propaganda Ð- showing the determination of Hitler vision, euthanasia went under ground)
Practicing Christians were harassed, Clergy in open opposition were arrested, and ritual and ceremony were dechristianised. The effect of Nazism directly is unimportant, shown by the liberal society that appeared 1945. How did he go about this?
The working class stood opposing the regime, being communist. This was a contrast to the liberal/equality driven view of Weimar. The promises of competition free market vanished – small traders / business men who had initially benefited from economic stability continued to be out priced by department stores (Robert ley went as far as to defend Department stores to the League of tradesmen) and squeezed by the ÐReich food Estate- agricultural prices were fixed. Looking to Mussolinis relationship with the Vatican as a blueprint the Church was easily lead into a compromise yet post 1933 saw the nazi pushing the boundaries Ðyou are either Christian or a German(Hitler to an associate)
Euthanasia was the one-nazi policy that the church actively opposed; the split