...Regime was a ‘consensus dictatorship’? A consensus dictatorship is on that suggests Hitler’s regime was surrounded by a general agreement. This would mean that the majority of the German public were in cooperation with the Nazi regime and agreed with both the enforced and promoted concept of the regime. Hitler had mainly achieved this by trying to ‘ win over the hearts and minds of all non-Jewish Germans’ this would mean he would have the majority of the Germans citizens on his side. However, it is also suggested that many of the people had only consented due to fear which can be inferred from source 5 that it was the methods of the Nazi apparatus of terror that had led to the people conforming. Although source 6 suggests, even without terror which wasn’t completely enforced on ordinary Germans, the German public had ‘little difficulty in conforming’. As source 6 suggests ‘Nazi terror posed no real threat to most ordinary Germans’ so most people were easily persuaded by popular policies to consent to the Nazi regime. Source 6 agrees that the Nazi Regime was a consensus dictatorship as the public knew of the terror the minority groups faced but chose to ignore it due to their own self-interest and advantages of Hitler’s policies. Evidence from reports produced by the SOPADE and SPD who were in exile indicates that the people viewed Nazi policies positively. Unemployment had also reduced falling to 350, 000 by January 1939. This prosperity the public faced due to Nazi reforms such...
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...It could be argued that from the very beginning, the Nazi regime utilised terror in order to keep control and order within Germany. However, it is equally arguable that the Nazi party only gained control in 1933, because they were the most popular party within the Reichstag with 43.9% of the votes, and so depended upon maintaining this popularity throughout their regime. Source 4, from Robert Gellately argues that the vast majority of ordinary German citizens had ‘no direct confrontation’ with agents of the terror, such as the Gestapo, and rumours of the terror were merely gossip spread by word of mouth and therefore this contributed to the Nazi regime maintaining a high level of popularity on which it could depend. On the other hand, source 5 by Richard Evans, completely contradicts this claim, and argues that the terror was experienced by everyone and was the means on which the Nazis depended to retain absolute control. To Evans, the Nazi regime was a ‘pervasive atmosphere of fear and terror’ by which control was maintained over the German population. However, due to the terrifying extent of cooperation with agents of the terror- post office workers, social services and even doctors and nurses all informed on those who did not fit in- it is arguable that perhaps there was a large amount of popularity for the regime as ordinary German citizens wanted to contribute. It is possible that the people were informing on each other for self-preservation from the terror, but it is equally...
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...“Hitler’s European Holocaust Helpers” we immediately realize that there was much collusion amongst neighboring nations in promoting the agenda set forth by the Nazi Party. A myriad of nations had blood on their hands at the end of the war. How much blame can be attributed to the aiding parties is up for speculation. Many people might assume that the events that took place across Europe, to the Jewish people, can be solely attributed to German soldiers, Nazi’s, and secret police. If that were indeed true Nazi Germany would have been the utopian model for political organization and discipline. But this was not the case and many of the Jews who were persecuted were thrown at the feet of Germany by their own nation. Many nations such as Ukraine, France, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark and Netherlands, all played integral roles in greasing the wheels of the Genocide Machine that the Nazi regime was whole heartedly pushing forth. The readings we examined show clear evidence that each nation played their part to the tee. Whether out of fear or complete obedience, Jewish citizens were denounced, rounded up, detained and/or deported. They sought it best to appease the angry Germans than to protect the scapegoated class of people. It is argued heavily that without the collaboration of nations assisting the Nazi and SS the magnitude of events experienced during the holocaust would have never reached so high....
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...Question: How successful was Adenauer as chacellor of FDr between 1949-1963? It’s arguable that Adenauer achieved fundamental success as Chancellor of FRG during the years of 1949-1963, particularly within the context of economic and foreign policy. The immense economic growth Germany experienced and the partial reestablishment of the German military due to successful international cooperation with other nations cannot be ignored, and it’s necessary to assess the economic and political planning by Adenauer that enabled these achievements. The 50’s and the 60’s in Germany were a time of social stability, and there was no significant revival of Nazism due to the successful reintegration of many old Nazi sympathizers into society, ensuring stabilization of democracy. It’s also significant to consider Adenauer’s political success and immense popularity amongst the Germans themselves, inherently ensuring political stability. On the other hand, within a few policies Adenauer achieved only...
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...up to the second World War saw the rise of a new political ideology: fascism. In the aftermath of World War I, the Treaty of Versailles had forced Germany into accepting the blame for the conflict and left the nation responsible for paying reparations. Furthermore Germany was subject to humiliating limitations on their economy and military. These two conditions are primary reasons for the escalation of war in 1939. Fascism, as defined by Mussolini, is a state centered political ideology that celebrates war and rejects any notion of world peace or pacifism. Under such regimes, personal freedoms are sacrificed as members of the state are expected to live solely to benefit the state itself.[1] To what degree is fascism responsible for the second World War? Considering that fascism by nature perpetuates conflict, it is a great deal responsible for the war. The Axis powers, those whom history has come to a consensus as the aggressors, resorted to revolutionary autocratic systems of government likely to try and create some form of economic stability in their nations. Fascism used nationalism and racism to attempt to create unified homogeneous societies and it was successful, particularly in Nazi Germany with the use of pseudoscience and propaganda. In Germany, it was Hitler who would seize power and institute a fascist government, the Nazi party. Different opinions exist on the way in which Hitler carried out orders under his rule. Some would say he was a plotter, that he schemed a...
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...Conclusion 6 References 7 Introduction Leadership does not have an exact definition. It can have different meanings to different people. “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2012, pg. 5). The process by which a person influences others to accomplish a goal or objective is carried out by applying their leadership attributes. A leader has a variety of attributes that affect how they accomplish their goal. These attributes include beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Leaders often are charismatic, good communicators, and have the ability to motivate (Northouse, 2012). Leadership normally combines a goal that coincides with the leader’s beliefs. Leaders are usually perceived in positive light, although just because you are a leader does not mean it is for a virtuous cause. The objective of some leaders can be immoral. This type of leader is referred to as a pseudo- transformational leader. This type of leader is “self-consumed, exploitive, and power oriented, with warped moral values” (Northouse, 2012, pg. 187). Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party and the Chancellor of Germany but the ramifications of his leadership had a devastating impact on Eastern and Central Europe. His leadership cultivated with the death of millions of innocent people and left the world traumatized. Background This paper will briefly highlight Adolf Hitler’s background as it had an effect on...
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...eliminated about eleven million people. These people were killed by the Nazis that resided in Germany during World War II. Hitler was the leader of the Nazis. He felt that the Nazis were superior to the lower classes, such as the Jews, Gypsies, disabled, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, Communists, and Socialists. There were many groups that were persecuted by the Nazis but the Jews were the group that the Nazis targeted the most. The Nazis killed over at least six million Jews. The Hitler demanded the extermination of the Jews because he felt they were to blame for Germany’s lost during World War I. This paper will explain: how Adolf Hitler came to power, the pre-war experience of German Jews; the treatment of the German Jews during the war; the implementation of “Final Solution” and why this event should be considered the most destructive event, committed by members of the human, in history. Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1919. This was considered the interwar period for Germany. When Germany lost in World War I the German leaders had to sign the Treaty of Versailles. This document was sign on May 7, 1919. The treaty put limits on Germany. It caused them to have to give up territories, reduce their military, and “perhaps the most humiliating portion of the treaty for defeated Germany was Article 231, commonly known as the “War Guilt Clause,” which forced the German nation to accept complete responsibility for initiating World War I. As such Germany was liable for all material...
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...such as we see in Germany, France, and Italy. In these cases, democracy simply cannot thrive as democracy, by nature, requires gradual social change and must overcome bargaining costs and stabilizing change. The evidence that stands today, tested by the outcomes of history, maintains exactly this: democratic transition must be slow and concessional, thus mitigating the exit costs and cost of unilateral decisions or actions in terms of bargaining. Moreover, the difference between a stable and unstable democracy does not depend on education, economics, nor the middle class; rather, the success and stability of a democracy is formulated vis-à-vis it’s institutional factors. (Magagna 2/18). As actors, states are indeed rational and thus adhere to cost-benefit analyses in terms of bargaining power. In this analysis of political instability, it is evident that the sources are as follows: the potential benefits of transition exceed the costs of bargaining, fragmented party support creates a democratic deficit, linkage between democracy and redistribution, and the integration of violence unravels the social peace democracy needs to survive. These aspects of the degradation of democracy and consequential transition are most observable in post-war Germany and the modern world. In 1918, Germany was a strong world power in the midst of a war-torn Europe, ravaged by a period of great instability and a destabilization of empires of old. In this atmosphere, Germany had formerly reigned...
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...Born in the Austrian town of Braunau on April 20, 1889, Adolf was the fourth child of Alois Schickelgruber and Klara Hitler. By 1900, young Adolf's talents as an artist surfaced. He did well enough in school to be eligible for either the university preparatory school or the technical/scientific Realschule. Because the technical/scientific Realschule had a course in drawing, Adolf enrolled in there. Adolf suffered from frequent lung infections, and he quit school at the age of 16, partially the result of ill health, but mainly the result of poor schoolwork. In 1906, Adolf traveled Vienna to seek his fortune, but he wasn't able to get admission to any prestigious art school. Hitler spent six years there, living on a small amount of money left for him from his father supplemented with an orphan's pension. On the verge of becoming penniless by 1909, he wandered Vienna as a transient, sleeping in bars, flophouses, and shelters for the homeless, including, ironically, those financed by Jewish philanthropists. It was during this period that he developed his prejudices about Jews, his interest in politics, and the sharpening his debating skills. Vienna was a center of anti-Semitism, and the media's portrayal of Jews as scapegoats with stereotyped attributes did not escape Hitler's fascination. In May 1913, Hitler, trying to avoid military service, left Vienna for Munich, the capital of Bavaria. In January, the police came to his door bearing a draft notice...
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...| | | Correct Answer: | bureaucracies | | | | | * Question 2 10 out of 10 points | | | Which of the following is problematic in a rigid bureaucratic organization?Answer | | | | | Correct Answer: | innovation | | | | | * Question 3 10 out of 10 points | | | Soloman Asch’s experiment illustrated that:Answer | | | | | Correct Answer: | many people are willing to discount their own perceptions rather than go against group consensus | | | | | * Question 4 10 out of 10 points | | | According to Putnam, what is the one source of declining civic participation?Answer | | | | | Correct Answer: | television | | | | | * Question 5 10 out of 10 points | | | Stanley Milgram’s research was prompted by the predominant philosophical question concerning Nazi Germany. The shock of thinking “how could ordinary church-going citizens go along with and even participate in the mass extermination of Jews, Gypsies, gays and lesbians, and any other people who did not conform to group consensus” prompted many social scientists to examine conforming to authority and group consensus.Answer | | | | | | Correct Answer: | True | | | | | * Question 6 10 out of 10 points | | | Robert Michels saw that in large-scale organizations, and in societies dominated by such organizations, power is inevitably concentrated at the top. He called this the:Answer | | | | | Correct...
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...massacre of the Armenian Christians during and after World War I by the Ottoman Empire or the murders of some twenty million people by Joseph Stalin in Russia. It seems that mankind has a natural knack for the killing of each other. Evidence of this can be seen in some of the greatest technological advancements that have originally stemmed from inventions meant for devastation. What causes these acts of violence towards one another? History indicates that these actions may be caused by a sense of religious justification, economic factors, or aspirations for strengthening of an empire. However there can be more reasons than those of a political or religious nature. In many ways personal bias, environmental and psychological factors play heavily into some of the worst atrocities ever envisioned by mankind. This is the case argued in Christopher R. Browning’s book Ordinary Men. Christopher Browning’s book focuses on a key part of World War II that took place behind the scenes of the war, The Holocaust. The Holocaust led to the systematic death of millions of people. These innocent people were only guilty of being labeled as “undesirable” by a supposedly “superior race.” These people consisted of not only Jewish people, who were the majority, but also gypsies, homosexuals, people with mental retardation and physical ailments, Polish people, Slavic people, communists, and Jehovah witnesses. Though the Holocaust is well known today, he primarily focuses on what could cause a group...
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...From the beginning of the Second World War, Adolf Hitler had a set of goals that he looked to accomplish; establish the Aryan Race as the supreme race over all others, abolish the Treaty of Versailles, expand German territory (Lebensraum), and defeat Communism. To manipulate the German people, he utilized propaganda regarding previous grievances such as Germany’s outcome from World War I and the economic situation of Germany to twist the general consensus into the hatred of Jews, “gypsies”, and other races deemed inferior to the Aryans. As for military strategy, Hitler felt that the best way to go about gaining territory was keep it as a “one-front” war, because it would keep the Wehrmacht from spreading out itself too much and overextending it’s supply lines. In addition, he devised the Blitzkrieg or “lightning war”, which meant that his forces were concentrated into a cohesive unit, so that the Panzer tanks would swoop in first, causing panic among enemy soldiers, and then these tanks would continue moving while the German foot soldiers took advantage of the confused enemy and pick them off. While both his propaganda and innovative military strategies worked for a stretch of the war, Hitler’s strategy’s began failing from 1940 until his suicide in 1945 that were ultimately responsible for Germany’s loss in World War II. Hitler’s first began making mistakes when, in 1940, Hitler missed two major opportunities to defeat Britain when it was weakest. In June, when the allied...
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...deserted on an uninhabited island, in which a new society rises and then crumbles through the means of savagery. The Lord of the Flies presents an allegory which warn us that people will use fear as a means to gain power, destroy any attempts of reason, and bring society into a perpetual state of chaos. Throughout history, there are many people who have sought to use fear upon a group of people...
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...of a horrific genocide. Today, Germany dominates Europe on many levels. Participating in two world wars caused havoc on Germany’s economy and for many years, their future seemed bleak. They rebuilt their economy with great success. While most of Europe entered recession in late 2008, Germany was going from strength to strength economically. These topics are very relevant to our personal lives, not a day goes by without the economic state or fiscal crises being mentioned in the various forms of media. These issues affect us directly. Germany as a whole has developed greatly in recent years, in it’s society, it’s economy and other important areas. In my speech I will address many points that discuss Germany’s evolvement into a European economic superpower. I will discuss most importantly the history of Germany in the European Union and how it’s connected to the role of the economy in German history, exploring how Germany has developed in areas such as foreign policy, Gross Domestic Product and Inflation figures, the great divide between East Germany and West Germany after World War II and then Reunification. I will explore and refer to journals, books and popular press sources in Germany throughout my speech. After the First World War, Germany was left in a vulnerable state. Germany was economically devastated after a gruesome defeat in World War I. The economy was completely ruined. The Versailles Treaty didn’t help matters and forced Germany to give up 13% of its land, a...
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...speech soon after the attacks that it was a great completely take by surprise. However, he was misleading. Roosevelt, in fact, was directly responsible for this "surprise attack “on Pearl Harbor. There were many opportunities to prevent and defend the attacks upon Pearl Harbor that were never taken. Roosevelt was well aware of Japan’s intent to attack Pearl Harbor well before the occurred, and wanted it to occur so that the United States would enter the war. This is because the United States once again was a neutral nation, and was hesitant to lend a helping hand to European nations. Roosevelt had great sympathy for Britain and France, and wanted to prevent Germany from winning the war at any cost. Throughout 1941, Roosevelt was desperately trying to find a convincing rationale for entering the European fight. After the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union and the events in the North Atlantic between German submarines and two American ships, the freighter Robin Moor and the destroyer Greer; Roosevelt ordered the Navy to escort convoys of American and later Allied ships and to shoot German and Italian...
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