Germany was compelled by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles to make war debt payments that it could not afford. If the Ruhr Valley disaster had not occurred in 1923, the state might not have withstood World War I’s devastation. Germany was capable of returning to its feet fiscally after the Dawes Agreement was signed in 1924 until the Great Depression arrived in 1929. The Great Depression had a devastating effect on Germany’s economy since it was the worst-hit country. When Germany fell into ruin, various political movements arose to try to reconcile the country’s citizens (McKay et al., 2022). Adolf Hitler led the National Socialist party, one of these movements. After World War One, this political movement was born. Hitler’s charisma catapulted him to the top of the Nazi party as he became more committed. Adolf Hitler’s philosophy of National Socialism is examined in this essay, as is how he exploited community ideology to build the Nazi state.
Central Ideas Within the Nazi Ideology and Key Goals
The Fascist regime was the precursor to National Socialism. Fascism evolved in the 1920s and 1930s as a viable alternative to capitalism and communism, the two dominant forms of government of the time (McKay et al., 2022). In 1922, the fascist administration seized control of Italy with ideas like national exaltation, growing the state at the cost of others, a state-controlled economy, the importance of the state over the person, and a dictatorship regime. Mussolini had a lengthy and effective dictatorship in Italy under fascism’s ideals, which he held until 1943. There are many parallels between pre-Mussolini and pre-Hitler Germany. Both countries’ economies were in tatters due to their wartime debts, huge unemployment rates, and general decline. According to Rosenberg (1941), Adolf Hitler’s early life matched that of Mussolini in several aspects, and after Mussolini seized power, Hitler actively mimicked Mussolini’s tactics and triumphs to establish the National Socialist in Germany. Hitler employed three major fascist philosophies to unify Germany and gain the support of the German people.
Germans’ romanticized sense of their country’s glory was foundational to the National Socialist movement under Hitler’s leadership. Hitler used national symbols and traditions to romanticize the German psyche (McKay et al., 2022). The National Socialists organized massive rallies to further the Nazi cause and bring the German people together under the social party’s banner. The parade of the Blood Flag to Feldherrnhalle was one of Hitler’s most important emblems and ceremonies, commemorating the sixteen men who died in the Nazis’ first failed attempt to take over the German government. With its importance, the Blood Flag became so revered that other flags were blessed by touching them with it as if they received the blessing of those who died in battle. This was a rallying point for the German people to rally behind the National Socialist cause. With swastika banners artfully draped on attractive buildings, Hitler would organize grandiose meetings in Berlin that would influence the sentiments of followers and promote unity. According to Nuremberg Laws (1935), the mass rally’s sense of community builds party spirit by strengthening individuality and the group as a whole. By romanticizing National Socialism, Hitler used the fascist ideology to unify Germany under the Nazi regime and organization, which was a very successful strategy for him to deploy.
Conclusion
A combination of anti-Semitism, nationalism and anti-German romanticism fueled by anti-Semitism helped bring the Germans together behind the National Socialist banner. The German people regained their pride in their country, and Hitler pushed forward with his plans to expand German territory. This made Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists more appealing than the unsuccessful liberalism that sparked the worst economic disaster Germany had seen since it became a nation.
References
McKay, J. P., Hill, B. D., Buckler, J., Crowston, C. H., Wiesner-Hanks, M. E., & Perry, J. (2022). A History of Western Society, Volume 1: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment (Vol. 2). Macmillan.
Nuremberg Laws. (1935). Nuremberg Race Laws: Reich Citizenship Law and Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor.
Rosenberg, A. (1941). The Jewish Question as World Problem.
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