Adolf Hitler's Political Goals And Social Philosophies

The ideologies of the Axis Powers were brief excerpts that gave us a small glimpse into the mind and thought processes of Adolf Hitler as well as the fundamental thinking patterns of the Japanese authoritarian regime. The questions that will be addressed in this essay are: From what concrete conditions did the ideas expressed in these documents arise? Why did they achieve such widespread popularity? To what extent might persons even in the Western democracies find such ideas persuasive in the 1930’s?

Adolf Hitler’s political goals and social philosophies can be seen vividly through a brief excerpt of his autobiography/exposition entitled “Mein Kampf” or “My Struggles.” Hitler’s thoughts seemed to arise from a mind that blamed the German

collapse; economic demise, heavy reparations put on Germany, unemployment, depression, on the “failure to recognize the racial problem and especially the Jewish menace.” (Strayer, 1020) Hitler the nationalist was interested only in preserving the German race. This was thought to be possible by eliminating internal enemies or political parties that resisted a Nazi Germany such as the Communist and Socialist parties, external enemies; mainly the Jews whom he “believed were responsible for the German defeat in the First World War” (Modern World History, 2015) and were on a conspiracy to gain world leadership. The ultimate goal was to create a society that would only include and be under German rule. The racist Hitler argues that the Aryan “Alone was the founder of all higher humanity, therefore representing that prototype of all that we understand by the word man. He is the Prometheus of mankind from whose bright forehead the divine spark of genus has sprung at all times.” (Strayer, 1019) He believed that only the White race should pro-create. “Any crossing of two beings not exactly the same level of the two parents produces a medium between
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the level of the two parents…Such mating is contrary to the will of Nature for a breeding of all life.” Or “All who are not of good race in this world are chaff.” (Strayer, 1019) These thoughts gave way to a belief in survival of the fittest. Only the strong survived and the weak needed to be eliminated to make space for the strong. In the excerpt, paranoid and hate-filled Hitler envisioned what he perceived as a German- only society that eliminated all considered to not be like them; weak, sickly, of lower race and mainly Jewish. He believed that Aryans were in a dominant position in the world, and was trying to call other Aryan elitist to be revolutionaries for the cause. The only means of achieving this was by eliminating the Jews and creating a German-ruled, pure race. Why did this achieve such widespread popularity? At a time when there was The Deep Depression coupled with a spreading resentment over the terms of the Versailles Treaty which crippled Germany territorially, militarily and economically, Hitler exploited Germany’s woes by blaming the politicians and Jews and promised to restore Germany to richer and more prosperous times. “Hitler pledged civil peace, radical economic policies, and the restoration of national pride and unity. His Nazi rhetoric was virulently nationalist and anti-Semitic, while still portraying Jews as responsible for all of Germany’s ills.” (Nazi Germany, 2015) Strong leadership is what the German’s needed in place of a country that was marked by a weakened government and political crisis. Hitler promised this along with a national rebirth. He was appointed chancellor, under the belief that the Nazis could be controlled from within the cabinet. “With the use of intimidation and manipulation the Nazi’s passed laws which did not need to be voted on, eliminated political opposition, banned social Democrats and forced the other parties to disband. Germany was declared a one-party state.” (Nazi Germany, 2015) Anti- against the Jews.

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To what extent might persons even in the Western democracies find such ideas persuasive in the 1930’s?

During the1930’s the Western economy was still in terrible shape from the Great Depression and the Stock Market Crash of 1929. “Evident instability – with cycles of boom and bust, expansion and recession - generated profound anxiety and threatened the livelihood of both industrial workers and those who gained a modest toehold in the middle class. Unemployment soared everywhere, and in both Germany and the United States it reached 30 percent or more by 1932. Vacant factories, soup kitchens, bread lines, shantytowns and beggars came to symbolize the human reality of this economic disaster.” (Strayer, 990) Like Germany, the Western democracies were economically in trouble and looking for stability and recovery. The United States’ response to the Great Depression, under Roosevelt, came in the form of the New Deal “which was an experimental combination of reforms seeking to restart economic growth. In Britain, France and Scandinavia, the Depression energized a democratic socialism that sought greater regulation of the economy and a more equal distribution of wealth, through peaceful means and electoral policies.” (Strayer, 993) The lack and need for restoration was clearly global. Hitler’s promise of civil peace, unity and the restoration of national pride would seem very appealing and very similar to the wants and needs of the Western democracies; but through peaceful means. No one was interested in or could afford setting off a heavily funded war by taking a stand against Hitler. Through a policy of appeasement allowing Hitler to take back land that was ordered dematerialized by the Treaty of Versailles, the British and the French tried to avoid all-out war but to no avail. Hitler continued his conquests eventually having most of Europe under Nazi control. A second war in Europe had

begun.
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The Cardinal Principles of the National Entity of Japan was a brief moral teaching manual that expressed the nationalist Japanese government’s concern about the threats to the essential nature of Japan; mainly their youth. It blamed others, specifically, the “European and American culture, systems, and learning for various ideological and social events that were imported into the present – day Japan. We subjects are intrinsically quite different from the so-called Occidental countries.” (Strayer, 1022) The racist and elite Japanese clearly saw themselves as unique and were in fear of outside influences of Europeans and Americans on their society and its school-aged youth. They would do whatever necessary to maintain control including authoritarian governing with denial of democracy at home while trying to expand its territory with a strong military. This was evidenced by “the Ministry of Education publishing a small volume of the Cardinal Principles that was widely distributed in schools and homes throughout the country in 1937” (Strayer, 1021) The Meiji was an era of time that represented a Japan that moved from being an isolated to a more modern form. “It marked the end of the Japanese system of feudalism, and completely restructured the social, economic, and military reality of life in Japan” (Szczepanski, 2015). The Emperor Meiji was being blamed for allowing the importation of foreign ideologies into the Japanese society too rapidly and not giving it thorough thought. The Cardinal Principle spoke of unity under one ruler while promoting militarism. They promoted an entire country that served one Emperor with a strong military that represented the strength of the nation. The people of Japan were embracing a new modernization that brought “economic growth, dignity of the individual, free expression of ideas, greater gender equality, educational expansion, cabinets led by leaders of the major parties with the emergence of a two-party system.” (Strayer, 1000) The Cardinal Principle represented elitist –thinkers who