Assess the meaning of Nazism for rapaciously rich army officers.
During the period of the Nazi regime within Germany, rich army officers were caught between two state of minds. Those who were supporters of the Nazi regime and those who weren't. This division of loyalty, to the regime and, naturally, to Hitler was very important due to the fact it showed the performance of the Regime. If the Army officers were to not follow the regime, it would undoubtedly show weakness and naturally a weakening of Hitler's leadership. So it was important for Hitler to keep the army officers interested in his ideals and in some cases Hitler found that he would employ cases of Bribery to do so. The meaning of Nazism to the rich army officers was a very important notion. An army officer during this time was shown to be an honourable profession and therefore a rich army officer was shown to be one of the elite members of society. However, the need arose for officials to express their opinions. Hitler used his dominance to sway their opinions and to a certain degree buy their support. This was done through many cases of secret cash payments, salary entitlements, tax free cheques and land estates with no tax liability. In fact, Hitler was requesting that the officers wouldn't question his rule and would get paid for it.
This practice was not spoken between the participants as it was seen as a dirty practice in Nazi Germany. Throughout the time frame of the regime, there were no written confessions based on bribery of any kind and very few written documents were found relating to it. German officers worked exceptionally hard to recoup the image of honourable professionals. So Nazism was a very important idea for them. There are many officers who maintained the honour of their post and conspired against the state before and after the war, due to criminality as well as risky and diasterous military decisions. Many officers were keen to keep up an honourable image and broke their oath to Hitler in order to protect the Wiemar institution and laws of the Republic. This shows that in many cases rich army officers saw the Nazi regime as an opportunity to be seen as honourable professionals and wished to maintain this image.
However, with many officers seeing Nazism as a way to promote themselves honourably others took advantage of the fact they were within the elite and could be fiscally manipulated by Hitler.
Hitler seemed to appeal to each class and sector within the electorate by making specific pledges to suit each group.
The setting was perfect as the people of Germany were primed and ready for any leader that would tickle their ears with what they were wanting to hear. World War I was over (#4) and the people of Germany were in an economic depression that crippled the country. The German mark had lost so much value that it took a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread. A good portion of the youth in Germany were raised in fatherless homes. In an article written by Dr. Alice Hamilton, she says this about Hitler's youth: "They were children during the years of the war when the food blockade kept them half starved, when fathers were away at the front and mothers distracted with the effort to keep their families fed. They came to manhood in a country which seemed to have no use for them. Even compulsory military training was no more and there was nothing to take its place" (Perry et. al 358). Hitler, being the sleazy opportunist that he was, capitalized on this state of affairs. In ways that were not politically correct, he was able to influence this segment of the population and hold them in allegiance to his agenda. "Hitler made each insignificant, poverty stricken, jobless youth of the slums feel himself as of the great of the earth, since the youth was a German, a Nordic, far superior to the successful Jew who was driven out of office and counting house to make place for the youth and his like" (Perry et. al 359). The following is an example of how Hitler coerced and manipulated people and how we as managers and leaders can learn from his mistakes. This essay will also address how we can effectively influence people and earn their loyalty. In order to effectively influence peopl...
During the Holocaust, around six million Jews were murdered due to Hitler’s plan to rid Germany of “heterogeneous people” in Germany, as stated in the novel, Life and Death in the Third Reich by Peter Fritzsche. Shortly following a period of suffering, Hitler began leading Germany in 1930 to start the period of his rule, the Third Reich. Over time, his power and support from the country increased until he had full control over his people. Starting from saying “Heil Hitler!” the people of the German empire were cleverly forced into following Hitler through terror and threat. He had a group of leaders, the SS, who were Nazis that willingly took any task given, including the mass murder of millions of Jews due to his belief that they were enemies to Germany. German citizens were talked into participating or believing in the most extreme of things, like violent pogroms, deportations, attacks, and executions. Through the novel’s perspicacity of the Third Reich, readers can see how Hitler’s reign was a controversial time period summed up by courage, extremity, and most important of all, loyalty.
After the war came to a close, the Nazi officers were brought to trial at Nuremberg, Germany. A few psychologists have recorded their interviews with the perpetrators while being contained in the prison. Sered wrote of Doctor Leon Go...
Hitler got everything he wanted for so long, without even having to resort to force. Lukacs describes Hitler as ''being an amateur at generalship, but he posessed the great professional talent applicable to all human affairs: an understanding of human nature and the understanding of the weaknesses of his opponents. That was enough to carry him very far''(3). Lukacs wants to make that a point in all of his readers' minds; that Hitler could manipulate people so he could get what he wanted without resorting to violence. Of course, the threat of violence was always present but Hitler was smart enough that he could scare his enemies enough that they would not want to engage in combat.
One could argue that individuals in the OVW and OVH were scared of Hitler and the punishment that could come from them disobeying an order. However, some generals did in fact go against Hitler's orders. The Memoirs of General Heinz Guderian provide great insight into his thoughts on Hitler and Nazism. He goes on to say that he was unsure of Hitler in leading Germany and that he even would not let certain orders reach his Panzer group. He was also aware of Himmler's rising presence in Germany and his dangerous views that the SS supported and followed (Document 1). This shows that even with Hitler's influence, certain generals would still stand up for what they believe was right. General Heinz Guderian was never charged for his war crimes because of his lack of support for Hitler's ideologies compared to other generals. While this may be a good source for supporting the "clean hands" myth, the fact still stands that most generals would follow what Hitler ordered and would lose their own identity. The influence of Nazism on German soldiers is where major debate takes place on the "clean hands" myth. Some look at Nazi soldiers as being brainwashed by Hitler and the Nazi's and that they truly believed that what they were
Hitler wasn’t always a dictator of Germany, in fact; he never wanted to be in the army in the first place. But in spite of what he wanted he started off as a young soldier, and often rebelled because of the mixed ...
During the Holocaust, bureaucracy played a large role within the Nazi Regime. Bureaucracy is a form of government that works through a chain of command hierarchy deriving from a high officials decision. The Nazi Regime had a structure for the specific purpose to remedy inefficiencies and exterminate Jews. The importance in Nazi Germany’s bureaucratic structure remained the basis for everything; everything went through the system. The Nazi’s bureaucratic structure was important in developing efficient methods of execution through loyal and strategic gatherings such as the Wannsee Conference, through the Nazi chains of command and extensive detail.
Hitler represented the evil side of any human beings in the world, and he had done many brutal actions towards people. Adolf Hitler was a little-known political leader whose early life had been marked by disappointment. He formed the Nazis party, where they shared the belief that Germany are required to overturn the Treaty of Versailles. During the Depression, many Germans turned to Hitler for security and firm leadership, ”With terrible economic conditions and rapid inflation, support for Hitler's party grew. By 1923, the Nazi's had 56,000 members and many more supporters” (Adolf Hitler Biography). Soon, President Hindenburg announced Hitler the chancellor and he came to power legally. With majority control, Hitler demanded absolute power and turned Germany into a totalitarian state. Hitler waited for the right time to step out and control the people, ”[Hitler] had a charismatic talent that he used for evil to accomplish something beneficial to him” (Maria Langstaff). With such power, Hitler abused it and o...
Hitler was their "last hope". We can see clearly a distinct link between german unemployment figures and a rise in nazi seats in the Reichstag. People turned to Hitler for help due to the depression and the failure of the Weimar republic to cope with the ongoing problems in germany. In my opinion this is the main factor to why Hitler finally came about to doing a political deal.
The Success of Nazi Policies Toward Education and Youth Hitler and the Nazi party had a range of policies to control education and the German youth. This was mainly to ensure loyalty to Hitler and the Nazi party. Some believed in these policies and other did not but it was fear and glory and the fear of social inadequacy that made most comply. Hitler and the Nazis wanted to control the education system and youth by controlling the teachers, pupils and the curriculum.
Bibliography Primary Sources J Hite and C Hinton, ‘Weimar and Nazi Germany 2000’. Manchester Guardian Report, 13th April 1933. Franz Von Papen’s Speech at Marburg University, 17th June 1934. Rohm’s Speech to foreign press April 18th 1934. Field von Weich’s account of Hitler’s Speech to the leaders of the SA and most of the senior Reichswehr generals 28th February 1934.
The Nazi moral code is a very controversial matter and is a topic that I am sure has been examined and studied for countless years. Every living human has a moral identity and has developed responses to social interaction with others. These moral identities define who we all are and what we think of ourselves. The way we think of ourselves and the level of response we act upon others dictates our physical actions. One will act out in accordance with the level of response they believe in towards events such as cruelty, disrespect, and generosity.
This is what had made Hitler one of the greatest public speakers that the world had ever seen from his time and in history. "The German people and it 's soldiers work and fight today not for themselves and their own age, but also for many generations to come. A historical task of unique dimensions has been entrusted to us by the Creator that we are now obliged to carry out." Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany, was a very talented spokesman in ways that leaders today could not even begin to compare with. He was charismatic and bold, making it easier for him to win over the minds of many Germans with these two traits. He believed that during his rise to power, he and the people of Germany had been given a duty by God to purify the nation of its imperfect races and weaker people so as to make the mother country strong again for future generations. "Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live." In many ways, Hitler felt he was justified in what he was doing, and in some
In the year of 1933 Adolf Hitler seized the position of chancellor of Germany and this power that he received in January 30th is what shaped one of the most bloodlust dictatorships that this world has ever known. Hitler’s desire for power and victory made him one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen but it also made him one of the most cruel and heartless people known to mankind. But how did he do this, how did he become one of the greatest and cruellest dictators? Throughout this essay we will explore the long, short and immediate causes for Hitler’s sudden success.