Nazism as an Extension of Nationalism
Nazi Germany was the creation of Adolf Hitler, and Nazism was his
movement. It began as a union, known as the 'National Sozialistische
Deustches Arbeiten Partei." It grew to be a powerful political party
under the ruling of Hitler, paving his way to German Chancellor and
President, the undisputed leader of the entire German state. The
concept of Nazism was developed during this course in history. It is a
concept based loosely on an abstract theme of nationalism, interpreted
by Hitler to proclaim his Ayran race as the 'Master Race'. It was
taken to an extreme, however, by Hitler's sadistic genocide of
minority groups within the country, particularly the Jews.
Nationalism is an idea that has been around for eons. It is the theory
of identifying an individual with a nation, of which they hold a great
pride for and are loyal to. It is a belief in your nation. In a
broader sense, a nation needn't be a country, although it commonly is.
The Jews were a nation before they had Israel. A cultural group can be
considered a nation, and historically, some ideas such as Zionism,
Communism and Trotskyism were considered 'nations'. According to
Gellner: "Nationalism is a political principle which maintains that
similarity of culture is the basic social bond." (p.3 Gellner, 1997)
This idea of belonging to a nation creates a unified group, and in
some cases, the sense of the individual can be lost.
Nationalism has been a major driving force of most European historic
events. In the 1800's it helped to rearrange the map of Europe, with
cultural groups under foreign rule revolting, for example: Greece
under Ot...
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...fanaticism of Hitler, as he would relinquish his Aryan beliefs whilst
he used the Japanese to accomplish his overall conquest of the world.
In 1934, Hitler became the Führer of the German state. "One people,
one country, one leader" was the common phrase of the time. From this
moment on, Germany was run by a totalitarian dictator. What may have
begun as nationalist ideas were extremely construed by one of the most
influential people in the history of today's society. Aryan
superiority, anti-Semitism, lebensraum and social Darwinism, all
important ideologies in the Nazism movement came directly from the
basic nationalist ideals of society. The same ideals that unified
Germany, Italy and other countries, and freed the people of various
countries under oppressive rule created the most feared movement in
modern history.
1. The three components of the American System were establishing a new protective tariff, starting a new transportation system and restoring the national bank. Henry Clay thought that each of these components would strengthen and unify the nation because he thought the American system would unite the nation’s economic resources because the south would grow food and raise animals that the north would eat and in return the south would by the manufactured goods the north made. A new transportation system would allow trade between the north and the south. Now America could finally become independent economically. And the tariff would help because during the War of 1812 British merchants brought a great deal of products to the United States and sold them at much lower prices than American made goods, so the tariff would raise the prices of the British goods so the American merchants could sell their products at a lower price.
Patriotism is defines as love and devotion to one's country, usually out of self devotion. Nationalism is an adulterated version of patriotism where aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination is forced upon the people by society, or an authoritative figure.
“Nationalism(n.) - loyalty or devotion to a nation, especially an attitude, feeling, or belief characterize by a sense of national consciousness” (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). Nationalism was a crucial part of America’s success during the War of 1812; nationalism was reflected in the post-war period through increased national pride, emphasis on national issues, increase in power and scope of the national government, and a growing sense of American identity (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). The first to arise which was the driving force behind American victories against the British was nationalism. This nationalism was expressed in four ways; patriotism, political, economical and cultural. American patriotism
to be beautiful and not so much to be patriotic, but to be known to
Throughout the years, humans have constructed many unique civilizations; all which follow a distinct social, economic, and political structure. Even so, there is one characteristic that prevails among these societies, the concept of nationalism. In short, nationalism refers to the feelings people have when identifying with their nation. This simple notion possesses the ability to divide or unite collective groups, and has played an important role in many historical events.
Historians are often divided into categories in regard to dealing with Nazi Germany foreign policy and its relation to Hitler: 'intentionalist', and 'structuralist'. The intentionalist interpretation focuses on Hitler's own steerage of Nazi foreign policy in accordance with a clear, concise 'programme' planned long in advance. The 'structuralist' approach puts forth the idea that Hitler seized opportunities as they came, radicalizing the foreign policies of the Nazi regime in response. Structuralists reject the idea of a specific Hitlerian ideological 'programme', and instead argue for an emphasis on expansion no clear aims or objectives, and radicalized with the dynamism of the Nazi movement. With Nazi ideology and circumstances in Germany after World War I influencing Nazi foreign policy, the general goals this foreign policy prescribed to included revision of Versailles, the attainment of Lebensraum, or 'living space', and German racial domination. These foreign policy goals are seen through an examination of the actions the Nazi government took in response to events as they happened while in power, and also through Hitler's own ideology expressed in his writings such as Mein Kempf. This synthesis of ideology and social structure in Germany as the determinants of foreign policy therefore can be most appropriately approached by attributing Nazi foreign policy to a combination as both 'intentionalist' and 'structuralist' aims. Nazi foreign policy radicalized with their successes and was affected by Hitler pragmatically seizing opportunities to increase Nazi power, but also was based on early a consistent ideological programme espoused by Hitler from early on.
World War I, also known as “The Great War”, was a global war that revolved mainly around Europe. It took place from 1914 to 1918. This was a very brutal war that caused many casualties. The soldiers who survived experienced severe trauma and mental discomfort. This trauma was a direct result of the violence and agony they experienced during the war. Motivation for this war was the idea of nationalism and the pride in one’s country. This war was the cause of disillusionment among many of the soldiers that were involved in it.
The exploration of what patriotism is and what represents patriotism is an important one more people should embark upon. If Americans are to examine patriotisms true meaning, we will be able to abolish this faux patriotism, which is represented by intimidation, censorship, and majority rules attitudes or actions. This can be replaced by feelings and actions of caring, compassion, acceptance, rationality, and nonviolence, or in other words, patriotism.
n January of 1933 the Nazi regime took control of Germany with the belief that Germans were “racially superior.” Throughout this time period called the Holocaust, which is a Greek word meaning “sacrifice by fire,” the Jewish people were deemed inferior, and were the main threat to the German racial community. Though the Holocaust was a systematic and bureaucratic war, racism is what fueled the persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime. Racism is defined as “a belief or doctrine that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” This framework of racism was what Hitler believed would “carve out a vast European empire.” (Perry,
Prior to and after WWI the world saw a rise in nationalistic sentiments. The Middle East was not immune to this new ideology. Although Arab Nationalism had a start in the Ottoman Empire, its rise among the masses did not begin until after WWI. While a total rise in Arab Nationalism became apparent on the Arabian Peninsula, a separate nationalist movement began in Palestine as a way to combat a unique and repressive situation. In Palestine the British mandate, along with British support, and the world's support for Zionist immigration into Palestine, caused a number of European Zionists to move into the country. These factors created an agitated atmosphere among Palestinians. Although there was more than one factor in creating a Palestinian-centered Arab Nationalism, the mounting Zionist immigration was among the most prevalent of forces.
...ight of their former glory) and their pride in their group (though it might not be nationalism since they are a group of people)
create a German Air force and in March 1935 he said that he was going
The Oxford Dictionary defines totalitarianism as ‘a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state’ . A totalitarian regime possesses power over affairs of the state and its inhabitants under one party and bears no opposition. A key attribute of a totalitarian government is that is looks to shape the mind and actions of society through determination, philosophy, and in general, force.
Nationalism is the idea that a people who have much in common, such as language, culture and geographic proximity ought to organize in such a way that it creates a stable and enduring state. Nationalism is tied to patriotism, and it is the driving force behind the identity of a culture. Nationalism had many effects in Europe from 1815, The Congress of Vienna and beyond. In the following essay I will describe many of the consequences of nationalism on European identity, as well as some of the conflicts that it created.
embodies our belief that doing the right thing will allow us to uplift our countrymen; it i