The Nazi Culture
by
Eric Harris
Mr. Webb
Composition for the College Bound
November 13, 1998
Nazism was a form of government unlike any other in history. Lead by Adolf Hitler, the Nazis had distinct beliefs and policies, severe racism and hatred, strong, new family values, and plans for future Germany and the world. The Nazi party came to power in the early 1930s, thanks to Adolf Hitler. Hitler was loved and admired by all of his followers. The Nazis derived many symbols from ancient runes and made code names for things like their concentration camps. They also formed several new laws and restrictions. Racist beliefs and violent actions were all part of everyday life in Nazi Germany. Concentration camps killed millions of people using gas chambers and firing squads. The Jewish race was considered inferior, and therefore extremely and harshly discriminated against by law. Family values were encouraged, education was reformed, the women's roles were outlined, the Aryan race was to be the only race, and law controlled breeding. Education was reformed in order to benefit the state, not the individual. The woman's main role was to bear children, cook, and clean. The Aryan race was the only "superior" race, so therefore Hitler wanted to have all Aryan citizens. Only the elite would reproduce and inferior races were restricted from breeding with the superior race. Hitler had several plans for his new Germany, and for the world as well. Hitler wanted leaders in Germany. He also wanted to control what everyone saw and heard to maintain a working state. The youth of the world was to be under Nazi control, and Europe and Russia were to be conquered. Approximately eleven million people died as a result of the Nazis. The Nazis were one of the most racist forms of government ever.
The Nazi Culture
Thesis: Nazism was a form of government unlike any other in history, with their beliefs and policies, their racism and hatred, their very strong family values, and the plans they had in store for the rest of the world.
The Nazi Culture
How many people can a football stadium hold? Can it hold fifty, sixty thousand? Most stadiums can. Now, picture a stadium filled, not just seats but the field and all the air above it, with dead men, women, and children. That is just a fraction of the casualties inflicted by the Nazis, also known as the Third Reich. Through the 1920s and 1930s ideas from the past and basically anything that seemed interesting to Adolf Hitler was added into the government policies. Nazism was a form of government unlike any other in history, with their beliefs and policies, their racism and hatred, their very strong family values, and their plans for the rest of the world.
The word "Nazi" itself is synonymous with "racist." The Third Reich, in its early years, was a form of government that was like a magnet, sucking in anything that could build on the racist foundation laid out by Hitler. Theories and policies from the past were resurrected to go alongside the growing power of the nation. A perfect nation was their goal. With Hitler leading the National Socialists, or Nazis, with his astonishing political skills, they adopted symbols from the past and made policies to turn Germany into a National Socialist country.
Some people ask, "How did such an evil empire come to be?" The answer is simple. Germany needed a leader and Hitler was the best leader Germany had. His persuasive, manipulative speeches and his promises for a great nation were enough to get almost the entire German community to strongly support him (Nyomarkey 12). The Germans wanted something to be proud of, and Hitler was able to provide it for them. With Hitler saying things like, "The common interest before self interest," and "Love Germany more than anything, and your fellow Germans more than yourself!" the German people felt like they were part of something special and exciting (Remak 39). His orders, whether written or oral, "cancelled all written law" (Nyomarkey 12). The German people accepted this and loved their leader. They were glad to see Germany being brought out of the economic depression it was in. Germany, under the Nazi regime, was overcoming the effects of the great depression (Remak 75). This boosted the community's moral. Hitler got the Germans moving again and gave them something to strive for. A certain energy, "...a feeling that things were moving again, that a new energy had been infused into German life," as described by one citizen, was moving through Germany (Remak 71). A new social structure was being formed, with Hitler and his ideas at the top.
The Nazis used several ancient runes in their flags and military signs, along with special code words used by officers. The swastika itself, a symbol now imbedded into many minds as a symbol of evil, was derived from an ancient rune known as a Hakenkreuz. It was a pagan Germanic symbol of the god of thunder known as Donnor or Thor ("History"). Its red background indicated the "social idea of the movement," and the white circle indicated its "nationalism" (Thornton 25). The Nazi's "SS" symbol was also an ancient pagan rune, known as a sig-rune. By itself the sig-rune was only one large lightning bolt-type "S" which symbolized victory ("History"). A badge manufacturer, who just put two of the sig-runes together, invented the "SS" symbol. Code words such as Aktion T4 and KZ were used often by Nazi officers. Aktion T4 was the code name of the euthanasia program that led to the killing of approximately 100,000 lives that were "not worth living." Aktion T4 was named after the relevant government department of the Reich chancellery located on Tiergarten Strasse 4 in Berlin ("History"). KZ stood for Konzentrazionslager, which means concentration camp. It was used constantly by Nazi officers and soldiers to somewhat lessen the idea of the camps, and what they were used for ("History"). The Third Reich was definitely a unique government, using symbols from ancient pagan runes and coming up with entirely new and extremely racist laws.
Racism was rooted into the Nazi government just like freedom is rooted in America's government. Laws for censorship, foreigners, and duties of citizens were all intended to protect the state. Hitler once stated that "We have to put a stop to the idea that it is a part of everybody's civil rights to say what he pleases" (Remak 83). Strong censorship was imposed in Germany against books, articles, magazines, films, and even art. Nazi rulrs had complete control over what they wanted their citizens to see, hear, and read. They indeed "...had a free hand to determine[,] if it could, every man's attitude toward life," (Moose xxi). Euthanasia is a current topic in today's American society, but in Nazi Germany, all mentally disable people or "incurable mental defectives" were killed due to the Aktion T4 project (Thorton 28). A citizen had strict duties and at the top of their list was working for the good of the state (Thorton 24). Aliens, on the other hand, were to be discriminated against. The German people wanted only pure Germans in their country. Any others were to be "disposed of." Therefore, foreigners had few rights, and Jews in particular were to be hated (Thornton 24). The concepts of racial superiority, national community, and leadership were most popular in Nazi's weltshauung, or world view.
Hitler made almost everyone in Germany have a sense of national pride. Policies were made to strengthen the pride and weaken resistance. Strong propaganda techniques using intimidating symbols allowed the Nazis to rule in Germany. With Hitler's ideas and the racism involved in the Third Reich, the killing of millions of people from "inferior races" was deemed necessary. The number of deaths the Nazis are responsible for will never be known, however it is believed that from the concentration camps alone, over eleven million people lost their lives. The Third Reich almost completely wiped out the Jewish population in Europe in the late 1930's and early 1940's. Now in our minds, that is utterly inhumane, immoral, and evil, but in the Nazi's minds, it was perfectly fine to exterminate an entire race. The majority of the world's population considers the Nazis evil because of the concentration camps and the treatment of the Jewish race.
The Nazis had a distinct hatred for the Jewish race. They wanted the entire race exterminated and the most efficient way of doing this was to make concentration camps. Nazi doctors controlled life and death in most of the concentration camps. Prisoners considered one doctor, Joseph Mengele, as "...a non-human, evil force...the lord of life and death" (Lifton 345). The wife of a high-ranking Nazi officer near Buchenwald was known to have collected "lampshades, book covers, and gloves made of human skin from murdered concentration camp inmates" (Infield 75). In the earlier years, shootings were the more "popular" way of disposing of Jews. The shootings were very secret though, and since almost all "shootings took place beyond Germany's borders," it was easier to keep shootings out of the news (Remak 154). Sometimes twisted Nazi officers would line up prisoners and fire a rifle round into the first just to see how many chests it would go through. As time passed, gas chambers and crematoriums became responsible for most of the killing. An SS guard once said, "the killing way easy...they just went in expecting to take showers and instead of water we turned on poison gas" (Infield 76). Gassing was indeed the most efficient method. Because of "...occasional emotional difficulties encountered by the executioners, who might balk at shooting children, for instance, gassing proved by far the most efficient method," (Remak 158) says an SS guard in regards to gas chambers. Methods of killing did vary. In a city called Riga convicts were released, given iron bars, and ordered to kill Jews (Remak 152). The hatred was constantly reinforced through speeches from people like Hitler and Himmler. Himmler once said "whether or not 10,000 Russian women collapse from exhaustion while digging...interests me only in so far as the ditch is completed for Germany," ("History") which implies that all he cares for, and all he wants everyone else in Germany to care for, is Germany. Millions of people died as a result of the concentration camps.
The amount of hatred for the Jewish race was incredible. The Nazi's hatred "was symbolized for them by the Jews," who very often became targets, scapegoats, and the usual suspects (Thornton 10). Nazis constantly insulted the Jewish race. They were not even regarded as human beings, only "an appearance of putrescence" (Moose 336). It helped them to build the hatred for the Jews. Public speeches like "the Jew is...a parasite, a sponger...a pernicious bacillus...his presence is also like that of a vampire, for whenever he established himself [,] the people...are bound to be bled to death..." (Thorton 10) were also used to boost the hatred in Germany. It was all part of their beliefs and they saw nothing wrong with it. "The inhuman persecution of the Jews that the Nazis carried out was firmly based on their view of life," and therefore, in their own minds, killing was right (Thornton 5). In order to maintain their government the Jewish race had to be forced out of the picture.
Many people today have a hard time picturing the overall impact of the concentration camps. One of the largest goals of the Third Reich was to destroy the Jewish race, and they almost did. The Nazis killed approximately six million Jews using gas chambers and firing squads. While the "inferior" Jewish race was being exterminated, the "superior" Aryan race was striving to become stronger workers and families. Family values in Nazi Germany were very strong. Germans wanted to keep their families strong, healthy, and active. Education was revised, the woman's role was changed, and the overall Aryan racial elements were outlined in order to have a more perfect, flawless community.
Education was not made to benefit the individual, but to benefit the state. It was very important for Hitler's youth. He wanted the highest task of education to be the preservation, care, and development of the best racial elements (Pine 1). It was also used to make a more perfect generation of Germans, who were strong and prepared to sacrifice and undertake responsibilities towards the nation community (Pine 1). In order to do this, textbooks and schools were reformed. Nazi symbols were often used within domestic themes in order to make them "familiar and more accessible to children" (Pine 2). Swastikas were inserted into books, pictures of Hitler with children were posted in schools, and eventually school children were putting swastikas in their homes (Pine 2). Scientific and arithmetic examples in textbooks also helped the youth with their racial superiority education. Craniology, the study of the skull, was used to distinguish the "inferior" races from the "superior" races (Pine 4). Arithmetic was used to show how "wasteful" the mentally challenged were and how much money could be saved by euthanasia (Pine 5). These ideas were then transferred to German homes where parents could learn about their roles in the Third Reich.
The woman's role, in particular, was very unique. Throughout time women have tried to be treated as equals to males. Eventually they did win their rights in America, but in Nazi Germany, the women were supposed to be "glad" to stay home and cook and clean all day long. They were to be "beautiful and to bring children into the world" (Moose 41). It was said that motherhood was in the "front rank of patriotic as well as moral virtues" (Schoenbaum 188). Women were required to raise the children, cook, clean, and look after the house. It was also "good morals for a woman to have several children" (Moose 37). However, they were still discriminated against. Women who had "many miscarriages, or who brought deformed, sick, or sickly children into the world" were considered inferior (Moose 37). They could not join in politics nor serve in the armed forces. This was all part of the "superior" Aryan race and was considered to be the law.
Those of the Aryan race considered themselves to be members of the superior human race. All others were inferior and were constantly criticized. Extreme racism was used to show the Nazi's superiority. The personal characteristics of the Aryan race included honor, courage, love of freedom, and a strong spirit of scientific research (Thornton 5). Physically, the Aryans were tall, strong, and long-headed. They had blue eyes and blond hair, with a fair skin complexion (Thornton 5). Many attempts were made to increase the "pure" German blood population, such as stealing children who matched the physical requirements of the Aryan race from their homes. Himmler once responded to a question that asked "How can we be so cruel as to take a child from its mother," by saing "How much more cruel [is it] to leave a potential genius with our natural enemy," (Infield 138). The Nazis were very determined in forming a perfect German nation.
Breeding became a controlled issue in the Third Reich. Only the elite would reproduce (Pine 1). It became against the law for a pure German person to breed with someone who was not. The goal was to bring together a high-grade heredity stock and to eliminate all inferior races from the German people (Moose 35). They believed that because of inferior races, like the Jews, many true German families were ruined by the result of only one "low-grade" person coming into the family. Once again, it was the Jews' fault for German's problems.
Family values in Germany were strengthened during the Third Reich. Education, along with the woman's role, was reformed according to Nazi beliefs. The Aryan race and breeding guidelines were also outlined as a result of new policies. Despite these reforms and new policies, the Nazi regime was defeated. Most of the leaders fought until the end, turning out new plans for the Third Reich. Hitler had many plans for his nation and the world that he would never see accomplished.
Hitler's main goals were to conquer Europe and form a perfect Aryan nation. A nation would be created that would thrive on National Socialism. Hitler wanted leaders, but he also wanted all of his citizens to feel equal. "No one should think himself superior to his fellow man" and even leaders should be "devoted to service and responsibilities" (Moose xxxvii). He was afraid that "intellectuals would feel superior to others because of their knowledge and thus form a separate group within the people which would be difficult to control" (Moose xxxvii). As Americans, we considser the freedom of the press as a right. Nazis, on the other hand, only allowed the freedom of the press to be permitted "within a framework conducive to the national welfare" (Thornton 24). A "strict censorship" was also placed on the publishing industry (Pine 1). Hitler wanted the people of his nation only to see what he wanted them to see, in order to have them remain loyal to the Third Reich.
Hitler had plans for Europe, as well as the world. A theory the Nazis believed was that "if youth could be captured by their world view, the future was assured" (Moose xxxii). This means the youth of the world would grow up believing in Nazism whether living in Germany or not. A large plan of Hitler's was to conquer Russia and use the land for farming and for more Germans to live on. There were going to be several "population transfers" (Remak 127) in Europe and Asia, because space was needed for the German people. Space was to be made in several ways, such as "low rations, shootings, an expulsions" (Remak 122). The people would be able to live free, just as long as the Germans were their rulers. In case of a revolution, they would "drop a few bombs on their cities and the affair will be over" (Remak 128). Judaism was also to be "destroyed" since they believed it posed an international threat to Germany (Smith 255). This would allow more room for the German people and exterminate the main "inferior" race in Europe. Those types of events show the care, or lack thereof, for the people of other nations besides Germany. Eventually, if Hitler had won the war, the Third Reich would have spanned over the whole globe and tens of millions or more people would have been eliminated.
The Third Reich, at its prime, posed a great threat to the well being of all of the European nations and indeed the whole world. Germany would have been a nation in which all citizens were equal, at least all of the Aryan citizens, and anyone who opposed the Nazis would be killed. Nearby lands would have been conquered and the Jewish population would have been even more diminished. Millions more people would have been killed as a result of the "population transfers" the Germans had in store for their conquered territories.
The Third Reich, led by Adolf Hitler, was one of the most evil and racist forms of government ever. The goals of the Third Reich were to make a perfect Aryan nation, destroy the inferior races, and conquer enough land to accommodate the German people. After Hitler came to power he reformed laws, policies, and family values, and set goals for the future of his nation. Reformations of education and of laws allowed the Third Reich to carry on for years. The concentration camps killed millions. The racist views brainwashed the society into believing the Aryans were superior to all other races. They were responsible for the deaths of at least eleven million people. These things were all part of Hitler's master plan of creating a perfect Aryan race to rule Germany.
Works Cited
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http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/8514/history.html. 25 October 1998.
Infield, Glenn B. Secrets of the SS. Stein and Day. Braircliff Manor, NY. 1981.
Lifton, Robert Jay. The Nazi Doctors. Robert Jay Lifton, 1986.
Moose, George L. Nazi Culture. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1966.
Nyomarkay. The Nazi Party. University of Minnesota, 1967.
Pine, Lisa. "Nazism in the Classroom". History Today April 1997: 22-28.
Remak, Joseph. The Nazi Years. Prentice-Hall Inc. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1969.
Schoenbaum, David. Hitler's Social Revolution. Doubleday Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1966.
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