Herbert Marcuse
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0029
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter discusses Nazi Germany's comprehensive plan for aggression, conquest, and domination in Europe and beyond. It first explains the role of the National Socialist German Workers' Party ...
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This chapter discusses Nazi Germany's comprehensive plan for aggression, conquest, and domination in Europe and beyond. It first explains the role of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), or Nazi Party, in the Nazi plan for domination before analyzing the stages in which the plan would be executed: to overthrow the Weimar Republic, which was founded on parliamentary democracy, and to fight for the establishment of a Nazi dictatorship led by Adolf Hitler; to eliminate all opposition and establish totalitarian control over Germany; rearmament and preparation for the war of aggression. The chapter also considers the concepts of Lebensraum and Grossraumordnung on which the Nazi occupation policy was based and concludes with an assessment of the unlawful elements of the policy.Less
This chapter discusses Nazi Germany's comprehensive plan for aggression, conquest, and domination in Europe and beyond. It first explains the role of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), or Nazi Party, in the Nazi plan for domination before analyzing the stages in which the plan would be executed: to overthrow the Weimar Republic, which was founded on parliamentary democracy, and to fight for the establishment of a Nazi dictatorship led by Adolf Hitler; to eliminate all opposition and establish totalitarian control over Germany; rearmament and preparation for the war of aggression. The chapter also considers the concepts of Lebensraum and Grossraumordnung on which the Nazi occupation policy was based and concludes with an assessment of the unlawful elements of the policy.
Herbert Marcuse
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0017
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter proposes the dissolution of the Nazi Party and its affiliated organizations. The reports suggests When the Allies march into Nazi Germany, they will probably find the regime in a state ...
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This chapter proposes the dissolution of the Nazi Party and its affiliated organizations. The reports suggests When the Allies march into Nazi Germany, they will probably find the regime in a state of disintegration. Some of the agencies and institutions of Nazism may still be functioning, but the key positions of political control and terror will have been abandoned. The occupying authorities are committed not only to safeguarding the security of the Allied forces and to maintaining public law and order, but also to the destruction of Nazism. Nazism can be eliminated only through an internal political movement in Germany. The first step in this undertaking would be the dissolution of the National Socialist Party as well as its affiliate and controlled organizations, and the removal and apprehension of all officials who participated in the formulation of policy or had considerable responsibility in carrying it out.Less
This chapter proposes the dissolution of the Nazi Party and its affiliated organizations. The reports suggests When the Allies march into Nazi Germany, they will probably find the regime in a state of disintegration. Some of the agencies and institutions of Nazism may still be functioning, but the key positions of political control and terror will have been abandoned. The occupying authorities are committed not only to safeguarding the security of the Allied forces and to maintaining public law and order, but also to the destruction of Nazism. Nazism can be eliminated only through an internal political movement in Germany. The first step in this undertaking would be the dissolution of the National Socialist Party as well as its affiliate and controlled organizations, and the removal and apprehension of all officials who participated in the formulation of policy or had considerable responsibility in carrying it out.
Herbert Marcuse
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter discusses social stratification in Nazi Germany. Since the abolition of all popular representation, the political decisions in Germany were reached by compromises between the leadership ...
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This chapter discusses social stratification in Nazi Germany. Since the abolition of all popular representation, the political decisions in Germany were reached by compromises between the leadership of the Nazi Party, the Army, the ministerial bureaucracy, and the representatives of certain powerful business groups. The economic groups usually kept in the background, although their voice in the fundamental decisions of policy-making was just as strong as, and perhaps even stronger than, that of the government (state and Party). The chapter provides an overview of five ruling groups in Nazi Germany: the leadership of the Nazi Party and affiliated organizations; the top strata of the governmental and political bureaucracy; the High Command of the Armed Forces and its representatives; the leadership of big business; and the landed aristocracy. It also looks at the ruled social groups, which include artisans, civil servants, and peasants.Less
This chapter discusses social stratification in Nazi Germany. Since the abolition of all popular representation, the political decisions in Germany were reached by compromises between the leadership of the Nazi Party, the Army, the ministerial bureaucracy, and the representatives of certain powerful business groups. The economic groups usually kept in the background, although their voice in the fundamental decisions of policy-making was just as strong as, and perhaps even stronger than, that of the government (state and Party). The chapter provides an overview of five ruling groups in Nazi Germany: the leadership of the Nazi Party and affiliated organizations; the top strata of the governmental and political bureaucracy; the High Command of the Armed Forces and its representatives; the leadership of big business; and the landed aristocracy. It also looks at the ruled social groups, which include artisans, civil servants, and peasants.
Otto Kircheimer
John Herz (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0028
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter discusses the leadership principle and criminal responsibility underlying the Nazi hierarchical organization. The report explains that according to Nazi theory, Nazi Germany's political ...
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This chapter discusses the leadership principle and criminal responsibility underlying the Nazi hierarchical organization. The report explains that according to Nazi theory, Nazi Germany's political community—built upon three basic pillars consisting of the Nazi Party, the state machine, and the military—is organized as an “order of leadership.” At the top of the structure was Adolf Hitler as Führer, but a great range of discretionary power was exercised by regional “sub-leaders” who were considered collaborators in the Nazi scheme. By drawing an analogy to the Nazi theory of leadership, a theory of incrimination in connection with war crimes might be developed which could be applied to fit the special circumstances arising under the Nazi hierarchy, and which might be much more comprehensible to an incriminated member of the Nazi Party or state than any technical established rule of law which might otherwise be followed.Less
This chapter discusses the leadership principle and criminal responsibility underlying the Nazi hierarchical organization. The report explains that according to Nazi theory, Nazi Germany's political community—built upon three basic pillars consisting of the Nazi Party, the state machine, and the military—is organized as an “order of leadership.” At the top of the structure was Adolf Hitler as Führer, but a great range of discretionary power was exercised by regional “sub-leaders” who were considered collaborators in the Nazi scheme. By drawing an analogy to the Nazi theory of leadership, a theory of incrimination in connection with war crimes might be developed which could be applied to fit the special circumstances arising under the Nazi hierarchy, and which might be much more comprehensible to an incriminated member of the Nazi Party or state than any technical established rule of law which might otherwise be followed.
Franz Neumann
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter examines the social and political effects of air raids on German morale during World War II. The strategic aerial bombing of Nazi Germany had increased to such an extent during the last ...
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This chapter examines the social and political effects of air raids on German morale during World War II. The strategic aerial bombing of Nazi Germany had increased to such an extent during the last twelve months that approximately 65,000 people were, at tbe time of the report, bombed out of their homes each week. The number of unusable destroyed houses in April 1944 totaled 1,600,000 in the Reich and the protected areas. A large number of the great industrial centers of Germany, such as Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, the Ruhr district, Rostock, Hannover, Leipzig, Mannheim-Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart, Brunswick, Kassel, and Wiener-Neustadt had been severely damaged. The chapter considers the impact of the bombings on Germany's local defense program, the emergency relief measures implemented after the raids, problems of evacuation, the Nazi Party's propaganda reply to the raids, and how the bombings affected the German people, including the middle classes and workers.Less
This chapter examines the social and political effects of air raids on German morale during World War II. The strategic aerial bombing of Nazi Germany had increased to such an extent during the last twelve months that approximately 65,000 people were, at tbe time of the report, bombed out of their homes each week. The number of unusable destroyed houses in April 1944 totaled 1,600,000 in the Reich and the protected areas. A large number of the great industrial centers of Germany, such as Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, the Ruhr district, Rostock, Hannover, Leipzig, Mannheim-Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart, Brunswick, Kassel, and Wiener-Neustadt had been severely damaged. The chapter considers the impact of the bombings on Germany's local defense program, the emergency relief measures implemented after the raids, problems of evacuation, the Nazi Party's propaganda reply to the raids, and how the bombings affected the German people, including the middle classes and workers.
Franz Neumann
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter examines the political implications of the latest attempt on Adolf Hitler's life in relation to German morale at the time of the report. It first considers some of the principles for the ...
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This chapter examines the political implications of the latest attempt on Adolf Hitler's life in relation to German morale at the time of the report. It first considers some of the principles for the evaluation of German morale: for example, the ruling group in Nazi Germany was made up of four segments: Nazi Party hierarchy, Armed Forces leadership, industrial and financial leaders, and high civil servants. In addition, in the course of World War II, the political power of the industrial leadership and of the civil servants had diminished to such a degree that they could assert themselves only by attempting to influence either Party or Army. The chapter proceeds by linking the timing of the attempt on Hitler's life to the impending transfer of the Home Army to Heinrich Himmler. It also analyzes the political character of the group behind the conspiracy to kill Hitler before concluding with a discussion of the political consequences of the failed assassination attempt.Less
This chapter examines the political implications of the latest attempt on Adolf Hitler's life in relation to German morale at the time of the report. It first considers some of the principles for the evaluation of German morale: for example, the ruling group in Nazi Germany was made up of four segments: Nazi Party hierarchy, Armed Forces leadership, industrial and financial leaders, and high civil servants. In addition, in the course of World War II, the political power of the industrial leadership and of the civil servants had diminished to such a degree that they could assert themselves only by attempting to influence either Party or Army. The chapter proceeds by linking the timing of the attempt on Hitler's life to the impending transfer of the Home Army to Heinrich Himmler. It also analyzes the political character of the group behind the conspiracy to kill Hitler before concluding with a discussion of the political consequences of the failed assassination attempt.
Kristen Renwick Monroe
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151373
- eISBN:
- 9781400840366
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151373.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Psychology and Interaction
This chapter tells the story of Florentine, widow of Meinoud Rost van Tonningen, one of the two top Dutch Nazis during the Hitler period. Florentine's husband served as the Dutch plenipotentiary to ...
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This chapter tells the story of Florentine, widow of Meinoud Rost van Tonningen, one of the two top Dutch Nazis during the Hitler period. Florentine's husband served as the Dutch plenipotentiary to the League of Nations during the 1930s and as head of the Dutch National Bank during World War II. Offered the chance to be secreted to South America after the war by the Nazi leadership, Florentine and her husband elected to stay in Holland to “tell people the truth” about the war. Florentine remained an unrepentant Nazi until her death in 2007, traveling as much as her health permitted to speak in favor of the Nazi cause. She was extremely proud of her job as former leader of the Dutch Nazi Youth Movement for Women and was devoted to the memory of her husband.Less
This chapter tells the story of Florentine, widow of Meinoud Rost van Tonningen, one of the two top Dutch Nazis during the Hitler period. Florentine's husband served as the Dutch plenipotentiary to the League of Nations during the 1930s and as head of the Dutch National Bank during World War II. Offered the chance to be secreted to South America after the war by the Nazi leadership, Florentine and her husband elected to stay in Holland to “tell people the truth” about the war. Florentine remained an unrepentant Nazi until her death in 2007, traveling as much as her health permitted to speak in favor of the Nazi cause. She was extremely proud of her job as former leader of the Dutch Nazi Youth Movement for Women and was devoted to the memory of her husband.
Franz Neumann
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter examines the function of anti-Semitism within the framework of the Nazi system. Anti-Semitism had been the most constant single ideology of the Nazi Party, but its understanding was ...
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This chapter examines the function of anti-Semitism within the framework of the Nazi system. Anti-Semitism had been the most constant single ideology of the Nazi Party, but its understanding was impaired by the widely accepted scapegoat theory according to which the Jews were used as scapegoats for all evils of society. The slaughter or the expulsion of the scapegoat, however, marks in mythology the end of a process, while the persecution of the Jews, as practiced by National Socialists, was only the beginning of more horrible things to come. While anti-Semitism had thus been a constant and consistent policy of National Socialism, its manifestations changed considerably from 1933 to 1943. The chapter discusses these changes in anti-Semitic policies in order to gain insights not so much into the fate of the Jews but rather into the structure of the Nazi system.Less
This chapter examines the function of anti-Semitism within the framework of the Nazi system. Anti-Semitism had been the most constant single ideology of the Nazi Party, but its understanding was impaired by the widely accepted scapegoat theory according to which the Jews were used as scapegoats for all evils of society. The slaughter or the expulsion of the scapegoat, however, marks in mythology the end of a process, while the persecution of the Jews, as practiced by National Socialists, was only the beginning of more horrible things to come. While anti-Semitism had thus been a constant and consistent policy of National Socialism, its manifestations changed considerably from 1933 to 1943. The chapter discusses these changes in anti-Semitic policies in order to gain insights not so much into the fate of the Jews but rather into the structure of the Nazi system.
Kristen Renwick Monroe
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151373
- eISBN:
- 9781400840366
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151373.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Psychology and Interaction
This chapter showcases a Dutch collaborator named Fritz. Fritz shared many of Tony's prewar conservative opinions in favor of the monarchy and traditional Dutch values, although he was of ...
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This chapter showcases a Dutch collaborator named Fritz. Fritz shared many of Tony's prewar conservative opinions in favor of the monarchy and traditional Dutch values, although he was of working-class origins, unlike Tony and Beatrix, who were Dutch bourgeoisie. But unlike Beatrix or Tony, Fritz joined the Nazi Party, wrote propaganda for the Nazi cause, and married the daughter of a German Nazi. When he was interviewed in 1992, Fritz indicated he was appalled at what he later learned about Nazi treatment of Jews but that he still believed in many of the goals of the National Socialist movement and felt that Hitler had betrayed the movement. Fritz is thus classified as a disillusioned Nazi supporter who retains his faith in much of National Socialism, and this chapter is presented as illustrative of the psychology of those who once supported the Nazi regime but who were disillusioned after the war.Less
This chapter showcases a Dutch collaborator named Fritz. Fritz shared many of Tony's prewar conservative opinions in favor of the monarchy and traditional Dutch values, although he was of working-class origins, unlike Tony and Beatrix, who were Dutch bourgeoisie. But unlike Beatrix or Tony, Fritz joined the Nazi Party, wrote propaganda for the Nazi cause, and married the daughter of a German Nazi. When he was interviewed in 1992, Fritz indicated he was appalled at what he later learned about Nazi treatment of Jews but that he still believed in many of the goals of the National Socialist movement and felt that Hitler had betrayed the movement. Fritz is thus classified as a disillusioned Nazi supporter who retains his faith in much of National Socialism, and this chapter is presented as illustrative of the psychology of those who once supported the Nazi regime but who were disillusioned after the war.
Marc Mulholland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199653577
- eISBN:
- 9780191744594
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653577.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History, History of Ideas
In Weimar Germany, parliamentary democracy stabilized, but at the cost of entrenching the power of the reactionary ‘permanent state’ (army, most police forces, judiciary, most civil servants). ...
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In Weimar Germany, parliamentary democracy stabilized, but at the cost of entrenching the power of the reactionary ‘permanent state’ (army, most police forces, judiciary, most civil servants). Constitutionalism in Italy, wracked by bourgeois / socialist conflict, collapsed into Fascism. In Soviet Russia, the prostration of the proletariat and elimination of the bourgeoisie created a vacuum filled by the Leviathan state. Elsewhere, the Red challenge was beaten back, but bourgeois confidence in democracy was left diminished. The economic Slump from 1929 put the very future of capitalism into question, radicalising Fascism in Italy and preparing the way for a an anti-Semitic Nazi take-over in Germany. Constitutionalism reached a low ebb.Less
In Weimar Germany, parliamentary democracy stabilized, but at the cost of entrenching the power of the reactionary ‘permanent state’ (army, most police forces, judiciary, most civil servants). Constitutionalism in Italy, wracked by bourgeois / socialist conflict, collapsed into Fascism. In Soviet Russia, the prostration of the proletariat and elimination of the bourgeoisie created a vacuum filled by the Leviathan state. Elsewhere, the Red challenge was beaten back, but bourgeois confidence in democracy was left diminished. The economic Slump from 1929 put the very future of capitalism into question, radicalising Fascism in Italy and preparing the way for a an anti-Semitic Nazi take-over in Germany. Constitutionalism reached a low ebb.
Michael H. Kater
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300170566
- eISBN:
- 9780300210101
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300170566.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Social History
This chapter focuses on Weimar as the seat of the Weimar Republic's provisional national assembly, and how the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler entrenched themselves in the city and all of ...
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This chapter focuses on Weimar as the seat of the Weimar Republic's provisional national assembly, and how the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler entrenched themselves in the city and all of Thuringia. It begins by considering the establishment of the Society of Friends of the Nietzsche Archive in honor of Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, followed by a discussion of Weimar's right-wing culture featuring such personalities as Adolf Bartels, Paul Schultze-Naumburg, and Hans F. K. Günther. It then looks at how Hitler and his Nazi Party established their political power throughout Weimar. It also examines how the Thuringian elections held in December 1929 enabled the National Socialists to install a Nazi-controlled government in Germany at the regional level.Less
This chapter focuses on Weimar as the seat of the Weimar Republic's provisional national assembly, and how the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler entrenched themselves in the city and all of Thuringia. It begins by considering the establishment of the Society of Friends of the Nietzsche Archive in honor of Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, followed by a discussion of Weimar's right-wing culture featuring such personalities as Adolf Bartels, Paul Schultze-Naumburg, and Hans F. K. Günther. It then looks at how Hitler and his Nazi Party established their political power throughout Weimar. It also examines how the Thuringian elections held in December 1929 enabled the National Socialists to install a Nazi-controlled government in Germany at the regional level.
Franz Neumann and Paul Sweezy
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134130
- eISBN:
- 9781400846467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134130.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter focuses on the appointment of Albert Speer as dictator of the German economy and the Reich Minister of Economics Walther Funk as a member of the Central Planning Board. Both appointments ...
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This chapter focuses on the appointment of Albert Speer as dictator of the German economy and the Reich Minister of Economics Walther Funk as a member of the Central Planning Board. Both appointments were made by Adolf Hitler as part of a decree he issued on September 2, 1943, which put the Reich Minister for Armaments and Munitions in control of total German production for the duration of the war, while the Reich Minister of Economics was to be responsible for the general economic policy, among other functions. The chapter first provides a background on the careers of Funk and Speer before discussing the relative position of Funk, Speer, Hermann Göring, and certain commissioners in the German war economy. It also considers the organizational meaning of Hitler's decree, along with the possibility that the new measure will deepen the antagonism between industry and the Nazi Party.Less
This chapter focuses on the appointment of Albert Speer as dictator of the German economy and the Reich Minister of Economics Walther Funk as a member of the Central Planning Board. Both appointments were made by Adolf Hitler as part of a decree he issued on September 2, 1943, which put the Reich Minister for Armaments and Munitions in control of total German production for the duration of the war, while the Reich Minister of Economics was to be responsible for the general economic policy, among other functions. The chapter first provides a background on the careers of Funk and Speer before discussing the relative position of Funk, Speer, Hermann Göring, and certain commissioners in the German war economy. It also considers the organizational meaning of Hitler's decree, along with the possibility that the new measure will deepen the antagonism between industry and the Nazi Party.
R. J. Overy
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198202905
- eISBN:
- 9780191675584
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202905.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Economic History
It was against a background of rapidly rising unemployment that the Nazi Party became a major electoral force. Though it was by no means clear quite how a National Socialist government would tackle ...
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It was against a background of rapidly rising unemployment that the Nazi Party became a major electoral force. Though it was by no means clear quite how a National Socialist government would tackle unemployment when it came to power in January 1933, there was no doubt in the minds of Germany's new leaders that their own political survival was bound up with the success or otherwise of the ‘Battle for Work’. From 1930 Nazi leaders saw unemployment as a key political issue, to be solved by ‘general labour service’ and ‘general conscription’ or by public works; and they feared the effects on Nazi electoral prospects if unemployment was to be solved by the other parties. The crisis of unemployment was a key plank in the Nazis' growing attacks on the Weimar governments in 1931 and 1932.Less
It was against a background of rapidly rising unemployment that the Nazi Party became a major electoral force. Though it was by no means clear quite how a National Socialist government would tackle unemployment when it came to power in January 1933, there was no doubt in the minds of Germany's new leaders that their own political survival was bound up with the success or otherwise of the ‘Battle for Work’. From 1930 Nazi leaders saw unemployment as a key political issue, to be solved by ‘general labour service’ and ‘general conscription’ or by public works; and they feared the effects on Nazi electoral prospects if unemployment was to be solved by the other parties. The crisis of unemployment was a key plank in the Nazis' growing attacks on the Weimar governments in 1931 and 1932.
Paul B. Jaskot
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816678242
- eISBN:
- 9781452948225
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816678242.003.0002
- Subject:
- Art, Art History
This chapter presents an overview of German political history that describes the characteristics of the Nazi perpetrators. It addresses the question: what range of actions did postwar audiences label ...
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This chapter presents an overview of German political history that describes the characteristics of the Nazi perpetrators. It addresses the question: what range of actions did postwar audiences label as criminal in order to define the category of the perpetrator? An analysis of the Nazi Party to ground the particularities and complexities of that political institution is given. Nazi leaders found the work of renowned art historian Heinrich Wölfflin useful in surprising ways. In his influential book Principles of Art History (1915), he advocated a schematic comparative study of formal typologies to understand fundamental distinctions between European Renaissance and Baroque art. By focusing on culture not as an ideological cipher but as an intellectual work of strategic use, this chapter argues that the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) developed a series of different relationships to art that helped constitute a typology of the perpetrator. It also explores how the strategic use of cultural policy for racism came to define aspects of criminal behavior recognized by postwar audiences.Less
This chapter presents an overview of German political history that describes the characteristics of the Nazi perpetrators. It addresses the question: what range of actions did postwar audiences label as criminal in order to define the category of the perpetrator? An analysis of the Nazi Party to ground the particularities and complexities of that political institution is given. Nazi leaders found the work of renowned art historian Heinrich Wölfflin useful in surprising ways. In his influential book Principles of Art History (1915), he advocated a schematic comparative study of formal typologies to understand fundamental distinctions between European Renaissance and Baroque art. By focusing on culture not as an ideological cipher but as an intellectual work of strategic use, this chapter argues that the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) developed a series of different relationships to art that helped constitute a typology of the perpetrator. It also explores how the strategic use of cultural policy for racism came to define aspects of criminal behavior recognized by postwar audiences.
Volker R. Berghahn
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691179636
- eISBN:
- 9780691185071
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691179636.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History
This book takes an in-depth look at German journalism from the late Weimar period through the postwar decades. Illuminating the roles played by journalists in the media metropolis of Hamburg, the ...
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This book takes an in-depth look at German journalism from the late Weimar period through the postwar decades. Illuminating the roles played by journalists in the media metropolis of Hamburg, the book focuses on the lives and work of three remarkable individuals: Marion Countess Dönhoff, distinguished editor of Die Zeit; Paul Sethe, “the grand old man of West German journalism”; and Hans Zehrer, editor in chief of Die Welt. All born before 1914, Dönhoff, Sethe, and Zehrer witnessed the Weimar Republic's end and opposed Hitler. When the latter seized power in 1933, they were, like their fellow Germans, confronted with the difficult choice of entering exile, becoming part of the active resistance, or joining the Nazi Party. Instead, they followed a fourth path—“inner emigration”—psychologically distancing themselves from the regime, their writing falling into a gray zone between grudging collaboration and active resistance. During the war, Dönhoff and Sethe had links to the 1944 conspiracy to kill Hitler, while Zehrer remained out of sight on a North Sea island. In the decades after 1945, all three became major figures in the West German media. The book considers how these journalists and those who chose inner emigration interpreted Germany's horrific past and how they helped to morally and politically shape the reconstruction of the country. With fresh archival materials, the book sheds essential light on the influential position of the German media in the mid-twentieth century and raises questions about modern journalism that remain topical today.Less
This book takes an in-depth look at German journalism from the late Weimar period through the postwar decades. Illuminating the roles played by journalists in the media metropolis of Hamburg, the book focuses on the lives and work of three remarkable individuals: Marion Countess Dönhoff, distinguished editor of Die Zeit; Paul Sethe, “the grand old man of West German journalism”; and Hans Zehrer, editor in chief of Die Welt. All born before 1914, Dönhoff, Sethe, and Zehrer witnessed the Weimar Republic's end and opposed Hitler. When the latter seized power in 1933, they were, like their fellow Germans, confronted with the difficult choice of entering exile, becoming part of the active resistance, or joining the Nazi Party. Instead, they followed a fourth path—“inner emigration”—psychologically distancing themselves from the regime, their writing falling into a gray zone between grudging collaboration and active resistance. During the war, Dönhoff and Sethe had links to the 1944 conspiracy to kill Hitler, while Zehrer remained out of sight on a North Sea island. In the decades after 1945, all three became major figures in the West German media. The book considers how these journalists and those who chose inner emigration interpreted Germany's horrific past and how they helped to morally and politically shape the reconstruction of the country. With fresh archival materials, the book sheds essential light on the influential position of the German media in the mid-twentieth century and raises questions about modern journalism that remain topical today.
Gerd Hardach
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198288039
- eISBN:
- 9780191596230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198288034.003.0010
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics, Economic History
The focus of this chapter is not on the short‐term fluctuations experienced by the German banks during the inter‐war period, but on the structural change that ultimately resulted in the formation of ...
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The focus of this chapter is not on the short‐term fluctuations experienced by the German banks during the inter‐war period, but on the structural change that ultimately resulted in the formation of a national banking system. The banking system of the early twentieth century was not a rational construct, but had evolved over the previous hundred years and consisted of a mixture of quite different financial intermediaries defined by a combination of legal provisions, ownership, economic philosophy, and business structure. Post‐war hyperinflation was followed by financial reconstruction, but the system collapsed in the banking crisis of 1931 and was reorganized under the Banking Law of 1934 as a monopolistic structure under strict government surveillance. The resulting system fitted the Nazi regime of armament and autarky, but was not an adequate model for the expanding world economy created after World War II.Less
The focus of this chapter is not on the short‐term fluctuations experienced by the German banks during the inter‐war period, but on the structural change that ultimately resulted in the formation of a national banking system. The banking system of the early twentieth century was not a rational construct, but had evolved over the previous hundred years and consisted of a mixture of quite different financial intermediaries defined by a combination of legal provisions, ownership, economic philosophy, and business structure. Post‐war hyperinflation was followed by financial reconstruction, but the system collapsed in the banking crisis of 1931 and was reorganized under the Banking Law of 1934 as a monopolistic structure under strict government surveillance. The resulting system fitted the Nazi regime of armament and autarky, but was not an adequate model for the expanding world economy created after World War II.
Eric Kurlander
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780300189452
- eISBN:
- 9780300190373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300189452.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter explores the Nazis' interest in Germanic paganism, witchcraft, Luciferianism, and Eastern spirituality in their attempt to find a suitable Ario-Germanic alternative to Christianity. The ...
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This chapter explores the Nazis' interest in Germanic paganism, witchcraft, Luciferianism, and Eastern spirituality in their attempt to find a suitable Ario-Germanic alternative to Christianity. The Third Reich embraced a range of pagan, esoteric, and Indo-Aryan religious doctrines that buttressed its racial, political, and ideological goals. That is why Nazism posed a different threat to Christianity than secular liberalism or atheist Marxism. Nazi religiosity was a ‘fluid and incoherent thing which expresses itself in several different forms’. Part of a shared supernatural imaginary, these various religious strains were to some extent embraced and exploited by the Third Reich in the process of building spiritual consensus across a diverse Nazi Party and an even more eclectic German population.Less
This chapter explores the Nazis' interest in Germanic paganism, witchcraft, Luciferianism, and Eastern spirituality in their attempt to find a suitable Ario-Germanic alternative to Christianity. The Third Reich embraced a range of pagan, esoteric, and Indo-Aryan religious doctrines that buttressed its racial, political, and ideological goals. That is why Nazism posed a different threat to Christianity than secular liberalism or atheist Marxism. Nazi religiosity was a ‘fluid and incoherent thing which expresses itself in several different forms’. Part of a shared supernatural imaginary, these various religious strains were to some extent embraced and exploited by the Third Reich in the process of building spiritual consensus across a diverse Nazi Party and an even more eclectic German population.
Willeke Sandler
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- August 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190697907
- eISBN:
- 9780190697938
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190697907.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
Many colonialists had believed that the Nazi regime established in 1933 would ease cooperation between colonialists and the Nazi Party, but conflicts between colonialists and Nazi officials continued ...
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Many colonialists had believed that the Nazi regime established in 1933 would ease cooperation between colonialists and the Nazi Party, but conflicts between colonialists and Nazi officials continued over the next decade. This chapter examines these continuing tensions through two categories: organizational rivalry and ideological competition. Organizations such as the NS-Frauenschaft, the Hitler Youth, the Auslands-Organisation, and the Volksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland competed with colonialists for access to sectors of German society and for control over discussions about Auslandsdeutschen (Germans beyond Germany’s borders). Colonialists also had to assert the relationship between their focus on Africa and the Nazis’ focus on Eastern Europe as a territorial goal. These competitions at times hindered colonialists’ publicity work, yet also brought discussions of the former overseas colonies into broader sectors of society through these other organizations.Less
Many colonialists had believed that the Nazi regime established in 1933 would ease cooperation between colonialists and the Nazi Party, but conflicts between colonialists and Nazi officials continued over the next decade. This chapter examines these continuing tensions through two categories: organizational rivalry and ideological competition. Organizations such as the NS-Frauenschaft, the Hitler Youth, the Auslands-Organisation, and the Volksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland competed with colonialists for access to sectors of German society and for control over discussions about Auslandsdeutschen (Germans beyond Germany’s borders). Colonialists also had to assert the relationship between their focus on Africa and the Nazis’ focus on Eastern Europe as a territorial goal. These competitions at times hindered colonialists’ publicity work, yet also brought discussions of the former overseas colonies into broader sectors of society through these other organizations.
Willeke Sandler
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- August 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190697907
- eISBN:
- 9780190697938
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190697907.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
This chapter examines colonialists’ response to the Nazi takeover. Many saw the new Third Reich as fertile ground both ideologically and organizationally, and quickly adapted to their new reality. ...
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This chapter examines colonialists’ response to the Nazi takeover. Many saw the new Third Reich as fertile ground both ideologically and organizationally, and quickly adapted to their new reality. For these colonialists, the Nazi Party’s ostensible support for overseas colonialism, expressed through the 1920 Party Program, encouraged their belief that the Third Reich would also bring the reclamation of the overseas empire. In order to ensure public support for this goal and facing the Nazi regime’s drive to coordinate society through Gleichschaltung, the colonialist organizations underwent Selbstgleichschaltung (self-coordination) in 1933 and created the Reichskolonialbund as their new umbrella organization.. Between 1933 and 1935, German colonialists also established the organizational structure and goal of a mass movement (Volksbewegung) that would continue throughout the Third Reich.Less
This chapter examines colonialists’ response to the Nazi takeover. Many saw the new Third Reich as fertile ground both ideologically and organizationally, and quickly adapted to their new reality. For these colonialists, the Nazi Party’s ostensible support for overseas colonialism, expressed through the 1920 Party Program, encouraged their belief that the Third Reich would also bring the reclamation of the overseas empire. In order to ensure public support for this goal and facing the Nazi regime’s drive to coordinate society through Gleichschaltung, the colonialist organizations underwent Selbstgleichschaltung (self-coordination) in 1933 and created the Reichskolonialbund as their new umbrella organization.. Between 1933 and 1935, German colonialists also established the organizational structure and goal of a mass movement (Volksbewegung) that would continue throughout the Third Reich.
Paul B. Jaskot
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816678242
- eISBN:
- 9781452948225
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816678242.003.0001
- Subject:
- Art, Art History
This introductory chapter summarizes the argument concerning the variable political receptions of the criminal past that occurred in the Federal Republic since 1945, and addresses the question: in an ...
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This introductory chapter summarizes the argument concerning the variable political receptions of the criminal past that occurred in the Federal Republic since 1945, and addresses the question: in an era that sought so fervently to determine who was to blame for the genocidal policies of the Nazi regime, why does the public exhibition of an artist so well connected with the Nazi past go unremarked? It recounts the complicated and variable relationship of Franz Schönhuber to the Nazis. Schönhuber worked his way through the Nazi youth organizations, became a party member in 1941, and willingly enlisted in the Waffen-SS. During the war he helped train French Waffen-SS volunteers for a division called “Charlemagne.” The chapter also presents the background for the changing status of the Nazi perpetrator.Less
This introductory chapter summarizes the argument concerning the variable political receptions of the criminal past that occurred in the Federal Republic since 1945, and addresses the question: in an era that sought so fervently to determine who was to blame for the genocidal policies of the Nazi regime, why does the public exhibition of an artist so well connected with the Nazi past go unremarked? It recounts the complicated and variable relationship of Franz Schönhuber to the Nazis. Schönhuber worked his way through the Nazi youth organizations, became a party member in 1941, and willingly enlisted in the Waffen-SS. During the war he helped train French Waffen-SS volunteers for a division called “Charlemagne.” The chapter also presents the background for the changing status of the Nazi perpetrator.
