How effectively did the Nazi state operate? 1933-1939 (Controversy 2: part 2) Flashcards
Which 3 aspects of the regime suggest it was not a totalitarian regime?
1) It didn’t have the organisation and unity like that of the USSR (e.g.dualism)
2) It never established centralised control over the economy (economy=independent)
3) It didn’t have a monopoly of arms - SS and Luftwaffer had separate leadership
Which 5 aspects of the regime suggest it was a totalitarian regime?
1) An official ideology
2) A single mass party
3) A single leader
4) Terroristic control by the police
5) Monopolistic control of the media
What aims does Hitler set out in Mein Kampf? (not specific policies)
- The creation of a Volksgemeinschaft
- The creation of a thousand year Reich
- The Bolshevik/Aryan struggle
- The creation of Lebensraum
What is the main approach taken by intentionalist historians?
Hitler was an omnipotent ruler and the state worked efficiently to the Fuhrer’s Will
What is the end goal that intentionalist historians claim every policy Hitler made was aimed at?
a war to gain lebensraum
What evidence is used to support this idea?
The Second World War
What is the German name for this ‘sole rule’?
Alleinherrschaft
What is a monocratic state?
One just ruled by Hitler as he made all the essential political decisions - Hitlerism
What does N. Rich say about Hitler’s leadership?
‘The point cannot be stressed too strongly. Hitler was master in the Third Reich.’
How do intentionalists explain the confusion of different departments in the Reich?
The do not deny there was confusion and division but it was the result of Hitler’s policy of DIVIDE AND RULE
How did ‘divide and rule’ benefit Hitler?
It would maintain his own political authority and this way he would create a strong party, as only those dedicated to Nazism would remain and they would follow him as he provided the balance
Who was Otto Dietrich?
Hitler’s press secretary
What is a key example of the infighting that ‘divide and rule’ created?
The economy - Schacht is supported by Hitler at first and has control of the economy, but Hitler undermines him choosing the Four Year Plan of Goring in 1936 and replaces Schacht with Walter Funk
Which decisions of policy did Hitler make? give an example.
The ‘big’ decisions which shaped the direction of Nazi Germany e.g. foreign policy
What is the main approach taken by structuralist historians?
-Hitler was still significant but not an omnipotent leader
- state was chaotic because Hitler was unwilling to
regulate or create an ordered system
-He gave very little direction in terms of clear, specific policies
-Led to RADICALISATION of policy to fulfil vague aims in Mein Kampf
What is the term for the natural evolution of systems and structures of government that Hitler believed in? What significance does this have for the intentionalist argument?
- Social Darwinism - the strongest and best will succeed
* Hitler cannot have created a policy of ‘divide and rule’
What is key evidence for the structuralist argument?
Hitler’s bohemian lifestyle
What did his routine in the Berghof show?
That Hitler was lazy, didn’t engage with political policy making, he gave very few direct orders and wasn’t in the political capital of Berlin - - - structures ruled Germany
Who did Hitler appoint chief of the German police in June 1936?
SS leader Heinrich Himmler
What did Hans Mommsen say about Hitler’s decisiveness?
Hitler was ‘unwilling to make decisions’
How many times did Cabinet government decline from meeting in 1933 and how many times did they meet in 1938?
72 times in 1933 and by 1938 they didn’t meet.
What is a polycratic state?
One where there were different overlapping power groups in an alliance to work together; but they didn’t always agree, but they were dependant on each other.
Which dominant power bloc is a key example of the different structures running Germany without Hitler?
The SS-Police system
In the example of the economy, who were the leading men competing for control?
Goring - director of the Four-Year Plan
Schacht - President of the Reichsbank
Funk - Minister of Economics
Ley - head of DAF