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
Why does Hitler need the state aspect of politics?
He needs the state aspect to give the Nazi Party legitimacy and credibility, independent of the Party
How many German speakers lived in the Sudetenland?
3.5 million
When were there agitations in the Sudetenland by the inhabitants?
1938-1939
How did Germany justify invading the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia?
by the principle of national self-determination
What were the main aspects of Hitler’s aussenpolitik from 1936-1938?
- remilitarisation of the Rhineland in ‘36
- Anchluss with Austria in ‘38
- invasion of the Sudetenland in ‘38
NO ACTION WAS TAKEN BY THE OTHER EUROPEAN POWERS- Hitler was wanting war
What was the Berlin-Rome Axis?
An understanding between Germany and Facist Italy
What was the Pact of Steel? When was it?
- Reinforced the alliance between Italy and Germany
- 22 May 1939
What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact? When was it signed?
It agreed the partition of Poland between Russia and Germany and that they wouldn’t fight each other for 2 years
-23 August 1939
Which areas of Poland did Hitler demand back which had been taken in the Treaty of Versailles?
- Silesia
- The Polish Corridor
- Danzig
When was Poland invaded?
1 September 1939
Which historian initiated the term ‘working towards the Fuhrer’? What is it?
Ian Kershaw
A synthesis of structuralism and intentionalism
In 1936 what economy did Hitler announce they should aim for?
Wehrwirtschaft - war economy
Why was Hitler still considered important in ‘working towards the Fuhrer’?
- Nazism barely existed before Hitler
- Hitler retains his importance because everyone is attempting to please him and follow the guidelines of policy he sets out
- Hitler actively participated in areas of politics that interested him = directing foreign policy
How did was Hitler involved in domestic policy?
He didn’t engage with it, but merely set themes and direction for others to interpret to make his world view - so he wasn’t an autocratic leader
What effect did Hitler’s dislike of bureaucracy have on politics?
Hitler preferred to leave the administrative affairs to others creating a VACUUM for others to compete to fill and be powerful - - - all in an aim of completing the Fuhrer’s will
What is the name for the gradual increase of extremism?
Cumulative radicalisation - policies became extreme by competition and Social Consensus
How did people progress in politics?
By impressing Hitler
How does the Boycott of Jewish shops show cumulative radicalisation?
*Streicher and Frick compete
Streicher= boycott and people attacking Jews on the streets
Frick= Aryan Clause (Jews banned from civil service)
What position did Wilhelm Frick hold?
Minister for the Interior
What were two of the Nuremburg laws of 1935?
1) Law for Protection of German Blood (Aryan/Jew marriages prohibited)
2) Reich Citizenship Law (Jews without German citizenship)
How did the Nuremburg laws show cumulative radicalisation?
*SA attacks and riots against Jews
*Wagner and Schacht compete
Schacht= credibility of the party damaged by the lawlessness - more legal approach needed
Wagner= legally ban mixed marriages of Jews and Aryans
AND SO THE NUREMBURG LAWS…
At the party rally in 1937 what did Hitler state, showing direction of the party?
to launch an attack on ‘Jewish Bolshevism’
What is a pogrom?
An attack on an ethnic minority
When was Kristallnacht?
9-10 November 1938 (it was a national pogrom)
How many more Jews were incorporated into the Reich from Austria and the Anschluss?
195,000
How many Austrian Jewish homes were stolen by the end of 1938?
40,000
What was the decree Goring issued in April 1938?
the Decree for the Registration of Jewish Property
What is the German name for de-Judaisation?
Entjudung
What were two more decrees showing state and party departments competing to impress the Fuhrer?
1938 - Wagner created a decree forbidding Jewish doctors from treating Aryan patients
1939 - Hess claimed credit for isolation of the Jews and consequently all Jewish men were to be called Israel and all women, Sarah.
How does Kristallnacht support the structuralist approach?
- more Jews in the Reich leading to greater violence
- departments compete to isolate the Jews, in an attempt to create Hitler’s world view (cumulative radicalisation)
- leads to Hitler deciding the Jews should be completely removed from Germany
How many Jews were then sent to concentration camps?
30,000 (started off by just isolating them and now they are trying to annihilate a race)
What was Aktion T4?
The drug used to ‘euthanize’ disabled people
What happened in 1939 regarding a letter to Hitler?
A man sent a letter to Hitler asking if he could kill his disabled son
Which Nazi official proposed the policy of euthanizing people? Why?
Bouhler because he wanted to better his position
How many disabled people were then murdered on Hitler’s orders as a further development?
90,000
Which aim of Hitler’s did Aktion T4 promote?
creating a Herrensvolk
How could the control of the regime be interpreted as a polycracy?
- Hitler was a weak leader, never made any decisions and was very vague - never bothered with daily running of government
- This is seen strongly by other leading men around him, so there is a political vacuum where other parties compete to have control = chaotic mess
- Hitler intervened in foreign policy where he was interested
How could the control of the regime be interpreted as ‘working towards the Fuhrer’?
- Hitler didn’t agree with the bureaucracy and so left it to others, giving vague outlines through Mein Kampf
- other groups compete trying to impress Hitler with more radical policies
- No real order; Hitler is still important as everyone is wanting his approval
- His policies are the result of infighting and consensus from the people
