The Nazi Political System Flashcards
What is the intentionalist view of the role of Hitler?
That Hitler was a strong dictator ass he had a broad programme with a clear set of policy objectives. Any chaos resulted from Hitlers deliberate policy of divide and rule
What is the structuralist view of the role of Hitler?
That Hitler was a weak dictator who was not fully in control. Rather than initiating policy Hitler only ever responded to circumstances and was not working to a pre-conceived plan.
Any chaos therefore resulted from Hitler’s inability to prevent it as he did not have the power to out manoeuvre existing structures.
Hitler was an approver of policy rather than an initiator
What was the pyramid of power within the Nazi state made out to exist through Nazi propaganda?
Hitler
v
Hitler’s closest advisers
v
Ministers, top officers, and top party officials
v
Lower ranking party officials, civil servants, and officers
Why was the intentionalist view so popular in the immediate post-war period?
During the war crimes trials of the post 1945 period, Nazi functionaries (officials lower down the hierarchy) pleaded they had only been ‘ following orders’
How was Hitler presented to the public as the head of a well- organised political system?
Leni Riefenstahl’s film ‘Triumph of the Will’ about the 1934 Nuremberg Rally showed Hitler as a supreme dictator, capable of uniting the Volk, attracting the adulation of the masses, and confidently leading the German people towards their destiny as ‘master race’
The orchestration of ceremonial displays of power invoking the SA, SS, Hitler Youth, or League of German Maidens added to the image of a well-organised, streamlined state with Hitler at its head
State sponsored violence eg. roundup of communists and socialists, exclusion of Jews and political opponents from professional occupations, and sterilisation pushed image of Hitler as a strong dictator at the head of a murderous regime
What aspects of Hitler’s lifestyle threatened efficient government?
Watched films late into the night and got up late
Enjoyed talking with friends and indulging in architectural planning and dreaming
Disliked Berlin and spent most of his time at Berghof, his Bavarian mountain retreat
Disliked reading reports and other administrative tasks
Rarely discussed details of policy
How did Hitler’s concern over his image affect how he approached policy?
He didn’t want to be associated with the less popular actions of, for example, local Gauleiters, or with unpopular policy decisions on particular issues which affected people’s day-to-day lives
Hence, Hitler’s key policies remained vague (eg. to ‘make Germany great again’) to appeal to the masses and maintain his popularity. He distanced himself from the nitty-gritty of the day-to-day running of the state
Why was it hard to coordinate policy?
Nazi party institutions and practices were superimposed onto old bureaucratic administrative structures, creating growing rivalry between party and state organisations who competed over the same ground. for example:
- Goebbels’ Ministry for Propaganda and Enlightenment challenged the state’s responsibility for science, education, and popular education
- Robert Ley’s DAF sought to outweigh the Ministry of Labour
Hitler had a habit of appointing plenipotentiaries - people with an almost unlimited and ill-defined brief
There was a lack of cooperation amongst state ministries and hence a lack of coordination of policy as Hitler was distrustful of ministers meeting to confer informally with each other (the only way they could seek to coordinate policies, as normal practices of cabinet government were discontinued)
Why was it hard to coordinate policy?
Nazi party institutions and practices were superimposed onto old bureaucratic administrative structures, creating growing rivalry between party and state organisations who competed over the same ground. for example:
- Goebbels’ Ministry for Propaganda and Enlightenment challenged the state’s responsibility for science, education, and popular education
- Robert Ley’s DAF sought to outweigh the Ministry of Labour
Hitler had a habit of appointing plenipotentiaries - people with an almost unlimited and ill-defined brief
There was a lack of cooperation amongst state ministries and hence a lack of coordination of policy as Hitler was distrustful of ministers meeting to confer informally with each other (the only way they could seek to coordinate policies, as normal practices of cabinet government were discontinued)
How did traditional government decline?
The Enabling Act removed the need for parliamentary support in the Reichstag.
While Hindenburg was still alive, Hitler made some effort to go through the motions of normal government’ and held as many as 12 somat meetings of the cabinet in 1933.
BUT, by 1937 the number of cabinet meetings had declined to a mere 6, and in 1938 there was only one such meeting, which turned out to be the last
How is ‘working towards the Fuhrer’ used as an argument for the intentionalist view?
With competing, overlapping centres of power, the ‘Hitler order’ was the only final authority and ultimate source of decision-making.
Although most decisions in terms of policy were not made by Hitler, intentionalist historians argue that Hitler’s personal power and hold over his followers stipulated actions ‘from below’ that did not require specific orders from above
Hider intentionally left his underlings to fight out contradictory policies on their own, believing that the strongest would inevitably win (survival of the fittest)
What made it more difficult for officials to execute the ‘will of Hitler’?
Hitler preferred giving oral rather than written commands
He tended to side with the last person he had spoken
He greatly disliked taking decisions on particular policy issues
It became harder and harder to gain routine access to Hitler
Those who were lucky enough to catch Hitler’s ear when he was in a good mood could gain Hitler’s personal approval for a particular proposal
^ All of these factors made Hitler’s policy of ‘ divide and rule’ less effective, as it was unclear what his wishes really were
To what extent was Hitler more of a final rubber stamp than the person in the driving seat of policy?
He was hesitant in reaching decisions and had a tendency to wait to side with whoever was emerging as a winner
