Nazi regime policy changes toward enemies, 1939-1940

Nazi Policies

Following their dramatic loss in the First World War, the people of Germany were suffering greatly, both emotionally and physically during the period of the 1920s and into the 1930s. The harsh stipulations of the Treaty of Paris forced the German government into a fragile and fragmented institution which was ripe for the abuse of power-hungry would-be tyrants. The people, eager for a strong figure to look up to, would have accepted almost anyone with perhaps any political agenda so long as the person said the right things and gave the people hope. Enter onto the world stage one Adolph Hitler. Between 1932 and 1933, Adolph Hitler was able to rise from the position of relative insubordinate in the government, to fuehrer and leader of the entire country of Germany. The only way that one man could have achieved such political success in so quick a time has to be because of the support he received from the populous for his rhetoric and aggrandizement of Germany. Seeing how well the people received Hitler, other members of the political elite were pressured into giving him further support, lest they go out of favor with the people themselves. Hitler's rise to power was not a final strike of brilliant political strategy, but rather a series of events spearheaded by a charismatic speaker with the voice of the majority behind him and a more educated political faction who were unwilling to take strides against the popular voice. Between 1933 and 1940, Hitler's policies focused on unifying Germany under the banner of nationalism but in the last five years of his domination, the country's policy instead became focused on international domination and the extermination of enemy populations including the Jewish population of Europe.

According to Doris Bergen in the book War and Genocide, the author states that part of the propaganda machine in Germany was devoted to the routinization of the population. Early on, the Nazis became aware that the best way to manipulate the masses was to instill in them a sense of pageantry and enthusiasm for the new governmental regime. To serve this end, the Nazis went from one end of Germany to the other organizing parades and rallies which were designed to further the goals of the Nazi party (Bergen 72). The Nazis pledged that once they were able to achieve power, then they would follow the word of the people. This would include returning Germany to its supposedly rightful place as a world power which would be unparalleled. Nazi leaders promised that the people of Germany would no longer suffer, that they would no longer go hungry, and that they would no longer be subservient to any weaker and less fit population of peoples.

Germans have always had a strong sense of nationalism and pride in their heritage going back to at least the early nineteenth century (Fichte 1). Before the Nazis took control, Hindenburg was the President of Germany. When it became apparent that he would not be able to hold on to his political position, the president turned over the government to the emerging Nazis. The Nazi party realized from an early period that it would be the will of the people which would determine the future of the people. Thus, this group more so than any regime before utilized the art of propaganda to convince the people and excite them, thereby inciting them to act. Nazis toured all over Germany, organizing rallies and marches which would engross the masses and create a united perception of what the people wanted Germany to be (Spielvogel 58). In the country of Germany, between the elections of September 1930 and then July 1932, the Nazi party began to take control and, subsequently, a larger percentage of the votes of the German people. This saturation campaign made Hitler the most famous man throughout the country and the person to whom the majority population was devoted. In less than two years time, the Nazi party was able to improve their popularity from receiving 18% of the popular vote to the 1932 election where they received more than a third of the popular vote. Hitler himself became a symbol of German nationalism. In 1936, Joseph Goebbels, head of Nazi's propaganda machine, wrote: "The entirely nation not only honors him, it loves him deeply and fervently, for it has the feeling that he belongs to them" (3). The German government popularized the idea that they were committed to peaceful revolution, but in reality committed violent actions against their political opposition (Bessel 2). After Hitler was appointed to the highest position in the German government there were immediate protests from opposition, such as the Communist Party. The Nazis were quick to eradicate such opposition and in effect silenced the Communists as well as quell any other potential disagreement or political discord among other groups.

One of the ways in which the Nazi government sought control was by creating a political scapegoat on which Hitler and his associates could blame all the problems of the German people (Remak 1-2). By placing all the people's blame on this ostracized group, the German government and thus Hitler could effectively alleviate their own responsibility and uniformly cast the people's dissatisfaction off of themselves. Starting in 1933, when Hitler first came into power, anyone who was not Aryan, which is to say not of "pure" German heritage, was dismissed from civil service positions. The ramifications for these non-Aryans included losing their businesses as well as their homes and their jobs. Hitler turned the othering of the Jewish people of Germany into a stronger position of leadership for himself. Adolph Hitler's speedy path to supreme power was supported by the populous. By using the will of the people as strength, Hitler was able to ensure that none of his political adversaries would dare to rebel against him and his new tyrannical form of government. His rise was certainly strategic in that he used propaganda better than anyone else to achieve power, but a good deal of luck was also necessary for the events to conclude the way that they did.