Category Archives: HIST107-Archive

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Posted on by

1. The treaty was signed on August 23rd, 1939. Hitler’s Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1st shortly after. This pact was the final step the Nazi’s had to pursue in order to execute their expansionist agenda. Hitler knew if he had to fight a two front war, he would undoubtedly lose.

2. The treaty does not only take into consideration the emphasis on the non-violence/aggression aspects that were very important to avoiding a two front war, but considered the possibility of inadvertent war as a product of alternative foreign pacts.

3. The secret aspect of the treaty is the most significant aspect to understanding the motives behind its mutual signing. With a wink and a nod, the Russian’s signed this treaty with the secret hopes that they would regain territory in Poland and south east European nations. Germany would also gain Baltic lands and a portion of Europe as well.

Two questions

1. What could have been a potential result of World War II, had the Nazi’s not broken the pact by invading Russia in 1941?

2. Should Russia be held more liable for the invasion of Poland due to their acceptance of the Treaties obvious intentions?

It is interesting to think about how the two nations put aside their rivaling political ideologies in order to gain land. Would Russia rather have national socialism expand at the same time communism did than democracy?

25 Points

Posted on by

Three Points:

1) The foremost intentions of the NSDAP were to right the wrongs perpetrated upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles and to reestablish Germany as an independent international power. Points 1-3  explicitly call for reparations, German unification and express the party’s disdain for “the peace treaties of Versailles and St. Germain.”

2) The NSDAP demanded an intense purification of the German state. No person could be considered a citizen if he was not a “member of the race,” which excluded Jews and all foreigners. The Nazis wanted to create an insulated, elite race that could serve as the catalyst for a German revival.

3) The NSDAP sought to perpetuate their ideals through the indoctrination of the German youth. Point 20 outlined the idea of a “fundamental reconstruction of [the] whole national education program.” The ideals of the State were to be driven into the heads of German children to ensure the Nazi Party would survive eternally.

Questions:

For what reasons did the NSDAP specifically oppose Jewish people?

Were the 25 Points widely accepted by the German population or was there some dissent regarding their oppressive nature?

Observation:

Most of the NSDAP’s 25 Points seemed chiefly influenced by the penalties brought down upon Germany after World War I. In reading the points, it becomes obvious that most of them have originated out of a distrust and distaste for all things non-German. The NSDAP was able to appeal to its German citizens in this manner, who also felt Germany was victimized by the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain. The promises of a healthy, unified, and stable Germany were enough for most of the German population to overlook the blatant overtones of discrimination and intolerance that pervade the 25 Points.

Hitler’s Speech: 3, 2, 1

Posted on by

3 Points:

– “The Jew has suffered no privations!”. Hitler is attempting to rally the Christian population (many of those who are very poor) by blaming the Jews as the reason the majority of the populace is suffering economically. He states that the Jews go to a doctor’s office to “lose his fat” instead of going to get healthy, like a good, hard working German. He slanders them in order to rouse public disdain regarding these people, which would make it easier to expel them from the country/commit anti-semitic acts.

– Hitler pushed the idea of a “nationalist, socialist party” (Nazi). In this creation he would emphasize the state empowering characteristics of each wing, and minimize the radicals sitting on each end of the spectrum. The people on the “Right” and the people on the “Left” would bring the country to ruin if they were able to take control. If the party of compromises was not the one in power, there would be only two possibilities: “the victory of the Aryan or the annihilation of the Aryan and the victory of the Jew.”

– Since there would be only one race in his ideal Germany (Aryan), Hitler wishes there to be no class system. “Class means caste and caste means race”: ipso facto if there is only one race, then there is only one class, meaning there is no traditional “class system”.

2 Questions:

– In his last lines, Hitler says that he is creating this party (and everything that goes on within it) because he wanted to build an institution that people can take solace in in order to “bring calm to their hearts”. Knowing what you know about how this party system ended (WWII), what would have been a better way about calming his people down?

– In this passage Hitler makes it quite clear that he opposes the Treaty of Versailles. Given what he states in this speech, what part of the treaty do you believe he disliked the most?

Interesting Observation:

– Hitler uses the fears and concerns of the people to his advantage. Germany at this point in time was a country without a strong leadership; they needed someone to take control and lead them into the next chapter of their history. Hitler saw that they were a weak people, and took advantage by implanting his thoughts into their minds. By offering the populace the answers they sought, he was able to get the whole country on his side, making it much easier for him to impose his will.

An Early Nazi Program

Posted on by

Three points

1. In the program of NSDAP, it includes several suppress of Jewish people. For example, in the case of number four, Jewish people are not recognized as citizens. Besides this, there is also a phase that oppose the sprit and idea of Jewish people in number twenty four. These statements show the relationship between German and Jewish people.

2. This program also mentions the increasing citizen rights. For example, the equal human right and democratic idea in administrations are mentioned. In addition to them, it also refers to the education of children  and welfare of elderly people. These statements mean that how NSDAP tried to expand the right of individual.

3. This program also mentions the change of industrial system. In particular, it mentions a new idea to nationalize domestic industry. it also states the distribution of profit in specific industries. These mean that how NSDAP try to make domestic industry better.

Questions

What was a factor that promoted NSDAP to oppose Jewish people?

What was a factor that NSDAP tried to promote the education of children?

Observation

In these 25 points, I could see several statements that hated the existence of foreign culture and people such as immigration and language. Therefore, this could be a hint that how NSDAP perceived  foreign countries.

 

Hitler Speech- April 12, 1921

Posted on by
Adolf Hitler Speech- April 12, 1921

3 Substainative points:
“We are already a colony of the outside world.” Hitler displays the opinions of many Germans when he says that Germany no longer had the ability to work for itself. Not only were they subjected to the conditions of Versailles without input, but those conditions have allowed the suppression of their entire work force. “The product of Germany’s work thus belonged, not to our nation, but to her foreign creditors,” shows the angry sentiments of Germans towards the other European nations- an anger that would only grow towards an outburst of war.

“‘ Christian capitalism’ is already as good as destroyed, the international Jewish Stock Exchange capital gains in proportion as the other loses ground.” Hitler is attempting to rallying the majority of German people- people who were Christian- by helping them push off the blame of the failure of their economy. This was a targeted outlet for Hitler to chose because of the prominent anti- semitism already in Europe and because of the blame that the German people desperately wanted to rid themselves of (after the Treaty of Versailles expected them to accept all of the blame from WWI).
“There are only two possibilities: either victory of the Aryan or annihilation of the Aryan and the victory of the Jew.” Hitler views democracy as a Jewish idea and that it is not something that belongs in Germany. When discussing political ideas, he sees democracy as the “destruction of Aryan leadership,” and hence with its association with Judaism he rejects it.
2 questions:
If the reparations against Germany after the Treaty of Versailles weren’t as harsh, would the stability of the country have allowed an over powerful leader such as Hitler?
Hitler’s idea of “National Socialism” seems to bring together the right and the left, of which he condemns both initially, capitalizing on the state- promoting ideas of each. However, he also states that one should not associate with the party of compromises. He is not attempting to compromise between the two, yet the aspects that he wants to incorporate are key aspects from each. To what extent did this appeal to the public affiliated with these parties because of his use of their past ideas, and to what extent was this viewed as a purely unique idea?
1 interesting point:
This entire speech is Hitler taking the anger of the German people and focusing it on specific aspects of society. Yes, there was prevalent anti- semitism in Europe and there certainly was hatred for the creators of the Treaty of Versailles, but what made Hitler’s propaganda so powerful in his speeches was his ability to rally a people to only focus on those aspects of pure emotion. The German population was highly educated, and yet through all the trouble of the times and his personal abilities he was able to override that sensibility and key in on their frustrations with the treatment of Germany..

25 Points

Posted on by

Substantive Points:

The 25 Points demanded a widespread unification of all German citizens into one greater German race, of only German blood. It commanded its citizens to behave on the basis of self-determination by repudiating the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain as a stipulation for equality in Europe.

Every German citizen was bound by equal rights and obligations to work both spiritually and physically. This meant physical work was intended for the benefit of the whole state in light of the crippled economy. Large industries were required to divide profits and a middle class was required to work in a communal economy connected by contract to their local branch of government. Spiritually, the NSDAP demanded freedom of religion for every citizen as long as it did not jeopardize or combat the moral senses of the Germanic race, but rejected the Jewish-materialistic spirit.

The 25 Points called for educational reform and placed the responsibility in the state’s hands. This was intended to enable every capable and industrious German to obtain higher education and advance into leading positions. In addition, a national health system was established requiring all young Germans to be physically fit.

Questions:

How was Adolf Hitler able to become the sole dominating force in the NSDAP and solely influence such a large audience?

The twenty-fourth point outlined a demand for freedom of religion for all religious denominations within the state. How could Hitler sell this point to the German population if Judaism was excluded and eventually outlawed?

Observation:

I find it stunning that Hitler and the NSDAP were able to successfully implement these points in the Nazi German society. Hitler introduced this early Nazi program at the Munich Festsaal of the Hofbräuhaus in front of 2000 people. He nearly hypnotized the crowd with his uncanny influence and conviction of speech.

What is Fascism?

Posted on by

Three points:

1. Fascism does not believe perpetual peace and be achieved and maintained. It stresses that competition is always there, and that men eventually have to choose between life and death.

2. Fascism is complete opposite to Marxian Socialism, because it does not believe in public decision making; instead, it is a school of thought that promotes “holiness and heroism,” which constitutes a Fascism State that has will, consciousness and ambition.

3.Benito asserts that the twentieth century was going to be the age of Fascism, as he sees that the nineteenth century, the century of democracy, has come to an end, as liberalism and democracy had entered a chaos situation in which its people live a hard life.

Two questions:

1. Is Fascism only effective under the extremely bad economy during pre-WWII period because it shifted individual interest to collective interest?

2. Since the core idea that keeps fascist fighting is the existence of competitors, what happens when Fascism does defeat all its rivals? What will happens to the state when the collective goal is achieved?

 

Observation:

1.Fascism nevertheless has the characteristic of nationalism, yet it is more powerful than nationalism because it calls for a collective consciousness of competition, making it much more aggressive than nationalism.

2.I think its biggest issue is that, it can be a living faith while there are rivals to fight against, but let us say that it somehow defeat all its rivals one day, does not it mean that what holds the fascists together collapse at the moment they win? And when there is no rival, the competitive nature of people, which is what the fascists always believe in, results in a new cycle of chaos again. History repeats itself.