The Nazi Ideology in Germany - Essay Example

?The Nazi ideology was based on the fact that the supposed "Aryan races" were dominant over others. Racism and anti-Semitism were the core integral parts of their ideology. The Nazis believed that the domination of the Aryan race is well justified and this race had been under threat for their existence by Jews. Nazis believed that Jews have no one-basic ideology and movement whereas on the other hand, to preserve their own existence Jews were associated with various other movements and ideologies (Mosse). Nazi ideology was seriously confronted by nationalism and its supporters. However, we know that ethnic nationalism is the focal point of Hitler’s ideology. Nationalism gives rise to unity which can revolutionize the efforts and has a power to bring change at large. Due to this confrontation between racism and nationalism, Nazism has faced strong criticism from the nationalists around the world. This movement led the nations towards extreme destruction and annihilation of the millions innocent people. Moreover, we cannot ignore the fact that this ethnic nationalism was the main root-cause of the Second World War and the main reason for disrupting the international peace. The sole purpose behind mass destruction and violence was to create and sustain the supremacy of the Aryan race and to fulfill the motive; Hitler crossed all the borders of intolerance and abhorrence for other nations, considering them as inferior and substandard nations with low-grade races. This increased aggression and hatred for other “inferior nations” led towards intense militarism (Fest). It was plain and clear to observe from the facts that Nazis had a deep desire to dominate the greater part of the world which led them to apply any approach that could help them to achieve their goals. Hitler had an innate desire to stretch his regime towards east-side and to let his “people” to settle down in the most prosperous states. World War II was the result of these efforts as well as this also includes the brutal invasions of Poland and Czechoslovakia. Invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 by Hitler forces is another example of their supremacy and extreme dominancy. It is worth mentioning the existence of racism violence and hatred in Yugoslavia which were the main causes of ethnicity unrest in the region. This ethnicity violence and hatred for one another benefited Hitler who already had his ideology based on ethnic nationalism (Curta). Josip Broz Tito, a communist and nationalist stood as the toughest contender for Hitler to proceed in Yugoslavia. Nazis considered the South Slavs as low-grade nations with no background and inferior to Aryans. South Slavs and nationals from east side faced more hatred by Hitler as compare to any other nations that have been victimized by him. It was evidently cleared that he considered them as non-humans and had a degrading feeling for them. After the invasion, they were treated with the utmost humiliation. They were prohibited for better education, basic needs as well as any act of kindness was forbidden for them (Curta). They were viewed as racially inferior group by the Reich. Invasion of Yugoslavia and the Initial Military Resistance (Encyclopedia Brittanica): 6th April 1941 marked the beginning of Directive 25 which resulted in the in the Axis( mostly German) attack on Yugoslavia and within in 11 combat days the Royal Yugoslav army had unconditionally surrendered to tactically and numerically superior Axis forces on 1th April 1941. The Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska—NDH) thus came into being (Fest). Due to the technological and tactical prowess of the Axis forces. The Yugoslav army envisioned a war plan (R-41) that in case of an Axis attack on Yugoslavia, the different corps and army groups in Yugoslavia will retreat to the south and the 3rd Army Group would then coordinate with the Greek Army to focus in Albania and attack the Italian forces based there. Thus, a corridor would be created where the Yugoslav and Greek armies would then meet the Allied forces in the south and form the World War 2 version of the famed Salonika Front of WW1 (Keegan). The plan was put into operation on 7th April 1941 and thus Yugoslav armies met with limited success against operationally inept but numerically superior Italian Army but there doggedness on the plan to defend on all borders resulted in a swift surrender on 17th April (Thomas). The Yugoslav Air force though having only around 400 operational aircraft resisted the German Luftwaffe until the end of the Invasion but eventually lost out the number game. Nevertheless, some aircraft units escaped to allied bases in Egypt and in USSR and supported the Allied cause throughout. (US Army Center of Military History). After the surrender, Yugoslavia was divided between Germany, Hungary, Italy and Bulgaria. Most of Serbia was occupied by the Invading German Forces and Ante Pavelic the chief of the Italian Backed Ustasi Organization declared the Independent state of Croatia. Ante Pavelic-(July 14, 1889- Dec. 28, 1959, Madrid): Ante Pavelic was a Croatian fascist leader who led the Independent state of Croatia that was acquiescent to Germany and Italy for the duration of World War II. He started out as a lawyer in Zagreb and subsequently entered the nationalist Croatian Party of Rights. Starting out his career in public service by being elected into the city council in 1920 at Zagreb. From 1927 to 1929, he was an elected representative in the Yugoslav parliament, in which he vigorously opposed centralization of the country (Encycopedia Brittanica). He was opposed to King Alksander’s polices ad led a terrorist outfit against them which finally resulted in the assassination of the king in 1934. After the Axis victory in Yugoslavia, Pavelic was installed as the leader of the Independent Croatian State where he ruled by terrorizing the Jews and Slavs and the Pavelic Led Ustasi regime succeeding in killing thousands of Jews and Slavs as well as deporting 7000 Jews to Nazi held Concentration camps (Curta). Ustase: The Ustase were a terror outfit in Yugoslavia in ww2. They were Croat nationalists and their ideology was based on the premise of creating a “Greater Croatia” (War and Game msw). The ideological roots their thought can be found in the Croatian nationalism of the nineteenth century that was championed by Ante Starcevic. His philosophy enclosed all the ingredients that resulted in the Ustase movement in the World War 2. Their philosophy articulates that all political, social, and economic problems were secondary to the national one and would be effortlessly solved once the Croat national unification was achieved. Most academics and authors brand the Ustase as a Nazi inspired outfit but according to some writers, the Ustase movement was limited only to the Croat Nationalism and the dismemberment of Yugoslavia (Kreso). The main point in the Ustasa’s oath: “I swear to fight in the Ustasa army for a free Independent Croatian State,” divulges its real aspirations precisely.  The Ustase have been found guilty in the murder of thousands of minority civilians during their years in power. It has been alleged that the Vatican also colluded with them, as they were responsible for the forced conversion of Christian Orthodox Serb population and Jews. In the Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Europe, edition 1995, page 91, it has been stated that:  ……by forcing one third of the Serbs to leave Croatia, one third to convert to Catholicism, and one third to be EXTERMINATED. Soon Ustasha bands initiated a bloody orgy of mass murder of Serbs unfortunate enough not to have converted or left Croatia on time. THE ENORMITY OF SUCH CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR SHOCKED EVEN THE CONSCIENCE OF GERMAN COMMANDERS. Jasenovac: The Jasenovac was a concentration camp that was built by the Ustase regime between 1941 and 1942. It has been estimated that around 77000 to 99000 civilians composed of Jews, gypsies Slavs, and Orthodox Serbs were tortured and murdered in the five detention facilities that were built in the complex. (UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM.) Victims Statistics: 45,000 and 52,000 Serb residents. 12,000 and 20,000 Jews. 15,000 and 20,000 Gypsies 5,000 and 12,000 ethnic Croats and Muslims, who were political and religious antagonists of the establishment. (UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM.) Works Cited: 1-Mosse, George. "The Germans and the Jews." Orbach and Chambers (1971): 37-51. 2- Fest, Joachim. The Face of the Third Reich. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1963. 3- Curta, Florin. The making of the slavs: history and archaeology of the Lower Danube Region. Cambridge University Press, 2001. 9, 26-30. 4-Encyclopedia Brittanica. "Ante Pavelic." Encyclop?dia Britannica. Encyclop?dia Britannica Online. 6 June 2011 . 5-Keegan, John. The Times Atlas of the Second World War. NewYork: Harper and Row, 1989. 6-Kreso. "Ustasa Movement Explained." 18 May 2010. Topix. 6 June 2011 . 7-Thomas, Mikulan. Axis Forces in Yugoslavia. ISBN 1-85532-473-3: Osprey Publications, 1995. 8-UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM. "Jasenovac." HOLOCAUST ENCYCLOPEDIA. 2011 June 2011 . 9-US Army Center of Military History. "The German Campaign in the Balkans (Spring 1941)." United States Army Center of Military History Publication 104-4 (1986). 10-War and Game msw. "USTASA." 4 March 2010. Warfare and Wargaming. 6 June 2011 . Read More