Racial Policy of Nazi from 1933-1939 - Essay Example

Factors that influenced evolution of racial policy of Nazi from 1933-1939 German Workers Party, normally called the Nazi Party, was an exceptionallynationalistic political party inside Germany. This paper explore some of the factors such as the Hitler`s ideology and Fear of communism which influenced the racial policy of Nazi that were a set of laws and policies executed by Nazi Germany, affirming the dominance of the "Aryan race" based on certain specific racist doctrine that claimed scientific legitimacy. The policy was combined with the eugenics programme which was intended for racial hygiene by means of using compulsory sterilizations as well as extermination of Untermenschen (sub-humans), which ultimately culminated in the Holocaust. The racial policies of Nazi targeted peoples, specifically the Jews, as well as the Gypsies, handicapped and homosexual people. The main aspects of Nazi racial policy were linked to the Nazi party long-term policies which were to: Terminate restrictions on Germany of Versailles treaty Introduce German re-armament as a necessity for international status and expansion (living space) - German extension in the East unite all the German speaking people inside one country so as to make a bigger Germany Promote the Nazi ideology to the rest of the world - Aryan supremacy, pro-fascist and anti-communist, anti-Jewish, and economic dynamism. The Nazi racial policy consisted of two components: eugenics and racial extermination. The Nazis therefore attempted to keep their “race” free from illnesses and abnormalities (eugenics) and keep Aryan race sealed to other ”inferior” races. The eugenics factor saw the Nazis initiate a forced sterilization of hereditary ill and performed euthanasia (emergency killings) to nearly 200,000 physically and mentally disabled Germans.  The other component of the racial policy, racial extermination, was initiated so as to persecute and suppress all non-Aryans, starting with the Jews. However, the gypsies were also incorporated in this melancholic form of “apartheid”. The belief was that non-Aryans created danger against the German blood as well as the German Volksgemeinschaft (‘people’s community’). The policy also included laws of racial expulsion: the Jews were compelled to emigrate. The fact that this policy was so much successful in Austria in 1938 saw it introduced inside Germany under the motto: Germany for Germans! The eventual leader of the party, Adolf Hitler, was appointed the Chancellor of Germany, in 19933, by President Paul von Hindenburg. Hitler quickly established a totalitarian regime referred to as the Third Reich, and under this the party gained nearly unlimited power. Nazi philosophy emphasized the racial purity of German people. It persecuted those it viewed as either enemies or Lebensunwertes Leben, meaning "life unworthy of life". This consisted the Jews, Roma, Arabs, Slavs, Africans and h77omosexuals together with Jehovahs Witnesses, the physically and/ or mentally disabled, socialists as well as communists. To execute these beliefs, this party and German state that it controlled planned the systemic murder of nearly 11 million people, a situation better described as the Holocaust. The Nazi racial policy partly evolved from the desire of “Germans to control Germany” From1935 to 1936, persecution of Jews increased apace whereas the process of Gleichschaltung, a process by which Nazis attained complete control over the German society, was implemented (Kay, Rutherford & Stahel, 2012, p. 49). Within this period, May 1935, the Jews were prohibited to join the armed forces, and anti-Semitic propaganda appeared in restaurants and shops. The Nuremberg regulations were passed during the time of great Nazi rallies at the Nuremberg; in 1935, the Law for Protection of the German Blood and Honor got passed. This initially prevented sexual relationships and marriage between Jews and Germans, but later on the law was stretched to Gypsies as well as Negroes and their offspring. In 1936, the Jews were forbidden in all professional jobs, successfully stopping them from having influence in higher education, industry, and politics (Kay, Rutherford & Stahel, 2012, p. 71). It was now hard to stop anti-Jewish actions which spread through the German economy. Jews were penalized financially for being Jewish. Hitler ideology Hitler`s ideology influenced the evolution of racial policy of the Nazi. This policy was generally reflective of the goals he had set in his 1924 autobiography. However, although Nazi philosophy played a central role in structuring racial policy to 1939, it was partly influenced by the reaction of the Allies to the aggressions and thus Hitler’s perception of what policies could be the most successful (Huener & Nicosia, 2006, p. 172). Hence, whereas Nazi ideology surmises the final goals of Nazi racial policy to 1939, role of events within 1933-1939 played an important detail in determining the actions of Germany. Among the aspects which contributed to the evolution of racial policy of Nazi was Hitler himself: Hitler was undoubtedly an enigmatic character with an exceptional personality. He was a brilliant speaker, a driven politician and an organized man. He trained his speaking making skills by attending several rallies and would attract the masses by speaking soundlessly to begin with and increase his volume whenever he sees people leaning in attempting to catch whatever he is saying. By this he caught their attention. This was one of numerous intelligent techniques Hitler utilized as well as propaganda. The majority of people believed that Hitler seemed like the only person who could take Germany out of its own crisis. His passion for Germany offered a light in a bleak future and convinced Germans to believe in him. He possessed the ability to control the emotions of people since he realized that the only means to appeal to masses was never to confuse them with political policies (things they wouldn’t comprehend) but however to tailor his speeches to every individual audiences and add empathizes on how to solve their problems. Hitler portrayed the racial policy of Nazi in a way which gave Germans a strong sense of confidence that Nazi racial policy was the solution to their prolonged problems (Schleunes, 1990, p. 204). He regularly underlined the significance of how failures of Weimar republic were linked to the problems the Germans were facing at that time and since he hadn’t been in government he was never associated with that failure. He therefore presented himself as the best extremist leader who was to help Germany.  Hitler’s understanding of race and politics may be summed up in the “Weltanschauung” (world view), as pronounced in his autobiography (Mein Kampf); written in 1924 after he had been detained for an attempted coup, his autobiography definitely dealt with the problems affecting Germany at the time. These problems included the issue of WWI reparation payments as stipulated in Treaty of Versailles of 1919 and the instability of Weimar Republic. Hitler despised democracy, and he believed that it destabilized Germany’s success (Rigg, 2002, p. 39). Moreover, Hitler gave validity to “stabbing in the back” myth, alleging that WWI’s loss was unnecessary and had been occasioned due to the “scheming” Jewish population. Going by this reasoning, Hitler thought that Germany must be expanded into the grossdeutschland by establishing Lebensraum (living room) in resource-rich East, in which the superior Aryan race may live. All other races, especially the Slavs and Jews, were signified as racially inferior people, and were planned by Hitler to be slaves. Several revisionist historians has tainted Karl Marx’s saying that ‘men do make their own history under given conditions’ as the catalyst for Nazi racial policy. Hitler was not only unending a policy of the previous German governments but also believes it cannot be directly executed in the events that unleashed WW2. Nonetheless, to attribute Hitler’s racial policy holistically to his opportunistic features would be to overlook his personal motivations as well as racist and expansionist philosophy. This facile explanation also ignores Hitler’s intentions echoed heroically throughout his address, speeches, and party literature of withdrawing the Treaty of Versailles so as to establish a Greater Germany and to stretch eastward into Russia. Historians must scrutinize Hitler’s motives, actions, and intentions so as to place this policy into historical reality. According to (Taylor, 1987, p. 67), Hitler merely continued the hostile expansionist foreign policy of the pre WW1 Germany; Nazi racial policy was to terminate the Treaty of Versailles, but to unite Germans into a larger Germany as well as to reestablish Germany position of prominence as a world power. This was not only observable through the ambitions of Kaiser Wilhelm but also Pan German movement that believed in ‘Greater Germany’ comprising Austria. Moreover, internationalist historian Christinson felt that Nazi racial policy could be considered as the historical and logical extension of Weltpolitic. Similarly he goes on to suggest that the essence of Nazi racial policy was conquest and domination; the struggle for supremacy among races. Taylor in his book states that even though Hitler made clear his intention to abolish the ‘Diktat’ treaty in Mein Kampf, he still claimed the defiance of the Versailles was a policy. Fear of communism Even though it`s clear that the Nazi party come to power in 1933 due to numerous factors, with some more noteworthy than the others factors, the fear of communism also did contribute to the evolution of racial policy of Nazi. Nevertheless this was never the central reason. It`s worth noting that the role of President Hindenburg was extremely significant since he selected Hitler as the Chancellor in January 1933. Nonetheless the central route to the evolution of Nazi’s racial policy was the Great Depression.  In conclusion, It`s evident that the development of Nazi racial policy was anchored on the ideology of the Nazi party with Hitler being the driver of these ideology. The driving force behind this policy was to eliminate non-Aryans who were perceived as creating danger against the German blood as well as the German Volksgemeinschaft (‘people’s community’). The fact that this policy was so much successful in Austria in 1938 saw it introduced inside Germany under the motto: Germany for Germans! Bibliography HUENER, J., & NICOSIA, F. R. (2006). The arts in Nazi Germany: continuity, conformity, change. KAY, A. J., RUTHERFORD, J., & STAHEL, D. (2012). Nazi policy on the Eastern Front, 1941: total war, genocide, and radicalization. Rochester, NY, University of Rochester Press. RIGG, B. M. (2002). Hitlers Jewish soldiers: the untold story of Nazi racial laws and men of Jewish descent in the German military. Lawrence, Kan, University Press of Kansas. SCHLEUNES, K. A. (1990). The twisted road to Auschwitz: Nazi policy toward German Jews ; with a new bibliographical essay by the author. Urbana [u.a.], Univ. of Illisois Press. TAYLOR, A. J. P. (1987). The First World War: an illustrated history. Read More