Hitler and Totalitarianism

Alyssa Campa, Molly CrosJohn Woodman

What is totalitarianism? ● Totalitarianism is a form of government that theoretically permits no individual

freedom, and that seeks to subordinate all aspects of the individual’s life to the authority of the government.

● The leadership of such a state claims exclusive right to govern the country on behalf of a party or an ideology.

● This leadership attempts, and ideally achieves, to permeate all aspects of daily life through the establishment of controlling and restrictive mechanisms over social, political, industrial, military, and economic matters.

● The decision-making process is highly centralized, as so is political control.

What is totalitarianism?● Opposition to the state is suppressed through the use of violence, and the

underlying basis for the state’s control is the subservience of the individual to the

state; this usually leads to and justifies the curtailing of fundamental liberal

freedoms.

● Totalitarianism also implies that the will, needs, and desires of the state and the

individual are one and the same, that there exists a certain level of popular

support for not merely tolerance of the state.

Nazi Germany vs. Fascists Italy

Similarities Differences ● Both countries experienced a collapse of the

parliamentary democracy, and its replacement of a largely democratic dictatorship.

● Racism was strongly evident in the ideology of Nazi Germany unlike the ideology of Fascist Italy.

● Mussolini and Hitler both proved that they deserved a chance to improve the economy and political crises.

● While Fascist ideology welcomed corporatism, these theories were rejected in Nazi Germany in order to protect the private economy.

● They were both determined to be the sole leader. ● The Catholic Church was in a more powerful position to oppose fascist ideology rather than the German Protestant and Catholic Churches.

● Both attempted to build their support by employing a mixture of repression and propaganda.

● Military failure in Greece and Northern Africa demonstrated how Mussolini’s plans were unrealistic.

Nazi Germany vs. Soviet UnionSimilarities Differences

● They were both totalitarian. In other words, the state sought to control all aspects of society through its domination of youth movements, trade unions, media, and cultural organisations

● Although both regimes strived to have a “superior race”, Nazi Germany wanted a total annihilation of undesirables, the Soviets wanted the undesirables out of their land.

● They both employed similar methods of political repression, with powerful secret police (the NKVD, the Gestapo), violent purges and concentration camps.

● The ideology of Nazi Germany was right-wing nationalist, emphasising the unity of the German race and its conflict with inferior races such as the Jews, while Soviet ideology was left-wing socialist (Marxist) emphasising class conflict and opposing racial discrimination.

● They were both militaristic, investing large resources in the armed forces, and they both engaged in territorial expansion.

● Private enterprise, including big business, continued to play a significant role in the German economy. In contrast, the Soviet economy was state-owned and centrally planned, with only a very minor role for private enterprise.

Hitler and the Nazi’s achieved the Ultimate Totalitarian StateConsidering the definition of totalitarianism as a Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state. Hitler was able to terrorize, control and manipulate the lives of the German people earning him power and a totalitarian status.

Hitler accomplished this by controlling the media, having a secret police, and no opposition.

-Hitler and the Nazi’s had complete control over the media. Newspaper, radio, photos, movies and art were all heavily censored and Hitler's speeches were broadcasted across the nation.

-Hitler worked hard to create a very strong sense of German nationalism throughout the Nazi state and placed himself as the beloved Fuhrer through the use of propaganda. This allowed Hitler to gain support and in a way brainwash the public.

-He attempted to control many aspects of the peoples everyday lives. The prominent role he played in the lives of the youth through schools and youth groups is an example of the strong presence he had in the lives of the German people.

-The threat of the Gestapo and concentration camps helped to control the people as they were too scared to speak up against Hitler or the Nazi party

-Lastly, eliminating Nazi opponents was crucial to the development of a Totalitarian State. Hitler banned all other political parties making the Nazi’s the only legal party. He removed communists as a threat by banning the party and eliminating several of his opponents on the Night of Long Knives.

Hitler and the Nazi’s achieved the Ultimate Totalitarian State

While Hitler was for the most part able to achieve his goal of creating the Ultimate Totalitarian State, there were certain aspects that prove Germany was not under complete totalitarian rule.

-Although Hitler had a very large influence in the lives of the German people, he could not control every aspect of their private lives

-Hitler did make the Nazi party the only legal political party, but several groups and factions of people who opposed the Nazi’s did continue to exist.

-While open opposition was scarce, many were unhappy with Hitler as a ruler, especially when considering his treatment of Jews therefore he did not have the complete support of the people as a ruler.

“Before the outbreak of war Hitler actually had quite limited power.”When Hindenburg died in 1924, Hitler combined the job of chancellor and president under Fuhrer. Although the role of chancellor may have had some limitations, such as being limited by the laws of the German state, the role of Fuhrer was virtually limitless. Whatever, Hitler saw fit was done as he “knew” what was best for Germany. However, it can be argued that his power was somewhat limited in that he was constantly judged by everyone on the decisions he made and Hitler had to take this into account. Although he may have had a lot of support during the beginning of his reign, in order to keep this support for as long as possible, Hitler may have had to limit himself in some of the radical choices he wanted to make. Hitler’s rise to power, after all, was due in large part to widespread support of him and his ideas.

“Before the outbreak of war Hitler actually had quite limited power.”For the most part, however, Hitler’s power showed no boundaries leading up to the war. He crushed any opposition, including both political parties and opposition from the German people. His widely extensive use of propaganda made him out to be a hero and many people, especially children, were raised being constantly told of how amazing Hitler was. Hitler had even passed the Enabling Act as chancellor, which allowed Hitler’s government to “deviate” from the constitution when necessary. As Fuhrer, he had no political opposition and with him making almost all the decisions, the cabinet government fell into disuse. Hitler found any possible excuse to gain more power, including breaking the Treaty of Versailles and rebuilding a major army for Germany. Overall, Hitler’s power was not limited very much at all, only possibly being limited by Hitler assuring his support of the German people for as long as he could.