Define totalitarianism and assess the extent to which it was achieved in Hitler’s Germany

Define totalitarianism and assess the extent to which it was achieved in Hitler’s Germany

Totalitarianism is the absolute control of a ruler who is a complete dictator, unrestricted by constitution, laws or opposition. This essay will evaluate the extent to which Hitler had absolute control over Germany in terms of political control, control over the Nazi party, control over the youth and education.

Hitler established single party state and achieved political control to a large extent. Political control was of the upmost importance as it is the politicians who pass laws and control the country, therefore control of politics is a control of the country by extension. Hitler consolidated his power through invoking Article 48 which gave him emergency powers, repressed and banned rival political parties such as the KPD and the SPD, as well as using the Reichstag fire in February 1933 to blame communists. Article 48 allowed Hitler to introduce a secret police which he then used to repress and harass the KPD, which then stood as an opposing party to Hitler. With the KPD being suppressed the Nazi party was allowed to grow more easily with less opposition. The Nazi party also gained greater representation in the Reichstag by the fact that they now held a relatively greater share of power in the Reichstag, which allowed them a greater control of society by creating policies and passing laws to govern Germany according to their ideals. This was especially true by the 14th of July 1933 when both the KPD and SPD were banned. As a result, the Nazi candidates for the Reichstag won 92% of votes on the 12th of November 1933. 92% of the Reichstag is a large majority that can pass laws regardless of opposition, which is very significant as it means that Hitler and his party could pass laws unopposed. However, the election of the 12th of November was a rigged election and the figure of 92% cannot be relied on. However, regardless of the legitimacy of the election, this is the only results that we have and therefore the only results that would have mattered in Germany at that time.

The night of long knives was Hitler’s trump card where Hitler quelled internal conflict and secured power within the Nazi party. Hitler was threatened by Rohm and other SA leaders, so from the 29-30 of June, the SS arrested Rohm and many other political opponents over a total of three nights. The operation was kept secret, and Hitler only fully informed told the Reichstag on the 13th of July. Hitler saw he needed to “deliver Germany from men who had become a danger to the unity of the German people” according to the Daily Mail newspaper. The fact that Hitler saw himself as the sole judge for the fate of Germany shows us a very totalitarian approach, where he sees fit to assume all power over the German nation, the fact that Hitler managed to get away with murder is a confirmation of Hitler’s power since the lack of outcry over his actions shows that he is able to command as he pleased with little opposition. However, a Gestapo report claimed that “sections of the population have been deeply shocked” by the Night of the Long Knives. Despite this evidence that there was a negative reaction from the population regarding Hitler’s actions, no significant action was taken against him and therefore the negative reaction to the Night of the Long Knives is not very significant. Aside from clearing internal threats to solidify his power, Hitler also managed to scare off potential enemies, knowing that if they were found out, they would likely be killed, as well as winning the loyalty of the army as they would now retain a monopoly of the armed forces since their main competition, the SA have been greatly weakened by the loss of leadership. The army swore an oath to Hitler and pledged their loyalty to him in August 1934. As a result of the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler managed to eliminate internal and future threats to his power, own over the support of the army which extended his power over Germany and secured himself as the unquestionable leader of Germany which increased his power over German society making him more a totalitarian leader than before.

Hitler also exercised great control over education and the youth of Germany. This was a deliberate attempt of Hitler to control Germany, knowing that the youth was the future of Germany, and control of the youth would secure future control of the country for him. Youth in Germany were subject to a curriculum that heavily focused in indoctrination, frequent rallies, and compulsory attendance in the Hitler Youth. In school, “All subjects… must concentrate on military subjects- the glorification of military service” according to Der Angriff on 27th October 1939. The state ministry ordered that the Hitler greeting must be used in conversation between teachers and students. Many of the teachers were pressurized into joining the Nazi Teacher’s League and 1937 97% of teachers had joined. With such an overwhelming majority of Teachers propagating a syllabus aimed at indoctrinating the youth of Germany there was little room for freedom of thought which allowed Hitler to control the hearts and minds of an entire generation. However, there were pockets of resistance or alternative Youth that rose up to escape the intrusive Nazi system such as the Edelweiss Pirates. However, they were largely localized groups with little aims in common. The groups were not particularly large with membership estimated to be 2,000 by 1939. However, this is not a very reliable number as the nature of these groups were secretive and therefore any attempts to count their numbers cannot be relied upon. Nevertheless, the ballpark of 2,000 members is very small in the context of the whole of Germany which had a population of roughly 70 million in 1939. Therefore, Nazi control over the Youth was very widespread, and fairly successful. However, it is very difficult to evaluate how successful policy was as Nazi control over the youth relied on controlling their emotions and mindset which cannot be quantified or measured, but the lack of protest or significant attempts at escaping the Nazi system suggests that the Nazis exercised a large extent of control over the education system and the Youth of Germany.

In conclusion, totalitarianism was achieved to a large extent in Hitler’s Germany. Hitler managed to position himself politically in a very strong position as the head of the Nazi party which held an overwhelming majority in the Reichstag that allowed him to pass laws and control society unopposed. Hitler also managed to secure his position of power by eliminating current threats and deterring future threats, during the Night of the Long Knives. Hitler also managed to control the mindset of the future of Germany, by indoctrinating many of Germany’s youths thereby solidifying his power for the years to come, by fostering support from the future generation of Germany. His control over the youth also shows the depth of his reach in German society that he commands more than the soldiers, his political party, or even the voters. It shows that Hitler managed to control the future of German society itself.