Preview

How Nazism Changed German Society Between 1933 & 1939 Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1119 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Nazism Changed German Society Between 1933 & 1939 Essay Example
How Nazism Changed German Society Between 1933 & 1939
When Hitler became the Führer of Germany in 1934, he wanted to achieve a strong Germany, and a racial Germany in which all the German-speaking people would worship him. During the period between 1933 and 1939, the Nazis greatly influenced German society and managed to change them to their own liking. There was little effective opposition to the Nazis. Most people would try and explain this by saying that they brought prosperity and political stability to Germany.

One of the main classes that changed was the youth. This was because Hitler thought that the Third Reich would last for 100 years, however in fact only three separate age groups passed through adolescence during the time of the rule (the years between the fourteenth and eighteenth birthdays). The way in which the Nazis influenced the youths was by using the simple technique of organising a youth group, in which any youngster could join and it would give them a sense of belonging. For boys this was called the ‘Hitler Youth’, whereas for girls it was the ‘League of German Maidens’. By the year of 1936, these two youth groups where the only ones in Germany as all of the rest had been banned. The adolescents who fell in the years of 1933-1936 had already had important, formative experiences before the Nazi seizure of power. They were in the front line for incorporation into the youth organisations and the so-called ‘Volksgemeinschaft’ (racial community) of the Third Reich. They had also experienced the economic crisis of the early 1030s and were therefore quite receptive to the benefits that were offered by the rearmament programme as well as the ideas of the ‘Führer-staat’. The innocence of hiking, making fires and camps, wearing uniform, eating porridge and other “scout-like’ activities, were managed to be overwritten with political propaganda. A good example of this is Henry Metalmann, he joined for one of the above reasons and sooner than

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Due to the failure of the Weimar Republic and general public dissatisfaction arising from poor economic conditions exacerbated by the Treaty of Versailles, coupled with the 1929 Wall Street Crash, German citizens were understandably desperate for change. Until this point in time the Nazi party, and Hitler, had been essentially unpopular. However, the economic situation ensured Hitler’s increasing popularity as the people looked toward more extreme but non-communist ideals. The initial consolidation of Nazi power in 1933 arose from key events such as the support of the Nationalist Party with the Nazis to form a coalition government, implementation of the Enabling Law, removal of external and internal opposition, and President Hindenburg’s death.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Hitler came to power, he changed things for them, including their beliefs. Nazis were originally German workers from 1919-1921 until they became soldiers. Before Hitler, Nazis held racist, Nationalist, and antisemitic beliefs. When Hitler came to power, he still held that but made them more of a cleaner and more organized army. Hitler tried to make the democratic committee with a single leader who would have ultimate control.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Nazi’s gained power due to the fact that no one had the strength to oppose them. Hitler positioned himself to be influential in government, which meant that he could help in the passing of laws. He established a dictatorship through a mixture of illegal and legal means.…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hitler and the Nazis came to power in January 1933. Their policies turned Germany into a Nazi police state. Many Germans benefited from Nazi rule but all at a cost.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hitler Youth was an organization of young men around the ages of 14-18 that were meant to insure the future of Nazi Germany. Since its creation in 1926 the membership of the organization had grown from roughly 5,000 to nearly 8,000,000 due to the Nazi Party forcing nearly all children to be a part of it. Many activities closely resembled military training, with weapons training, assault course circuits and basic tactics.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in 1933 brought about the beginning of the end to a brief democratic government in Germany. He worked hard to return to the old Totalitarian rule with himself as dictator, and also for ‘Machtergreifung’ – the seizure of power. Hitler had no intention of sharing power and his aim was to achieve complete control over Germany and to build a German Empire through the Nazi Party. His personality and manifesto were extremely convincing to people of all age groups and people believed Hitler had the power to restore Germany to past greatness. Promises such as the decrease in unemployment levels were also coming true and his totalitarian rule had suppressed all other opposition. Dr.Goebels also played a large part in covering up the horrific truth behind Hitler’s ideology. The propaganda convinced the German people that the violence used, such as the action of the SS, was beneficial to the maintenance of the state. The Nazi’s also began to victimize certain stereotypes so that they would gain more support and shift the blame for any problems onto groups such as the Jews. This also inevitably installed a fear in most Germans.…

    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Nazi party won 33 percent of the vote in the 1932 German elections, more than any other party. In January of that year Hitler was appointed chancellor, the head of the German government, and many Germans believed he could save them from the economic situation they were in. The Nazis ruled Germany from 1933 to 1939 and their position was relatively unchallenged. It is a common argument among historians as to how the Nazis managed to maintain power over this period of time. Successful foreign policy was an important factor involved in the Nazis consolidation of power which involved Hitlers attempts to strengthen Germany and undermine the treaty of Versailles.…

    • 1758 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Schindlers list

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Nazi Party, also known as the Third Reich came to power in 1933. Germany had just been handed all the blame for WWI. They need someone to rally them up and gain all power. Hitler was that person. He legally became Chancellor of Germany and he was the leader of the Nazi Party. He easily persuaded the German citizens that the Jews were the root of their problems. And they believed him. He rallied and gathered the Germans so they can accept his dictator type of rule. They just neede a pick-me-up and Hitler was the…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    -Nazi influences on children: NSF(National Socialist Women’s Organization), Faith and Beauty, BDM(league of German girls), Jung Mädel(Young Girls), NSDAP, DAF(German Labor Front), Media, Schools, Wehrmacht (army), RAD(Reich Labour Service), German Students’ League, Hitler Youth, Deutsches Jungvolk(Young…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First let talk about the youth of Nazi Germany, youth is the most important part of your life because it can affect your behaviour. The Nazi Party invested heavily into programs for the German youth, the German government expanded youth programs so that nearly all the German youth would be able to attend a program each year. Those that joined the Hitler Youth were able to do have…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As a country, Germany suffered immensely from their Great Depression in the early 1930’s. However, a new political party called the Nazis, lead by Adolf Hitler, made the promise to return Germany to greatness. Eventually, the Nazi party would emerge as a favorite among the German citizens and would become the largest party in the German legislature. On January 1933, Adolf Hitler would take over the position of chancellor.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nazi Societal Reorganization

    • 3389 Words
    • 14 Pages

    After coming into power in 1933 it became their aim to create a totalitarian state headed by Hitler, under which they could control the everyday lives of the German people. They hoped to achieve this through organization and to discourage any form of thinking that was not part of the state approved ideology. The Nazis impacted on the German people by controlling key institutions such as the army, the education system, the church and employment. There is strong debate as to whether the Nazis provoked a social revolution in Germany and if they had a lasting impact on the lives of the German people. Modern historian Ian Kershaw would argue that “it seems clear that Nazism did not produce a ‘social revolution’ in Germany during the period of the Third Reich… it was… incapable of bringing about a complete and permanent social revolution.” However, Mark Roseman, another historian of modern Europe disagrees with Kershaw. Roseman states that “Recent work suggests that the Nazis were astonishingly successful at integrating heterogeneous social groups into the Volksgemeinschaft… it profoundly disrupted established perceptions, patterns of behaviour and allegiances.” The view that the Nazis did impact upon the German population to a relatively large extent is supported by the American social scientist and historian David Schoenbaum when he states that Hitler succeeded in changing the values of the German population. Therefore Nazism could be seen to have had a large impact on German daily life, however it was achieved in such a way through gradual change and keeping some aspects of ordinary life the same that many German lives were not drastically changed.…

    • 3389 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hitler very quickly realised the importance of propaganda, he then proceeded to use it as a means to target many of the German people’s grievances. He tailored his messages in such a way that he was able to appeal to both the socially downtrodden, the agrarian and industrial elites. Hitler became the central rallying figure that attracted wider support. In the 1630’s the Nazi party even did well in areas where they did not have to organise mass rallies. Nazi success can be partly attributed to the party’s organisational structure, throughout Germany. In order to get their message out further and to different sorts of Germans, the Hitler youth was created, this helped groom children from a young age to function with a Nazi mind set. Under the watchful organisation of Gregor Strasser, the party built up an efficient structure that allowed them to exploit the economic, social and political deterioration after 1929. The Nazi’s did not only try to appeal nationally, they understood the importance of local supports. They made extra effort to gain local support; they targeted local influential people, such as butchers, teachers, essentially, people who had…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1933, Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) party were elected into power in Germany. Hitler was chosen by his party to become the new chancellor of Germany. The National Socialist (Nazis) won 34.1% of the overall vote. The German people were looking for a new voice for their suffering; they wanted a new leader to help get them out of their downfall during World War I, the Great Depression of 1929, and the Treaty of Versailles.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    School children quoted “Heil Hitler” about one hundred and fifty times a day (Pagaard), and quoted “Gott strafe England” which translates to “May God punish England”(Pagaard). Children’s literature in the Hitler Youth consisted of novels titled, Der Giftpilz- “The Poison Mushroom” and Trau keinem Fuchs auf gruener Heid, und Keinem Jud’bei seinem Eid- “Trust No Fox on the Green Heath, and No Jew Upon His Oath” (Pagaard). The youth of the generation fell heavily under Nazi influence and consisted of 8.7 million teens aged ten to eighteen (McDougall 28). At first only boys were recruited because it was unacceptable for girls to join the party (Gottfried). The meetings for the party were held twice a week and focused on lectures about racial purity and centered around Hitler’s person novel, Mein Kampf- “My Struggle” which became almost like a Nazi “bible” (Gottfried). The hallmark of the Hitler Youth was militarization and the most common Hitler Youth activities involved pre military training (Kater 29). Much importance was given to the study of maps and the spotting of imaginary enemies (Kater 29). Once the war started, routines continued with the purpose of transferring eighteen year olds straight into the armed forces. Pre military training…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays