Hitler's Domestic Policies
Evaluate the impact on Germany of Hitler’s domestic policies between 1933 and 1945.
Hitler aimed to affect key areas of German societal structure through the design and implementation of a range of domestic policies. These included policies which affected the political structure of the nation, women’s role in society and their aspirations, the development of future generations and fundamental belief systems such as those concerning religion and racial attitudes. However, it is simplistic to assume that all of these policies had an impact either on the status of German society and on trends in its development. The reality of implementing domestic policies did not always have the effect that Hitler intended, either in the scope or depth of their impact. Indeed, one could affirm that due to the ‘chaos at the heart of the state’ it is reductionist to assume that any policy put in place between 1933 and 1945 was actually of Hitler’s own design or even that policies were designed at all, since many decisions were implemented on an ad hoc basis merely to appease the Fuhrer.
A policy is defined as “an overall plan of action designed to influence and determine immediate and long-term decisions” and a “plan” is defined as “a detailed scheme worked out beforehand for the accomplishment of an objective”. Hitler had no such structured plan to determine policy and, therefore, it is questionable as to whether his ad hoc actions can actually be called “policies”. This is reflected in the political realities of the Nazi government where, as Otto Dietrich pointed out, there was a “completely opaque network of competencies”, with leading figures vying for Hitler’s attention and seeking his approval. To the extent Hitler’s actions can be characterised as “policies”, it is possible to make an evaluation of their impact.
Hitler’s domestic political policy aimed to have coordination or “gleichshaltung” over all aspects of society. In this respect, therefore, Hitler’s domestic
Hitler aimed to affect key areas of German societal structure through the design and implementation of a range of domestic policies. These included policies which affected the political structure of the nation, women’s role in society and their aspirations, the development of future generations and fundamental belief systems such as those concerning religion and racial attitudes. However, it is simplistic to assume that all of these policies had an impact either on the status of German society and on trends in its development. The reality of implementing domestic policies did not always have the effect that Hitler intended, either in the scope or depth of their impact. Indeed, one could affirm that due to the ‘chaos at the heart of the state’ it is reductionist to assume that any policy put in place between 1933 and 1945 was actually of Hitler’s own design or even that policies were designed at all, since many decisions were implemented on an ad hoc basis merely to appease the Fuhrer.
A policy is defined as “an overall plan of action designed to influence and determine immediate and long-term decisions” and a “plan” is defined as “a detailed scheme worked out beforehand for the accomplishment of an objective”. Hitler had no such structured plan to determine policy and, therefore, it is questionable as to whether his ad hoc actions can actually be called “policies”. This is reflected in the political realities of the Nazi government where, as Otto Dietrich pointed out, there was a “completely opaque network of competencies”, with leading figures vying for Hitler’s attention and seeking his approval. To the extent Hitler’s actions can be characterised as “policies”, it is possible to make an evaluation of their impact.
Hitler’s domestic political policy aimed to have coordination or “gleichshaltung” over all aspects of society. In this respect, therefore, Hitler’s domestic