How Did Hitler Become A Political Religion In Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany was one of the largest parties to ever gain power. The beliefs, rituals, symbols, myths and practices all contributed to the Nazi’s becoming a political religion. Political religion in Nazi Germany was understood to try to erase or replace existing traditional religion. They were striving to have control over the culture and politics throughout the entire country. They wanted their country to be focused on the Nazi beliefs and practices. The Nazi’s believed that they were a part of an Aryan race. According to Doris Bergen, “Hitler drew on vague theories that these people, supposedly taller and lighter skinned than their neighbors, were a superior group who somehow ended up in Europe, where they continue to be the bearers of all
cultural creativity.” (37). There were some people whom were not completely considered to be of the master race. In order to help those of the right qualifications become a member of the perfect Aryan race the Nazi’s came up with Germanization. He wanted the perfect race to be formed of millions of people and to do that he needed to create them.
Hitler’s core ideas can be summed up in the phrase “race and space.” (Bergen 36). Due to wanting more people in the Aryan race they believed that they needed more living space. This also made the Nazi’s feel as if they needed to protect themselves and the Aryan race in any way possible. One way he wanted to help preserve Germanys “master race” was by providing more room for them. This was when Hitler and the Nazi’s came up with Lebensraum. Bergen states, “To make settlements possible, the plan demanded expulsion of those currently living there… tens of millions of people were to be forced into less desirable areas, allowed to die of starvation and disease, or turned into slaves for the German empire.” (168). They felt as if they needed to get rid of these people in order to provide those whom are of Aryan or the master race a place to continue living and breeding. This was put together for Germany to expand. Hitler felt as if Germany was in danger because of the Jews and the communists. He believed that anyone who could potentially harm Germany should be destroyed. One of the ways he was able to get people in Germany to understand and follow his beliefs was by using
propaganda. He made sure that the propaganda he provided appealed to different people.
Nazi symbolism ranges from the Hitler salute to the swastika. Propaganda did also play a big role in symbolism. The propaganda they used helped shape the Nazi symbolism and what they stood for. Alan Mitchell states in, The Nazi Revolution: Hitler’s Dictatorship and the German Nation, the “propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels preached the Nazi gospel and many believed.” (23) This was the man that was in charge of all things posted or written about the Nazi’s or Hitler. Symbolism for the Nazi’s was a way for them to help gain more power. Bergen states that Hitler believed power had to be focused in order to be effective, the focal point was him. (39) He wanted the attention to be for a good reason. He needed the symbols and propaganda all to show how great and effective a leader he was. One of the most talked about practices of the Nazi’s was of their medicine. The Nazi’s were known to want a perfect Aryan race. In doing so, they needed to get rid of those who weren’t deemed as ‘perfect’ or ‘pure’. This means those children or people with physical and/or mental disabilities. Although they did use force and destroyed people physically, they found another way to get rid of people. They did so by using the medical field as a
way. The Nazi Party wasn’t the one who decided to kill disabled children or adults. It all started because of a letter written by a man about his disabled son. Lee Hudson states, “ Richard Kretchsmar, the father of a male infant born with severe disabilities, wrote directly to Hitler requesting permission for his child to be killed… the case went in favor of the father and the child was killed.” (509). Even though this letter received from Richard Kretschmar did start the process of getting rid of disabled people, this practice was already there before Hitler was in power. The letter gave him the idea to make euthanasia legal.