Nazi Societal Reorganization

Gleichschaltung

Thesis: Whether or not Nazism positively affected Germans during the 3rd Reich
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.

Religion: The Nazi's accounting for Christianity's association with the German People. Catholicism vs. Protestantism
In 1933 99% of the German population was Christian. Therefore the church held a lot of power and influence in Germany, which is shown through the complex and constantly shifting approach of the Nazi party toward the church. Layton argues that the Nazi party was “torn between a policy of total suppression, which would alienate a large number of Germans, and a policy of limited persecution, which would allow the churches and unacceptable degree of independence outside of state control.” The Nazis realized that the church was too well established to ignore or try to force allegiance from. This left the Nazis with a problem as whilst the Nazi party ideology and the church agreed on some issues such as the importance of traditional values and their united hatred of communism, these shared opinion were overshadowed by Christianity’s teaching of love, peace and forgiveness and the completely challenging views of Nazism which valued warriors and encouraged violence. The Nazi’s approach to Catholicism and Protestantism showed substantial differences. This was because it seemed a lot easier for the Nazi’s to integrate into the many divided protestant churches whereas to completely control the Catholic Church the Nazis would first have to conquer the Vatican.

Mini-Religion: How Nazis initially dealt with Catholicism and Protestantism.
Therefore to appease the Catholic Church the Nazis arranged a Concordat between themselves and the Papal regime, in which they would guarantee the church religious freedom, would not interfere with Catholic property and legal rights, and it would accept catholic right of control over its own education. In turn the Catholic Church agreed not to interfere in party issues and it would not hinder Nazi diplomacy. The Concordat was extremely useful to the Nazis as it gave them international recognition as a party that had been approved by the Pope. The Protestant church experienced less of an obvious integration with Nazi policy, through the placement of Nazi bishops such as Ludwig Muller, who was appointed Reich Bishop in 1933 to help align the Protestant church to Nazi ideology. Mini-Religion: Nazi Policy changing in order to create their own religion 1. However as Layton claims the “courting of both of the churches by the Nazis was totally insincere. They were merely being lulled into a false sense of security whilst the dictatorship was being established.” What the Nazis really wanted was to establish their own religion in Germany, through which they could totally control every aspect of German life. As such it was not long before the Nazis went back on their Concordat with the papal regime, starting to shut down Catholic schools, seize Catholic property and arresting anyone who opposed them. This was also the case with the Protestant church; however, again it was more of background integration through minor actions such as more Nazi party officials being given high roles of authority within the church, and the introduction of ‘Positive Christianity’ in which all Jewish written parts of the bible, claiming Aryan hood and non-Jewishness for Christians and placing emphasis on Christ being a fighter against the Jewish regime of the time. These were the first introductions of the Nazi religion into everyday German life. The main ideas of the Nazi belief system were constructed by Alfred Rosenburg. He summarized the new religion to the people of Germany by saying that, "a new faith is stirring: the myth of blood, the faith that along with blood we are defending the divine nature of man as a whole.” It was based on four main themes. The cult of Hitler’s personality was based upon the idea that Hitler was the all-powerful Fuhrer and that he was sent to save Germany from the Jews and other threats to German superiority. The ideology of Blood and Soil, that the German people have a connection with the land they occupy. “German land was bound to German blood.”

Mini-Religion: Nazi Policy changing in order to create their own religion 2.
The rejection of Christian teachings of love and forgiveness and the replacement of Christian ceremonies with their pagan equivalent. It wasn’t until 1936 that Hitler and the Nazis took full control of the churches in Germany through the creation of the Reich Church, in which the bible was replaced with Hitler’s Mein Kampf and a sword was placed upon the altar. Children were no longer brought up with a Christian education, showing the full extent of the Nazi attempt to completely eradicate Christianity from German life. Whilst the Nazi party did attempt several early changes to the running of the Church such as the Papal Concordat and the placement of Nazi officials as church bishops, it must be seen that effective change to the religious life of the German population was not made until 1936 onwards when the Nazis dismissed the concordat and changed aspects of the church until by 1936 the church had been replaced by the Reich Church which revolutionized Christianity, turning it into a religion based upon a hatred for the Jews and an admiration for Hitler, which was assisted by the reintroduction of pagan ceremonies into German life. The changes made by the Nazis to the religious system in Germany changed many people’s lives drastically.

Working Class: Taking over the working class.
Now that the Nazis had the future generations indoctrinated, they had to ensure that a revolution against the party would not occur. To do this they aimed to please the workers, who made up 46% of the population, making them the largest social group in Germany. However whilst the Nazis wanted to please the workers, they still had to keep big business happy as it was the industrialists who held all of the money in Germany and so the Nazis needed them to continue to invest in them. The legalization of trade unions ensured that the Nazis could hold a degree of control over the workers, whilst making it appear as if they had given them more freedom. However, whilst it appeared that trade unions were now allowed under the Third Reich, it is evident that the only real option available to workers was the German Labor front (DAF) which was a Nazi organization. From 1933 to 1939 membership to the DAF had increased from 5 million to 22 million, becoming the largest organization in the Third Reich, therefore allowing the Nazis a wider span of control. The Nazis were now in control of setting working hours and wages, running schemes and improving employee–employer relations. The Nazis managed to find a strong balance in keeping the workers happy and ensuring that big business did not feel neglected. The many changes made would suggest that the Nazis succeeded in creating more jobs and better employment terms and therefore did impact workers lives, however it could be argued that not all of the changes were beneficial to the general public as Bracher states that the DAF “could not alter the fact” that workers and employers remained behind the class barriers. Therefore whilst class barriers remained it could not be denied that Nazis impacted the German population through their raised wages and longer working hours, and the new “rights” available to them from the introduction of the DAF.

Women: Restricted Women's rights
It could be argued that many employment opportunities were offered through the Nazis policy toward women. Before the Nazis came into power women were experiencing more freedom in Germany than they had ever before. They had been given the vote and had expanded female employment by a third in comparison to the amount before the outbreak of the First World War. However, when the Nazis came to power they had a clear idea as to the places where a woman belonged. “Kinder, Kuche, Kierche.” This Nazi slogan epitomizes the Nazi attitude towards women, and showed that Nazis believed their focus should be on children, kitchen and church. Women were encouraged out of work so that they could focus their attentions on these ideals. To do this, between 1933 and 1936 married women were barred from jobs in medicine, law and the high ranking jobs of the civil service. The number of women allowed to continue to university was also reduced to 10%. These measures mainly affected the women in middle class Germany and had a large affect on how they should conduct themselves and what their aspirations were to be. A common rhyme at the time shows the Nazi attitude towards female employment, “Take hold of kettle, broom and pan, Then you’ll surely get a man! Shop and office leave alone, Your true life work lies at home.” The Nazis hoped to create a state in which women were preoccupied with having children whilst the men worked. The Nazis wanted to build an “ideal Aryan state” in which women were to have clear roles in the home. Women were instructed through Hitler’s Ten Commandments for the choice of a spouse to only choose a mate of Aryan supremacy and to always remember that they are German, and as such it is their duty to have as many children as possible so that they may contribute to the build up of Aryan Germany. Marriage loans were offered and awards given to those who contributed to the Nazi family ideal. Hitler is quoted saying that “every child that a woman brings into the world is a battle, a battle waged for the existence of her people.” This shows the Nazis dedication towards women’s role in society and would have been used to encourage women to conform to their social roles. Whilst it is evident that some women were disadvantaged by the Nazi policies in the 1930’s, it is argued by many modern-day historians such as Layton that the Nazi policies on women “improved welfare services” which in turn “improved the lives of women” and also ensured that when the men were at war women were “protected from having to combine…work with bringing up a family and running a household.” Irrespective of whether or not the changes made by the Nazi parties improved the lives of women, it cannot be denied that they were drastically altered and therefore impacted greatly not only on women but on the German population as a whole.

Hitler Youth: Focus on converting the Youth, What they did to do so
“When an opponent declares ‘I will not come over to you side,’ I calmly say, ‘Your child belongs to us already. Who are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will now nothing but this new community.’ This quote from Hitler shows that he and the Nazis realized that it would be difficult to convert all of their opposition into thinking the same way as them and so instead they focused their attention on the youth and so education was a top priority for them. From 1934 onwards new methods to control the education of Germany’s youths which included introducing a new curriculum and new ideology were put in place. This included the creation of the Nationalist Socialist Teachers League and whilst it was not mandatory it was “highly recommended” by the government and employers, ensuring that by 1937 97% of teachers were enrolled. This would allow the Nazis to farther impose their ideal onto teachers and assist them in monitoring teachers who may not be suitable to mould children into model Nazis. Those who were deemed unsuitable to teach were unreliable individuals and Jew. Women were also encouraged to withdraw from their employment. Not only was the way children were taught changed, but the things which German children were taught were altered. For example 15% of the curriculum was given to Physical Education, German, Biology and History became the main focus of attention, whilst Religious Studies was completely dropped from the syllabus to downplay the influence of Christianity in the new Reich. German language, literature and history were emphasized to create a pride in being German, whilst biology was used to teach Nazi racial policies to schools. Another addition to the education system was new state run elite schools. These were schools which educated the best of the German youth to prepare them or future political or military careers. However when discussing the effectiveness of the changes in education.. The Nazis now had a firm control of what children were learning in school; however children could still be strongly influenced by those at home. To counter this, the Nazis put pressure on parents to enroll their children in a Nazi youth group and by 1939 it had become compulsory. These youth groups came under the control of the Hitler Youth.

Mini-Hitler Youth: Analysis of Youth Brainwashing
For all groups there was great political brainwashing, which taught of the greatness of the Fuhrer and national pride. Boys took part in athletics and military activities such as shooting and orienteering, whilst the girls were taught how to run a household and how to look after children by cooking and knitting. Therefore the effect of Nazism on education proves to have been substantial in the sense that everything was changed, from those who were eligible to teach and the thing they were allowed to teach. The indoctrination through the Hitler youth proved as a good example of the way in which not only the activities of the youth were refocused, but their very way of thinking was completely controlled. Whilst the educational changes made did not prove permanent after the war, as stated by Fischer when he claims that the Nazis only imparted a “thin ideological veneer upon education” they certainly showed a large impact upon the students that experienced the educational system of the Nazi party, therefore having a substantial impact upon the German population at the time.

Undesirables: What the Nazis did to Jews, homosexuals, and other undesirable minority groups.
The Nazis now had a grasp on the daily life of the German population, however their ideal of a perfect Aryan Germany was still not realized. To do this he needed to take away those from society who were deemed as unacceptable to the regime, the a-socials. This included any politically undesirable opponents, alcoholics, homosexuals, prostitutes and the permanently unemployed. These people were forced into labor camps and were sometimes sterilized or the subjects of experiments. The work shy and homeless were continuously rounded up by the government, either forced into worked or released to be rounded up the next week , Dr Lisa Pine, a lecturer in modern history states that the Nazi regime seemed to continue to round them up and “persecute them without the need for any formal legislation.” This shows the extent to which the Nazi party were prepared to go to realize their perfect community. However in response to whether or not this affected the German population, it could be argued that it did not. Michael Hughes argues that unless you were one of the groups persecuted against then these policies did not have an affect on you whatsoever, and considering that those persecuted made up a minor percentage of the population it would be fair to argue that these measure did not show much of an impact on the German people.

Conclusion:
It could be concluded that Nazism had a large impact upon the German population. This is most evident in their attitude toward the youth, which saw the whole educational system being changed and allowed Hitler and the Nazis to have control over the future of Germany to a certain extent. The behavior of the Nazis toward the church can be seen to have a differing impact upon the population, as what started as an allegiance between the Nazis and the church soon turned into a new religion for the German people to follow under the Reich church. Also the new role of women and the family in Nazi Germany completely changed the workforce and the aims of women, allowing for an easier life if the women agreed to follow Nazi regulations and ideology. The workers also appeared to benefit from the Nazi impact on trade unions; however it appears as though it was not permanent. David Schoenbaum would argue that the changes made in Nazi Germany could not be compared to other societies, as the Nazi mindset was “unlike no other,” and so therefore show the changes and impact which the Nazis made on the German population, to completely change the nature of thinking in a country. The only area which could be perceived to have had no effect on the German population would be the treatment of the a-socials as stated by Michael Hughes who again argues the persecution of a-socials was not representative of the population, most of whom were unaware or supportive of the measures taken by the Nazis to eradicate those who were socially unacceptable.

Thesis: Whether or not Nazism positively affected Germans during the 3rd Reich
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.