To What Extent Did Nazi Germany Establish a Totalitarian State in the Years 1933 and 1939?
Joe Bokeyar Year 12 – Modern History Research Essay
To what extent did the Nazis succeed in establishing a totalitarian state in Germany in the years between 1933 and 1939?
The Nazis succeeded to a great degree in establishing a totalitarian state in Germany in the years between 1933 and 1939.
A Totalitarian state is defined as a government that subordinates the individual to the state and strictly controls all aspects of life by coercive measures. A Totalitarian state aims to establish complete:
- political
-social/economic
- and cultural control over their people.
Fascism is a type of right-wing totalitarianism which places importance on the subordination of individuals to advance the interests of the state. It is important for totalitarian states to have a charismatic leader. This makes it easier for the party he stands for to gain power. The Nazis came as close as possible to becoming a totalitarian state in Germany. They operated under a policy of gleichschaltung which was controlling every aspect of the entire German populous. The totalitarian state of Germany was successful to the extent that they deterred any opposition from gaining momentum and promoted official ideology. They gained full control of political, social/economic and cultural power over their people. There were only a few minor factors that would stop it being completely totalitarian. One of these factors being that due to Germany not being self-sufficient it couldn’t function without the help of other countries who provided Germany resources. Another factor was that only a majority of the German populations approved of Hitler as their leader. In order for Germany to be considered a completely successful totalitarian state they must force all people to support them. The Nazi party failed to do this. - Political
Germany was dominated by one political party, the Nazi party. They established power with only 44% percent of the nation’s vote. The commitment to make decisions
To what extent did the Nazis succeed in establishing a totalitarian state in Germany in the years between 1933 and 1939?
The Nazis succeeded to a great degree in establishing a totalitarian state in Germany in the years between 1933 and 1939.
A Totalitarian state is defined as a government that subordinates the individual to the state and strictly controls all aspects of life by coercive measures. A Totalitarian state aims to establish complete:
- political
-social/economic
- and cultural control over their people.
Fascism is a type of right-wing totalitarianism which places importance on the subordination of individuals to advance the interests of the state. It is important for totalitarian states to have a charismatic leader. This makes it easier for the party he stands for to gain power. The Nazis came as close as possible to becoming a totalitarian state in Germany. They operated under a policy of gleichschaltung which was controlling every aspect of the entire German populous. The totalitarian state of Germany was successful to the extent that they deterred any opposition from gaining momentum and promoted official ideology. They gained full control of political, social/economic and cultural power over their people. There were only a few minor factors that would stop it being completely totalitarian. One of these factors being that due to Germany not being self-sufficient it couldn’t function without the help of other countries who provided Germany resources. Another factor was that only a majority of the German populations approved of Hitler as their leader. In order for Germany to be considered a completely successful totalitarian state they must force all people to support them. The Nazi party failed to do this. - Political
Germany was dominated by one political party, the Nazi party. They established power with only 44% percent of the nation’s vote. The commitment to make decisions
Bibliography: "The Holocaust - A Guide for Teachers" 1990 gary.grobman@paonline.com) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_germany http://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/ww2/nazi-germany.html http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/naziregime.html http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/ Dennett, Bruce. Nixon, Stephen. Key Features of Modern History. N.p.: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.