Hitler's political beliefs
Encyclopedia
Historians and biographers note some difficulty in identifying Adolf Hitler's political views. His writings and methods were often adapted to need and circumstance although anti-Semitism
, anti-capitalism
, anti-communism
, anti-parliamentarianism, German expansionism
, belief in the superiority of an "Aryan race
" and an extreme form of German nationalism
were steady themes. Hitler personally claimed he was fighting against Jewish Marxism
.
His views were more or less formed during three periods:
, where Hitler returned in 1919. He took part in "national thinking" courses organised by the Education and Propaganda Department (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavaria
n Reichswehr
, Headquarters 4 under Captain Karl Mayr
. These helped popularize the notion that there was a scapegoat
responsible for the outbreak of war and Germany's defeat. "International Jewry" was described as a scourge composed of communists and other politicians across the party spectrum.
Such scapegoating was essential to Hitler's political career, and it seems that he genuinely believed that Jews were responsible for Germany's post-war troubles. In July 1919 Hitler was appointed Verbindungsmann (intelligence agent) of an Aufklärungskommando (reconnaissance commando) of the Reichswehr, both to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate
the German Workers' Party
(DAP). While he studied the activities of the DAP, Hitler became impressed with founder Anton Drexler
's antisemitic, nationalist, anti-capitalist
and anti-Marxist ideas.
That same month Hitler wrote what is often deemed his first anti-Semitic text, requested by Mayr for one Adolf Gemlich, who participated in the same "educational courses" Hitler had taken part in. In this report Hitler argued for a "rational anti-Semitism" which would not resort to pogrom
s, but instead "legally fight and remove the privileges enjoyed by the Jews as opposed to other foreigners living among us. Its final goal, however, must be the irrevocable removal of the Jews themselves."
Most people at the time understood this as a call for forced expulsion. Europe has a long history of expelling Jews and the auto-da-fe
.
Hitler was discharged from the army in March 1920 and with its continued support took full part in the DAP
's activities. His talent for oratory and propaganda soon became evident and, with the support of Anton Drexler
, he became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920. In the spring of 1920 he engineered the change of name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei - NSDAP), usually known as the Nazi party (or, less commonly, the National Socialist party). The name "Nazi" comes from the German pronunciation of the first two syllables of "Nati"onalsozialistiche (in contrast to Sozi, a term used for the Social Democrats
). In the same period, under his influence the party adopted a modified swastika
(a well-known good luck charm which had previously been used in Germany as a mark of volkishness and "Aryan
ism") along with the Roman salute
used by Italian
fascists.
At this time the Nazi Party was one of many small extremist groups in Munich, but Hitler soon discovered he had two remarkable talents, one for public oratory and another for inspiring personal loyalty. His street-corner oratory, attacking Jews, liberals
, capitalist
s and communists
, began attracting adherents.
Early followers included
(the capital of Bavaria
), in an attempt later known as the Beer Hall Putsch
of November 8–9, 1923. This would be a step in the seizure of power nationwide, overthrowing the Weimar Republic
in Berlin
. Unfortunately for Hitler, the plans for November 8 went awry.
Nevertheless, in an attempt to recover, on November 9 about 2000 Nazi and Nazi/Fascist sympathizers marched from the Burgerbraukeller
to the Bavarian War Ministry
, intending to free Ernst Rohm
and his men, who had been captured there while trying to seize control of the facility; thereafter, the putschists would (it was hoped) convince Bavaria's government to join the putschists and complete the coup d'etat
by marching on Berlin
, similar to Benito Mussolini
's March on Rome
. The Bavarian authorities, however, ordered the Bavarian police to stand their ground. The putschists were dispersed after a short but ferocious firefight
in the streets near the Feldherrnhalle
; in all, 16 putschists and four policemen were killed. Hitler fled to the home of Ernst Hanfstaengl
, and by some accounts he contemplated suicide; this state of mind has been disputed. Hitler was depressed but calm when he was arrested on 11 November 1923. Fearing "left-wing" members of the Nazi Party might try to seize leadership from him during his incarceration, Hitler quickly appointed Alfred Rosenberg
temporary leader.
and used his trial as an opportunity to spread his message throughout Germany. In April 1924 he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in Landsberg Prison
, where he received preferential treatment from sympathetic guards and received substantial quantities of fan mail, including funds and other assistance. During 1923 and 1924 at Landsberg he dictated the first volume of a book called Mein Kampf
(My Struggle) to his faithful deputy Rudolf Hess
.
In Mein Kampf Hitler speaks at length about his youth, early days in the Nazi Party, future plans for Germany and general ideas on politics and race. The original title Hitler chose was My Struggle Against Four and a Half Years of Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice. His publisher shortened this to Mein Kampf.
During his childhood, Hitler had little interest in politics
, as he fancied himself a painter. Like other boys in his part of Austria, he was attracted to Pan-Germanism
, but his intellectual pursuits were generally those of a dilettante
. After the fifth grade, he began neglecting his schoolwork, was forced to repeat a grade, and continually had to take special examinations to be permitted to advance to the next grade level. Soon after his father, Alois
, died in 1903, Hitler dropped out of high school at age 16, living at home and pursuing a Bohemian
lifestyle.
He discovered his skill in oratory after the end of World War I
. Hitler's objective as a politician was to restore the dignity of the German nation.
Hitler wrote of his hatred towards what he believed were the world's twin evils: communism
and Judaism
. He said his aim was to eradicate both from Germany.
He also wrote that Germany needed to obtain new soil, called lebensraum
, which would properly nurture the "historic destiny" of the German people. This was envisioned to encompass vast regions of Eastern Europe
.
is the primary enemy of Germany:
According to Hitler, Marxism is a Jewish strategy to subjugate Germany and the world:
Because of these views, leftist political dissidents were the first to be targeted by the Nazi regime, long before racial discrimination was applied, on the basis of the Reichstag Fire Decree
.
Persecution and extermination of these political groups was systematic in Germany and the occupied zones during the War.
hyper-nationalist
whose ideology was built around a philosophically authoritarian, anti-Marxist, anti-Semitic, anti-democratic worldview. There are strong connections to the values of Nazism and the anti-rationalist tradition of the Romantic
movement of the early nineteenth century in response to the Enlightenment
. Like many Romantic artists, musicians, and writers, the Nazis valued strength, passion, frank declarations of feelings, and deep devotion to family and community. German romanticism
in particular expressed these values. For instance, Hitler identified closely with the music of Richard Wagner
, who harbored antisemitic views as the author of Das Judenthum in der Musik
.
The Nazis' idealization of German tradition, folklore, volkisch culture, leadership (as exemplified by Frederick the Great and as eventually instantiated in the Fuhrerprinzip
), their rejection of the liberalism
and parliamentarianism of the Weimar Republic
, and calling the German state the “Third Reich” (which traces back to the medieval First Reich and the pre-Weimar Second Reich) has led many to regard the Nazis as reactionary
.
Nazism drew heavily on Italian Fascism
: nationalism
(including collectivism
and populism
based on nationalist values); Third Position
(including class collaboration
, corporatism
, economic planning
, mixed economy
, national syndicalism
, protectionism
, and the studies of socialism
that fit the Nazi Party ideologues and agendas); totalitarianism
(including dictatorship
, holism
, major social interventionism
, and statism
); and militarism
.
Uniquely, Nazism added a non-rationalist racial dimension to this otherwise typically Fascist ideology:
The anti-rationalist identification between Aryanism and Germanism
, and its arcane opposition to Jewish Bolshevism
, was a source of much confusion. Large institutions were established to define what an Aryan was, with poor success, and finally the concept evolved around their practical needs. Originally Aryan peoples like Roma where excluded and annihilated
, while certain "infrahuman" East Slavs, like Ukrainians
, were redefined as Aryans during World War II
for the sake of alliances.
view of all aspects of life, supported by harsh discipline and a militaristic point of view.
Aryans
were at the top of the hierarchy while assigning the bottom orders to Jews and Roma. Hitler also claimed that dominated peoples benefit by learning from superior Aryans, and said the Jews were conspiring to keep this "master race
" from rightfully ruling the world by diluting its racial and cultural purity, and exhorting Aryans to believe in equality rather than superiority and inferiority. He described a struggle for world domination, an ongoing racial, cultural, and political battle between Aryans and Jews.
Considered relatively harmless, Hitler was given an early parole
from prison and released in December 1924. From there, Hitler began a long effort to rebuild the Nazi Party. Meanwhile, as the Sturmabteilung
("Stormtroopers" or SA) gradually became a separate base of power within the party, Hitler founded the more reliable Schutzstaffel
("Protection Unit" or SS) a personal bodyguard. This elite, black-uniformed corps was eventually commanded by Heinrich Himmler
.
tic ability to convey wounded national pride caused by the Treaty of Versailles
, imposed on a defeated Germany by the Allies. Germany had lost territory to France
, Poland
, Belgium
and Denmark
along with admitting sole responsibility for the war, giving up her colonies, agreeing to severe military restrictions and assuming a staggering reparations
bill. Since most Germans did not believe that the German Empire had started the war (and did not clearly understand until later they had been defeated) they bitterly resented the terms. Two years after coming to office in 1933, Hitler blatantly defied the terms of the treaty when he announced that Germany would adopt military conscription
and would no longer adhere to the restrictions on the size of the Reichswehr
as set out in Versailles. The party's early attempts to garner votes by blaming these humiliations unilaterally on "international Jewry" were not successful with the electorate, but the party's propaganda
wing learned quickly and began a more subtle propaganda combining anti-semitism with a spirited attack on the failures of the "Weimar system
" and the parties supporting it, calling them the November Criminals.
See also Nazi Party, anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
, anti-communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
, anti-parliamentarianism, German expansionism
Expansionism
In general, expansionism consists of expansionist policies of governments and states. While some have linked the term to promoting economic growth , more commonly expansionism refers to the doctrine of a state expanding its territorial base usually, though not necessarily, by means of military...
, belief in the superiority of an "Aryan race
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
" and an extreme form of German nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
were steady themes. Hitler personally claimed he was fighting against Jewish Marxism
Jewish Bolshevism
Jewish Bolshevism, Judeo-Bolshevism, and known as Żydokomuna in Poland, is an antisemitic stereotype based on the claim that Jews have been the driving force behind or are disproportionately involved in the modern Communist movement, or sometimes more specifically Russian Bolshevism.The expression...
.
His views were more or less formed during three periods:
- His years as a povertyPovertyPoverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
-stricken young man in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
prior to World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, during which he turned to nationalistNationalismNationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
-oriented political pamphlets and anti-semitic newspapers out of distrust for mainstream newspapers and political parties.
- The closing months of World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
lost the war; Hitler is said to have developed his extreme nationalismNationalismNationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
during this time, desiring to "save" Germany from both external and internal "enemies" who, in his view, betrayed it.
- The 1920s, during which his early political career began and he wrote Mein KampfMein KampfMein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
.
V-Mann for the army
After the war, Hitler stayed in the army, which was mainly engaged in suppressing socialist uprisings across Germany, including in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, where Hitler returned in 1919. He took part in "national thinking" courses organised by the Education and Propaganda Department (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
, Headquarters 4 under Captain Karl Mayr
Karl Mayr
Captain Karl Mayr was a General Staff officer and Adolf Hitler's immediate superior in an Army Intelligence Division in the Reichswehr, 1919-1920. Mayr was particularly known as the man who introduced Hitler to politics...
. These helped popularize the notion that there was a scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
responsible for the outbreak of war and Germany's defeat. "International Jewry" was described as a scourge composed of communists and other politicians across the party spectrum.
Such scapegoating was essential to Hitler's political career, and it seems that he genuinely believed that Jews were responsible for Germany's post-war troubles. In July 1919 Hitler was appointed Verbindungsmann (intelligence agent) of an Aufklärungskommando (reconnaissance commando) of the Reichswehr, both to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
the German Workers' Party
German Workers' Party
The German Workers' Party was the short-lived predecessor of the Nazi Party .-Origins:The DAP was founded in Munich in the hotel "Fürstenfelder Hof" on January 5, 1919 by Anton Drexler, a member of the occultist Thule Society. It developed out of the "Freien Arbeiterausschuss für einen guten...
(DAP). While he studied the activities of the DAP, Hitler became impressed with founder Anton Drexler
Anton Drexler
Anton Drexler was a German right-wing political leader of the 1920s, known for being Adolf Hitler's mentor during his early days in politics.-Biography:...
's antisemitic, nationalist, anti-capitalist
Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
and anti-Marxist ideas.
German Workers’ Party
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s, but instead "legally fight and remove the privileges enjoyed by the Jews as opposed to other foreigners living among us. Its final goal, however, must be the irrevocable removal of the Jews themselves."
Most people at the time understood this as a call for forced expulsion. Europe has a long history of expelling Jews and the auto-da-fe
Auto-da-fé
An auto-da-fé was the ritual of public penance of condemned heretics and apostates that took place when the Spanish Inquisition or the Portuguese Inquisition had decided their punishment, followed by the execution by the civil authorities of the sentences imposed...
.
Hitler was discharged from the army in March 1920 and with its continued support took full part in the DAP
German Workers' Party
The German Workers' Party was the short-lived predecessor of the Nazi Party .-Origins:The DAP was founded in Munich in the hotel "Fürstenfelder Hof" on January 5, 1919 by Anton Drexler, a member of the occultist Thule Society. It developed out of the "Freien Arbeiterausschuss für einen guten...
's activities. His talent for oratory and propaganda soon became evident and, with the support of Anton Drexler
Anton Drexler
Anton Drexler was a German right-wing political leader of the 1920s, known for being Adolf Hitler's mentor during his early days in politics.-Biography:...
, he became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920. In the spring of 1920 he engineered the change of name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei - NSDAP), usually known as the Nazi party (or, less commonly, the National Socialist party). The name "Nazi" comes from the German pronunciation of the first two syllables of "Nati"onalsozialistiche (in contrast to Sozi, a term used for the Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
). In the same period, under his influence the party adopted a modified swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
(a well-known good luck charm which had previously been used in Germany as a mark of volkishness and "Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
ism") along with the Roman salute
Roman salute
The Roman salute is a gesture in which the arm is held out forward straight, with palm down, and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out parallel to the ground. The former is a well known symbol of fascism that is commonly perceived to be...
used by Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
fascists.
At this time the Nazi Party was one of many small extremist groups in Munich, but Hitler soon discovered he had two remarkable talents, one for public oratory and another for inspiring personal loyalty. His street-corner oratory, attacking Jews, liberals
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
s and communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, began attracting adherents.
Early followers included
- Rudolf HessRudolf HessRudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
- Hermann GöringHermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, who was appointed to lead the SA after joining the party - Ernst RöhmErnst RöhmErnst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
, later head of the Nazis' paramilitary organization, the SASturmabteilungThe Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s... - Alfred RosenbergAlfred Rosenberg' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
- Gregor StrasserGregor StrasserGregor Strasser was a politician of the National Socialist German Workers Party...
- Dietrich EckartDietrich EckartDietrich Eckart was a German journalist and politician, together with Adolf Hitler one of the early key members of the Nazi Party and a participant of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch.-Biography:...
- Hermann EsserHermann EsserHermann Esser entered the Nazi party with Adolf Hitler in 1920, became the editor of the Nazi paper, Völkischer Beobachter, and a Nazi member of the Reichstag. In the early history of the party, he was Hitler's de facto deputy.Esser was born in Röhrmoos, Kingdom of Bavaria...
- Ludwig Maximilian Erwin von Scheubner-RichterLudwig Maximilian Erwin von Scheubner-RichterLudwig Maximilian Erwin von Scheubner-Richter or Max Scheubner-Richter, born Ludwig Maximilian Erwin Richter was an early member of the Nazi party...
- Wartime Field-Marshal Erich LudendorffErich LudendorffErich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg...
, who was the party's candidate for President of the Republic in 1925
The Beer Hall Putsch
Hitler decided to use Ludendorff as a front to seize power in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(the capital of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
), in an attempt later known as the Beer Hall Putsch
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
of November 8–9, 1923. This would be a step in the seizure of power nationwide, overthrowing the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Unfortunately for Hitler, the plans for November 8 went awry.
Nevertheless, in an attempt to recover, on November 9 about 2000 Nazi and Nazi/Fascist sympathizers marched from the Burgerbraukeller
Bürgerbräukeller
The Bürgerbräukeller was a large beer hall located in Munich, Germany. It was one of the large beer halls of the Bürgerliches Brauhaus company, and after Bürgerliches merged with Löwenbräu, the hall was transferred to that company. It was located on Rosenheimer Street in the neighborhood of...
to the Bavarian War Ministry
Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria)
The Ministry of War was a ministry for military affairs of the Kingdom of Bavaria, founded as Ministerium des Kriegswesens on October 1, 1808 by King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. It was located at Ludwigstraße in Munich...
, intending to free Ernst Rohm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
and his men, who had been captured there while trying to seize control of the facility; thereafter, the putschists would (it was hoped) convince Bavaria's government to join the putschists and complete the coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
by marching on Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, similar to Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's March on Rome
March on Rome
The March on Rome was a march by which Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party came to power in the Kingdom of Italy...
. The Bavarian authorities, however, ordered the Bavarian police to stand their ground. The putschists were dispersed after a short but ferocious firefight
Firefight
Firefight may refer to:* firefight, a large exchange of bullets between two sides * Firefighting, process of extinguishing destructive flames* A game mode in Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach video games...
in the streets near the Feldherrnhalle
Feldherrnhalle
The Feldherrnhalle is a monumental loggia in Munich, Germany. It was built between 1841 and 1844 at the southern end of Munich's Ludwigstrasse next to the Palais Preysing and east of the Hofgarten. Previously the Gothic Schwabinger Tor occupied that place...
; in all, 16 putschists and four policemen were killed. Hitler fled to the home of Ernst Hanfstaengl
Ernst Hanfstaengl
Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstaengl , was a Harvard-educated German businessman who was an intimate of Adolf Hitler before falling out of favor and defecting. He later worked for Franklin D...
, and by some accounts he contemplated suicide; this state of mind has been disputed. Hitler was depressed but calm when he was arrested on 11 November 1923. Fearing "left-wing" members of the Nazi Party might try to seize leadership from him during his incarceration, Hitler quickly appointed Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
temporary leader.
Mein Kampf
Hitler was tried for high treasonHigh treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
and used his trial as an opportunity to spread his message throughout Germany. In April 1924 he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison is a penal facility located in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west of Munich and south of Augsburg....
, where he received preferential treatment from sympathetic guards and received substantial quantities of fan mail, including funds and other assistance. During 1923 and 1924 at Landsberg he dictated the first volume of a book called Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
(My Struggle) to his faithful deputy Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
.
In Mein Kampf Hitler speaks at length about his youth, early days in the Nazi Party, future plans for Germany and general ideas on politics and race. The original title Hitler chose was My Struggle Against Four and a Half Years of Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice. His publisher shortened this to Mein Kampf.
During his childhood, Hitler had little interest in politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, as he fancied himself a painter. Like other boys in his part of Austria, he was attracted to Pan-Germanism
Pan-Germanism
Pan-Germanism is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify the German-speaking populations of Europe in a single nation-state known as Großdeutschland , where "German-speaking" was taken to include the Low German, Frisian and Dutch-speaking populations of the Low...
, but his intellectual pursuits were generally those of a dilettante
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
. After the fifth grade, he began neglecting his schoolwork, was forced to repeat a grade, and continually had to take special examinations to be permitted to advance to the next grade level. Soon after his father, Alois
Alois Hitler
Alois Hitler was an Austrian civil servant who was the father of Adolf Hitler.-Early life:...
, died in 1903, Hitler dropped out of high school at age 16, living at home and pursuing a Bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
lifestyle.
He discovered his skill in oratory after the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Hitler's objective as a politician was to restore the dignity of the German nation.
Hitler wrote of his hatred towards what he believed were the world's twin evils: communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. He said his aim was to eradicate both from Germany.
He also wrote that Germany needed to obtain new soil, called lebensraum
Lebensraum
was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
, which would properly nurture the "historic destiny" of the German people. This was envisioned to encompass vast regions of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
Anticommunism
In Hitler's mind, communismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
is the primary enemy of Germany:
According to Hitler, Marxism is a Jewish strategy to subjugate Germany and the world:
Because of these views, leftist political dissidents were the first to be targeted by the Nazi regime, long before racial discrimination was applied, on the basis of the Reichstag Fire Decree
Reichstag Fire Decree
The Reichstag Fire Decree is the common name of the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg in direct response to the Reichstag fire of 27 February 1933. The decree nullified many of the key civil liberties of German...
.
Persecution and extermination of these political groups was systematic in Germany and the occupied zones during the War.
Racial nationalism
Hitler was a Pan-GermanicPan-Germanism
Pan-Germanism is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify the German-speaking populations of Europe in a single nation-state known as Großdeutschland , where "German-speaking" was taken to include the Low German, Frisian and Dutch-speaking populations of the Low...
hyper-nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
whose ideology was built around a philosophically authoritarian, anti-Marxist, anti-Semitic, anti-democratic worldview. There are strong connections to the values of Nazism and the anti-rationalist tradition of the Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
movement of the early nineteenth century in response to the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. Like many Romantic artists, musicians, and writers, the Nazis valued strength, passion, frank declarations of feelings, and deep devotion to family and community. German romanticism
German Romanticism
For the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its...
in particular expressed these values. For instance, Hitler identified closely with the music of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, who harbored antisemitic views as the author of Das Judenthum in der Musik
Das Judenthum in der Musik
Das Judenthum in der Musik is an essay by Richard Wagner, attacking Jews in general and the composers Giacomo Meyerbeer and Felix Mendelssohn in particular, which was published under a pseudonym in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik of Leipzig in...
.
The Nazis' idealization of German tradition, folklore, volkisch culture, leadership (as exemplified by Frederick the Great and as eventually instantiated in the Fuhrerprinzip
Führerprinzip
The Führerprinzip , German for "leader principle", prescribes the fundamental basis of political authority in the governmental structures of the Third Reich...
), their rejection of the liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and parliamentarianism of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, and calling the German state the “Third Reich” (which traces back to the medieval First Reich and the pre-Weimar Second Reich) has led many to regard the Nazis as reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
.
Nazism drew heavily on Italian Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
: nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
(including collectivism
Collectivism
Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic, mystical or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society, or nation...
and populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
based on nationalist values); Third Position
Third Position
Third Position is a revolutionary nationalist political ideology that emphasizes its opposition to both communism and capitalism. Advocates of Third Position politics typically present themselves as "beyond left and right", instead claiming to syncretize radical ideas from both ends of the...
(including class collaboration
Class collaboration
Class collaboration is a principle of social organization based upon the belief that the division of society into a hierarchy of social classes is a positive and essential aspect of civilization.-Class collaboration under capitalism:...
, corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
, economic planning
Economic planning
Economic planning refers to any directing or planning of economic activity outside the mechanisisms of the market, in an attempt to achieve specific economic or social outcomes. Planning is an economic mechanism for resource allocation and decision-making in contrast with the market mechanism...
, mixed economy
Mixed economy
Mixed economy is an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies. Most mixed economies can be described as market economies with strong regulatory oversight, in addition to having a variety...
, national syndicalism
National syndicalism
National syndicalism is a nationalist variant of syndicalism.- Founding of national syndicalism in France :National syndicalism was founded in France by the fusion of Maurrassian integral nationalism with Sorelian syndicalism. Interest in Sorelian thought arose in the French political right,...
, protectionism
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
, and the studies of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
that fit the Nazi Party ideologues and agendas); totalitarianism
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
(including dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
, holism
Holism
Holism is the idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone...
, major social interventionism
Social interventionism
Social interventionism is an action which involves the intervention of a government or an organization in social affairs. Such policies can include provision of charity or social welfare as a means to alleviate social and economic problems of people facing financial difficulties; provision of...
, and statism
Statism
Statism is a term usually describing a political philosophy, whether of the right or the left, that emphasises the role of the state in politics or supports the use of the state to achieve economic, military or social goals...
); and militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
.
Uniquely, Nazism added a non-rationalist racial dimension to this otherwise typically Fascist ideology:
The anti-rationalist identification between Aryanism and Germanism
Germanism
Germanism can mean or be confused with any of the following:* German loan words and expressions in English* Pan-Germanism* Germanisation* Germanism...
, and its arcane opposition to Jewish Bolshevism
Jewish Bolshevism
Jewish Bolshevism, Judeo-Bolshevism, and known as Żydokomuna in Poland, is an antisemitic stereotype based on the claim that Jews have been the driving force behind or are disproportionately involved in the modern Communist movement, or sometimes more specifically Russian Bolshevism.The expression...
, was a source of much confusion. Large institutions were established to define what an Aryan was, with poor success, and finally the concept evolved around their practical needs. Originally Aryan peoples like Roma where excluded and annihilated
Porajmos
The Porajmos was the attempt made by Nazi Germany, the Independent State of Croatia, Horthy's Hungary and their allies to exterminate the Romani people of Europe during World War II...
, while certain "infrahuman" East Slavs, like Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, were redefined as Aryans during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for the sake of alliances.
Social conservatism
The Nazis promoted a socially conservativeSocial conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
view of all aspects of life, supported by harsh discipline and a militaristic point of view.
- Extreme homophobiaHomophobiaHomophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
leading to the systematic persecution of homosexuals. - Persecution of "degenerate artDegenerate artDegenerate art is the English translation of the German entartete Kunst, a term adopted by the Nazi regime in Germany to describe virtually all modern art. Such art was banned on the grounds that it was un-German or Jewish Bolshevist in nature, and those identified as degenerate artists were...
". - Strong rejection of premarital sex, prostitution, pornography and "sexual vice". Smoking, drinking and use of cosmetics were discouraged.
- Anti-intellectualismAnti-intellectualismAnti-intellectualism is hostility towards and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectual pursuits, usually expressed as the derision of education, philosophy, literature, art, and science, as impractical and contemptible...
. - Reivindication of a glorious past as the key to a glorious future.
Distrust of democracy
Hitler blamed Germany's parliamentary government for many of the nation's ills and wrote that he would destroy that form of government. Many historians have asserted that Hitler's essential character can be discovered in Mein Kampf. In it, he categorized human beings by their physical attributes, claiming German or NordicNordic theory
The Nordic race is one of the racial subcategories into which the Caucasian race was divided by anthropologists in the first half of the 20th century...
Aryans
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
were at the top of the hierarchy while assigning the bottom orders to Jews and Roma. Hitler also claimed that dominated peoples benefit by learning from superior Aryans, and said the Jews were conspiring to keep this "master race
Master race
Master race was a phrase and concept originating in the slave-holding Southern US. The later phrase Herrenvolk , interpreted as 'master race', was a concept in Nazi ideology in which the Nordic peoples, one of the branches of what in the late-19th and early-20th century was called the Aryan race,...
" from rightfully ruling the world by diluting its racial and cultural purity, and exhorting Aryans to believe in equality rather than superiority and inferiority. He described a struggle for world domination, an ongoing racial, cultural, and political battle between Aryans and Jews.
Considered relatively harmless, Hitler was given an early parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
from prison and released in December 1924. From there, Hitler began a long effort to rebuild the Nazi Party. Meanwhile, as the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
("Stormtroopers" or SA) gradually became a separate base of power within the party, Hitler founded the more reliable Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
("Protection Unit" or SS) a personal bodyguard. This elite, black-uniformed corps was eventually commanded by Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
.
Laying blame on the November Criminals
A key element of Hitler's popular appeal was his charismaCharisma
The term charisma has two senses: 1) compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others, 2) a divinely conferred power or talent. For some theological usages the term is rendered charism, with a meaning the same as sense 2...
tic ability to convey wounded national pride caused by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, imposed on a defeated Germany by the Allies. Germany had lost territory to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
along with admitting sole responsibility for the war, giving up her colonies, agreeing to severe military restrictions and assuming a staggering reparations
World War I reparations
World War I reparations refers to the payments and transfers of property and equipment that Germany was forced to make under the Treaty of Versailles following its defeat during World War I...
bill. Since most Germans did not believe that the German Empire had started the war (and did not clearly understand until later they had been defeated) they bitterly resented the terms. Two years after coming to office in 1933, Hitler blatantly defied the terms of the treaty when he announced that Germany would adopt military conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and would no longer adhere to the restrictions on the size of the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
as set out in Versailles. The party's early attempts to garner votes by blaming these humiliations unilaterally on "international Jewry" were not successful with the electorate, but the party's propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
wing learned quickly and began a more subtle propaganda combining anti-semitism with a spirited attack on the failures of the "Weimar system
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
" and the parties supporting it, calling them the November Criminals.
See also Nazi Party, anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
Further reading
- Haffner, SebastianSebastian HaffnerSebastian Haffner was a German journalist and author. He wrote mainly about recent German history....
, The Meaning of HitlerThe Meaning of HitlerThe Meaning of Hitler is the title of the English translation of the originally German 1978 book Anmerkungen zu Hitler by the journalist and writer Raimund Pretzel, who published all his books under the pseudonym Sebastian Haffner....
(first published in German in 1978) - The History Place: The Rise of Adolf Hitler