Why should we understand Nazism
Nazism became one of the most basic clichés for evil menaces in the media. Hydra, the Red Skull from the Marvel Cinematic series and the Galactic Empire from the Star Wars Saga are the most notable settings inspired by Nazism.
Despite tragedy caused by Nazism and the viciousness of this ideology, not many people can define Nazism nor know exactly what Nazism means. Many people would pledge Nazism is terrible but they would proudly allege in public of their dangerous and wicked ideas that is identical to Nazism in nature.
Nazism became one of the most exposed ideologies to the media. Without being clearly aware of what Nazism is, the ideas of Nazism may unconsiously influence thoughts of viewers.
As much as we know the terrible consequences and tragedy the Nazi’s caused, for any kind of ideology, people should cleary define what Nazism is to prevent the reemergence of it and prevent it from defiling our thoughts.
Overview of Nazism and Fascism
Nazism, in German ‘Nationalsozialismus’ translates as National Socialism. Nazism is the combination of ideologies such as Anti-Semitism (Anti-Judaisum), social hierarchy based on the cultural and racial superiority of the German race, nationalism, and totalitarianism [1]
Adolf Hitler didn’t create Nazism but it was rather inspired by fascism and Fascism was first created by Hitler’s partner Benito Mussolini.
Although Nazism derived from the Fascism, Nazism isn’t completely identical with Fascism and Fascism developed into different varieties across the world. The term Fascism was established by Nazi Germany’s close ally Benito Mussolini incorporating nationalism and totalitarianism together.
Based on these two concepts, fascism spread to various countries. Those countries that accepted fascism would incorporate different ideas or cultural concepts to develop their unique fascist doctrine during the early 1900’s.[2]
Founder of the Nazi Party – Anton Drexler
The Nazi Party, National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei NSDAP) was not founded by Adolf Hitler.
A German named Anton Drexler from Munich founded the Dap(Deustche Arbeiter Partei), the predecessor of the Nazi party. however, he didn’t hold any power throughout the Nazi regime. The DAP changes its name to the NSDAP(NAZI) in 1920.
Adolf Hitler’s Accession in the Nazi Party
Adolf Hitler, born in Austria Braunau am Inn, once dreamt of becoming an artist but he eventually failed to enter the Academy of Fine Arts of Austria. He relocates to Munich, Germany and serves for the Germany army during World War I.
After Germany’s defeat of World War I, he joined the German Worker’s Party (DAP), the predecessor of the Nazi Party in 1919.
Hitler found and developed his talent in speech and steadily developed his mad idealism of Nazism incorporating antisemitism with national socialism.
Adolf Hitler slowly began to gain power and quickly climbed of leadership in the DAP that would become the Nazi party.
Adolf Hitler’s regime of the Nazi Party and the Beer Hall Putsch
Adolf Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party in 1921 after solidifying his position by his exaggerative but inciting speech skills. In 1923, Hitler and the Nazi party attempted to overthrow the Bavarian State government. This attempt is later called the ‘Beer Hall Putsch’.
This may have been a failure, but the Beer Hall Putsch was merely the start of the rise of the phantom menace.[3]
Adolf Hitler and the Failure of the Beer Hall Putsch / Publishment of Mein Kampf
After the Beer Hall Putsch failed in 1923, Hitler was sentenced 5 years in prison but he only served 9 months in prison.
During his imprisonment, he wrote his biography ‘Mein Kampf’, where Hitler proclaimed the importance of antisemitism, blaming the Jewish race for all matters of Germany(Weimar Republic), the importance of Nationalism, and the superiority of the German race.
The Beer Hall Putsch made Adolf Hitler a national political star and his book Mein Kampf became a best seller. Upon 1932, the Nazi Party became the second largest party in Germany.
Hitler is offered chancellorship in 1933 and the same year, the Enabling bill was passed leaving the Nazi Party as the only eligible party in Germany with thunderous applause.[4]
Why was Germany supportive of the Nazi party during the 1930’s
Mainland Germany was unharmed and intact from the desolation of World War I as the war ended before the Allied forces could reach mainland Germany.
Majority of the Germans, who haven’t experienced the dreadful trenches and the battlefields of World War I would question the defeat of the German Empire.
The mainlands of Germany never had to face the harsh brutal and the public who didn’t experience the brutal battlefields couldn’t accept the reality of defeat. This doubt by the public would lead to doubts on the Weimar Republic which was formed after the dismission of the German.
The Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression put even more pressure and raised disbelief on the Weimar Republic among the German public.
Night of the Long Knives - Adolf Hitler’s reign as Chancellor and the Führer of Germany
On June 1934, through the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ Hitler mobilizes his personal guards the SS(Schutzstaffel), which used to be a small organization compared with the mainstream group SA(Sturmabteilung) the 'Brown Shirts' of the Nazi Party to ‘clean up’ his enemies within the Nazi Party.
Ernst Röhm, the leader of the SA, was murdered this day as he couldn’t concur with Hitler accepting the elites of the Germany society into Nazism.
After, Adolf Hitler seizes and consolidates his power within the Nazi party, he announces himself the president and Führer(Führer und Reichskanzler).[5]
The rise of Adolf Hitler leads to horrors of the Holocaust, and World War II, which eventually leads to his suicide and Germany’ defeat in 1945.
Adolf Hitler – Vegetarian and Teetotaler
Adolf Hitler was a dedicated vegetarian and teetotaler, which means he doesn’t intake any alcoholic beverage. He didn't even like smoking
This was often depicted in many films including Downfall, where he only eats vegetables for his meals and underestimated by personnel as he doesn’t drink any alcohol.[6]
Schutzstaffel the core of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler
The SS, Schutzstaffel, Guard unit is the political corps, the ‘political gang’, that supported the Nazi Party.
The SS was a very small unit during the 1920’s compared to the SA(Sturmabteilung) of the Nazi Party, which was the dominant paramilitary force within the Nazi Party lead by Ernst Röhm. However, as Hitler seized more power within the Nazi party and nationwide, the SS also started to grow.
On 1931, the Security Service, the SD(SicherheitsDienst-SD) is established which later serves as the infamous intelligence and counter-intelligence security service for the Nazi party.
The same year the Race and Settlement Office (Rasse-und Siedlungsmat) was also created for the maintenance of ‘racial purity’ within the SS. By 1933, the SS grows to up to 50,000 men.
Schutzstaffel – Core of the Nazi Party Police Forces and all concentration camps
By this time Hitler constantly clashed with Ernst Röhm in the Nazi party’s policy in embracing the elites and traditional powers of Germany.
Röhm was more radical on the ‘socialist’ perspective and constantly demanded a ‘revolution of the people’ while Hitler stretched the necessity of the traditional powers and elites.
Eventually, Hitler orders the Himler and the SS to eliminate Röhm and other political enemies in 1934 during the ‘Night of the Long Knives’.
The SS has gained more power as the German Police is centralized under the control of the SS Himmler eventually becomes the Chief of the German Police as well.
The SS even systematically controlled all operations and administrations of all concentration camps.[7] With this power, the SS eventually erected the ‘Final Solution’, the decision for the systematic annihilation of Judaism.
Establishment of the Waffen SS
Later on, the SS would divide into the Algemieine SS (General SS) and the Waffen SS, where the Waffen SS rivals the Germany Army as the ‘people’s army’ armed with political fanatics.(Although the ‘racial purity’ and ‘ideologically armed’ concept diminishes throughout the progress of war out of desperation).[8]
Towards the defeat of Germany, Hitler loses his faith in the Germany military due to a series of events, including the attempted assassination by the exploit of ‘Operation Valkyrie’, and constant defeats in the west and east.
Heinrich Himmler – Rise within the Nazi Party / Head of the SS
The ‘second’ among the ranks of the Third Reich is Heinrich Himmler. After joining the Nazi party in 1923, Heinrich Himmler was one of those who have pushed through the Beer Hall Pausch along with Hitler, Röhm, and Hermann Göring.
Himmler was able to build up his reputation within the party through his speeches on the superiority of the German race, inferiority of the other races, and other political parties such as communism.
In 1929, Heinrich Himmler is appointed the Reichsführer SS of the SS, the Schutzstaffel (personal bodyguard of Adolf Hitler) by Hitler. Himmler maintains this position as the highest-ranking leader of the SS until his suicide in 1945.
Heinrich Himmler’s Miserable Last
Hitler eventually appoints Himmler as the Chief of the Replacement Army and commander-in-chief of the Army Group Upper Rhine in the end of 1944.[9] However Heinrich Himmler had to constantly struggle with his political rivals Albert Speer, Herman Göring and Martin Bormann.
In April 1945 Himmler attempted to negotiate with the Allied Forces by the Swedish Red Cross in desperation to reach Dwight Eisenhower, the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in the West.
Hitler outraged when he found about this and terminated all positions that Himmler held. Afraid of trials for his actions, Himmler tried to disguise himself as an ordinary civilian but was arrested by the Allied forces.
Before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, Himmler commits suicide as the guards were unaware of the cyanide capsule in his mouth.
Relationship between Heinrcih Himmler, Hermann Fegelein, and Adolf Hitler
Hermann Fegelein was the liaison officer of Heinrich Himmler. As Adolf Hitler found the treachery of his trusted Himmler, Hitler immediately ordered to find Fegelein.
This was depicted in the film, Downfall. Hermann Fegelein was the wife of the sister of Eva Braun, Hitler’s lover, in short Hermann Fegelein was technically a brother in law of Adolf Hitler(Technically because Hitler didn’t marry his lover Eva Braun).
Adolf Hitler orders the execution of Fegelein as his rage overwhelmed the fact that Hermann Fegelein was his brother-in-law
Walther Hewel – Diplomat
Walther Hewel was a diplomat of Germany and one of the early members of the Nazi Party. He was also the few intimate close friends of Adolf Hitler. During Hitler’s imprisonment for the Beer Hall Putsch, Hewel was also imprisoned in jail.
After Hewel’s release, Hewel temporarily works in the coffee sales business as a salesman in the Dutch East Indies.[10] After Hitler gains power in 1933 and became the chancellor of Germany, Hewel returns to Germany and works in the diplomatic field until the end of the Nazi regime.
His work includes the diplomatic service in Madrid and mediation between Germany officials and the Czech president in 1939.
Later, Walther Hewel was appointed the special ambassador without an official profile and served as the liaison officer of the infamous minister of foreign affairs Joachim Von Ribbentrop.
Hewel eventually commits suicide on 2 May 1945. On this very day that Helmuth Weidling officially announced the death of Adolf Hitler and ordered the cease-fire of all resistance in Berlin, Walther Hewel shot himself while he was fleeing with the remaining officers of the SS. [11]
[1] “Totalitarianism and Expansionism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/event/Nazism/Totalitarianism-and-expansionism.
[2] Waxman, Olivia B. “What Is Fascism? What to Know about Its Brutal Origins.” Time, Time, 22 Mar. 2019, https://time.com/5556242/what-is-fascism/.
[3] “Nazi Party.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nazi-Party.
[4] Michal. “How Did Adolf Hitler Happen?: The National WWII Museum: New Orleans.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, The National World War II Museum, 22 June 2017, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/how-did-adolf-hitler-happen.
[5] “Dictator, 1933–39.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler/Dictator-1933-39.
[6] “9 Things You Might Not Know about Adolf Hitler.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/list/9-things-you-might-not-know-about-adolf-hitler.
[7] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/heinrich-himmler.
[8] “SS.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/SS.
[9] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ss-key-dates?series=27.
[10] Peoplepill.com. “About Walther Hewel: German Diplomat (1904 - 1945): Biography, Facts, Career, Life.” Peoplepill.com, https://peoplepill.com/people/walther-hewel.
[11] (john@spartacus-educational.com), John Simkin. Spartacus Educational, Spartacus Educational, https://spartacus-educational.com/Walter_von_Hewell.htm.
