Paper 2 Essay

"Evaluate the successes and failures of one ruler of a single party state"


     While it can generally be agreed upon that Hitler was the most powerful and charismatic leader that Germany had ever seen, his failures in foreign policy undermined everything that he had successfully established domestically.
     Hitler was very capable of keeping order within the Reich through use of the SS, Gestapo, and enacting certain laws. The very moment Hitler had taken power, he began to enact laws of an anti-Semitic nature. Laws were created preventing Jews from owning and operation businesses. The Gestapo was in charge of finding Jews and forcing them to wear golden stars at all times. This was used as a way to make it more efficient to fill the concentration camps, as that anyone wearing a golden star, purple triangle (homosexuals), or brown triangle (gypsies), was rounded up and placed in the concentration camps. Hitler's implementation of the process forced the concentration camps to become so over run, that they had to be upgraded to outright death camps, such as Treblinka, where a gas chamber was installed that could accommodate 2000 people.
     Hitler's merging of the S.S. with the S.A. had a profound affect on those that weren't affiliated with the Nazis. The S.S. had a regular habit of using spies to gain information as to the activities of other groups. One was never completely sure as to whom one could trust in Nazi Germany. The Edelweiss Pirates were among the largest of the fringe opposition groups and gained a certain notoriety of being able to escape the S.S.. In 1944, Goering ordered a massive crackdown on all similar groups and as a result the leaders of the Edelweiss Pirates were hung.
     Hitler's invasion of the Sudetenland marked a change in goals for Hitler and his Reich. The idea of lebensraum, or living-space, was one of the central columns of Hitler's philosophy and his promise to gain it is what helped him get elected Chancellor. Hitler had surrounded himself with some of the best generals Germany had at the time, so one would assume foreign policy should have been well maintained; which it had been, until 1941.
     Hitler's first series of battles came with the invasion of France. Hitler had spent quite a bit of time and money rebuilding Germany's army, and as a result easily won. Hitler's first set back came when the Luftwaffe were not able to defeat RAF forces in what became known as the "Battle for Britain". This marked the end of Hitler's western expansion. When German troops invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941; Hitler had opened up what is known as a two-front war. Because of Germany's position in central Europe, her borders are extremely vulnerable. Historically, Germany has never been able to rally enough troops to sustain a two-front war and it has always led to her undoing. It was widely agreed upon that this reason was the main cause of Germany's loss in WWI, so it can be assumed that Hitler's generals were aware of the dangers of declaring war on the Soviet Union. The main reason as to why Hitler's foreign policy was so disastrous was Hitler's constant overriding of his generals orders and advice. Hitler thought himself to be the better military leader, even though he had very little if any tactical training or experience. These series of errors is exactly what allowed the Red Army to march into Germany and eventually take control of Berlin in 1945.
     Had Hitler been able to no open up a two-front war, it is quite possible that the Soviet invasion could have been stayed off long enough for Germany to secure the western border and relocate more troops towards the eastern front; possibly being able to turn the tide of the battles with the already ill-equipped Soviet troops. While Hitler was able to control Germany, his failure to be able to extend his domestic policies to include all the newly gained territory, is what ultimately led him to the failure of his ultimate goal of establishing a stable Nazi Reich in all of Europe.

Domestic Policy

Disillusion of other parties
Oppression of all those opposed
Manipulation of the legal system; Enabling Law
Extremism; Enabling Law
State comes first, over the civil rights of the people
Totalitarian Regime
Intellectualism was frowned upon. Unless you know how to build rockets.
Communism outlawed

Papers, please!
Order was established through both the SA and later the SS
Leisure programs were used to gain support by the common worker
Indoctrination of children by alteration of school system
Concentration of all Aryan peoples
Youth, Hitler.

Social Democrat Speech

Guten Tag, meine dames und herre, now you may be asking youselfs vhy you have been put in dis decision und vhy de kaiser hast failed you. Ve are at the dawn of eine new era, und der Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutchlands ist ready to lead de vay. Ve are still in shambles from der first Var, und change vill not come at vonce. Ve must honor der men und der noble sacrifice. Ve must ensure de verking man ist protected from de evil of greed und pover. Der Verking claas ist der backbone of de recovery of Deutchland und most be supported at alles cost! Now, mein countrymen und der countryvomen, der commaniezuspet vill hast you believe that eine radical revolution ist necessary, regardless of der human cost. I ask you, hast ve not seen enough bloodshed? Unlike how der flows of money in der bankishites hast run dry, unless ve act now, I fear der river of blood shall be reopened und der torrent of hate shall be undleashed.

I emplore you, meine dames une herre, make de right decision.

Downfall Notes (HW 5- HW 10)

Downfall (2005) is the first WWII movie, regarding the intimate side of Hitler, shot in German. All previous attempts at the same topic were banned by the German government. The movie was based off of first hand accounts from all the people in the bunker, in addition to certain accounts from the Nuremberg trials. The purpose of the movie was to capture the fall of Hitler in one single movie. Hitler had a team of advisors that he kept with him at all times, but didn't necessarily follow their advice. Hitler had little to no military experience, and ignored all the advice of his generals, thus adding to the conflict of the invading Soviet forces. The Hitler youth later began to hold an active role in the fighting, which was a shift from the usually twisted education/political-only orientation they usually held. Toward the end of the war, because the number of soldiers began to dwindle, girls began to be allowed to join the Hitler youth, which was previously strictly banned. Hitler believed that Germany hadn't lost WWI due to any sort of military loss, but rather that greedy Jewish businessmen and the democrats that signed the Treaty of Versailles had betrayed Germany. This became known as the "Stab in the Back" theory. Hitler used this to sway the minds of the people. The Soviet army got closer and closer to Berlin, most of Hitler's generals began to panic and urge him to leave. Hitler refused and became increasingly paranoid. Hitler greatly overestimated the number of troops he had and thought he would be saved at any moment. The Soviet army drew closer and closer and Hitler grew desperate enough and committed suicide along with his recently-wedded wife, Eva Braun. This signaled the end. Many generals wanted to surrender, but many others, even after Hitler's death were still following his orders to never give up. Frauline Goebbels decided that she would rather have killed her children then have them live in a world without Hitler's influence. The Soviet army reached the entrance to the bunker and many of the generals committed suicide, arguably not out of devotion to Hitler, but out of fear as to what the Soviet troops would do to prisoners of war. The Soviets were notorious for the brutality in which they kept their prisoners, and after such a long and bloody war, the fate of a high ranking German general was sealed. There were a few discrepancies in the film however. Most of the accounts from thing inside the bunker were taken from the notes of a Gen. Speer. This only offers a one-sided look into the accounts and the film does hint and him being more "good" than the other officials. The film is meant to chronicle the times of a Frau Traudl, as Hitler's newest secretary. The film fails to mention however, that Frau Traudl was a Nazi party member prior to working for Hitler, which is a stark contrast to how the film portrays her as a naive young woman who unknowingly accepts a job from Hitler. 

HW 4

The article from the Associated Press shares a few key themes with rise and rule of single-party state leaders. The article uses emotionally charged images, of the opening of a WWII memorial in Poland, to invoke people's sympathy. Such a tactic was used by Hitler to gain power prior to his election as Chancellor. Hitler manipulated the emotions of the people in the form on anti-Semitism in order to rally them behind his cause and make him seem like Germany's last saving grace. The article goes on to mention the methods of forced used in Germany's invasion of Poland. Death camps and artillery shelling we just a couple of the methods Hitler used when the invasion began. The rest of the article is hard to judge because no information is given as to the author of the article.