Did the Nazi regime achieve a totalitarian state?
When Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party took power in 1933, a wave of terror was begun which led to the genocide of millions of people and the destruction of much of the European continent. While the reign of the National Socialist regime has been universally recognized as a horrible time period in history, different arguments have been presented to explain how such a regime could take power in modern society. Current debates have included comparisons of the National Socialist regime to other forms of dictatorships and tyrannies, while other arguments have been made that National Socialism represents an entirely different type of regime. Specifically, Hannah Arendt maintains that the Third Reich was a totalitarian regime, established by a totalitarian movement. The argument has been made that, between 1933 and 1934, such a regime was established with the rise of the National Socialist party to power, and the subsequent elimination of all political enemies of the! Nazi party. However after evaluating Hannah Arendt's definition of a totalitarian regime established by a totalitarian movement, that may not be the case. Although a totalitarian movement had indeed been created in National Sociali
Dissention could only come from opposing groups, equally affected by these social conditions, but still able to defend against the Nazi threat such as the social democrats or communists. 165) Thus the only thought process which can be performed with any certainty by the isolated individual has to be given to him in the form of a direct order under the notion of fulfilling his own destiny. The state that Nazi Germany reflects in 1933 is in accordance with Arendt's prerequisites for a totalitarian movement, as the political scene in Germany in 1933 had reached a point of absolute chaos. A Totalitarian regime uses terror not only as an instrument to suppress opposition, but once free of opposition, terror is employed to ensure the movement of the regime. After World War I, as a result of poor leadership and crippling sanctions put on Germany by the allies in the Treaty of Versailles, Germany went through a period of complete political, social, and economic crisis. Totalitarian movements are mass organizations of atomized, isolated individuals, made possible when masses of people are not held together by a consciousness of common interest, but through fear of the ruling party. All activity in society, public and private, is focused towards achieving a state of complete unison, in which every man's entire life can only serve one goal, the fulfillment of the predetermined forces of nature. Totalitarianism is the establishment of a political regime in which all of society is held accountable for the acceleration of a stated movement. st Germany, a complete totalitarian regime, according to Arendt's definition, was never achieved. As Arendt contends, "if lawfulness is the essence of non-tyrannical government, and lawlessness is the essence of tyranny, then terror is the essence of totalitarian domination.
Common topics in this essay:
Socialist Germany,
National Socialist,
According Arendt,
National Socialism,
Nazi Germany,
Nazi Party,
German Dissention,
Socialism Nazis,
Arendt Hannah,
Russia Germans,
totalitarian movement,
national socialist,
totalitarian regime,
arendt hannah,
regime established,
nazi party,
national socialism,
common sense,
nazi germany,
totalitarian regime established,
socialist party,
national socialist party,
national socialist regime,
regime established totalitarian,
established totalitarian movement,
|
Acceptance Essays
