The Power of Persuasion
or Why Did Germanic People Follow Hitler and His Devices
The most horrible aspect of the Nazi rule in Europe was not derived from
military or economic necessity but from the inhumanity and brutality inherent
of the doctrines of Adolf Hitler. Hitler considered the Jewish people as Untermenschen meaning less than human creatures who need not be considered human, and thus
treated as such. In many areas of, especially, Germany the upper classes were
removed through such atrocious actions as jailing, deportation and killing. Heinrich Himmler, the head of
Hitler's notorious security squad (SS) made plans to eliminate an estimated 30
million Jews as a means of accommodating the Germans and formed extermination squads to
fulfill this goal. The number of Jewish prisons of war and deported civilian workers who
died under Nazi rule may have reached six million.
Most people when they think about the Holocaust think about the Jews who dies as a
result of Hitler's plans. "Race and universal struggle were the core of.... message. German's were victims of vast conspiracies mounted by foreign
powers .... and (above all) Jews; therefore, Hitler wanted to make all of Europe Judenein which means free of Jews (Chambers 937) . Initially he
thought of treating them much like lepers, expelling them to the island of
Madagascar. Later though, he found his answer known as the final solution of
the Jewish problem. This solution of course was the extermination of the Jews at various Nazi created concentration camps in Germany and Poland. Before
the war was over, it is estimated that six million Jews had died in the Holocaust. Only an estimated one million remained alive, and most of them
were in pitiable condition.
Obviously Hitler needed help in his solution to what he considered as the
Jewish problem. Through his army and power he was able to amass troops of agents ready and willing to help him execute his atrocious plan. But many,
like myself, wonder how it was possible for Hitler to persuade so many to partake in such horrific crimes of humanity. The answer is propaganda, a
systematic and often credited brilliant campaign that was used to convince
people that what they were doing was good. Hitler's actions were not widely
realized outside of Germany and Poland until it was too late. However, many
members of the international community responded to the issue and reacted.
Although it seems to be impossible for the human mind to follow the propaganda of
Holocaust, Hitler was able to garner such strong support for an unthinkable plan among
Germanic people in a very short time. There are several ways in which Hitler was able to
garner the support of others. From material to mental considerations, Hitler utilized a host of
means in order to reach his solution. In terms of material considerations,
Hitler informed his fellow countrymen of the riches abroad that Germany could exploit for
its pleasure."We will give back nothing and will take
everything that we can make use of", said Hitler, "this is the only goal
which before God and our German posterity justifies shedding our blood (Perry 352). The
Germans responded to Hitler's promise of material goods as they systematically looted the
countries that they conquered garnering such treasures as art, food and various types of
equipment. But although the Germans who aided in the mass looting were treated well, those
victim to it were not as the Nazi transported people back to Germany for forced
enslavement. Apparently, a large number of the Germans did not mind such duties, as they
were rewarding themselves and their fellow Germans through the confiscation of goods and
the use of slaves.
But material items alone could not persuade people to commit the atrocities that they
did. In addition, people would clearly not be ready to partake in such deliberate human
suffering. Hitler realized this and used propaganda, which is "considered to be any
systematic and widespread promotion or dissemination of particular ideas, practices and
doctrines" ( The History Place: The Rise of Hitler ) . It was this propaganda that
allowed Hitler to garner the support necessary to execute his final solution.
In a document entitled Protocols there is writing that revealed that Jews
were enemies of Germany. The Protocol was a pamphlet that was a recording of a
meeting which revealed issues that were agreed upon. Hitler found this document to be quite useful for his evil agenda. "Despite all their seemingly
intellectual qualities the Jewish people are without true culture.... What
they have contributed is bowdlerization or spiritual theft"; moreover, Hitler went
one step further however and emphasized that Jews wanted to take over Germany and later
introduced the material as standard classroom reading (Perry 349) . In the beginning
however, he used the document in order to stir up and garner his followers, mostly a
groups of unemployed and disgruntled former soldiers like himself.
History itself played an integral role in Hitler's ability to garner followers. The
mood in Germany was grim as World War I had been a disaster. Unemployment was widespread
and the inflation rate made the citizens savings virtually of no value. Thus, the German
morale was low and this sentiment was widespread. Hitler blamed the Jews for the defeat,
not the Germans themselves. Placating blame on the Jews helped Hitler and his goal as the
Germans not only were told that the Jews were bad, but felt better under Hitler's
leadership as he did not blame them for the defeat. Hitler even went as far as to claim
that the Jews had taken over Germany when in fact, the Jewish population accounted for
less that one percent.
But his public speeches were not enough to garner the support he needed. Thus, Hitler
spread hatred for the Jews through the Nazi party press as well. Similar to the plan to
arouse people through material wealth for the country, power was given through Hitler's
clever decision to dress his creed with symbols of power. He put his early Nazi followers
in brown-shirted uniforms and called them storm troops. Rallied by the words of Hitler,
the troops went to the street singing songs that were derogatory to the Jews and many
feared their wrath.
Another reason that Hitler was able to amass such power in Germany was because of the
bureaucratic organization that he led. The SS had its own intelligence unit, whose
initials were SD, in addition to this "the SD spied upon the government, looking for
traitors and enemies, and on the SS itself. The SS also had its own courts and its own
army, the Waffen, which was a part of the regular German army" (Chambers 942).
But back to less superficial reasons that Hitler was able to gain
power, we see most important was Hitler's ability to motivate the people. As mentioned,
esteem and morale were low because of the World War I aftermath. Hitler gave the people an
opportunity to become a part of an elitist type of organization both on a material and
mental level. In an essay entitled "Why I am a Nazi," written by Marlene
Heder,
we see the way that Hitler was able to motivate, to control people. "The Fuhrer
visited Kassel, Adolf Hitler wanted to speak to us" ( The History Place: The Rise of
Adolf Hitler ).
Derived from this quote, we see that the 20 year old girl, who had lost her father and
sister in World War I, it is evident that there existed anxiousness which signifies
Hitler's effect on the youth. The passage goes on to demonstrate how the young were
attracted to Hitler's personal magnetism, "And we waited, waited with the patience of
angels, and it didn't matter to us that we were almost crushed to death by the press of
the masses of people....Many stood with tears in their eyes; to many old people, the
chance to see and hear the Fuhrer fulfilled the dream of a lifetime" (Ibid. ).
Joseph Goebbels also kept a diary in regard to Hitler. Despite initial
hesitations, Goebbels eventually became a part of the Nazi party. Goebbels formed a
personal relationship with Hitler which appears to be largely derived from Hitler's
mastery in motivation and motivations are based upon the needs of people. According to
Maslow, people's personalities are motivated by needs these are; physiological needs,
safety needs, belongingness, esteem needs and self-actualization.
Physiological needs encompass specific biological needs such as food, shelter and
clothing. Hitler, as a time when people had little money as a result of the first World
War, promised and gave his followers these needs. Through the looting and other sources
for revenues for the German's, Hitler was accredited with giving his followers, their
material, physiological needs. In terms of safety needs, Hitler's
followers no doubt felt a large degree of safety in the realization that Germany now
controlled a large part of Europe, had military weaponry from the conquered countries and
the party itself was gaining more power everyday. It is important to note that to some
degree, this safety was derived from loyalty. As discussed, the bureaucratic organization
also incorporated threats, spying and punishment for those who did not follow the platform
of the party.
As for the third intrinsic need of people, Maslow felt that people need to feel that
they belong and that they are loved. Hitler responded to this need in people, in giving
them the attention that they did not receive elsewhere. Many of the followers of the party
were people such as himself who were unemployed after the first war. A large majority of
followers were people such as Marlene Heder, who lost part of her family.
Esteem needs were given to the people as Hitler did not blame them for the loss of the
first war. Rather, Hitler told his followers that the loss was the fault of the Jews, the
source of their current misery. In addition, Hitler made many people with low esteem feel
better about themselves through the other needs such as belongings. Hitler made many
members feel like family and hence, was able to gain their support. Finally Maslow asserts
that people have the quintessential longing for self-actualization which is the desire for
self-fulfillment, the realization of ones potential. Hitler took kids without homes and
older people without hope and gave them a goal, a duty. As people were able to join the
ranks of what appeared to be an elitist type party they were able to feel as if they have
achieved something, reach their potential.
But not all of the Germans followed the platforms and practices of Hitler. Many who
were thought or actually found to be traitors were executed. Meanwhile the sheer fear that
Hitler instilled in his men, "and in turn the men instilled in the people, made them
afraid to counter Hitler's actions" (The History Place: The Rise of Adolf Hitler ).
But many often wonder why foreign countries did not take many measures to intervene. The
reason that the atrocities of the Holocaust lasted so long, from 1933 to 1945, was because
few people new about the extermination campaign. The Second World War, was not a direct
answer or ramification of Hitler led atrocities. Rather, most western countries found out
about the situation, very late in the game. Oskar Schindler, other well
known figures also attempted to end the plight of the Jews, who many acknowledge because
of Steven Speilberg's movie Schindler's List attempted to help the Jews as he realized
their situation. Born in Zwittau, then part of the Austrian empire, Schindler allowed Jews
to live on the grounds of his factory which led to no "SS officers to brutalize them,
no guards inside the camp, only at the entrance...There were long work shifts, yes, but
profits had to be made if the factory was to survive. No one died of overwork or hunger or
beatings" ( Yahoo!- Arts ). Despite his efforts, "...the prisoners would go back
into Plaszow, to await "relocation." He knew what that word meant:
extermination" (Ibid. ) . Oskar Schindler is best known for his heroism in risking
his own life, being arrested several times in order to attempt to rescue people from
imminent death, from the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. No one is exactly sure how
he managed this feat, but anyone can assume how the rescued prisoners felt, "One of
them remembered years later that on seeing him she felt that "he was our father, he
was our mother, he was our only faith. He never let us down" (Ibid. ).
In conclusion, we see that Hitler was able to systematically control many of the German
people in order to aid with his "final solution to the Jewish problem" (Chambers
941 ) . Through the utilization of motivational, mental and material factors, Hitler was
able to attract the followers who were vulnerable, particularly in the aftermath of World
War I. But while it is known that a great deal of the western world was unaware of the
issues facing the Jews, the atrocities committed to them, a handful of European nations
risked a great deal to help end the human suffering that so many had already faced.
Works Cited
Chambers, Mortimer. The Western Experience. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.
Perry, Marvin. Sources of the Western Tradition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1995.
"The History Place: The Rise of Adolf Hitler ." Internet. Available :
http://www.historyplace.com/wolrdwar2/riseofhitler/inde>
"Yahoo! - Arts; Humanities: History: 20th Century; World War II: People."
Internet. Available : http://www.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/20th_Century/Wolrd_War_II/ People/
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