Nazi Germany 1933-39: The Nazi Dictatorship

what is the 'fuhrerprinzip'?

(German for "leader principle") prescribed the fundamental basis of political authority in the governmental structures of the Third Reich.

how were paintings used as a form of propaganda?

- hitler too great interest in painting, so once in power hitler began to remove degenerate art and foster healthy aryan art - modern, reflective, abstract art, which had flourished during weimar, was to be replaced by clear visual images that ordinary germans could understand and be inspired by. nazi art was to be clear, direct and heroic. - the state was involved both in controlling what was produced and how it was spread. - all working artists had to become members of the reich culture chamber. - the state could withdraw licenses to teach, to exhibit or even to paint by issuing a malverbot

What evidence suggests that hitler was a strong dictator?

- hitler was an omnipotent dictator; he made a decision, which was smoothly implentated by his disciplined subordinates. - hitler's oratorical skills - mein kampf - the invasion of Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland - the night of the long knives - the period of gleichschaltung - the combining of president and chancellor into one position, the fuhrer

what gains and losses did the industrialists have from the impact of the economy?

gains: - companies like IG Farben were enormous winners, with vast contracts and enhanced profits. - for all manufacturers, there was the benefit that came from a labour force without independent trade unions. losses: - companies like steel manufacturers that refused to co-operate with Goering's four year plan, tended to lose out. - for all manufacturers there was a wedding bureaucracy and a vastly increased amount of form filling.

what gains and losses did the middle classes have from the impact of the economy?

gains: - security from the communists menace and a declining crime rate. - it seemed safer to wave the streets; if one toed the party line there was job security and comfort of a sort. losses: - the pressure to conform, the monotony of endless party parades and the harassment for donations to winter relief charities may have been resented.

how did public opinion in germany differ?

words in order of most positive response to least: - enthusiasm - commitment - toleration - dissent - non-conformity - resistance

how was sculpture used as a form of propaganda?

- sculpture was more accessible to people through the vast statues that conveyed the nazi message that adorned many of the new public buildings. - a series of massive sculptural muscle men paraded on or in front of nazi buildings, reflecting the biologically pure, vigorous aryan race. - hitler's favourite sculptors were Arno Becker and Josef Thorak

how successful was nazi propaganda?

- Mason (historian) is sceptical of Nazi propaganda success generally, and especially of it's effect upon particular social groups, such as the working class. - Welch (historian) argues that the nazis had considerable propaganda success in strengthening overall support for hitler and the regime. it's success in gaining support for particular policies, however, was more varied: it probably strengthened latent anti-semitism; anti- church propaganda was probably counter- productive. it probably succeeded in reinforcing militarism, without achieving widespread enthusiasm for war. Welch sugggets propaganda was successful in reinforcing than in countering existing attitudes, and a relative failure in indoctrinating germans with the nazi weltanschauung. - Geary (historian) argues that where the regime opposed traditional loyalties, it was far less successful, most obviously in the case of churches, as also amongst the German working class. - the nazis through their rallies conveyed an impression of a united and disciplined nation committed to nazism but that was propaganda in itself but not proof that propaganda had worked.

who were the 'feudal barons' of the nazi party and how did they gain and exercise their power?

- RUDOLPH HESS: he was appointed deputy fuhrer (april 1933). copies of decrees had to be submitted to his office before being published and he was given power to select all senior nazi officials. he was made successor to hitler after goering. he was a submissive, weak character, lacking intellectual and political skills, who was totally dependent on hitler - MARTIN BORMANN he was appointed head of party chancellery (may 1942), then appointed hitlers private secretary (1943). he organised party matters, he cut the fuhrer off from more cautious opinions, he published forward the holocaust and the struggle against christianity. he was a brutish, ruthless and ambitious man - HANS HEINRICH LAMMERS he was appointed as chief of the reich chancellery (1933-45). he acted as the main link between hitler and the reich ministers. he also summarised ministers ideas for hitler, with approval of the fuhrer he then issued instructions. he was an effecient, unimaginative bureaucrat, whom hitler trusted as his chief legal advisor and expert on state matters.

what organisations/ bodies did propaganda control?

- THE MEDIA: film, radio, press - THE ARTS AND CULTURE: posters, painting, sculpture, architecture, literature - CLUBS/ ACTVITIES/ SOCIETIES set up by the state: social policies, youth movements, schools, sport, parades, rallies.

What is meant by a 'monolithic state' and what might have fuelled this notion?

- a monolithic state means that power came from one source and all parts of the state acted in a uniform manner in the same interests and for the same goals. - people are led to believe this view due to the period of gleichschaltung that traditionally led to the view that organisation within the state was tight and carefully structured. - the precision with which the nazi revolution occurred also suggets hitler's full control over the process.

how was architecture used as a form of propaganda?

- architecture has been seen as the most important artistic form of propaganda - by far the most important styles in the buildings constructed during the third reich was the use for the numerous new public buildings. hitler favoured a neo-classical, monumental style. - statues were constructed infant of buildings, which represented absolute authority. - the 65- metre tower designed by speer was entirely built from german materials, this temporary 'pavilion' faced the soviet pavillon in a clear instance of architectural rivalry. - nazis favoured the more traditional approach to housing, this reflected the backward- looking, pro- countryside aspect of nazi ideology. - factories, airports and the autobahns were able to take advantage of new materials and techniques.

how were autobahns used to propagate nazi beliefs?

- autobahns were concrete expressions of the new united germany. - hitler stressed the construction of autobahns and the production of cars. - at the peak construction on autobahns in 1936 only 125,000 people were directly employed in construction. - even the autobahns military significance has been exaggerated, their surface was too thin for tanks. - the autobahns are of considerable significance architecturally as they illustrate great diversity. - the success of the autobahn programme was far more propagandist than real.

who suffered at the concentration camps?

- communists - social democrats - asocials - political opponents - undesirables - criminals - jews - gypsies - foreigners

what factors within Germany would reduce the encouragement of opposition?

- declining/ full employment - guns and butter; kept consumer goods high - the economy was strengthening - the anschuluss; hitler was given the sudetenland - one-party state - the hitler myth; strong leader - one-party state from 1933 with the disbanding of parties. - potential opposition groups weakened themselves by refusing to co operate.

what was the position of big businesses in the political structure of the third reich?

- from 1933 the position of the business community began to improve. however, small businesses found themselves being squeezed out by the power of big businesses, whose support was more crucial in the creation of new jobs. - building, coal and steel prospered most, whilst consumer goods production remained relatively depressed. - big businesses were able to exert an influence and maintain a privileged autonomy. - in the four year plan (1936) schacht urged the action of rearmament and increased emphasis on consumer goods and exports- this was a fatal error bringing down schacht and the end of heavy industries supremacy. - from 1936 the divisions and weaknesses in big businesses meant that the needs of the economy were determined by political decisions. - from 1942, speed's reforms liberated business to some extent, but it was still forced to operate within the political framework and priorities were clearly set by the regime.

What evidence suggests that hitler was a weak dictator?

- he frequently did not intervene in many areas - he permitted, and even encouraged, considerable argument amongst his subordinates, and might've intervened merely to endorse the decision of whoever emerged as winner - the arbitrary violence of the SA 1933-4 - the U-turn on women's policy 1937 - kristallnacht - the 'guns and butter' economic policy - the protection of 'big businesses' and the army - the concordat with the church

how were photographs and posters used to propagate nazi beliefs?

- hitler had an official photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann - key images were carefully stage managed. - a series of photos were widely reproduced, some as postcards, or inside cigarette packets. - after 1933 the nazi party had a monopoly of posters which was used to deepen support.

What would the intentionalist and structuralist position be on hitlers vision, hitlers power, reasons for the chaotic nature of the third reich, the holocaust, the second world war, nature of nazism

- hitlers vision intentionalist: hitler had a distinct weltanschauung. he had clear aims, especially anti- semitism, anti- bolshevism and lebenscraum. the key to the third reich is hitlers aims. structuralists: hitlers ideas were not very coherent. he was an opportunist who wanted power. - hitlers power intentionalist: hitler had great power, and was gradually able to implement his aims structuralists: hitlers position within the 3rd reich was quite weak; he was wary of potential opposition, and was not able to dominate event. - reasons for the chaotic nature of the 3rd reich internationalists: this system was a product of the deliberate intention of hitler to foster rivalries and competing authorities in order to enhance his own power as the decision maker. structuralists: the administrative confusion arose from the nature of hitler's charismatic leadership and was not deliberate policy - the holocaust intentionalist: hitler aimed to exterminate the jews and was eventually able to do so structuralists: the holocaust developed from a process of radicalisation in the regime and the influence of other events, especially war. - ww2 intentionalists: hitler aimed at war, and this desire was the prime determinant of german foreign policy structuralists: although hitler had broad overall aims in foreign policy, he had no blueprint for world war. - nature of nazism internationalists: nazism can be seen as hitlerism, dependent upon hitlers vision, power and decisions structuralists: nazism should be seen more in the light of the general interwar phenomenon of facism.

how was the radio used to propagate nazi beliefs?

- in 1933 reich governors took over the reich radio company (RRG), which controlled the content. - goebbles described the radio as the 'spiritual weapon of the totalitarian state'. - extension of the audience, helped by the mass production of the subsidised 'peoples receiver'. - in 1935 there were 7 million sets; by 1943 16 million. - there was communal loudspeakers - radio transmitted hitler's key speeches. - key speeches were announced on sirens, and work stopped so all could listen.

how did the balance of power shift between the various power blocs?

- in the early years the SS/police/SD were relatively insignificant, whereas hitler relied upon the army and big businesses for sympathy, therefore, did not attempt to control them. hitler's motivation to destroy the SA came from the need to please the elites. however, by 1936-8 this had changed, hitlers political position was not stronger and he was ruthlessly supported by the SS/ police/SD. hitler could now pursue objectives more directly without the need for political compromise. - schacht was replaced by goering and the four year plan, this led to a major shift in the balance of power away from big businesses. - the army was severely weakened in 1938 by the dismissal of the two major generals- bloomberg and fritsch who had expressed doubts over hitler's direction of foreign policy.

what weaknesses did the gestapo have?

- it lacked personnel effectively to enact central directives - at its peak the gestapo only had 30,000 officers for the whole country. - most gestapo officers were recruited from existing police forces. - gestapo officials were increasingly bogged down in paperwork in a highly bureaucratic system.

what was goebbels role in the propaganda machine?

- master of propaganda - he was a powerful speaker, and together with his organisation of propaganda, played a major role in gaining popular support for the nazis before 1933. - he wanted to create 'one single public opinion' and put great stress on the importance of radio and films. - goebbles personal life was in stark contrast to his propaganda message. - his propaganda for the simple life of the peoples community did not prevent him owning several houses. - after 1943 goebbles played a major role in organising domestic war effort. he toured bombed cities, raising morale and organising relief. - his february 1943 speech proclaiming 'total war' is one of the most infamous nazi speeches.

what factors made effective opposition difficult?

- powerful secret police (gestapo) - arbitrary imprisonment (feature of any police state) - government control of media (either owned or personal involvement in media institutions) - one-party state - tradition of respect for authority (traditionally right-wined, small roots in democracy) - loyal army (oath of loyalty from army) - no independent trade unions (the german labour front (DAF) replace trade unions) - network of government informers (SS-gestapo-SD complex)

what was the role of the SS by the 1940s?

- racial/ ideological: to create a master race. - economic: all areas, especially slave labour, armaments, construction, V-weappon production - military: elite military force - security: defence hitler

how were meetings and rallies used to propagate nazi beliefs?

- rallies strengthened commitment from nazi supporters - they attracted bystanders who might be won over -films of rallies made non-participants feel like they wanted to be part of the movement - speer specialised in designing displays - the combination of uniforms, disciplined mass movements, stirring music, striking flags and symbols, created a powerful feeling of wishing to belong.

what evidence do revisionist historians offer to challenge the notion of the monolithic state?

- revisionists believe that nazi dictatorship was actually prone to internal conflict which resulted in a surprising degree of chaos. - the third reich had many overlapping institutions and structures. this was the result of the minimalist approach to constitutional change. - the nazis did not knock down the old structure, they simply constructed another one over the top. - they created duplications of functions and much conflict and confusion between officials. leading to a web of competing agencies and ambiguous chains of command. - the party appointed special deputies in parallel the the heads of the old government ministries, often performing similar functions. - there was some confusion when a third layer of personnel who were outside the scope both of normal ministries and the parallel party functionaries, e.g. the SS/ e=gestapo/ SD. - there was growing conflict between officials.

how important was the role of terror in controlling the nazi state?

- robert gellately (historian) claims that the nazis did not need to use widespread terror against the population to establish the regime. at every level there was much popular support for the expanding missions of the new police and the camps. - terror was shown to be more significant in the 1940s when looking at the horrific and obscene atrocities. - terror, as an instrument of control, became more important during the war years, but even then there appears to have been a wide degree of support within Germany for the regime.

Hitler was surrounded by officials who 'acted in the fuhrer's will', what are some examples of this policy making?

- the 1935 nuremberg laws- strong pressures from within the party and more SA attacks on Jews, the state wanted to regulate this situation. So at the last minute Hitler changed his nuremberg speech from foreign policy to anti-jewish legislation. these laws written over night and in the mildest form. - kristallnacht 1938- gobbles suggests to hitler to let the SA attack the Jews after the murder of an Nazi official. Hitler gave approval and that night there was a wave of anti- Jewish violence. - euthanasia- Dr Karl Brandt sent out a letter to doctors inviting nominations for euthanasia. there was 60,000 nominations to remove feeble people. hitler wrote a few lines authorising Bouhler to organise it. - horse racing- in 1943 gobbles sought a directive from Hitler to ban horse racing. eventually this was decided to leave the matter with the gauleiters.

what were some nazi party organisations within Germany and what traditional state institutions did they overlap?

- the DAF replaced trade unions and overlapped the labour and economic ministers. - the hitler youth took over all extra curriculum activities and overlapped education ministers. - the national socialist women league had potential to clash with labour and economic ministries. - the SS clashed with the police and ran concentration camps and exercised their own justice. - the SA clashed with the army before 1934. - the league of german lawyers clashed with the judiciary, with the idea of a judiciary independent from the state. - the gauleiters usurped the former local governments.

why did the SS become so powerful?

- the SS emerged as the chief police arm of the Nazi party. - it established a vast economic empire - by 1939 there were 240,000 members organised into divisions - the SS evolved into a whole independent organisation - the SS derived it's legitimate use of force to create the racially pure volksgemeinschaft.

where was the army's position in the political structure of the third reich?

- the army was always to be found at the centre of german political life. - the military elite enjoyed great social status and exerted considerable influence. - after the night of long knives, the army was in a position of considerable strength. - the new oath of loyalty demanded by hitler of all soldiers, bounded them by discipline and obedience, therefore consequently, in the long term, such words marked commitment which made any future resistance an act of treachery. - due to bloomberg and fritsch voicing their concerns about hitlers foreign policy aims that potentially would lead to war that the army were not prepared for , they were enforced resignment by hitler, which meant hitler could subordinate the army. hitler himself became commander-in-chief of all armed forces - from 1938 the army's ability to shape political developments in Germany was drastically reduced. - in 1938 a plan was drawn up by army generals to arrest hitler in the event of a full-scale European war breaking out over the sudeten crisis. from 1938-42 nazi diplomatic and military policy was so successful that the plans were thrown out. - the involvement of some army officials in the failed bomb plot marked the end of the powerful and privileged position of the army in german society. - the nazi salute became compulsory throughout the army.

how were festivals used to propagate nazi beliefs?

- the calendar in nazi germany was prepared with new festivals, celebrating key dates in the nazi year - rallies were held in numerous cities - the streets would be filled with swastika flags

how was sport used to propagate nazi beliefs?

- the government co-ordinated the various sporting bodies under the reichsportsfuhrer. - the hitler youth and DAF organised sporting activities. - sport was encouraged as a spectator activity. - the 1936 olympic games were made to ensure propaganda success - hitler linked sport and militarism by incorporating the memorials of dead german soldiers in sports stadiums. - hitler saw the olympics as an opportunity to display the physical superiority of Germany as the master race. - max schmeling's success as heavyweight boxing champion was used as a further demonstration of nazi supremacy.

how was propaganda organised in the third reich?

- the most important institution to control propaganda was the reichministerium fur volksaufklarung and propaganda (RMVP), or ministry for popular enlightenment and propaganda (march 1933), and headed by goebbles. - a reich culture chamber was established (sept 1933) to 'promote german culture for the benefit of the volk and the reich'. it consisted of 7 sub-chambers. it exercised control of artistic life, could close newspapers and expel members. - alongside state structures, the party retained it's own propaganda organisation, the central propaganda office of the nazi party.

how was film used to propagate nazi beliefs?

- the number of filmgoers quadrupled between 1933 and 1942 - the state exercised increasingly control both over film companies and the content of films by the RMVP gradually bringing up shares, and increasingly financing films, the state indirectly began to own companies. - the reich film chamber regulated content of both german made and imported films. goebbles was responsible for approving every film made in Germany. - 1/6 of films produced were overtly propagandist. - films were classified as 'politically and artistically valuable', 'culturally valuable', a 'film of the nation', 'valuable for the youth'. - leni Riefenstahl was the most famous producer. her most famous movie was the 'triumph of the will' (1935)- about the nuremberg rallies. -some films glorified the kampfzeit (struggle for power) and others tried to develop racist attitudes. - films were more effective in keeping support for the regime than indoctrinating people with nazism. - the infamous Der Ewige Jude (the external jew) was very unsucessful.

why is the third reich now commonly viewed as a polycracy?

- the polycratic state is the alliance of different blocs, which although not in unison, were dependent on each other and prepared to work with each other as partners in power. - the most important blocs were the nazi party itself, the SS/ police/ SD system, the army, big businesses and the higher levels of the state bureaucracy. At the top was hitler himself. - the relationship between these power blocs was far from static. - historians take on the polycracy view because of the continued existence and influence of old institutions and elites alongside the nazi party.

how was music used as a form of propaganda?

- the reich chamber of music, headed between 1933 and 1935 by Richard Strauss, controlled production. - experimental music was banned a stream of musicians emigrated. - music was still scrutinised to remove jewish influences. - hitler encouraged the annual Bayreuth festival and was dedicated to his operas. - stirring music and tales of german heroes were used to stir patriotic emotions, especially in marches and rallies

as a polycratic regime, how did the german state institutions of the reichstag, cabinet, local government, civil service, foreign office, courts and legal system, army and the reich chancellorship overlap with the nazi party?

- the reichstag- lost it's proper role (enabling act), rarely met after 1933 and contained only nazis. - cabinet- central government body which was kept but fell into disuse. Originally contained only 3 nazis but gradually increased. - local government- the old democratic system was replaced by centrally appointed officials. - civil service- a conservative body whose members eventually had to join the nazi party (compulsory by 1939). - the foreign office- initially kept intact but bypassed by nazi bodies and eventually staffed by nazis. - the courts and legal system- traditionally independent from government and protecting the rights of the individual, this institution was co-ordinated to follow the governments will more closely. - the army- hitler worried about this body as a rival and did not recognise it until he felt totally established in 1938. - the reich chancellorship- this government office developed into a massive bureaucratic machine. it's head was lammers

how was the theatre used as a form of propaganda?

- the third reich ended weimar's experimentation in drama - official approved drama concentrated on historical drama, light entertainment and 'blood and soil' stories. - a new form of drama called thingspielen (literally assembly) was developed. A combination of pageant and circus, it was performed in socially constructed outdoor amphitheatres.

what evidence is given from the revisionist view that the third reich was a polycratic regime?

- the third reich was a polycracy- a maze of overlapping state and party agencies and institutions who had competing or conflicting interests and responsibilities - the nazi leaders at the head of their agencies dominated policy in what has been described as a 'feudal' system. Like medieval barons in charge of their followers, they owed ultimate loyalty to their 'king' (hitler) and their loyalty to hitler was rewarded with great power.

how was literature used as a form of propaganda?

- to cleanse the new germany there was a burning of books ceremony in berlin, when 20,000 novels and non-fiction, were burnt. - several famous novelists were sent into exile, e.g . Mann. some were even imprisoned or forbidden to publish. - novelists were expected to promote nazi ideas or at least to be neutral. - hitler's mein kämpf sold 6 million copies. - novelists about the militarism and the 'blood and soil' values of rural life were favoured.

What was Himmlers role by 1936?

- to ensure that all police activities by the gestapo, criminal (kripo) and municipal (orzo) police and intelligence services (SD) were centralised under his command, answerable only to hitler. together, this police state was viewed as an instrument of terror so powerful that it became known as the SS- Gestapo- SD complex- a state within a state. - himmler was responsible for running the concentration camps. - himmler presides over the vast repressive machinery of the third reich, and had overall control of the holocaust - he organised inhuman scientific experiments and 'modernised' murder.

What are the three arguments as to how powerful hitler was within nazi Germany?

- traditionalist view: (up to the 1960s) hitler was the 'all powerful' dictator of germany who was able to put his will directly into action. - revisionist view: (1960s onwards) hitler was a 'weaker' dictator than first appearances suggest and subject to external pressures. He did not directly intervene in much of the day to day running of the third reich; others made decisions for him. - current consensus: (1933 onwards) hitler influenced decisions and policies without always initiating or directly controlling them.

what are the two major criticisms of the totalitarian model?

1. although Germany was politically a one-party state, the nazi party did not have the organisation or unity of purpose to dominate affairs. 2. nazis never established a centralised command control over the economy

how did people express their disapproval?

RESISTANCE(public): people openly campaigned against the government or deliberately disrupt their policies. - from the 1980s onwards, historians began looking at the degree of low level opposition amongst ordinary germans e.g writing anti-nazi graffiti - printing opposition literature - organising a coup NON-CONFORMITY: people do not co-opearate with nazi rule (mason- historian) e.g. reading banned literature - listening to american jazz - emigrating DISSENT(private): people privately grumble and criticise the regime (kershaw- historian) e.g. telling anti-hitler jokes - privately discussing an alternative government - complaiting in private about the censorship and the terror

what gains and losses did the working class have from the impact of the economy?

gains: -brought prosperity of kind - full employment and labour shortages (1939) - promised benefits of improved working conditions brought about by the DAF and the prospect of holidays by the KDF movement. perhaps it was only a minority who truly benefitted. - more germans attended the cinema and possessed a radio. - the new DAF organisation did tend to insist on job security for the workers. losses: - kept in place by repression and propaganda - the increased job opportunities and security had to be balanced against longer hours of work and less freedom. - the diets of working-class families deteriorated, with greater consumption of rye bread - tropical fruits were in short supply.

What was the 'exhibition of great german art' versus the 'exhibition of degenerate art'?

great german art: - the exhibition had two purposes: 1. it was an opportunity for artists to display and sell their work 2. people could see 'true' german art. - this art was deemed to represent the healthy instincts - this art was deemed to represent the healthy instincts of the master race; it was rooted as true expression of the volksgemeinschaft - more than 600,000 people attended the exhibition. degenerate art: - they reflected the disruption of established values under the Weimar republic that had brought Germany to its knees. - the works displayed distorted forms, unnatural colours and unsettling subjects. - they included 1,052 by emile nolde, as well as works by gauguin, van gogh, picasso. - 2 million attended the exhibition - after later going on a national tour, the works were destroyed, sold abroad or kept by goering.

how was the nazi party organised at local regional level?

in order from top of the regional structure, to bottom: - gauleiter (30 nazis) - kreis (760 nazis) - ortsgruppe (21,000 nazis) - zelle (70,000 nazis) - block (400,000)

what is the intentionalist and structuralist view on the chaotic structure of the third reich?

intentionalist: an intentionalist structure on Hitler's part. his divide and rule policy reduced direct threats to his power as leaders competed against each other and not him. the confused power structure kept Hitler in ultimate control as agencies consulted him for clarification and approval. structuralists: a sign of unintentional and dysfunctional weakness within the third reich. Such chaos led to inefficiency and confusion and weakened nazi power and ultimately the control and authority of hitler himself.

how was the press used to propagate nazi beliefs?

nazi propaganda in the press was spilt into three: control of personnel, control of content, control of the newspaper. control of personnel: - the regime rigorously controlled all those involved- journalists, editors, publishers- through compulsory membership of co-ordinating bodies. - the reich press chamber included the reich association of the german press. - in oct 1933 a law made editors responsible for infringements of government directives. - clause 14 obliged editors to exclude from their papers everything offensive to the honour or dignity of a german - decrees were issued suspending publications. it was treason to spread false news or rumors. control of content: - the RMVP controlled the content of the press through the state- controlled press agency which provided roughly half the content of newspapers. As well as this they held daily press conferences and issues detailed directives on content. control of the newspaper: - the nazi party publishing house, Eher Verlag, gradually took over, directly or indirectly, most of the press. Nazi ownership of the media grew from 3% (1933) to 69% (1939) to 82% (1944).

What was the 'hitler myth'?

the hitler myth was a carefully cultivated image which much evidence suggests was widely believed. He was portrayed as someone who personified the nation; understood the german people; was responsible for all the major successes of government, etc.

What evidence is given from the traditional view that the third reich was a totalitarian regime?

the third reich had all the characteristics of a totalitarian state: 1. official state (nazi) ideology 2. single mass party 3. police control and terror 4. monopoly of the media and arms 5. central command of the economy 6. the state controlled every aspect of life and subordinated the will of the individual to the demands of the state. The regime was therefore ruthlessly efficient