Hitler's+organization+&+control+of+Nazi+State

Lexi Koon P7 Prompt #17/ Mr. Hinze __ Hitler’s Control and Organization of the Nazi State __ After World War I when the Weimar Republic ruled Germany, Germany faced many problems. These issues included; poverty, debt from the reparations, unemployment, and not a lot of exports. The economy was also at an all time low with very high inflation, and the citizens of Germany were looking for anything to get them out of this mess. Because of this, the favor for more extremist powers was on the rise, and the support for democracy continued to decline. Adolf Hitler was the leader of one of the extreme right political groups: the German Workers Party, or the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. He began to win the hearts of German citizens with his plans to restore Germany to what it once was, a powerful and strong nation. Hitler’s timing was just right with his campaigning because German’s turned to the first alternative to the current Weimar Republic. Finally, on January 30, 1933, Hitler was named the chancellor of Germany. [i] Hitler brought with him a new organization of the Nazi group and powerful army that enforced many new changes on Germany. But, once Hitler was in power it is thought that his control and organization of the Nazi State was less effective than is commonly believed. Though this statement is true to an extent, Hitler’s control and organization of the Nazi State was very effective due to the creation of Hitler Youth, and Hitler’s attempt to exterminate the non-Aryan Race. Hitler was very effective in the control of the Nazi State by creating Hitler Youth. Hitler believed that the future of Nazi Germany was its children. [ii] He knew what he wanted the children of Germany to be like and he once said “The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp’s steel.” [iii] In 1933, when the Nazi’s took power in Germany, Hitler organized the youth into two groups; the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth) for boys, and the Bund Deutscher Madel (League of German Girls) for girls. [iv] It was required to join the Hitler Youth in 1936, but each child had to go through an extensive racial background check to become a member. The boys and girls were separated, and the boys were trained to become soldiers while the girls were being prepared for motherhood. [v] With the young men, the extensive training was a very crucial part in the Youth, which included; camping trips, terrain sports, shooting practice, rowing, and glider flying. [vi] By the end of 1939 more than 8.7 million children were members of the Hitler Youth program. [vii] With the creation of the Hitler Youth, Hitler was able to control and organize the future of Germany, training the children to become a clone of Hitler, and support his views. “A violently active, dominating, brutal youth-that is what I am after...” [viii] Another way that Hitler was able to effectively control the Nazi State was to control the social life of Germans. He attempted to do this by eliminating those of the non-Aryan race. Hitler believed that the Aryan Race was superior to all races. A blonde haired blue eyed man or woman represented the highest breed of all Aryans. [ix] Starting in 1933, all Jewish people were not allowed at public services, the universities and other professions. [x] They were seen as the opposite of the Aryan race. Their freedoms continued to decline with the addition of the Nuremberg Laws which went into effect in 1935. These laws deprived people of the Jewish race their citizenship of Germany. You were considered Jewish with at least one Jewish grandparent. Hitler’s power increased with every new addition to the Nuremberg Laws, so he could eliminate anyone that was non-Aryan. But, still after these laws, Hitler was still not satisfied with the measures he had already taken. Hitler proceeded to take everything one step further with the creation of death and work camps for all those who did not qualify as a perfect Aryan. These people consisted of Jews, political adversaries, and others considered socially and racially undesirable. [xi] The people in the camps suffered horrible conditions and were abused and starved. There were approximately 6 million people who died during the Holocaust. [xii] Hitler almost eliminated a whole race to achieve his goal to restore Germany. It could also be seen that Hitler was less effective during his control and organization of the Nazi State because his attempt to rule soon failed after he committed suicide. Toward the end of WWII, the German powers were decreasing and the attempt for the Third Reich was coming to an end. Most of the concentration camps were being liberated by the Allied powers. Hitler knew that the Allied powers would be looking for him next. He committed suicide with his wife Eva Braun on April 30, 1945. [xiii] And only six days after his suicide Germany surrendered to the Allied powers. Hitler must have known he was wrong with the actions he took with his rule over Germany. This control and organization was not very effective because Hitler ultimately backed out of what he started and his ways of ruling were not reignited with another leader. No one else did try to restore what Hitler once had in Germany. Though he did try to create a perfect German nation, his efforts were not continued. So it could be said that Hitler’s control and organization of the Nazi State was not very effective. Germany was searching for a new leader to help them rebuild Germany. The Weimar Republic was a thing of the past, and the citizens wanted a new government that would help them get their lives back on track. Hitler was the option that the German society chose to help Germany. He had great plans and wanted to restore Germany to what it once was. Once Hitler came into power he made drastic changes to Germany. These changes manipulated the population of Germany and brainwashed them to think and do like Hitler did. Starting with the youth of Germany, he transformed the children to be like him so one day they could lead the country. Also, another way he did this was to create a population where there was only a superior race, the Aryan race. And anything or anyone other than the Aryan race, Hitler tried to eliminate. Hitler’s control and organization of the Nazi State was very effective, and his leadership in Germany will be remembered forever.

[i] “Hitler, Adolf.” __Encyclopedia Britannica__. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. 13 Nov. 2004 <__http//www.school.eb.com/eb/article-10115__>. [ii] Trueman, Chris. "The Hitler Youth." //History Learning Site//. N.p., 2009. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. . [iii] IBID. Trueman, Chris. [iv] "Hitler Youth." //Historical Boys' Uniforms//. N.p., 2009. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. . [v] Trueman, Chris. [vi] Lauridsen, John T. "Hitler Youth." //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. N.p., 2009. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. . [vii] IBID. Lauridsen, John T. [viii] IBID. Lauridsen, John T. [ix] "Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)." //World War II: The Homefront//. ThinkQuest, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. . [x] "Nazi Germany." //TheCorner of the World//. N.p., 2009. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. . [xi] "Holocaust Timeline: The Camps." //A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust//. Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2009. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. . [xii] IBID. Holocaust Timeline: The Camps. [xiii] “Hitler, Adolf.” __Encyclopedia Britannica.__