Nazism was an ideology that was derived from Italian fascism. It appeared during the twentieth century with the rise of the German far right party, the NSDAP that was led by Adolf Hitler.
On 30 January 1933, Hitler obtained power legally and quickly established a totalitarian State - the Third Reich. In this paper we will explore the totalitarian nature of Nazism. The word 'totalitarian' was first used in the Twentieth century and was credited to two thinkers, Raymond Aron and Hannah Arendt. In the postwar period, between 1950 and 1980,they described and denounced totalitarianism. Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism" give us five criteria that totalitarianism can be defined by. A totalitarian State requires a mass party that is controlled by one man; a state ideology or monopolization by the State with a powerful means of persuasion and force (police, army, communication services etc) that ensures the submission of economic activities.
Tags - Nazism,Hannah Arendt, Raymond Aron, NSDAP
[...] Nationalism was also the source of Nazi ideology. In organizing his party Hitler was inspired by Mussolini. He created an armed militia, the SA (Sections Assault) or "brown shirts", imitating the Italian fascist "Blackshirts", and organized militarists youth movements ("Hitler Youth", "Jungvolk" in Germany and "Balillas," "Son of the Wolf" in Italy) which imposed a cult of the leader (the "Führer" Hitler and the "Duce" Mussolini) who was saluted with the right arm as the Roman emperor was saluted. He chose an emblem with a strong history and identity (the black swastika on white circular background affixed to a red flag in reference to the Aryan race, the purity and socialism for the Nazis, the beam of Roman lictors to the Italian fascists) with a warrior anthem ("Horst Wessel Lied" of the Nazis, and "Giovenezza" fascists). [...]
[...] There are, however, trends or totalitarian episodes outside these two cases too. These include McCarthyism in the early 1950's the U.S. which led to a "hunt for communists," Maoist China during the "Cultural Revolution", the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, or the North Korean communist regime today. The fascist movement was founded in Italy in March 1919 by a former activist, with the socialist Benito Mussolini and the Fascist “italiano di combattimento”, or "Beams Italian fighter" which was first a small band of disappointed extremist veterans with no real influence. [...]
[...] The plural of "Fascist", is "fascinating" and represents a subsequent group, a political league. In the nineteenth century, the group acquired revolutionary overtones. In November 1921 the Partito Nazionale Fascista was created by Mussolini, after a breakthrough of proletarian ideas. The ruling class tried to prevent a new outbreak, and used the fasci-revolutionary as an instrument against the protestors. The funding by large private interests and the complicity of the state apparatus enabled the transformation of the fascist movement into a mass movement whose leader came to power on October 1922. [...]
[...] The Nazi state has all the hallmarks of a totalitarian state as defined by Raymond Aron and Hannah Arendt. It does not allow the population to have any freedom that goes against the ideas dictated by the State, it is totalitarian. The only difference between a totalitarian Stalinist and Nazi totalitarian regime is the nature of ideology. While one is based on the collectivization of Russian lands, the other is based on the German employers; while one oppresses the citizens, the other overwhelms Jews and other social segments. [...]
[...] The army, the Wehrmacht was directly under the orders of Hitler and his generals, the Goering who ran the "Luftwaffe" (Air Force), Dönitz who ran the "Kriegsmarine" from 1942, and Rommel or Guderian who controlled motor corps. The "Waffen SS" elite army was commanded by Himmler. Hitler created a secret police state, the "Gestapo" to guard against the internal and external opponents. It eliminated any organization which resisted Nazi ideology, and played a crucial role in the extermination of European Jews. [...]
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