Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Aspects to consider for 'Role of Hitler' (6) |
Lifestyle Hitler's Weltanschauung Social Darwinism Fuhrerprinzip Fuhrer's Orders Hitler's Leadership style |
|
|
Hitler's Lifestyle (4) |
got up late 1 hour meetings max preferred to live at the Berghof (Bavarian Alps) erratic work habits - wrote own speeches but hated detailed policy / fine print |
|
|
Hitler's Weltanschaaung (5) |
1. Weltanschauung = 'worldview' 2. expansion of Lebensraum in the East 3. extermination of 'Bolshevik Judaism' 4. creation of a new 'Volksgemeinschaft' of ethnically pure Germans 5. belief in Social Darwinism |
|
|
Social Darwinism (2) |
1. the belief that Darwin's concept of 'survival of the fittest' also applied within human society, and only the strongest would thrive 2. Hitler extrapolated this to include policy decisions, and allowed competition between agencies and people before picking the best option |
|
|
Fuhrerprinzip (4) |
1. 'Fuhrer Principle' 2. party: the idea that the party was to be ruled by one indisputable leader, whose direction and vision was to be obeyed and followed without question 3. state: the 'Fuhrer' position was an amalgamation of President and Chancellor, with unlimited legislative power, which could be wielded through Fuhrer Orders 4. Germany: As Fuhrer of Germany, Hitler was the cultural head of the German 'Volk' and therefore had an authority that went beyond any legislative or political power |
|
|
Hitler's Leadership Style (3) |
1. Hitler disliked cabinet meetings where he might be pressured in a certain direction 2. he chose to meet one on one with senior Nazis and pick the most popular policy / the one that best fitted his Weltanschuung 3. Cabinet Meetings: 1933 - 72, 1936 - 6, 1938 - 1 |
|
|
Fuhrer's Orders (2) |
1. verbal or non-verbal indication of assent from Hitler that carried legislative authority - this is how policies were sanctioned in Nazi Germany 2. e.g: 1935: Hess and ministry of interior official disagree on whether or not to deport Jews, Hess arguing that Hitler wanted them all out of Germany whilst the official insisted that Hitler said to keep them as hostages |
|
|
Evidence for Monocracy govt (3) |
intentionalism school of thought foreign policy Hitler's areas of interest |
|
|
Monocracy Intentionalism (3) |
1. View that Hitler was a strong dictator, the key figure behind every key development in both domestic and foreign affairs 2. Hitler deliberately established chaotic govt to facilitate his aims 3. Hitler deliberately pursued a policy of 'divide and rule' |
|
|
Monocracy Divide and Rule (4) |
1. the idea that Hitler deliberately set up and encouraged a chaotic govt with competing agencies 2. this fitted in with his belief in Social Darwinism 3. the system empowered him as he acted as a mediator and vital lynchpin between agencies / individuals 4. by 1945 there were 45 separate govt bodies capable of implementing policy |
|
|
Monocracy Historians' Quotes for Intentionalism (2) |
Bullock: "National Socialism can be called Hitlerism" Rich: "Hitler had a fixed plan from the Beer Hall Putsch to death in his bunker in 1945" |
|
|
Monocracy
Foreign Policy (4) |
1. Undoubtably the area where Hitler took most personal control and was the most efficient area in the Nazi Regime 2. Hitler regularly undertook courses of action against the advice of his deputies (esp. military chiefs) - evidence for monocracy 3. e.g. March 1936 reoccupation of the Rhineland 4. far more aggressive 'Nazification' of foreign office than any other civil service (Gleischaltung) |
|
|
Monocracy Hitler's areas of interest |
1. foreign policy 2. architecture & art - time spent with Albert Speer (Chief Architect) designed rally arena in Nuremberg 3. areas neglected when Hitler was uninterested in them - e.g. Walter Darre, Minister for Agriculture, tried and failed to obtain an audience with Hitler many times |
|
|
Evidence for polycratic govt (5) |
structuralism school of thought institutional chaos / conflicting agencies party vs state dualism Gauleiter reactionary measures |
|
|
Polycracy Structuralism (3) |
1. view that Hitler was a weak dictator who was constrained by the system he was in (extreme end) 2. polycratic, conflicting nature of govt restricted Hitler's ability to govern efficiently and generated bureaucracy 3. institutional anarchy led the naturally lazy Hitler to approve the ideas of senior Nazis who were interested in expanding their own power blocs |
|
|
Polycracy Institutional chaos (3) |
1. conflicting agencies lowered efficiency and muddled responsibilities and chains of command 2. Dr Fritz Todt given complete control over Autobahn project despite opposition from Ministries of Interior, Finance and Transport - massive conflicts of interest 3. Senior Nazis amassed personal 'empires' e.g. Goring (aviation, Prussia), Himmler (police, security) and Goebbels (Propaganda & media) |
|
|
Polycracy Party vs State ('Dualism') (4) |
1. conflicts between party apparatus and state bodies added another dimension to power antagonisms 2. failure from party to force state to conform: e.g. Hess failed to make a Nazism course compulsory for civil servants, Frick took from 1934-37 to introduce a uniform code for civil service 3. senior Nazis held both state and party positions but defended their state roles carefully from party interference (e.g. Frick Minister for the Interior) 4. Hitler was very unclear about the relationship between party and state: Jul '33: 'party has become the state', but Feb '34: 'main task of party is to carry out propaganda on behalf of the govt's measures' |
|
|
Polycracy Gauleiter (3) |
1. debate on how subservient Hitler was to Gauleiter: Kershaw: 'backbone of his power' Rauschning: 'Hitler marched with the biggest battalions' 2. 'Alte Kampfe' ('old fighters') - very powerful in their localities (because Hitler didn't want to worry about minor details), they frequently clashed with Frick as he tried to centralise them (party vs state) 3. Even when Frick did succeed in making Gauleiter subservient to M of I, they could still appeal directly to Hitler |
|
|
Polycracy Reactionary Measures (2) |
1. Hitler did not always make strong independent decisions as internationalists would argue, sometimes bowing to pressure and even reversing decisions 2. e.g. October 1934, Robert Ley (head of DAF) gained Hitler’s approval for a measure strengthening the DAF at the expense of employers and the state. However, after pressure from Rudolf Hess, Hjalmar Schacht and leading businessmen, Hitler backed down |
|
|
'working towards the Fuhrer' Working Towards the Fuhrer Definition (2) |
blend of intentionalist and structuralist school suggested by Kershaw, who theorised that Hitler did have a supreme role because everyone within the system was working towards his broadly-defined Weltanschauung. authority was derived from proximity to the Fuhrer, which was earned by best interpreting his weltanschauung and suggesting appropriate policies which he was likely to approve |
|
|
'working towards the Fuhrer'
'Working Towards the Fuhrer' Concepts (3) and Evidence (3) |
Concepts: charismatic domination push and pull mechanism cumulative radicalisation
Case Studies: economy Aktion T4 Nuremberg Laws
|
|
|
'working towards the Fuhrer' Charismatic Domination (2) |
1. As a result of working towards the Fuhrer, policies that did not conform to Hitler's well-known weltanschauung were not suggested 2. This automatic streamlining of policy in line with Hitler's views is described as 'charismatic domination' by Kershaw |
|
|
'working towards the Fuhrer' 'Push and Pull' definition (3) |
1. This is the mechanism behind cumulative radicalisation, which was a two-part process 2. push: people and agencies under Hitler would separately create policies which they believed he would agree with and support. 3. pull: Hitler’s own radicalism and clearly defined broad ideology (as set out in speeches and Mein Kampf) led people to radicalise in order to gain his favour. |
|
|
'working towards the Fuhrer' Push and Pull Examples (2) |
1. Aktion T4: Hitler gave permission for one man to euthanise his severely disabled son as a mercy. Under Bouhler the secret Aktion T4 programme was set up, under which 90,000 disabled adults and children were eventually killed by the state (pull=desire for volksgemeinschaft, push=initiative of Bouhler and medical staff around Germany) 2. Nuremburg Laws:10th Sept: no official plans for anti-semitic legislation. 12th Sept: Hitler chooses draft D of law to ban relations between Jews and Gentiles (pull=Hitler's anti-semitism, push= Nazis drafting legislation) |
|
|
'working towards the Fuhrer' 'Cumulative Radicalisation' (3) |
1. competition between agencies and individuals for the Fuhrer’s favour led to increasingly radical ideas and policies that were designed to conform to Hitler’s Weltanschauung more closely than any before. 2. driven by 'push and pull' mechanism 3. as conservative elements were filtered out of govt (e.g. Schacht 1937) cumulative radicalisation increases |
|
|
'working towards the Fuhrer' Working towards the Fuhrer - economy case study (4) |
1. 1933-37: Schacht had control of the economy and focused on job creation, protectionism etc 2. 1936: Hitler decides Göring’s Four Year Plan is more likely to deliver on his goals, allows the 4YP Office to assume control of production of raw materials and use of labour force, sidelining Schacht (as well as Ministry of Labour) 3. Nov 1937: Schacht resigns, too undermined by Hitler’s support of Göring 4. Hitler allows agencies to compete in order to gain the best result, supporting the one closest to his aims at the time |
|
|
Essay Skeleton: HFDYAT 'Hitler was a non-interventionist dictator' FOR (4) |
1. structuralist/polycracy - spheres of influence and senior Nazis' 'Empires' controlled themselves 2.Gauleiter influence over Hitler (Rauschning model) 3. working towards the fuhrer - didn't have to dictate 4. institutional chaos - left system to become chaotic |
|
|
Essay Skeleton: HFDYAT 'Hitler was a non-interventionist dictator' AGAINST (5) |
1. Monocracy / intentionalist theory 2. divide and rule (e.g. economy) 3. Fuhrer's orders (impact of Aktion T4) 4. Foreign policy (Rhineland, Anschluss, rearmament etc) 5. Charismatic domination - not direct intervention but still had will followed |
|
|
Essay Skeleton: HFDYAT ‘Hitler’s power was constrained by the very system he created’ CONSTRAINED (4) |
1. polycracy of overlapping institutions reduced Hitler's ability to clearly dictate (e.g Ley vs Schacht and Hess 1934) 2. rivalries and antagonisms of power detracted from Hitlers control (e.g Frick vs Gauleiter) 3. party vs state dualism not resolved, Hitler head of both but not efficient streamlined system 4. Fuhrer Cult - had to appear above normal decisions to maintain public image of semi-deific vision and authority |
|
|
Essay Skeleton: HFDYAT ‘Hitler’s power was constrained by the very system he created’ NOT CONSTRAINED (3) |
1. Fuhrer's orders 2. cumulative radicalisation & charismatic domination 3. social darwinism - system exactly as Hitler wants it - domination of best ideas/people |
