Tag: National socialism

Authoritarian political movement. The 'ideology' of National Socialism is not a theoretically conclusive system, but a collection of views and sentiments. Characteristic is the rejection of liberalism as well as socialism and communism. Furthermore, a very heavy emphasis is placed on concepts such as country, people and nation, when in fact these concepts are mythically indicated. Power is glorified and, as a last resort, limitation of power is seen as a sign of weakness. There is never a lack of an opponent in national socialist thinking who is within the political unity and must be fought tirelessly. German National Socialism, apart from the practice known from 'Mein Kampf' by Adolf Hitler (1925) and 'Der Mythos of 20. Jahrhunderts' by Alfred Rosenberg (1930), rejected the parliamentary democracy of the Weimar Republic, a view that was well suited to the widespread feelings of disappointment at the collapse of the German Empire. In its place had to be a German empire with a strong man at the head. This one, the 'Fuhrer' or leader, had all the decision-making power and was in fact accountable to nothing and no one ('Fuhrerprinzip'). The Fuhrer was supposed to represent the will of the German 'people's community'; he did not enact any laws, but took action. After Hitler came to power, the 'Totalitsprinzip' was formulated: not only the political life of National Socialism and the decisions of the Nazi government had to be permeated, but all society, including science and culture, for example. The 'real' German people belonged to the Aryan 'race' and were in a mythical way connected to the residential area (Blut und Boden theory). This residential area had to be large (the call for 'Lebensraum'); in the 'Germanisches Reich deutscher Nation', also called Greater Germany, non-Aryans should serve the Aryan 'Herrenrasse' as horigen. Jews were considered the enemy of the Aryan race. A violent anti-Semitism was one of the essential components of German National Socialism and would eventually lead to systematic destruction of Jews. With regard to economic life, National Socialism rejected both capitalism and socialism, first because it amounted to plutocracy, domination of money, the second because it preached class struggle rather than unity of the 'people's community'. National socialism wanted a strong corporate system with a deep government intervention and, as it turned out, while retaining private ownership. In the cultural sphere, certain artistic expressions were rejected because they would bear witness to a 'Jewish' or 'degenerated' spirit. 'Jewish slurs' would also rest on certain scientific views. Reprehensible ideas also came from communists, socialists, democrats, Freemasons and Christians. The woman, after all, was by no means considered equivalent to the man. It did not have to work outside the home, although this position was later deviated from this position for the sake of war production. The aryan woman's task was to produce Aryan children. Several principles of National Socialism have been abandoned or changed in the practice of Nazi Germany.