Table of Contents
Introduction
Everyone has heard of the Nazis and they are vilified as the epitome of evil. Anyone with a cruelty about them is sarcastically refered to as "nazi". The word comes from the title of ther political part, The National German Socialist Party. The Nazi part started long before the war. It was intially not taken seriously: small groups of middle-age men espousing "law and order" politics were its main members. They were rerred to as" Brownshirts" due to their unusual paramilitary apparel. Less than 3% of the vote went to the Nazis in the early 1930's they barely had representation in the German legislative body. by 1937 many things changed: Hindenberg died, and Hitler, as leader and legislator was able through political deals to combine the office of president and chancellor and take over both offices. The Nazi's soon submed power in the german parliament.
The nazis really were as and more cruel than reported; they reached the peak of human cruelty to the point of being soul-less and without heart. In addition to the descriptions of these men below, we will also eventually explore what led normal European citizens to the point of soul-less insanity which attempted to erase the Jewish nation and other they deemed unwanted from the face of the earth. Adolf Hitler
If the Nazis epitomized villians, then Adolph Hitler epitomized the evil tyrant. He was of doubtful parentage: raised
by a mother and a step-father: his natural father is noted as Jewish. Rather than proud of his heritage, he rebelled
against it in a stoic hatred of things Jewish.
He was an unsuccessful strange little man who loved to talk for hours about his plan, politics and ideas: this continued long into his years as despot.
Some have characterized him as "Christian" in the nominal sense but he was steeped in the occult and volkish (ancient folk-german) mysticism.
One of the first things he did was to pay pensions in the German Christian Church so that pastors would be comfortable and agree to Nazi policy.
Some of Hitler's theological/world view will be discussed later.
During his early years, thrown in jail for a disturbance, he wrote MEIN KAMPF (My World, or My Struggle/Battle) in which he outlined his anti-semitic arguments with great tedium. It was
a dangerous little book. MEIN KAMPF influenced Nazi political and social life negatively, but pervasively.
Hitler's Censorship
Hitler was a failed little artist who only used buildings and inanimate objects as his subject matter. Later, as
president and chancellor he ordered a censoring of all artwork: WWII artwork in Germany was a sentimental portrayal
of German domesticity or adonis-like nudity, encouraging the "propagation of the aryan race". All other art forms were
sensored and were considered reprobate as was much literature of the time which did not fit the zeitgeist (spirit of the times)
for the new german body politic. German Music became Nationalistic: typified by Wagner; Jewish musicians and composers, even those
who had converted for political reasons such as Mahler, were verbotten
hitler's meteoric rise to power was partly providential and partly politics. He gained Hindenburg's favor before Hindenburg passed away and because of his presidency
and parlimentary power, he was able to finalize the combination of the two offices. There were over 30 political parties in Germany at the time. Hitler made concessions
and trade-offs, political deals, in order to inculcate the enormous despotic power which he gained. Even social and
religious organizations followed suit: the church, the banking industry and so on. His push was toward a unified Germany, and after the badly damaged
morale of post-WWI Germany, unity sounded a popular political theme. As Hitler gained more and more power, even the effort to censor sermons in the Nazi-controlled
German Christian Church, there was less and less opposition: what opposition remained was quickly squelched. Pockets of resistance, such as the university-based "White Rose"
organization headed by the Scholls, two young students, and Bonhoeffer's Evangelical Party were quickly laid to rest with the arrest of the leaders,and even their deaths. There
was usually a charge of treason.
Bonhoeffer & N// to be continued
to be continued