The scope of this thesis shall be limited to explaining why the anti-Nazi Germans, Croatians, and Hungarians supported Hitler’s anti-Semitic agenda despite the fact that they did not subscribe to the same ideology. Despite the fact that history largely pins the blame on the Nazis for the Jewish holocaust in Europe, questions have risen about the role played by the ordinary citizens in perpetuating the injustice. Specifically, the thesis shall be concerned with what compels the masses to follow and to accept narcissist leaders such as Adolf Hitler. Many historians might argue that most Germans, Croatians and Hungarians were forced by the Nazis to execute the Jews; but is that really the case? Recent uprisings in the Arab nations and the London riots indicate that law enforcement agencies can be easily overpowered by a resolute and determined people. Therefore the allegation by most Germans at the time that they were suppressed by the Gestapo cannot hold. Therefore, the only logical explanation that is left to this discussion is that they were willing executioners. This sentiment is most disturbing because prior to the Jewish holocaust, the Germans were the accommodating and civilized of all Europeans.
Analysis of the accounts of the event that occurred during the Nazi reign has led historians to believe that Nazism was extremely perverse in the German society to the extent that every aspect of the German community had been indoctrinated by the Nazi ideologies. In fact, historians further assert that, the Holocaust would not have occurred had it not been for the assistance of the elite members of the German society especially the anthropologists, doctors, economists, historians, lawyers and psychiatrists who were not only instrumental in the formulation and implementation of the Nazi policies but also played a key role in ensuring that these policies were indoctrinated into the German culture. Based on this premise, it is thus clear that German, Croatian and Hungarian professionals had an intimate knowledge of the anti-Semitic Nazi policies but still chose to associate with them. This alludes to the fact that those charged with the responsibility of enlightening the ordinary Germans were at the forefront of Nazi impunity. To this effect, literary evidence gathered after the fall of the Third Reich indicate that no one coerced the elite Europeans to associate with Nazis. In fact the Nazis had volumes of unsolicited recommendations from these members of the society on how to best advance Nazi ideologies not only in Germany but also in Europe.
The acceptance of Nazi ideologies by the ordinary Germans were largely shaped by the outcome of World War I (WWI). The Nazi anti-Semitic ideologies were established in the period that followed the German’s loss to the Britons. This loss to a large extent shaped the German view of the rest of the world. This loss not only had socioeconomic ramifications but also it had political implications. The loss resulted to Germans losing some of their colonies to the Britons and also the economic implications of the war as stipulated by the Versailles Treaty that played a crucial role in ending WWI. Thus, Hitler and his Nazi cohorts provided the Germans with the opportunity to focus the German identity on the global perspective despite the fact some of the ideologies held by the Nazis were out rightly wrong. Hitler stirred and restored a sense of nationalism within the Germans following their humiliating defeat by the Britons. To this effect, the concepts of Volk and Reich played a crucial role in restoring the sense of nationalism within the German society. Volk referred to the “organically unified German people” whilst Reich referred to the political expression of the German people in a unified land. The concepts advanced by Volk and Reich painted the picture that Germans were the most superior race in the world. The ideologies supporting the concepts of Volk and Reich also asserted the notion that a state can only achieve nationalism by the rooting out of inferior races (Jews) and the shedding of blood.
Empirical evidence has ascertained that the ordinary Europeans accepted Nazi policies for the following reasons. To begin with, it must be mentioned that the Holocaust began in a period in which all of Europe was extremely anti-Semitic and racist. This also applied to the Germans, the Italians and the “Allies.” The anti- Jews sentiments in Europe can generally be traced back to religion. Till the later years of the 19th century, the Jews were widely shunned by the European society because of religious reasons. Most Europeans were of the opinion that the Jews rejected the Messiah (Jesus Christ) therefore leading to his crucification. It must be mentioned that this opinion was the brainchild of Catholic Europeans who were the dominant religious group at the time. This opinion was later held by the Protestants. In fact, it must be mentioned that, the Protestant faith was founded by Martin Luther who himself held highly anti-Semitic ideologies. This therefore asserts the fact that religion played a crucial role in the acceptance of the anti-Semitic ideologies in the European societies the Germans, Croatians and Hungarians included. The role played by religion was mainly based on mythical rather than factual evidence.
Different segments of the German society accepted Hitler for different reasons. However, the most dominant factor that was instrumental in ensuring that Hitler and his ideologies were widely accepted by the German society was the superiority factor. The ordinary Germans were highly influenced by the elite members of the society. This is the case because the constant proclamation by the elite Germans of the German superiority fuelled the hate of the ordinary members of the society toward the Jewish race that was portrayed as being inferior. Therefore the ordinary Germans were mostly overwhelmed by peer pressure.
This peer pressure was fuelled by the personal desire for “praise, prestige, and advancement; and the threat of marginalization and anathematization in highly dangerous wartime circumstances.” This implies that the German acceptance of the anti-Semitic Nazi policies was fuelled to a large extent by the racial war between the Germans and the Jews. To this effect, by the time the Holocaust was reaching its climax, ordinary Germans had been transformed to genocidal killers who did so without necessarily being compelled to. This genocidal nature of the Germans was even stronger in countries that the Nazis indoctrinated such as Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania and Romania. It must however be mentioned that unlike the elite Germans who comprehended the anti-Semitic ideologies of the Nazis, the ordinary Germans on the other hand had no clue whatsoever on the implications of their actions on the moral fabric of the European society.
Works Cited
Baldwin, Peter. "Social Interpretations of Nazism: Renewing a Tradition." Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1990) (1990): 5-37.
Dunning, Eric and Stephen Mennell. "Elias on Germany, Nazism and the Holocaust: On the Balance between 'Civilizing' and 'Decivilizing' Trends in the Social Development of Western EuropeAuthor." The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Sep., 1998) (1998): 339-357.
Venezia, Shlomo. Inside the Gas Chambers: Eight Months in the Sonderkommando of Auschwitz. Cambridge: Polity, 2009.
