There is little doubt that social movements have been an important part of our world history and has had a direct impact on the development process. The effects of social movements can be seen in how countries are split, an areas predominant religion, the political structure of a country, how a certain race is treated, class structure, gender stereotypes and so much more. This is because the development process “implies social change, the transformation of norms and values and the introduction of new social, economic, and political structure” (Entwicklungssoziologie.uni-bayreuth.de, 2016). The importance of social movements is often overlooked, but absolutely cannot be overstated. One of the largest social movements of the twentieth century was the Nazi movement. By analyzing the Nazi movement and the major changes it wrought upon the world, a better understanding of how social movements affect the development process will be had.
In July of 1921 a young, charismatic man who was frustrated with the political instability and economic depression Germany was undergoing took over the National Socialist German Workers Party (HISTORY.com, 2016). This party is better known as the Nazi party, and the young man is now infamous; his name was Adolf Hitler. Hitler gave speeches which blamed the Jewish people for the issues Germany faced, and also created the idea of having a master race (HISTORY.com, 2016). In 1933 Hitler was elected chancellor of Germany, and the Nazi party rose to power (HISTORY.com, 2016). In September of 1939 Germany invaded, and won, Poland while Great Britain and France declared war upon Germany (HISTORY.com, 2016). This was the beginning of World War II. In the meantime, the Nazi’s were imprisoning Jewish people and forcing them into concentration camps. The Jewish people were abused, starved, enslaved and many were killed. By the end of World War II, over six million Jews had been murdered.
While this is the short of the rise and fall of the Nazi party, it is not the big picture of all of the ways the Nazi party affected the development process of various nations. For instance, it completely changed the role of women within the United States. Before the Nazi party and World War II women were primarily homemakers. Men went to work, while women stayed home and kept the house, raised the children and other home responsibilities. When the Nazi’s began trying to take over Europe and the United States was forced to take part on the war there was a shortage of men at home; this led to women having to work in the factories in order to have the necessary supplies for war (Nationalww2museum.org, 2016). Also, women began joining the military, even if it was just to take over the clerical jobs so more men could go and fight (Nationalww2museum.org, 2016). These changes were thought to be temporary, but instead became a more permanent shift in United States society roles.
While the changes wrought by the Nazi party had implications within the United States, there is little doubt that the Nazi party most directly affected the Jewish community. Many German Jews held white collar jobs such as teachers or civil service; many others owned their own businesses (Akbulut-Yuksel and Yuksel, 2015). Even before being taken into concentration camps the Nazi’s stripped the Jewish people of their jobs and businesses (Akbulut-Yuksel and Yuksel, 2015). This of course had an immediate societal affect upon the Jewish people; many went from well-off to destitute in a short period of time. Upon being taken to the concentration camps all of their possessions were stolen by the Nazi’s. This meant that upon their release from the concentration camps a once rich people had nothing. Children who once had an inheritance no longer had one, people had no homes; thousands of Jewish people had to start from nothing which has had long-term affects (Akbulut-Yuksel and Yuksel, 2015). Jewish people during this time also did not receive the same education as other German children (Akbulut-Yuksel and Yuksel, 2015). Children and young adults who were released from internment camps were academically disadvantaged as well. These issues are ones which take generations to fix, and even then there is a severe change in te development process of the Jewish people.
While it is easy to see the effect of the Nazi’s on Germany as a purely negative one, this is not entirely the case. The Nazi put a major public works program into place which included the building of and repairing of houses railways and roads (Bbc.co.uk, 2016). This program reduced unemployment rates, in addition to the need for metal workers to keep up with demand for weapons (Bbc.co.uk, 2016). The Kraft durch Freude organization was created to improve the lives of workers; they managed to get workers benefits such as “subsidised theatre visits, sports facilities as well as cheap cruises” (Bbc.co.uk, 2016). While the Nazi party created more jobs, they neglected to increase the supply of goods, so the standard of living did not increase as one would imagine (Bbc.co.uk, 2016). Nonetheless, it was a major change for many Germans.
The Nazi movement has even had an effect on language. When one sees an oppressive military or police force they often refer to it as the Gestapo, which was the name of the Nazi police force (BahaiTeachings.org, 2014). The term Nazi has a second definition of, “an evil person who wants to use power to control and harm other people especially because of their race, religion, etc.” (Merriam-webster.com, 2016). To call someone a Nazi now is a serious insult; it implies that the person is as horrible abeing as could possibly exist. Also, the term propaganda became a normally used word in response to the political ads that were the norm in Nazi Germany (Historians.org, 2016). A “Brownshirt” is a slang for racist; the significance of this is the color of the shirts which were worn by the Sturm Abteilung (SA) at the time. (Theholocaustexplained.org, 2016). The SA were like body guards at Hitler’s speeches. These additions to our speech patterns is another example of a change in the development process.
Social movements such as the Nazi movement oftentimes have long reaching consequences. They can make major changes in the development process of a city, country, or even the world. The Nazi movement had worldwide implications. They killed one-third of the Jewish people in the world, completely changing their futures. Women entered the workforce and the military in the United States, forever changing the roles of men and women. The Nazi party improved jobs within Germany, while still having an overall detrimental effect on Germany’s economy. There are even words we now use as a part of our vocabulary that came directly from words used during the Nazi regime. These are just a few of the ways which the Nazi party affected the worldwide development process. The Nazi movement serves as an excellent example as to how a social movement can change the development process economically, verbally and how humanity lives. The effects can be far reaching, and effect generations in ways that are unforeseen and unchangeable.
References
Akbulut-Yuksel, M. and Yuksel, M. (2015). The Long-Term Direct and External Effects of Jewish Expulsions in Nazi Germany †. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 7(3), pp.58-85.
BahaiTeachings.org. (2014). The Impact of the Nazis on Today’s World. [online] Available at: http://bahaiteachings.org/impact-of-the-nazis-on-todays-world [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016].
Bbc.co.uk. (2016). BBC - Higher Bitesize History. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/nationalism/nazi/revision/4/ [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016].
Entwicklungssoziologie.uni-bayreuth.de. (2016). What is development sociology?. [online] Available at: http://www.entwicklungssoziologie.uni- bayreuth.de/en/studies_teaching/What_is_ESoz/index.html [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016].
Historians.org. (2016). The Story of Propaganda. [online] Available at: https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi- roundtable-series/pamphlets/what-is-propaganda/the-story-of-propaganda [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016].
HISTORY.com. (2016). Nazi Party - World War II. [online] Available at: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nazi-party [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016].
Merriam-webster.com. (2016). Definition of NAZI. [online] Available at: http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/Nazi [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016].
Nationalww2museum.org. (2016). The National WWII Museum. [online] Available at: http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/at-a- glance/women-in-ww2.html [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016].
Theholocaustexplained.org. (2016). Stormtroopers or Brownshirts. [online] Available at: http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the-nazi-rise-to-power/how-did-nazis-gain- power/the-role-of-the-sa/#.VxsSLkdWp9I [Accessed 23 Apr. 2016].
