It was interesting to see the social dynamic in Northeim during the beginning of the depression. Allen states that “it was the depression…the fear of its continued effects, that contributed most heavily to the radicalization of Northeim’s People” (24). He further claims that the middle class did not suffer much. Allen explains that the merchants only lost a small portion of their trade and while civil servants had their wages reduced, not many of them lost their jobs. This fear caused people to open more saving accounts and banks began to reduce credit allotments. Only workers were affected by the depression thus far. It was interesting to see that the workers still supported the status quo while the middle class turned more radical. They started turning to groups like the Nazi, which they previously ignored.
Through this fear the people were more willing to turn to the radical right and thus when the neighboring towns started gaining a small Nazi population, some people in Northeim also began to turn towards Nazism. However after the failure of Hitler’s putch, the party became outlawed and then the party split. Nevertheless, once Hitler was released from prison and the refounded the party the faction in Northeim got back together. As mentioned in class, the speeches were geared towards the people so the party can gain profit, which led to an increase in their party. However, they also lost people in the party because some did not pay their dues. It is interesting to see how fear from those who were not yet affected by the depression turned radical. Once some people turned towards the radical right, the party was also able to gain people since they were anti-Marxist and the meetings were tailored to capture people’s interest. I used to wonder what if the depression never occurred, would people still be desperate to turn to the radical right? However, through this account it was clear that people in the middle class were unhappy and the fear of losing their job was enough to spark an interest in them to turn to Nazism.
I believe fear had the most decisive influence in solidifying support for more extreme political ideologies. Surely, in times of good economic standing and political stability, neither the far left or the far right would have appeared so appealing.
ReplyDeleteIt is also interesting to note that Germany's fear of a repeat of the 1923 crisis and hyperinflation caused Germany to hold steadfast and oppose getting off the gold standard.
Once again, I find Hitler's opposition to coalitions, to German unity and widespread nationalism and solidarity, to be quite paradoxical. After the 1928 Grand Coalition collapsed in 1930, how would Hitler react?
At the same time, however, the right opposed the Young Plan, which hoped to revise the tenets of the German reparation plan. While he opposed an umbrella 'grand coalition' of a majority of political parties across the spectrum, Hitler and the other conservatives joined a coalition in opposition to the Young Plan. How can this once extremist fringe group, the NSDAP and Hitler, pledge allegiance to a cause less unifying. Hitler goes on to denounce Hugenberg's leadership of the opposition to the Young Plan, however, an idea that seems more divisive to the German nationalist cause. Could not the Germans universally oppose the Young Plan in its entirety, due to the long-harbored belief that the reparations of the war, despite being reduced in the Young Plan, were reparations that were much too heavily burdening and unwarranted? Could this fear of this threat to German pride and welfare be a unifying factor for the solidification of the right?
Could not another common enemy, in addition to the Young Plan, be the presence of the Hapsburgs? Could not more than just the DNVP and the NSDAP come together to oppose an outside authority that poses threats to German unification? Could this fear of the Hapsburgs unify German sentiments and political ideologies?
Many of this week’s post concern fear, and how the Nazi regime exploited the panic caused by the Great Depression to attract a following. And yet I wonder if the intentionality of the Nazi’s was to exploit, rather than correct a country rife with instability. In trying to appeal to the townspeople of Northeimers, was the Nazi’s ultimate goal to take over Germany and participate in racial cleansing? Allen writes, “to most Northeimers the NSDAP was first and foremost an anti-Marxist party” (34). I agree with many of this week’s posting that in its early stages, Nazism seems to have more of an economic focus than anything. And in this sense, it attracted people who were tired of the constant instability. Would Hitler have come to power if it weren’t for the Great Depression? I find it extremely unlikely considering the Nazi rhetoric in its early years. Yes, many of the party’s early members were not from the lower class but rather the middle and bourgeois, yet it can’t be ignored that what was being discussed in Nazi circles was economic prosperity and stability for the nation.
ReplyDeleteI have thoroughly enjoyed reading Allen's depiction of small-scale Nazi presence in Germany since it paints a far more understandable and relatable picture of Germany society and political outlooks. As a reader reading documents like Meine Kampf and reading historical national-level descriptions of the dictator and his take-over has very limited abilities in understanding the intimate tactics of Nazi politics. Allen himself says in the introductory chapters that Nazi efforts on the local level were key in the establishment of totalitarianism and quick upraise of the extremist party. This being said, I believe that the Nazis came to power in Thalburg by many of the same methods as they employed at the National level, which as noted here had roots deep in fear and the great depression. They devised to exploit the fears of the bourgeoisie and their impatience of democracy in the face of financial crisis, especially in contrast to persevering countries such as Italy and Russia. Those they could not persuade or influence, they bullied using the paramilitary and intense and confident presence. To me, the importance of the American depression and its impact on Germany, on top of the countries already shakey position within Europe were well apparent in the social state of the town and tactics chosen by local Nazi politicians.
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