How were the Nazi able to convince their entire nation?
The atrocities and mass genocide caused by Nazi Germany is a prominent historical event which illuminated the unlimited lengths of human apathy and cruelty.
Many in the past have attributed this seeming cruelty to some innate quality that only Nazis have, but few are aware of the meticulous tactics that the Nazi party utilised in order to make an entire nation partake (directly or indirectly) in the horrors of the holocaust and other war crimes.
This post will be highlighting certain aspects of the indoctrination that took place as well as some psychological studies proving its effectiveness. Thus exploring the ways in which the Nazi Party justified and concealed crimes perpetrated towards the benighted citizens of their time.
Following the World War, the German Reich signed the Treaty of Versailles which led to severe consequences for the German Reich, such as massive debts. Hence, this sparks various issues, for instance: hyperinflation and political turmoil. Thus, this led to the rise of power and popularity of extremist parties including the Nazi Party. Due to their persuasive tactics with the working class and their promises to revoke the Treaty of Versailles, the Nazi party developed. This is paired with Hitler’s rise to power when he joined the Nazi party through his convincing speeches and confidence, which were attractive to the citizens suffering from their country’s dwindling state. However, this seemed to cause havoc as it sparked the start of a bloody war, the Second World War.
Nazi Germany used a variety of ways to persuade and manipulate its nation. One of which is through the spread of his ideologies of Anti-Sematism to the public. Hitler used theocracy to his advantage, by saying in his novel, Mein Kampf, “By defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord ( pg.60 )”. Hitler’s reputation is raised by this use of religion to produce arguments for the holy in his favour. Additionally, Hitler evoked a dogma towards the Aryan race being the superior and pure race as well as the dogma of the Jewish being impure and a dangerous cancer that can sabotage the German people. Thus, this reinforced the cultural norms of having a prejudice toward Judaism.
Civilians were prompted by the ideas of various propaganda in Nazi Germany, including anti-sematic ideologies as we have previously evaluated. This propaganda can be used through mannerisms such as the phrase ‘Heil Hitler’, Gestures, Books, Newspapers, Posters, and Other forms of media. This wide exposure of such diction subtly indoctrinates and manipulates the citizens to adopt such ideologies, a crucial tactic for the Nazi Party. Furthermore, the usage of violence and threats by the military to illustrate severe consequences for those who rebel against the cultural norms imposed by Nazi Germany reduces the possibility of rebellion and thus increasing obedience.
Another method of indoctrination used by the Nazis was passing Nazi ideologies to the next generations by targeting the youth. This was taught in classrooms or in youth organisations like the ‘Hitler Youth’, where instructions were “aimed to produce race-conscious, obedient, self-sacrificing Germans who would be willing to die for Fuhrer and Fatherland”. This implementation of an authoritative figure of the ‘Fuhrer’ can also be served as an indoctrination, through the presentation of a role model. The effectiveness of exposing children to such a role model has proven to be greatly effective through experiments that showcase children’s readiness to mimic aggressive behaviours portrayed by adults (Bandura et al).
This reinforces loyalty and allegiance towards the higher power as well as alters or reduces spontaneous thought and independent action or moral intrusion
Studies have shown that the presence of an authority figure and their command greatly diminishes internal influences (e.g. morals, empathy) from preventing the individual from enacting the command. This could be in extremes, where adults could go to almost any length at the command of an authority even where it means hurting another person.
This can be explained through the diversion of responsibility of the individual, as it is more focused on the higher power. This is exemplified by the justifications for the actions of genocide in the Nuremberg War Criminal trials. In their defence, it was justified that those acts were based on the obedience of their superiors. This may reason with the compliance of the superiors in committing acts such as public executions.
As a result, fostering hatred and order in the realm of war has displayed a tragic outcome of mass extermination. Of course, this is not limited to Nazi Germany but to the concept of war created by whatever nation and system it resides in. Instead, we evaluate the purpose of war: does it promote peace when the cost is the loss of so many lives and property? As Mahatma Gandhi puts it, “What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?”
