How Did The Nazi Party Come To Power?

[KennDodd]

Am I naive in thinking most people in Germany, even in the 1930s must have been good kind people, no different to us? How did they persuade people to vote for them?

[DuchessDumbarton]

It all comes back to fear, though, doesn't it.

Fear of losing my place or "status" in the world. And if someone comes along (Trump, Boris, Farage, whoever) who offers answers and an outgroup to dump the blame and fear onto, well then, that's very comforting isn't it?

If I've never had the chance to develop some critical thinking and I feed my brain with FB memes or Jeremy Kyle or Fox News (or whatever brand of poison you like, there'll be one for every nationality, age group and income bracket) then I will believe the poison that I'm being fed.

Which starts up a vicious cycle of reinforcing "othering" beliefs.

It's quite comfortable to blame the Jews, or the EU, or travellers/gypsies, or Catholics or Muslims or people on benefits.
It gives me a sense of being part of a group who disapprove of "that sort of thing". So, there's bonding with "people like me".
It gives me a target on which to displace my fear or sense of not being good enough. So, I feel better about myself and my place in the world.

These are very natural human reactions, to which we are all prone.
It's quite uncomfortable to contemplate this, and to realise that I am prone to it too.

But, the reality is, that unless we spend time thinking about this, then, yes, we are all potentially an Amon Goeth.
Evil is banal and ordinary, and lives much closer to us than we imagine.

[AlaskanOilBaron]

So really OP, you've finally gotten to your point - the rise of the Nazi party is exactly like the rise of eurosceptisicm and Brexit. Well done.

[Screamanger]

Germany was on its knees after the First World War, reparations causing austerity and hardship. The people had had enough of feeling like shit. Hitler offered hope, pride in themselves, and someone to blame. It was easy to fall for.

You can draw parallels with the rise of UKIP today.

Graphista
I saw a similar documentary where the guy was asked how he felt shooting Jews. His answer was “recoil”

[NeverSayFreelance]

I wrote an essay once on the Nazi rise to power. It's fascinating and terrifying.

[PencilsInSpace]

I've seen this book recommended lots of times and your thread has reminded me to buy it:

Hannah Arendt - The Origins of Totalitarianism

www.amazon.co.uk/Origins-Totalitarianism-Penguin-Modern-Classics-ebook/dp/B06XCPY2BL/?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[arsefeatures]

Bits of most posts just about cover it....I'd like to add that Hitler was a modern leader, inventing techniques that are absolutely intrinsic to contemporary politics.

I think it's really important to dismiss two unsatisfactory theories.

Firstly: the character of the German people, and their mood in the 30's. Whilst it's true they had been shocked and disillusioned about their losing WW1, there was no attempt to turn to political extremism after the much more categorical and devastating defeat of WW2.

Second: unsatisfactory explanation is that Hitler was a puppet, a creation of anti-socialist forces in Germany, in particular the German general staff, as well as the elite in finance and industry. This is wrong, Hitler was nobodies puppet, and higher classes considered him acceptable only when the votes of the masses gave them no choice.

[Crimebustersofthesea]

If people can't see parallels with what is happening today with Trump, UKIP and the brexit party then that is truly terrifying and we have learned nothing.
Sadly fear and hate unites people.

[Screamanger]

Crimebustersofthesea

We are long overdue a world war, I feel we are building towards one. Plan accordingly

[KennDodd]

@AlaskanOilBaron

Do you not see any parallels?

[PencilsInSpace]

Here's the documentary Five Steps To Tyranny someone mentioned upthread. I just watched it. It uses more recent examples such as Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, together with psychology experiments that show how easy it is to get ordinary people to become puppets of totalitarianism.

[DuchessDumbarton]

Thanks pencils, I watched that with my teens. It's a useful summary.

We have a responsibility to police ourselves, constantly.
Language matters.
Small things matter, and big problems don't arrive out of the blue.
Don't be the bystander, stand up for the small guy.
Most people are decent, but sometimes need to have decency pulled (led) out of them.
Hate grows if it's not challenged.

[dazzlingdeborahrose]

The experiments that Simple is thinking of are the Milgram experiments carried out in the 50s. The experiments were how far people would go on the instructions of an authority figure. The Stanford Prison experiments were the 70s. Another interesting set of experiments were conducted by Latane and Darley. They looked at bystander apathy and how we're affected by the actions of the people around us. They were inspired (if thats the right word) by the murder of a young woman in New York. Murdered on the doorstep of her apartment building, the murderer left and then came back to finish the job. People heard her screams but no-one came to her aid. No one even phoned the police. Fascinating set of experiments and results.

[kingsassassin]

Hitler: The rise of evil starring Robert Carlyle as Hitler is a very interesting look at it all.

[BoredToday]

You can easily research this on the internet!!

[Gustavo1]

Without sounding odd, this is one of the most fasting periods of modern history. I have studied it and read on it extensively. There were so many factors in how the nazis came to power. It would take lectures upon lectures to really explain. In fact, I’ve been to lectures upon lectures on the topic
The ‘following orders’ defends is also massively iterating. There are proven cases of guards and regular citizens going ‘above and beyond’ their orders or what was expected of them by the nazi regime.
Sorry not to be more enlightening. It’s just so bloody fascinating in an awful way!!

[NoBaggyPants]

People disillusioned after years of austerity, the likes of Farage and Johnson tottering away in the background but all the time feeding division and hate. Then people say they've had enough, but instead of blaming the government they blame the EU, immigrants and Muslims in particular. Then the same people who have actively (but quietly) advocated for austerity jump in as the saviours, promising a prosperous and united nation. Sounds great, the majority votes for them. Except they forgot to mention that their vision doesn't include the poor, the disabled, anyone that's not white skinned...

And so it begins.

[NoBaggyPants]

You can easily research this on the internet!!

This is the internet.

[marvik]

I don't think people have mentioned the Treaty of Versailles. German morale had suffered as a result of losing the First Wold War. National Socialism seemed to offer people a chance to feel pride in their country again. It also seemed to offer relative stability after the chaotic years of Weimar rule - which included hyperinflation. Many people were prepared to turn a blind eye to the less savoury aspects of National Socialism for these reasons.

My grandparents, who were Jewish, grew up in Germany.

[romeoonthebalcony]

Also have a read of a recent book by Julia Boyd which is travellers' accounts of Germany in the period and referencing the dreadful poverty after the 1st world war and the humilation that the Germans were suffering. It's very readable and very upsetting, especially with how much it seems to resonate with today's England - people feeling pushed out and wanting to "take back control".
The people felt powerless and humiliated, there were fears of Communism spreading from the East. Jewish people were attacked by Left and Right, by Left for being associated with banking etc, from Right by being associated with Communism. A myth that life would be better if categories of people were got rid of was too easily believed by suggestable humans. Julia Boyd highlights how many foreigners who met Hitler describe him as "sincere".

[Echobelly]

As people have said, it was drip-drip.

You need to understand that the defeat of Germany in WWI was a massive shock - the German people had been giving the message that they were winning, way ahead and then sudddenly... surrender. 'Someone' had to be responsible for Germany's humiliation and subsequent troubles and over the intervening years, that someone was the Jews.

I'm Jewish myself and the descendent of Holocaust survivors, but sad to say I can imagine ordinary German people just believing what they heard and saying 'Well, gosh, it's a bit sad they're sending the Goldfarb's next door to the East to be resettled, but I suppose times are hard and there's not enough to go around for me and my family...'

[Hoppinggreen]

DH is German with Austrian relatives as well and I have had several conversations about this, including with a Great Aunt who was in the Hitler Youth and met the men himself a few times. They have told me they feel it happened because
Conditions for most were quite bad
Politicians weren’t trusted, Hitler and his party were new and different
The aftermath of WW1 made people feel that the rest of Europe had treated Germany badly
Other nations were threatening their borders
Fear of Russia
No mention of Jewish people at first
National pride - which Hilter appealed to

Once they realised that Hitler was carting people off to camps etc it was too late, as Auntie said they knew the Jews were being taken somewhere and that it wasn’t anywhere good but that they didn’t ( or preferred not to think about) exactly what was happening

[BoredToday]

What I meant was respected scholars and historians not any old clown on Mumsnet.

[wheresmymojo]

I'm not actually suggesting we're on the brink of facism but it's hard not to see some parallels with today:

Conditions for most were quite bad - nowhere near as bad as post WWI Germany but a lot of people feel conditions are bad due to austerity

Politicians weren’t trusted - don't think I need to say more about this one

Hitler and his party were new and different - Similar ploy used by Trump and Farage

The aftermath of WW1 made people feel that the rest of Europe had treated Germany badly - will the aftermath of no deal Brexit make some people feel the rest of Europe have treated the UK badly?

Other nations were threatening their borders - fear of immigrants / potential break up of the Union?

[Callmecordelia]

If you're interested in the psychology of it, one of the most fascinating and best history books I've ever read is Albert Speer: His battle with truth by Gitta Sereny.

[TakeOneForTheBreem]

There are definite parallels with what is happening in Europe these days.

I feel like it's happening on both the right and the left. There is a lot of racism, downright fascism in some cases, but then you also have the left seemingly happy to control speech which worries me too.

I think we're heading for bad times.