In this week’s reading of The Nazi’s Seizure of Power, I found it interesting that the democratic system that was in place actually helped the Nazis gain power and retain power despite the fact that many of their actions were very undemocratic. For example, during the run up to the elections they were helped by the banning of leftist newsletters by the government and by the deputizing of SA and SS men. Even after winning the March 12 elections, the Nazis were able to gain complete control of the standing committees by “persuading” one of the SPD members to turn neutral and to arrest the other. I still find it strange that the Nazis would try to still abide by the law despite the fact that they vehemently disagreed with the democratic principles behind these control measures. I think that the construction of the system really needed to be better evaluated so that the Nazis were not just able to remove or dismiss anyone if they were not “co-operative.” I am interested getting a better understanding of how the Nazis were simply able to dismiss so many of the opposition in order to “cleanse” the administration of the town and county. I also find it interesting how the Nazis cared only about having complete control. For example, despite the fact that Mayor Peters was a conservative and would have easily co-operated with the Nazis, Nazis still tried to have him removed from power.
It is still shocking to me how a group that has so little interest in operating democratically could manage to co-ordinate long enough under a democratic system to get themselves elected. Overall I found the Nazis political tactics very disconcerting since I usually see democracy as a safeguard against these kinds of tactics yet the Nazis were able to easily achieve their objectives despite this.
This week I have found myself very much interested by some of the same themes as you, Andrew, and especially looking towards our midterm, this evaluation of the democratic system that was operating in Germany seems very important to me when answering the question "How did the nazis take power?" I think flaws in the system that the nazis walked all over were a big factor, and I also find myself wondering why the Nazi's seem to have been able to get away with whatever the wanted, operating within a "democracy."
ReplyDeleteThe Nazi's rise to power really demonstrates that democracy is not fool proof. Even in America today, we have many policies and practices that are undemocratic.
ReplyDeleteA functioning democracy functions on the idea that the people will actually make an informed decision on their ballot. The Nazi party didn't make their antisemitic agenda as apparent in their campaign as it was in Mein Kampf, or in their policy. In a way, the voters were lied to, but part of me wonders why they didn't pick up Mein Kampf; how the hatred in the book wasn't publicized.
It surprises me, as well, that the Nazis pretty much followed the rules of Wiemar democracy for as long as they did. Hitler didn't strike me as the patient or rule abiding type.