The Nazi community was based on “ ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer” (one people, one nation, one leader). This motto was broadly used all through Germany, and was used to fortify communities together. Another of Hitler’s main motto was “Blut und Boden” (blood and soil), and the Nazis used posters and other types of propaganda used the motto to advance ‘peasant virtue’, meaning an old trend, straightforward country way of life. German artists decorated gorgeous images of peasants working in the countryside settings, and rural scenes which revealed the rural communities “in tune with nature”. Many posters showed wonderful Aryan families meeting together around a radio, which advanced Germany’s civilizing legacy.
The German Youth were under attack too, not only by the youth organisations such as the Hitler Youth, but by mottos such as “Youth serves the Fuhrer” which persuaded children that they were an energetic, vital part of Germany and its reincarnation.
Propaganda was also used to categorize against ‘undesirable’ social groups such as Gypsies and Jews. The Jews were revealed as being chubby, hideous, money grabbing crook and a bad authority on culture. This heavy use of propaganda built up hatred and disgust towards them. The Jews were represented as pests, parasites that should be exterminate for the good of Germany.
Hitler’s propaganda was booming: the logic of general unison was recovered, and the German public had trust in their government.
Education was an enormous issue that participated to Hitler’s successful control over Germany. Hitler is believed to have had a strong loathe of intellectualism, perhaps at what happened in his school and his grades because most of them were unsatisfactory and only two were excellent: Art and P.E. However, he did understand that education would play a vital task in his new country. He observed in Mein Kampf: “…the general rule is that a strong and healthy mind is found only in a strong and healthy body… Not a single day should be allowed to pass in which a young pupil does not have one hour of physical training in the morning and one in the afternoon.” This stress on physical fitness was intended to make boys better soldiers and to make girls better child bearers.
The Nazis manipulated the education system fully- the teachers, the pupils and the curriculum. Their original battle of changing the teachers to National Socialism was made easier for the Nazis as many teachers were already compassionate towards National Socialism. In 1933 membership of the NSDAP was required for civil servants and by 1936 36% of teachers were members. The Nazis got rid of the teachers, they considered ‘undesirable’, such as Jews and those with different opinion about Hitler and leaving the teaching career that is conquered by Nazis opinions and laws. While some didn’t like this, the majority accepted the new ideas and the swapping of minds of their pupils to hate Jews.
Jews were soon pressed out of the education system when, from 1933, universities were forced to bound the Jewish entrants to just 1.5.% of the student body. Jews were prohibited from the medical, dental and legal courses in 1934, and then in 1936 Jewish teachers were powerless to give any tuition, even to Aryan children. Finally, in 1938, Jews were expelled from all German schools.
As I said before, that Hitler changed the courses, every classroom contained swastiska flags, propaganda and racist materials whilst Mein Kampf was vital classroom reading. Taken out from the book were often talked about and learned, therefore strengthen Hitler principles into the defenceless minds of the children.
P.E. was compulsory, and in senior schools they have to take boxing it was vital for boys, they had five hours per week of P.E. Pupils who did not reach the necessary model in P.E. were banned from further education. This was the most vital change in curriculum, however, was the change in the teaching if German Culture, History and Biology. The pupils were made extremely aware of their cultural heritage, and stress the idea of the ‘Volk’. History lessons were filtered and consisted mainly of the Nazi revolution. The children were trained German Mythology and the accomplishments of the Aryan race. In biology pupils were educated racist ideas such as how to tell apart between races and about Aryan superiority. There was of course no logical proof for any of this sort of thing, but the soft minds of the young children were simple to form. One German (quoted in Nazi Culture by G. Mosse) said: “Every subject was now presented from a National Socialist points of view… the old books were replaced with new ones which hade been written and censored by government official. Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf became the textbook for our history lessons… A new subject, the Science of Races, was introduced and religious instructions to became optional.”
The changes in the curriculum led to disagreement between what was educated at home and what was studied at school. In 1933 Hitler said “… if there are people… who think they cannot change their outlook, then we will take their children away from them.” Some children were separated from parents whose beliefs did not obey with the country. The new curriculum also damaged the excellence of German education, and therefore the figure of those going into university between 1932 and 1941 fell from 127, 580 to only 40.986. Throughout the war there was a huge need for women with technical training so more were sent to university by train. The figures of women in higher education rose from 11.1%1939 to 44.5% in 1943. The new scheme destroyed Germany’s educational status due to Jewish scientists being excluded from education. The country that had given the world Albert Einstein no longer had anything to offer.
So did Hitler’s mind swapping work? It might of but not up to his expectations. The new generations of Nazis were rising without require for independent thought and declined the philosophy of gallantry, admiration for the seniors and common courtesy. The educations system shaped a legion of sightless, respectful youth.
Another outlook that changed in German society was the outlook towards the women. Propaganda stressed their role in manufacturing the next generation into good Nazis, and their significance in current culture. ethnic propaganda advanced the ideal of an Aryan family, and it possessed with the naked lady form in other to symbolise productivity and richness and to hearten woman to have children. Artists painted many pictures idealising life and peasants way of life. Some discriminating propaganda was dispersed around women and mothers advertising anti-Semitists belief, telling how Jews would destroy the incorruptibility of their young German girls. This of course alarmed the women and set their anti-Semitist opinions in stone. Although women were important in the Nazi culture, their only role was to give birth to the next generation (until the war, when they need to work for the war effort).
Hitler understood the need to fit in to a group, and he reacted not only by creating groups for adults and emphasising the ‘Volk’ but by also creating groups for children too. Hitler set up the ‘Hitler Youth’, a kind of ‘club’ that planned fun actions whilst tightly fitting the Nazi culture into young children. Within Hitler Youth were the Pimpfen (Little Fellows), for boys aged 6-10. They were taught military skills and were mind-swapped. Next, the Deutsches Jungvolk ( German Young People) was for boys aged 10-14. After that were the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth). For the girls was the Bund Deutscher Madel ( League of German Maidens). This was separated into two groups, the Jungamadel and Madelschaft. They did the same sort of activities as the boys but were more determined on household subjects. Many were lured by the appeal of uniform and learning arts, crafts, sports and camping. In 1936 all non-Nazi youth organisations were forbidden and membership of the Hitler Youth was made essential. Their slogan was “Fuhrer command-follow”. The essential plan of the movement was to mind swap the children into the obedient approval of Nazi ideology. However, some young Germans did avoid joining the Hitler Youth and formed their own separatist groups.
Hitler did manage to successful control Germany, but whilst giving the positive effect of a sense of National Unity, he destroyed education, equality and hearten a racialist community. The effects if Hitler’s control of Germany were impressive and on a enormous magnitude.
