For social revolution to occur, you would need a major change. Although the teaching and the curriculum changed the structure of the schooling did not alter. Nazis were in power for 12 years; this amount of time was not enough to change the nation, only enough to change a generation. Not all Youth were to accept the new rules. Certain swing groups, who were influenced by the American culture, were a threat to Hitler. Swing groups admired American Dance music and modern American ways of life. Nazis considered them “criminals”. The Swing groups were mainly middle-to upper class, who had the money to spend in night clubs and they were anti-politics. More popular and more rebellious were the Edelweiss Pirates. Who were estimated having 2,000 members by 1939. They had their own badges, with skull and crossbones on them underlining that Hitler’s views were evil and they were to have no part in it. This shows that not everyone was to accept the Social Revolution which Hitler was introducing them to, and Hitler’s plans did not please everyone, therefore not having full success.
Nazis next step was to impose their ideology on German women. Their slogans were to become: Kinder, Kuche, Kirche. “I have donated a child to the Fuhrer”. Hitler’s aim was to dominate the world, Germany was only a pawn compared to the great empires of Russia and Britain. Having many children was not a revolutionary idea. In the 1920s and 1930s France encouraged larger families. Another fact was that women were discouraged to wear makeup, having their own opinion and their life was to be dedicated to the man, which is not revolutionary if you compare it to the history of middle age woman who had no rights. Women were encouraged to get married to a genetically pure man; divorces were dispirited unless a person who you married was not able to reproduce. Nazis began to get rid of people who were genetically unable to give children to Volksgemeinschaft. Women’s Aryanism consisted of being blond haired, blue eyed, broad hips for child bearing, but yet athletic, hand made clothes, long skirts and flat shoes, this differs from an all American Woman who were at those times wearing trousers becoming professors and smoking.
Nazis tried very hard to encourage couples to have children. Their taxes were to be cut after so many children were donated. Lebensborn program was introduced to encourage births outside marriage. This idea was not revolutionary, only underlined more boldly to the eyes of Germany. Many women wrote “Men are living with false hope on becoming war heroes, while women are overshadowed by disrespect of even their male children who are taught that women are less essential”. The idea of Volksgemeinschaft was beginning to fall apart. The extent to which women have accepted the administration is hard to judge, a historian called Mason has argued that the system was more popular with women then men. The Nazi system was just a more extreme version of Catholic Church and conservative organisations stressed view on procreation. Mason also wrote “In respect of its attitudes and policies towards women, National Socialism was the most repressive and reactionary of all modern political movements.” Some would agree with the view that National Socialism did occur in respect to women. It was a vague coming together of “modernist” and “traditionalist” predispositions.
1930s were difficult years for the Christianity. As Hitler stated you could either be a Christian or a German. Despite the conflict there were some clear similarities between the two. Throughout the history of religion, church always wanted to control the affairs of the country; Nazis wanted that power which church had. Church was known for its wide respect and its ability to comfort people, who were in need. Many people suffered throughout the years of Nazis who turned to church. Nazis did not want church pitying the “outsiders” whom Germany did not require. Some similarities between the two include the importance of family, hostility to communism, anti-Semitism. Hitler wanted to replace Christianity with Nazis and Aryan race while church stated that there is no inferior race. If Hitler would have succeeded in overthrowing the church in a short amount of time this fact would have contributed in true Social Revolution. German Christians wanted to Nazify Christianity, war interrupted this and after the war –The fall of Nazis prevented the destruction of faith. Hitler’s overall method was firstly to control the Church, then to reduce their influence, and finally to replace them. Nazis attacked the Catholic churches, while Protestant churches were traditionally nationalist and had supported conservative parties during the Weimar Republic. The German Christians were helping to establish a New Reich Church. In 1933 Hitler appointed Ludwig Muller as Reich Bishop. This did create much opposition, over a hundred pastors created a Breakaway movement which was later organised into Confessional church. It was not anti-Nazis but was established to keep the traditional Protestantism from political control. Bishop Clemens von Galen was described as the only effective protester in the Third Reich opposing Euthanasia and racism.
Those who did not fit in Volksgemeinschaft were known as the “Gemeinschaftsunfahig”. They were the outsiders who contaminated the German race. Those who fell into this category were the Ideological parties such as communists who would corrupt the minds of young Germans, the biologically unfit such as handicapped people. Even colour-blindness effected were sterilised. Socially unfit who were work shy or homosexuals who were greatly frown upon. All these cases were not reviewed but dealt with at once, they were sent to concentration camps or sterilized. Euthanasia was greatly favoured by Nazis as a save of economical resources. Euthanasia was used as propaganda in concentration camps and in cinemas it was shown as the best way to say goodbye. Films were made to make people aware of the mentally ill and scare the people of them.
The most abused were the Jews as the propaganda against them was even in school books read by Nazi children from small age learning to hate them, as children grew, the understanding of why Jews were killed became clearer in their cynical minds. Hostility towards the Jews, linked to a belief in their responsibility for the killing of Christ, this hostility was reinforced by antipathy at the wealth and position of some Jews and the periodic need for scapegoats to blame for problems. The great discrimination against the weak is not revolutionary and is seen in our everyday life through legal abortion. The A-socials were the gypsies, beggars, alcoholics, prostitutes, eccentrics the work shy and juvenile delinquents, all those who refused to work, according to Nazis this “gives offence to the community”. In 1933 there was a roundup of those who refused to work, the orderly were given work and disorderly were sent to the concentration camps. This began to be seen as a good Revolutionary idea, as the problems were solved this way, the unemployment began to decrease putting pressure on those who still refused to work. Nazis had some good ideas to begin with.
More than 10 million Jews were killed in Concentration camps away from public eye, but historians begin to wonder whether public executions would have raised any concern among the Nazi Germany. This idea was not just revolutionary but inhumane, never in history has it been known that so many innocent people have been executed in such a short amount of time. Many people opposed Nazis.
One of the brave few who spoke against the Nazis was a student by the name of Sophie Scholl; she joined the anti-Nazi group called White Rose which was led by her brother. She distributed the anti Nazi pamphlets and encouraged the German people to speak up against the Nazis. Teachers opposed the Nazi teaching view; they secretly had to teach the children something useful away from public eyes. As Historians complete further work on local archives, more evidence of a variety of forms of oppose emerged. Consequently the Marxist historian Mason studying the working class identified considerable non-conformism, such as malingering, and even wildcat strikes and industrial sabotage. Public studies have shown the large number of opposition towards the Nazis especially among the young people in large towns. The army was known to oppose the Nazi, but they didn’t strike but would not cooperate. Judges tried to maintain proper standard of justice. Germany was ruled only by one party, all others were banned, not allowing any underground operations, no party were strong enough to oppose the Nazis, some showed their disagreement by strikes. To add to the opposition there were many assassination attempts on Hitler made during his reign, his narrow survival was nationally celebrated.
After looking at the evidence was given to me, I have come to the conclusion that Social Revolution was introduced to the New Germany, but was not accomplished by Hitler, due to the short amount of time he had to establish the rules. During his 12 year supremacy he had turned Germany upside down, but not with Revolutionary ideas which were genius, but with old fashioned facts which were to become his death, as they were inhumane. Due to great amount of support from his country, there were still those who saw through this false promises and propaganda which was holding Germany together. Hitler was a good public speaker and an excellent political negotiator. There were those who opposed Hitler and broke the law to do this, law and morals do not always fall into the same category, law can be taught by an individual or a party, but morals are part of our everyday ethics and are unbreakable by individuals, those who were not charmed by Hitler’s sweet-talking knew what was right and lost their lives to achieve what was moral. Some aspects of Social Revolution are seen in some ways, for example Nazi regime was working in the fact that number of births did go up during their reign, and this was one of their main priorities of the soon to become Revolution. If we allowed Nazis to be in power for another 12 years we might be looking at completely different results to what we see in front of us now.
