The Third Reich: Charisma and Community 1405801697, 9781405801690
The twelve years of the Third Reich casts a dark shadow over history. Fierce debates still rage over many of the hows, w
369 122 4MB
English Pages 403 [424] Year 2008
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of
Contents
Abbreviations
Author’s acknowledgements
Publisher’s acknowledgements
List of maps
1. Background
The intellectual debate
Germany
Hitler
2. The origins of National Socialism
From Munich to Berlin
Charismatic leadership
The early years of the NSDAP
Hitler’s appointment as chancellor
Was there an alternative?
3. Hitler as chancellor
The foundation of the Nazi dictatorship
Gleichschaltung
Employment
Anti-Semitism: the first phase
Eugenics
The Hitler myth and the racial community
4. Reordering society and the economy
The National Socialist State
Agriculture
Small business
Contradictions within National Socialism
National consensus
The aristocracy
Women in Nazi Germany
Youth
The wartime economy
National Socialism and the problem of modernity
5. The churches and education
Protestants
Catholics
Education
6. The arts and propaganda
Arts and entertainment
Architecture
Film
Literature
Theatre
Painting and sculpture
Music
Design
Cabaret
7. The SA, SS and police
The SS
The RSHA and the foreign office
The SS and Germany’s eastern empire
The ‘Jewish problem’
Industrialized mass murder
The SS industrial empire
NSDAP versus SS
The Waffen-SS
Heinrich Himmler’s decline and fall
8. Foreign policy
Germany and Italy
South-east Europe
Britain
Hitler as appeaser
The Soviet Union
France
The Anschluss
Czechoslovakia
Poland
The Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact
War
9. The Shoah
Poland
The fate of the Soviet Jews
Wannsee and beyond
The ‘Final Solution’ in east and west
Reaction and inaction
10. The war
The campaign in the west
Barbarossa
Setbacks
The turn of the tide
Resistance
The Catholic Church
Assistance, protest and resistance
The end
Charisma and community
Notes
Further reading
Index
Recommend Papers
- Author / Uploaded
- Martin Kitchen
File loading please wait...
Citation preview
The Third Reich
This page intentionally left blank
THE THIRD REICH CHARISMA AND COMMUNITY MARTIN KITCHEN
'JSTUQVCMJTIFE8CZ1FBSTPO&EVDBUJPO-JNJUFE 1VCMJTIFECZ3PVUMFEHF 1BSL4RVBSF .JMUPO1BSL "CJOHEPO 0YPO093/ 5IJSE"WFOVF /FX:PSL /: 64" 3PVUMFEHFJTBOJNQSJOUPGUIF5BZMPS'SBODJT(SPVQ BOJOGPSNBCVTJOFTT $PQZSJHIUª8 5BZMPS'SBODJT The right of Martin Kitchen to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kitchen, Martin. The Third Reich : charisma and community / Martin Kitchen.—1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978–1–4058–0169–0 (pbk.) 1. Germany—History—1933–1945. 2. National socialism—History. I. Title. DD256.5.K4756 2008 943.086—dc22 2007035894 Set by 35 in 11/13.5pt Columbus
For Fiona, Steve and Ric
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
Abbreviations Author’s acknowledgements Publisher’s acknowledgements List of maps
1. Background
ix xi xii xiii 1
2. The origins of National Socialism
31
3. Hitler as chancellor
60
4. Reordering society and the economy
122
5. The churches and education
164
6. The arts and propaganda
180
7. The SA, SS and police
219
8. Foreign policy
272
9. The Shoah
304
10. The war Notes Further reading Index
332 373 379 400
This page intentionally left blank
ABBREVIATIONS
ADGB AO BDM BNSDJ BVP DAF DAP DDP DFG DFW DNSAP DNVP DVP EG EK ET FGA Gestapa Gestapo GFP Hiwi HJ HSSPF KdF KPD Kripo KWG LAH NS NSBO
General Association of German Trades Unions Foreign Political Organisation of the NSDAP League of German Maidens Association of National Socialist German Jurists Bavarian People’s Party German Labour Front German Workers’ Party German Democratic Party German Research Association German Women’s League German National Socialist Workers’ Party German National People’s Party German People’s Party Einsatzgruppen (Murder Squads) Einsatzkommando (5 Commandos in a group) Special Troops (for the Einsatzgruppen) Field Gendarmerie Division Secret State Police Office Secret State Police Secret Field Police Volunteer Hitler Youth Higher SS and Police Leaders Strength Through Joy Communist Party of Germany Criminal Police Kaiser Wilhelm Society Personal Standard Adolf Hitler National Socialist National Socialist Works Cell Organization
ABBREVIATIONS
[x]
NSDAP NSF NSStB NSV OC OD OHL OKH OKW Orpo OSAF Osti OT RAD RDI RKF RKFDV RKK RLB RM RmfdbO RSHA RuSHA SA SD Sipo SOE SPD SS SS-TV SS-VT T4 UFA USPD UWZ VBA VDA Vomi WHW WVHA ZVfD
National Socialist German Workers’ Party National Socialist Women’s Association National Socialist Students’ Association National Socialist People’s Welfare Organisation Consul Order Service (Auxiliary Police in Occupied Russia) Army High Command (First World War) Army High Command High Command of the Armed Forces Order Police Higher SA Leader Eastern Industrial Company (SS) Organisation Todt (State Construction Company) Reich Labour Service Reich Association for German Industry Reich Commissariat for the Strengthening of the German Race Reich Commissar for the Strengthening of the German Race Reich Chamber of Culture Reich Land Association Reichsmark Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories Reich Security Main Office Main Race and Settlement Office Storm Section (‘Brownshirts’) Security Service Security Police Special Operations Executive German Social Democratic Party Protection Squad SS Death’s Head Squad SS Auxiliary Troops (the origins of the Waffen-SS) Euthanasia Death Squad Universal Film Company Independent Social Democratic Party Central Migration Office People’s Association for the German Race Abroad Association for Germans Abroad Ethnic German Coordination Office Winter Help (NS Welfare Organization) Main Administrative Office for Business and Commerce (SS) Zionist Association in Germany
AUTHOR’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am most grateful to Heather McCallum who first suggested that I should write this book. It has proved to be a taxing, but rewarding experience, thanks to the help and encouragement of Laura Blake, Patrick Bonham, Mary-Clare Connellan, Alyssa McDonald and Christina Wipf Perry. Evan Mawdsley and Jo Fox made a number of helpful and constructive criticisms. All of the above have saved me from many slips and errors. Those that remain are entirely my own.
PUBLISHER’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material: Map 5 © 2007 by Jen Rosenberg (http://history1900s.about.com/library/ holocaust/blmap.htm.) Used with permission of About, Inc. which can be found online at www.about.com. All rights reserved; Maps 6 and 7 after maps in Michael Burleigh (2001), The Third Reich: A New History, Pan Books: London by kind permission of Michael Burleigh. Figures 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 4.1, 6.1 and 6.2 from Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung; Figures 3.3, 4.3, 8.1, 10.1 and 10.2 from SV-Bilderdienst; Figure 5.1 with permission from Bundesarchiv/B145 Bild-F051620-0041; Figure 4.2, ‘Reichsautobahnen’, from Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin; Figure 7.1 from Münchner Stadtmuseum; Figure 9.1 from Felix-Nussbaum-Haus Osnabrück mit der Sammlung der Niedersächsischen Sparkassenstiftung © VG Bild-Kunst Bonn 2006 In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material and we would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.
LIST OF MAPS
Map 1 Map 2 Map 3 Map 4 Map 5 Map 6 Map 7
The Versailles Settlement The Gaue (1944) Hitler’s empire by autumn 1942 The contraction of Hitler’s Europe The death camps Einsatzgruppen Invasion of the Soviet Union
xiv xv xvi xvii xviii xix xx
MAPS
[ xiv ]
1914
1919 I UTHUAIMI/
RUSSIA
Q A
R U S S IA
if
V wi % uj O z < EC
u-
POLAND
% ui O AUSTRIA z . SWITZ. < a. IT A LY 0
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY S W IT Z .'—'
IT A L Y ^ (
HUNGARY/
u-
RU MANIA
RUMANIA
YUGOSLAVIA '
BULGARIA f
> BULGARL
MEMELLAND NORTH SCHLESWIG
EAST PRUSSIA
WEST PRUSSIA
B erlin 9
tfr
PO LAND
V
B ELG IU M EUPEN . MALMEDY i
UPPER ! SILESIA
LUX.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA