Totalitarianism In Germany

855 Words4 Pages

Question: Define “totalitarianism” and access the extent to which it was achieved in Hitler´s Germany.
Adolf Hitler was a German politician who became the country’s Chancellor from 1933 to 1945; he was also the leader of the National Socialist German Workers ' Party. This party, also known as the Nazi Party, is known for its racists ideals and for being responsible for the Holocaust, a genocide that killed about 11 million people. Germany was considered a totalitarian state at the time, which means that its government had full and total authority over all and controlled nearly all aspects of people 's lives. This regime could be identified by the following six aspects: a guiding ideology, a single political party and organized terror; also, …show more content…

Hitler created the Law of the Protection of the People and State, which banned communists and socialists from the elections. What this meant was that there were less voters for the other parties and more for the National Socialist German Workers ' Party. Later on, he banned all political parties except the National Socialists. In the end, separate state parliaments still existed, but had no power; most were removed from their jobs. By doing this, Hitler made sure he was the most powerful and latter on, only political leader. Hence, he controlled Germany and the German …show more content…

Radio, newspapers, magazines, books, theatre, films, music and art were all supervised by the Minister of Propaganda, who filtered what he wanted or not to be shown to the public. Education systems were also closely controlled; textbooks were rewritten and teachers closely watched. Any kind of religious, social and political group had to dissolve and then regroup with new Nazi policies; for example, no jews allowed. By controlling all propaganda and communication, the government could influence and manipulate people’s views, thoughts and even actions. This contributed to the formation of a totalitarian state in Germany.
The final step to creating a totalitarian state was gun control in the country. To complicate the process of having a gun, a new law was created that demanded its registration. Also, the gun owner needed a separate permit for the weapon, ammunition, gun use, etc. By complicating the process of owning and using a gun, Hitler prevented people from buying them, which meant that they couldn’t use firearms against him. This was one more of the many ways he controlled the

Open Document