How successful were Hitler’s domestic policies?

The “New Germany” Hitler had started creating since his appointment as Chancellor January 1933, had many goals for the future. The notion of creating a Pure-Aryan race, far from any “enemies” and a strong economy, seemed to be the basis of most of his domestic policies. The need to unite the Germans, in what Kitson refers to as an “exclusive” way, is seen through the events which consolidated Hitler’s rise to power. However, throughout this time period, the Führer managed to make drastic social, economic and political changes to the country, through various domestic policies. Although there is debate on the extent to which these were successful, many have agreed that the general “cooperation” of the German people, largely due to the fear they were living in, made most of Hitler’s policies somewhat successful. When examining the politics behind Hitler’s rule, historians have often found that the active use of propaganda by Goebbels, and the establishment of the infamous “Police State” were what made it so successful. By looking at Goebbels active fight in making the government what he called a “People’s government”, historians are fascinated by his manipulation of the public. From creating his Ministry for Popular Enlightment and Propaganda on the 12^thMarch 1933, having a seat at the Cabinet and being President of the Reich Chamber of the Commerce and Director of the Central Office of the NSDAP, he kept on growing in influence. Although propaganda had always been a huge part of the Nazi campaigning, Goebbels took it to a new level by increasing the use of family radios by 45% from 1932 to 1939, as well as including loudspeakers on the streets to share the latest Nazi expectations/plans/ideas. Through papers, like the Eber Verlag which had taken up 2/3 of the press by 1939, he was able to censor and practically get rid of any papers which shared non-Nazi views. The Editors Law was also put in place to ensure that only the “right sort” of content came out, and that Hitler’s government was not under threat. By organising this whole network, Goebbels managed to control the information the Germans had access to. The indoctrination which took place via the media and propaganda, was one of the major reasons why domestic policies were approved of enough, for the people not to rebel against them. Furthermore, through statements like: “Anyone who is not basically for Germany but against Germany does not belong to us and will be eliminated.” In one of 1939’s SS newspapers, the population was afraid. Anyone which was seen as a threat to the government’s ideologies could go from being arrested, to sentenced to death without even having a fair trial. The very people of the court were also under Nazi threat; in 1933 judges which had “questionable” political views lost their positions. And from 1937 onwards, judges could be forced to retire if the Nazis weren’t convinced of their loyalty to the party. A Nazi legal expert described the role of a judge as having to “safeguard the concrete order of the racial community.” Through statements like this, historians can evaluate just how much power the Nazis had in terms of controlling the German society. Adding on to this, as soon as the Reichstag fire had happened in February 1933, the “Decree for the protection of the people and state” had been established. By doing so, the Nazis were then able to arrest anyone they saw as an enemy (starting by tackling the “Communist threat”) and to keep them in custody for as long as they wanted. At this point, people like Viktor Klemperer felt like “No letter no telephone communication, nothing said in the streets, was safe”; Hitler had effectively managed to take action on “cleansing” Germany. However, as many historians know, Hitler was a man of ideas and didn’t actually formulate any of the laws that he then approved and enforced. Himmler, the head of the SS, had a great importance in consolidation of the Nazi control in Germany. This man terrorised the masses, imprisoning a total of 225’000 political criminals between 1933 and 1939. Experts of the time period like Kitson, have often agreed that “Himmler’s Empire” was very much responsible for the successes which followed. All in all, from a political standpoint it seems as though Hitler and his “team” were successful in ensuring the domestic policies, through having managed to terrorise the people.Despite this, it is also important to take in account the fact that as “The Diaries of Viktor” reveal in 1999, many people “made fun of the boring radio,” and there still was a critical mind present within the population. No matter how successful Hitler was, there was only so much he could control, and there wasn’t enough officers and policemen to make sure everyone was “behaving.” On a more social and cultural note, it could also be said that Hitler’s domestic policies were relatively rewarding. When looking at his aim to create a master race, the events which followed were more or less true to the initial plan. The rapid incorporation of the “Law for the protection of German Blood and German Honour”, which had officialised itself in September in 1935, was one of the many steps “forward” for Hitler. Through this Jews were unable to get married with “normal” Germans, employ females, or wave the nation’s flag. This obviously deteriorated as the years went by: with a ban on Jews getting prestigious degrees, in fields like Medicine or Law, in hope to permanently exclude them from society. Historians like Morris and Murphy underline how the relatively slow progression of sanctions against Jews, caused the Germans to become almost unsensitised by what was happening around them. Through the Nazi’s control of the press, events like the assassination of German diplomat Herschel Grunspan in November 1938 by a Jew, were largely mediatised. Incidents like these were used to somehow justify the massacre of the “Crystal Nights” of November 1938. By that point. Hitler had managed to make sure that Jews were unable to have businesses, get an education, or have any hope of having a part in society. However, not only was Hitler getting rid of the non-Aryans, he was also able to put the “real Germans” in a better position. Women for example were told to stay at home, to be able to take care of the children and to improve the general family life. Kitson underlines this point by highlighting the fact that one of Hitler’s main worries was to not be able to assure “Lebensraum”, if there weren’t enough people to occupy it. The need for families to grow was therefore seen as “urgency.” In effect, Noakes explains that women were quite supportive of the glorification of domesticity, as they had lived through the Depression and had seen times where consumer goods and a “healthy” family, were out of question. Adding on to this, the education system was also changed to fit the Nazi rule. By including classes like “The last fight against Judah” children were encouraged to see themselves as the “master race” and to support their party. This then caused a large number of them to join the Hitler Youth, which encompassed 82% of 11-18-year-old by the year 1939. The notion of being, or thinking, one was part of a superior race was clearly successful. From prosecuting the Jews, to encouraging “Aryan” families to embrace their dominance, Hitler was consolidating his views across the social classes and generation. Although successful, some historians have also argued the Führer failed many of his social policies. This was mostly relevant in Hitler’s early days. Having initially claimed he wanted to “re-educate” those who had mental or physical disabilities through the Hashude policy, was in effect a failure. By 1939, the Nazis had killed an approximate of 10 000 tramps, 2 500 Gypsies and 5 200 handicaps. Moreover, anyone who fell under any of these categories were also faced with the Sterilization Law, which banned them from reproducing. Although this seems to be a success in terms of Hitler’s active want to cleanse his population, this was a poorly supported policy, which unlike many of his others, was very disputed among the German people. Furthermore, women like Margaret Blersch, challenge the idea that women were supportive of creating more Aryans in the name of Hitler. When remembering her experiences, she says “I didn’t bear my children for Hitler” in 1995. Adding on to this, female employment had remained high in industries like agriculture and forestry, falling from 4 969.3 thousand in 1925 to 4880.6 thousand in 1939. It was also practically impossible to get rid of women in the work force, as Morris and Murphy rightfully underline, due to the fact a war was taking place and men were leaving to fight. This left a vacuum in a number of sectors of the economy, which had to be filled. Through evidence like this, historians understand how it had become more of a necessity, than a reality to agree to every one of Hitler’s demands and policies. All in all, although these arguments challenge Hitler’s support base in terms of policies, the consequences that came after took place almost as planned. With the opposition that arose through some of his evidently questionable policies, the Führer was still able to calm the masses, and to convince them they were doing what was right for their “race.”Economically, Hitler’s aims in reducing unemployment, and making Germany active in the trading world, was at the basics of many of his domestic policies. Unlike his political and social policies, this aspect of his rule was probably the least successful. On one hand his investment of 1 billion Reichmarks in public works showed his dedication to the project. Statistics coming from historian Kitson shows that unemployment had gone from a high 6 million in 1933, to an incredible 0.5 million by 1939. Through advances like this, the Führer was able to show the people how the Nazis could make concrete action, and make Germany “great again.” As well as that, although the 4 Year Plan was debatably quite disastrous, historians have agreed on the significance of the advances in synthetic materials such as leather and plastics. Hitler was moving whole new industries forward, and was expanding Germany’s significance on the global market, while still managing to put in place “autarky.” However, Hitler was also very aware of the pressing need to prepare for war. Eventually 40-50% of all employees were somehow involved with the war. Goering and his team were in charge of making this shift in the German economy, in order to be able to attack, or defend itself. This was relatively successful, seeing as Germany had become considerably more economically independent than before. Although not quite ready for war, how could they have truly been prepared for what was to come?Layton underlines the “mixed views” which arise from Hitler’s economical policies, but many have often criticised their efficiency. The very first problem the Führer faced after having created all this employment and extra demand for goods, was a balance of payment deficit. The German leader had not taken into consideration the negative externalities which came from such a rapid change in the economy. This has lead the “structuralist” school, including historian Tim Mason, to believe that Hitler was forced into the war due to his need for raw materials. However, by 1937, Germany needed to change its tactics. Schacht, which had been the Minister of Economics since 1934, had suddenly become extremely marginal in his importance. Goering had taken full control, and was introducing a 4 Year Plan. This was, as mentioned before, an attempt to make Germany self-sufficient, as well as richer in raw materials. Unfortunately, none of these targets were met. Oil, aluminium and rubber fell short by 1938, and Germany’s economy was being tested. Historian Overy, for example, believes that the state of chaos Germany found itself in, by 1939, was the reason for the start of the Second World War. Through these facts and opinions, it is evident that German’s economic policies were limited in their success.Hitler used the post-war era to try and convince the people that his aims for the future, were the ones to stand by. His political, social and economic policies were all put in place to mirror the “new Germany” he wanted to create. Although historians like Overy, claim for World War II to been triggered off by the economical failures of his policies, many believe that Hitler marched into Poland due to the confidence he has built over time. After having been so successful within his country, why not expand his “Lebensraum”?