Williams-- #1.Totalitarianism

Hitler rose to power with the support of the people; by 1932, he and the Nazis had 33% of the vote. The German people were ready for a change, and clearly believed Hitler would bring change. Hitler, unlike the Weimar Republic, actually listened to the wants and needs of the people of Germany. He then used totalitarian methods to give the people what they wanted. While Hitler used totalitarian methods after gaining power, these methods represented the desires of the German people.
By the time Hitler acquired complete power over Germany, the German people were still angry about how WWI ended. Not only did they lose, but the Weimar Government signed the Treaty of Versailles, taking full responsibility for the war and agreeing to pay full war reparations. In the midst of all this frustration, Hitler was there, reassuring Germans that happy days would come again. Hitler told the people what they wanted to hear—that their struggle would not be in vain. Due to the strong response Hitler received from the people, he and Minister of Propaganda Goebbels decided that the media would be controlled completely by the Nazi party. Afterward, all media (including radio broadcasts and newspapers) was controlled by the Nazis and thoroughly displayed the party’s ideology. Taking over the media to use as a method of propaganda was a totalitarian move on Hitler’s part. However, this was inspired by the wants of the German people. Hitler realized that Germans were sick of hearing bad news. They wanted to hear inspiring speeches, rhetoric that would lift their spirits in a time of need—the good news. According to them, Hitler brought the good news. Therefore, the control of the media by the Nazi party represented the desires of the German people.
One other way Hitler used totalitarian methods was through his manipulation of education. As Hitler’s support increased and the Nazi party continued to grow, German citizens began to think about their children’s bright futures under the rule of Hitler. I mean, he obviously knew what he was doing, at least compared to the Weimar Republic, right? Many parents even hoped their sons would become Nazis and help Germany grow strong again. Hitler saw this as another opportunity to gain total control; according to our new source, the Nazis “foresaw education as a means of indoctrination.” Hitler immediately began education reform, changing standards to include Nazi ideology and ensuring that each child’s education would prepare them for a Nazi-controlled world of the future. By controlling education and manipulating it to breed his future minions, Hitler was only feeding the desires of Germans. Germans saw such great hope through Hitler and truly believed that under his rule, their children would be safe. Hitler just took this idea a little further, using it to his advantage.
Hitler also manipulated the anger and frustration of the German people into rampant Anti-Semitism. After the failure of the Weimar Republic, Germans wanted and needed someone or something to blame for their troubles. Again, Hitler observed this and used it to his advantage in gaining total support. Hitler, already an Anti-Semite, offered Jews as scapegoats for the loss of WWI, the War Guilt Clause, and various other things. Hitler already had so many supporters that it would have been very difficult for a German citizen to speak out against Hitler’s accusations of the Jews. Therefore, Hitler’s opposition kept quiet while his supporters became even more supportive. Hitler’s treatment of Jews (blaming them for everyone’s problems, punishing them with crazy laws, and terrorizing them with the Gestapo) was purely totalitarian, yet solved a common problem among Germans. They wanted someone to blame for their problems, and they got someone to blame for their problems. It just so happens that blaming these people for Germany’s problems was the wrong thing to do and was totally unethical.
Hitler used many methods to gain support. Who would have thought some of these methods, although totalitarian, actually matched the desires of German people? Hitler saw his supporters and heard their needs and wants. Hitler manipulated the system to have the best of both worlds: in giving the people what they wanted, he was able to gain more power and more support. It wasn’t until they were in too deep that the German people realized what they wanted was wrong.