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Nazi Germany. Global History and Geography IV. INTRODUCTION. Anti-Intellectualism. A sentiment of hostility towards, or mistrust of, intellectuals and intellectual pursuits Attacks merits of science, education, literature - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Global History and Geography IVGlobal History and Geography IV
INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
Anti-IntellectualismAnti-Intellectualism
A sentiment of hostility towards, or mistrust of, intellectuals and intellectual pursuits
Attacks merits of science, education, literature
Not just about hating intellectualism: also about what values fill its place
What would be the What would be the consequences of consequences of
Anti-Intellectualism?Anti-Intellectualism? A society where --
• individual thought is compromised• the preservation of truth is minimal• authorities have more power• there is no challenge to the state
Consequences of Consequences of Anti-IntellectualismAnti-Intellectualism
Emergence of Pseudoscience• (i.e. Eugenics)
Rewriting of History Destruction of Literature
NAZI BOOK BURNINGSNAZI BOOK BURNINGS
Why?Why?
A way of venting anger• Symbolic transition of cultural values:
Intellectualism to radical emotionalism
Unity through ritual Intimidates intellectual
community
State PolicyState Policy
May 10, 1933• Nazi Party declares that any book
““which acts subversively on our future or strikes at the root of German thought, the German home and the driving forces of our people...” is to be burned.
Who would be the target of such a policy and why?
The Burning SpectacleThe Burning Spectacle Students marched through the streets
rampaging libraries, synagogues, and even private homes to loot books
Some Authors of Books Burned Some Authors of Books Burned on 5/10/33on 5/10/33
Albert Einstein Havelock Ellis Lion Feuchtwanger Sigmund Freud André Gide Franz Kafka Erich Kästner Helen Keller Alfred Kerr Jack London Heinrich Mann Thomas Mann Karl Marx
Hugo Preuss Marcel Proust Walter Rathenau Erich Maria
Remarque Margaret Sanger Arthur Schnitzler Upton Sinclair Jakob Wasserman H. G. Wells Stefan Zweig Emile Zola
EDUCATION INEDUCATION INTHE THIRD REICHTHE THIRD REICH
Nazi EducationNazi Education
The Curriculum• Racial biology and
eugenics
• Celebratory German history
• Discipline, duty, obedience, courage
• Physical training—Body over mind
• No concern for the “spirit of academics”
“The Jewish Nose is Wide at the End and Looks like
the Number Six”
The Nazi ClassroomThe Nazi Classroom
Task of the Educator• Strengthen the soul and spirit of youth• Instill nationalism in younger generation
Root out values of…• Liberal individualism• Rationalism• Intellectualism
Trained children…• to be good soldiers• to benefit the state
Adolf Hitler on EducationAdolf Hitler on Education
"Universal education is the most corroding and disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented”
—-Adolf Hitler
"Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round”
—Adolf Hitler
The Hitler YouthThe Hitler Youth
Clip From Clip From Triumph of the WillTriumph of the Will
Click image to see video on YouTube Notice direction of film
• Shows how admired Hitler is
• Promotes radical emotionalism
• Notice serious faces, militarism of young boys
Necessity of Hitler YouthNecessity of Hitler Youth
Future of Nazi Germany was in its children
Composed of a generation that knew only Nazism• No need to suppress individual thinking
Trained:• Children for roles as Nazi citizens• Men for “Wehrsport” (Military training)• Women for Aryan motherhood
The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain...” and women who can suffer pain...” -- Adolph Hitler-- Adolph Hitler
NazismNazism
Nazi PopulismNazi Populism
“Whoever can conquer the street will one day conquer the state...”
– Joseph Goebbels
Struggle against “privileged elite”
Intellectuals are elitists and tricksters
The VolksgemeinschaftThe Volksgemeinschaft
“The People’s Community”• Established collective national spirit• Based on racial and national pride
Subliminal influence on cultureBureaucratization of censorship &
propaganda
PEOPLE CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES
The ReichskulturkammerThe Reichskulturkammer
“Reich Culture Chamber” Managed by Hans Hinkel Goals:
• Promote “Good Culture”• Root out, ban “Bad Culture”
Compulsory membership for all members of German media
Ministry of PropagandaMinistry of Propaganda
Spread and enforced Nazi ideology
Antithesis of intellectual-based culture
Rampant anti-Semitism
Infected all mediums of art and literature
Goebbel’s The “Big Lie” TheoryGoebbel’s The “Big Lie” Theory “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
What is the Purpose of Nazi What is the Purpose of Nazi Propaganda?Propaganda?
public opinion must be molded to fit the state
Undo Intellectualism:
• No “marketplace of ideas”
• No tolerance of dissent
• No ability to question authority
• No independent thought
• No formulation of rational ideas
The Nuremberg Laws (1935)The Nuremberg Laws (1935) Denaturalization
Laws Placed severe
restrictions on Jews Could not marry
non-Jews Not allowed to
attend or teach at German schools or universities
Prohibited from government jobs, practicing law or medicine or publishing books
Established a pseudo-scientific basis identification
Only those with four German grandparents were of "German blood."
Jewish is who descends from three or four Jewish grand-parents
In the middle stood people of "mixed blood" of the "first or second degree."
KristallnachtKristallnacht“Night of the Broken Glass”“Night of the Broken Glass”
“The mob” trumps individualism
The Rise of Hitler The Rise of Hitler The Expansion of the Nazi StateThe Expansion of the Nazi State
The HolocaustThe Holocaust