Tuesday, February 26, 2013

What is legal?

I know that the readings over the past few days have more or less been different accounts of the same events.  By now, you should realize that a number of events/attitudes are responsible for Hitler and the Nazi party's rise--both tangible events and more abstract strategies.

To you, what was the "game changer"--either the specific event or the general strategy/tactic that solidified the Nazification of Germany?  More importantly...was it legal?  What constitutes what is legal when the Weimar Republic declines and the Third Reich grows?

13 comments:

  1. I believe the military had a huge impact on this change from the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich. The military after WW1 wasn't treated very well and was falling apart under rule of the Weimar republic. The only money and officials for the military was from conservatives who felt sympathetic for right wing organizations. Adolf Hitler who served in WW1, felt that the power of the military and Germany could be a lot better. It took the military a long time to begin to swear loyalty to the Fuhrer, but when it did, Hitler had everything he wanted. He had citizens who supported his ideas, and he had the military power to do practically whatever he felt. Sure Hitler would have lead Germany without full support of the military, but he couldn't have began his conquest without it.

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  2. i'd say one of the biggest game changers was when Hitler turned against his friend and the "night of long knives" occurred because that was a pivotal moment in Hitler displaying/deciding the lengths he would be willing to go for power and to get his way. The idea of legality is interesting. we all know that what he did was immoral, but when you're the boss and there is no one there to punish you for anything you do is anything really illegal? it is awfully similar to the "it's not illegal if you don't get caught" sort of mentality. I suppose what he did could be considered legal if the government and law enforcers don't mind- even if it is murder.

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  3. It all began in 1907 when Hitler was rejected from art school when he was 18.
    I think that the actual game changer was the Night of the Long Knives. It showed, like Sydney said, that he was willing to do anything to gain complete control over his party and eventually the whole of Germany. Before Hitler took over it would've been illegal, but he as the supreme leader of Germany, was allowed to do anything. When the President died and Hitler took full control was when democracy truly died in Germany, however it had been dying a slow and painful death ever since the Republic was started. It was too weak and unpopular to ever survive.

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  4. Hitler's run to power consisted of him promising people power in return for favours. He would then stab them in the back, sometimes quite literally, and thus he became this ruthless character. I believe events such as the Night of the long knives or kristallnacht were huge in Hitler's cause. They got rid of the people Hitler didn't want, and warned the others not to mess with the Nazi party

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  5. i think that the "game changer" for the Nazi's wasn't a single event, but rather a mindset that was shown by Hitler while rising through the ranks as a political figure. After WW1 and the treaty of Versailles, the germain people were humiliated. A great country was reduced to rubble and its people were running with their tails in between their legs. Then comes along this man who says i know what needs to be done in order to raise Germany back up to its prime. Hitler instilled the German superiority factor that many germains (especially men) were looking for. I think that if one event were to bo picked it would have too be the consolidation of Hitler as Dictator. He knew that he needed to eliminate his opposition in the Reichstag and he did so fairly legally, with the excepting of forcing a bunch of people to vote for the nazi, but hey they are nazis.

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  6. Although this is not a specific event or strategy, I believe the conditions which intensified the peoples' hardships, therefore determining their "psychological and political reactions" was the "game changer" which solidified Nazi dictatorship. Following the Depression, ubiquitous economic and social instability catalyzed the peoples' yearn for a leader. Initially, when the Nazi's armed forces "broke the law and disturbed the peace", the Prussian authorities attempted to retaliate, but failed. When Hitler began gaining power, it was not his intention to "seize full power by a show of force", but rather, "through technically legal means" he was able to free himself from executive and legislative restraints. With all of the external appearances of constitutional legality, a Hitler's dictatorship was established. Therefore, I think it's fair to say that Hitler legally came into power, although the psychological indoctrination may not seem so. The people essentially brought Hitler into power.

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  7. Even though I think that the solidification of Nazi Germany was more of a well crafted process of several factors rather than a single "game changer", I would have to say that the Enabling Act broke the largest barrier that HItler gad to pass in order to really see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Enabling Act "united the normal functions of the executive and legislative by empowering the head for the Government to issue decrees deviating from the constitution." Once he secured a dictatorship in legal forms and saw that it was voted with overwhelming majority, he knew that further Nazification would be a piece of cake. This act was just the hurdle that he needed to cross and as the article stated he moved almost "breathlessly' after that. Although the formation of the 4 year dictatorship period was in fact legal, the article states that after a year, Hitler ignored the expedition to the written role of this enabled dictator. Under the law, in matters "concerning the Federal Council and the presidency", Hitler had to formally appeal to the Reichstag. So after securing power in legal forms, he slowly began to stray away from legality as he continued to consolidate his power.

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  8. The event that definetly played the largest role in Germany's way to Nationalsocialism was its defeat in WW1 and the treaty of Versaille. Lots of Germans were unhappy with the Weimar Republic, because they thought that the government had signed the treaty too early. They thought the war still could have been won. But with the treaty of Versailles and a little later the Great Depression, Germany, once the powerful imperium, was now nothing more but the little choleric country that had to pay back war reparations. Germans were ashamed and angry, and when Hitler came with his ideals, they saw a chance of bringing the country back to its old greatness.

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  9. World War I was the biggest game changer, in my opinion, for the German people to be susceptible to Nazi rule. Hitler's background of being disappointed in many facets made him a man who had little to nothing to lose. This gave him reason to make risky moves, because he had nothing to lose. He was not worried about family, or spouses. Nothing in his life was keeping him from going all out, and carrying out his dream of world domination.

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  10. The Enabling Act provided a clear, legal path for dictatorship for Hitler, giving him the mandate necessary for the Nazification of Germany. Although he eventually overreached, it still teetered on the edges of legality. Hitlermay have used extra legal means, such as the burning of the Reichstag or his bully boys that attacked political dissent, but things that he could be held accountable for in a court of law wouldn't hold.

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  11. Due to my lack of knowledge about Nazi Germany during this era, there are only two important events that i could think of might be eligible to be regarded as the"Game changer". The first one is the undisputed "The night of long night" which Hitler and the Nazi basically elinmated all the opponents including some of his friends and the "Left ring" communists. The other one is the appointment of hitler as chancellor.

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  12. I believe that the collapse of the wiener republic and the rise of the S.S. ultimately lead to Hitler's rise to power. When the S.S. forced Hitler into office, as well as the S.S. killing the 200 politicians who opposed Hitler is another example of how Hitler's rise to power was caused by the failure of the liberal Germans (Wiener Republic) and how it was illegal (the murder/extortionist tactics to actually force Hitler to power).

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  13. I agree with jack when he says that the biggest "gamechanger" for hitler was World War One. This made him think, "they can't think less of me so I can take risks and see if they work out or not" he didn't care if he failed or not. He could do what he wants. After the ww1 people were willing to do anything,they were very desperate. And then comes hitler, saying he has a solution. And people wanted to join him.

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