\. .
\ r IO'\, AL RI•SEARCH COC~CIL
COUNCIL: m:
\C'A[) ).I\ F ' I the •orkmi: cb
NAT IONAL SAVINGS: "'' 1sc' '\ '"L
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, U.S., a ouncil that
adusn the J !··~ I tioc l 1d 'Ult'S <" n · 1on3J •ernrit)·
malltn 1h t ' .;u•r~ ;lie co • 1 ••H1 •• of do·1 "11,, ioreum and
m1htaT) polic1t".. lh members ore the president vice-pre<1rlent
'Nret:ir' uf stak se.rctar> of ddt'llSC and the director or the
ulhce 01 ti\ 11 a11d defrn~ t mohihut1on
The r"ed lor a nallonal polu' rn-ord··1atini;: uoup more formal
in cluullrr than the prt",idrnt11J c1h1ne1 "a• not reco1mized m
the Crukd StalM until tht" l'\< of \\<rid War II Before enact·
ment 11f th~ Rudgct B<t of l'I!' .-en the ha•ir policy control that
a unu1ed hun(tt rreatN duJ n111 ""t Uuring tbe admini,tratic>n<
of \\ ilham \lcK1nlev I he11dore Roo-eHll and William Howard
Taft no 'e<r<tan ,,f <tale a-hd for a llllhtan· accounum: hefore
unckrtokin1t omc d1plomatoc \enturc Ourin1t.lhe I ?ZO.. and I 9JCs
co-ordinst1un ,.as either nonel! tent or rudimentarv
It"~' not unlll 193, that a stand1111t li:li,on co,,'.;mitttt cnn<i.'t·
ini: of the undcnecrctary or Slate the chitf of n.n·al operation>
and the anm chid of taff '"" crealed \\'ith th<' on<et oi \\'arid
\\'ar 11 ho•.e>er JIOliC) co-ordination ,,nually <<'a<ed exc~t a- it
"11' pr \idt'd p('r onall> hy 1he prMJtlrnr franklin D. Roc.. e,·e.l.
:\ot until the lat )C3r of th<' •ar rlid a i:roup tht >l3te-1lar·l\3\"}"
co.ordma1ini: COllll1lllltt ('-\\ :XC'C) come mto bemi: ••th the
npttSS purpose of co-or01nm~ policy. The :-\\':\CC •as in-
e1ied1\c for 11 could oorurdrr only mattn- rdrrred to it by one
oi the de1'3rtmniU It •as made up of a istant s.ecrctari~ and
lacked -uffioent pol111cal prcstitc to i.nftuence policy.
Foll01l1ne \\'orld War 11, coc.r"551003l invt'5tiitation foc1L<ed
atr ..ntion on th.. bck of «>.Ordiust1uo tJut h~ ~en a factor iD
the l'rarl Harbor d1s:i ter, and there n a ircnaal prcs•ure for
reornntzauon of dcfeD>C a~cnci('5 The suitite•tion for a natiooa.I
-ecunty couna1 X.,C) oro~in311'<1 in •todit", hy a •Ulff of experts
appomted h> Jam~\. fom..1al then secrctal) of the 1\3\')• The
:\";C 'lr.lS cstabl hcJ Ii; 1;i,, 1n 1947 and con-i<ted of the pr<"<i·
dt·nl the ccret•I)' of •latf', the •ecrrtary or defen-e, the ~re­
tarics oi the th1< e military •tl\i<r< and the chairman of the na-
tiorul <t"curll) rr•nur<e! ooard 1 :\:,RB). \\'h<'n Reorit:miz:ttion
Pl;in 3 aboli>hed lhe 1Utinnal srcunti re><iurces board, an e~ecu­
tive order oi ~hrrh IJ 1<153 named the director of the Office of
Dcfrn;e 2\!obilu..,tion to rcplue the ch;urmao of the :\!'RB on
the cnunol Onr nl 1he mo•t 1mporla111 features of the 1947 law
wa' that th• :-.;.._c \\3S prov1deJ "ilh a ~tafi of ii< own In time
it ""' felt h\· lhn<r called u1>0n lo nl~n·e :\~C npera1inn<o that
the •taff h3<e •hnuld be furlher slrcn~thened and it< military top-
hea\1ne<• rf'dU<'ed lbc c crillcmn< \\ere takrn into account in
the :'\ation1I ~.urit' act amenclnwnt< of 1949
The functionrni: of the :\~C con Imued tn he the object of criti-
"-i" n t":"t."u u(tcr Ou: 19-49 rtor~nlz...1tion \fu-:r Prt".., 0\\J2"hl D
Ei-rnho\\er took office in l?U thr :-;..:c wa• i:t\Cn a new impor·
tance and its staff ,. •trtngthm• d hy 1he fortnlltron of a plan-
nmti board The m bru of this hoard ead1 •1th the rank of
a« l.\nt secret ry functioned as rrprt'5<'ntallH'$ of mrm!>ers 01
the :'\'C n Opcrat1oll! C-oord nalll!Jl ba.11d \\'ii< al'o e-tablkbed
With the acr~•ion of John F Krnncdv a• president m I %1
the old truct c d ~~a red The :-;,c "as at fir-I 5ea.rcdy
used at all It did not meet uni I aflrr th.. abortl\e Cub:tn Ill·
NATION AL SOCIALIS\I
in· 1 I< H h till' t~ralluu Coordinatmi: l>0:1rd and the plan-
nmc boud v.crc d1 bandrd t the "ry bra:mrung of thr nt:1" ad-
m1ni r th n In lhctr p1.1. e a pbnnmi: trroup ~n mt-e rna: rr~·
brb on r a ,.ttk Repns tn-cs fr the Ir Ur\ sutc and
Jefm5e dt·1'3rtmenl 11urnd d re~larl) :-;o f rmal agtnd3 "11!
dndo;:oetl h ,...,,.-er and no formal llUnutes •ere k..pt llllJor
of mllol\31 pol cy "M'C formrcl outsldt lbc 1\'C and
uhich 11 ad\'1tt •as foll010cd depended. on the
potic • 1 11 • Pf 1dent f. L K11 J
NATIONAL SOCIALISM, the mme of 1 mo,~ment
5t3rt d r ~ll onalsozulisusche lleutoche \rbritcrp.utei
( X -._11 \ 1· :\lt101ul 'OClll t l.ierma11 \\'nrkcrs'-cnlled X:ui-
part' h) \dolt 1!1tlcr q ~ ) m t.erm:in) 111 1919 It! name re-
\'ealed 1h rm1 lu.1 upon n:ill h m sooah m Gcrm;umm and
Lil~ Brnrto Mu ohms I a cism, it combmed
an 3ppeal to rxtrm1r and utlu I\~ nat1oruli m and ch3U\1nist u
pan-1"llll>m " th a rr\'olut1on3T) rail to the 1113 It had from
the 1,;,i:mnm11 m:iny 1ra11 in c mmon "~th ra CISill and :'\at1onal
Soc1ah•m ma) toe r<-gardrd a the Germll!I form of f.t$CI m Both
proclatmed 1hem elH~ th< implacahlc tntm1es of Jihtrah•m and
democracy, or md1vrdual ri1thu and nil mO\·nntnr. nf in1em~11onal
co-operation and 1~·ace· hulh strcs,td the •ul>ord1rution of the in-
di\'idwl to the •talc the int·qu 1h1y nf men and race,, the riitht of
the strong to rule the \\r~k and tht neu-s~1ty of the prmciple of
blind and un,,.rr\·inir ohf'tli('n<r to le~dcrs ,ippomted from above.
Hoth pra1~ed the mihtiu) virtues dc,p1S«"d ilnd rciected pacifo.m.
humanitariani-m nnd ch trily, i:lontied haired and conque•t and
aime<i -.t the tran,fonnatinn uf the l'hole nation mto an armed
camp tnd an m-trun1enl of 1><rpttual rc:idmc for warfare
Origins~:\Jt1onal ~ual1'1111 hm1l"er had 11• JM'Cllli:irly Ger-
man r ots. Somt OD be lr1n"1 In the Pru "'n lr~n1t1on a< it
dC\·elop<-d under tht• 10.•pirat 10n of 1m.i1 !o0ld1tr I.in~ •urh a< Fred-
erick\\ 11liam I and Fri:dtnrk II ancl men of hlood nnd iron such
a, BNnarck This tradmon hsd alway• rcinrritd the m1htant •pirit
and th~ di•np~ of the Pru«ian army a< the model for all indi,;d.
ual and chi; life To 11 '1\'a5 addro the tradr11on of pobucal ro-
mant1C1•m ..,th 11' •harp ho 11hty to rauonah-m to the pnnC1ple-
underl),n1t the French Revolution and to th< ·,uperfu 1ilih ot the
we.t and \\Ith 1b cmplu-i, on m tmct oo the p;l·t t\"m on the
remote pa-I and 11- proc:bmatron ol the rtJ:ht< of the rxcc:pllonoU
O\tr :!U unl\<f>AI lj" and rules lhu tilt, c:.rq>t10JUI b...come< a
law untu him-df l:h.,,., '"" traditmn •.:re latrr mforced bv tbr
19th-century adoral i••ll 01 sc1cnc<' a11<I of the laws of nature ,..·hich
"'th their rroo I d workt'd out beyond all roncrpt of good and
'"ii ft;nh,.r rt'lllforcement came from a b1oloiornl theory of hfe
th.it t..d tn the rc.-puncr of th.lt ra0.1l m fir t proclauned by
j o,epb \rthur co mt de Gob1nnu, m his F.Jtai sur l"mll :ti des
rart"S .,,.,.runes (n53 HJ It ":u thtn propoun<kd hy Richard
W3srner ( 1S13 J ! "'ho cnmb ned 1t ,..1th a hermc ideal of the
Xordic ouperman, and Ii.. h1• so11-1n·la\\ llou,tun "te\\;art Cham-
ber'3m "ho'e Gru1Ullagen d• s ~llt1:clrrrtn1 )11/rrAundrrts ( t S99;
Eng tran>.. Fom1dat111ns <>/ tlir \mttuntlr tnrtury, 19ri pro-
iouudl> mtlucn(td eMI) ll1tlrnsm I u romlnlln•m :'\ational
:,oci.ilbm O\\ed the \'a~uc: and llmd conc~1011, of folk a, the ba•i•
of cultural anJ pohl1cal or~Jmzatmn, anJ of II rlt11rucliauu"g or
"Iota. V1orld outlook as oppu•t"l m the name of J\ult11r to the more
ratiorul ci\'ilizatiun or the"'' t
In addition w th~"-c currt•nts m the Gtrman traJ1tion 1t oUl!ht
to be pointed out th:11 Hitler's fnrma11on was mftucnct"d durin,:
hi~ }"IUth h} spc<ilic \~1nan muwmcnts :->111onal Soc1ali'm
owed much to Karl Luei:cr (1 4~ 1q10) "h" orumzrd the latho-
lic lo,,.er middle clas'>C$ of \·1cnna m an ant1caprtah,tic and anti·
Semitic mo\'tment called the Clmstl3n !'-o€1ah<t part)' but who
remained lo}·al to Hal burg c n<t'l\'lllL'lfl; ind to C..ronr von
Schort'rtr (1842-1921 I \\ho rombmrd racial ant1·:-t-m1ll•m ,..1th
a ,, ent anu-Cathnhc1sm and p:>n·C'.rn::un1<' .,xp;uNon1sm and
a bittrr bo,11ht) tn the llab l1uJl:$ "rbOntrr.r's d&1plt Karl H<"r·
mann \\ olf founded amoni: the .,oot1m Gtrmam m llobn111a a
German \\"orl.,rs' pa.rt} that I.lier \\'ii to assume the name of
Deutscbt- :\':itional-"ozuhst1 che \rlir1terpartC1 This occurred
a iew )"'31i beforr Hitler founded his a ost identmally named
 NATIONAL
Much in Hiller's ferocious nationalism and his contempt of the
Slavs can be explained by the nperience of his youth amid the
bitter natio<Wity strua«les of the multiracial Habsburit empire.
When Hitler started his agitation in Munich immediately after
World War I be found tbe intellectual soil well prepared by the
writings of the German romanticists and of the German publicists
of tbe War of Liberation, sucb as E.mat Moriu Arndt ( 1769-11)6o)
and Friedrich Ludq Jahn ( 1778-1852).
The last years before World War I were characterized by a re-
newed intCTesl in romanticism and in the War of Liberation of
1813. Io those years a Gennan youth mowment with its longing
for a true community. a Gemei111Jclioft, the rebirth of the nation,
and witb its '~ mystical enthusiasm for leadership and com-
radeship. e:rpres.ed the opposition lo rationalism and "bouriteois"
liberalism. It bad come largely under the infiuence of Fziedricll
Nietzsche (1844-1900) and the German poet Stefan George (1868-
1933). Oswald Spengler (188o-1936; q.11.1 and Arthur Moeller
van den Bruck ( 1876 1925 l can be regarded a~ the immediate fore-
runnCTS of National Socialism in the intdlectual field.
But tbe intellectual preparation would in no way have been suf-
6cimt for the no" th of :-.ational Socialism in Germany if the
deftat in World War I, with its ens~ disillusionment and pau-
periation. especially in the lower middle classes. bad not paved the
way for Hitler's pr~anda. The peace treaty of Versailles 1tave
Hitler a startina poinL but the ,·aolent opposition which he evoked
was aol dittcted in reality against the peace ueaty but agairul the
fact that Germany bad been defeated and that its plans bad been
frustrated. From the beginning Hiller's propaganda appealed to
tbe military circles. which regarded tbe peace only as a temporary
setback in Germany's expansionist pr0«ram. H itler added to the
pan-Germanic aspirations for world hegemony the almost mystical
fanaticism of a faith in tbe mission of the German race and the
fervour of a social rn-olutionary gospel. In the yean of political
and economic depreMion which followed Germany'< defeat, Hider's
appeal to tbe German masses as the bearer< of the most e:ulted
racial ideals in the world was eagerly accepted lo counteract their
inferiority complex.
Psychological Methods aod Tbeotttieal Ahm..-Tbough
Hitler accepted manv elements of the technique of the Bolshevik
Revolution, be found a powerful ally in the widespread fear of
Bolshevism, which he exploited. 6rst in Germany and then on a
worldwide scale, posing as the bulwark against Bolshevism. Thus,
he teCUred the 6nancial and moral suppon of many conservative
elements that misunderstood the revolutionary and nihilistic char-
acter of lbs movement and its many points of similarity ( as in its
antiliberalism I with Bolshevism. On the other hand he gained
tbe adherence of tbe masso by vague promises of an anticapitalis-
tic order. The banner of tbe N.S.D.A.P. "-as the red llag of the
revohstion. but altered to tbe German imperial colours by the addi-
tion of a white circle and a black swastika in tbe centre. Thus Hit-
ler combined tbe appeal of social revolution and that of a militant
and mystical nationalism; the enraordinary Oeiibility of his dy-
namic doctrine enabled him to stttss different elements at different
times and to adapt bis attitude momentarily to changing circum-
stances. even with complete disngard for previous statements.
Hitler's most important individual contribution to the theory
and practice of National Socialism was bis deep understan~ of
1DU1S psydaol08)' and mass propapnda in tbe contemponry world
and bis perfection of tbe methods learned from Bolshevik tech-
nique. His chapter on propaganda in MeU. Kom" ( 1925-27) can
be repnled as of tbe most fundamental importance. He stressed
tbe fact that all oropaganda must bold its intellectual level at the
capacity of tbe least intelligmt ol those at whom it is directed, and
that its coatent of truth does not count compared with tbe only
valid criterion, t.bat of success. "The slighter its Kienti6c ballast .
and the more aclusively it considen the emotions of tbe masses,
SOCIALIS~l 93
versarie; .,.ho mU1hl thc:m!ie:lves chanJie according lo the ctr• im-
stances.
Th" art of truh· ~reat popular leaders in all a= bas consisted cha fty
in not 'h~tracting the attt-ntion of tbr: peoplr:, but con<cotrallnl!' al•-ays
on a ''"~le advtnary. The more unuied the ob1ut of U... people'1 ••ll
to fu:bt, the ~rtatcr will Le lhe ma5:'Qetic attracuon of tht! movtmuit
and the more tremendous its impact It is part or a great leader's RCDIUS
to m2ke eHn "iM!y ~ratl'd 2d,•rr<ari~ 2ppar as 1f the} Leloni:ed
to but one caltllory. becauo;e amonc weakly and undeoded charactrn
the rCC'O,t:n1'1on of "·ariou~ tnanit~ all too easily marks the bee-inning of
doubt ol on<'s o,.·n rightnc>S. (~'rom Httln'< .lftr" "•"'Pl)
It -..a~ a stroke or geniu• on the part of Haller to 6nd this com-
mon denominator in the Je"'' and Judaism This enabled him to
di•cover the "Je.,." behind all his chan~nl( adversaries. 50metimes
behind CommullWn or Moscow, at ot.her lime. behind Great Bnt-
ain and the United State.-in short. behind everybody and every-
t.hin,I': that al a gi\'en moment oppo,ed his "'bhe. or arou.ed bis
wrath.
Anti-Semitism served him al•o for two other pufl)O"es. :'llational
Sociali•m was iundamentaUy oppo•ed to all concept• oi interna-
tional co-operation and unJ\'ersal catholicity; it destroyed the
framework of a common humanity .,.ith common and absolute
standards of law. truth and ~ood. applicable to all men. National
Soc1al"m therein follo"init Nieu,che, re~arded Christianity and
prophetic Judaism, \\1th their empbasb on the equality of all men
under one common God and upon ab>olute standard:> of justice,
as alien and inimical lo the new hero ideal of the superrace. wlucb
.,.-as interpreted-not by 1'ietzsche but by the National Sociafuts
-as the true Germanic ideal J udai<m and the ethics of the Bible
therefore stood in oppo•ition to 1'ational Socialism.
Xational Socialism proclaimed the Germanic race as the new
C()f'PUS mysticum on .,.hich the sal,·ation of the world depended. as
the embodiment of all nobility and creati\•e genius and as the
Reicli ("empire" 1 which must become the world-controlling R.-ich.
This Reiclt necessarily bad to ba"e a Geienrei<li ("Counter-
Reicli"), a counlerrace that on a similarly world,.;de basis would
represent the antithesis of 5alvation and creative ienius. So the
Je.,.isb people became the countemce. Xational Socialism saw its
duty not only in the de<truction of this co1n1terrace, but in the
preparation of tbe Gennan race for it!' real task of establishing
the new \\orld order. The third Reicli-tbe hoped-for successor to
the defunct oecond or Hohenzollern Rticli--ruled by .,.bat Hitler
called "the highest human >pecies given by the grace of the Al-
mighty to this earth," ..-ill have, by suitable education of the youth,
in the future a generation mature for the ultimate and greatest
deci<ion on this tdohe "The nation which ,.;u 6.-t take this road
,.;11 be victorious "and become "one day the ma~ter of the ~lobe "
The Jews were to be di•cnminated against not according to their
reliiOon but accordin11: to 1he11 "race ·· The fundamental conten-
t.ion of Hitler 11as that man is inescapably determined br his
descent ur "blood." Whoe,-er was born from German parents
remained a German forever in his nationality and character; .,.ho-
ever was born from Jewish parenb remaliled fore,·er a Je"' b} na-
tionality and chuacler. Thus Jev1·s were declared. whatever their
educational and environmental developmenL to be forever funda-
mentally different from Germans
H itler's racial theory was applied not only to Jews but also lo
people of German "blood" 1a,;ni: in non-German lands. Germans
who bad emigrated from Germany and had become nationals of
otbeI co1n11ries. and even their descendants, were reitarded as
Germans. as Sta•rrusbl'Mdtr ("racial brethereu") an.d I olks(eru>s-
sen ("national comrades"). Acti\-e proP3t1:anda was to be started
amOllll( these Germans li\illll in the "diaspora ' I Auslmrdsde11tsclte ).
If possible they were to be bron«bt "home" into Germany. the true
bomdand of all Germans wherever they lived; If they could not
be brour;bt home. al least their loyalty to and acti,,ity for the Gez-
man bomeland was to be encouraged by all means. Study of Ger-
on a few simple statements (00-Wr terrible they may be in Llleir
dmia1 of the bumanity of man ).
Hitler mdentood that, especially witb as wide and far-reac:bing
a pal as -rid domination, it was of the utmost importance to be
able to pnsmt under one nimmon denominator all potential ad-
those Germans.
Rile te Powu.--Working from these principles. Adolf H itler
was a ble to carry bis party from its small beginnings in a beer cellar
in Munich to a dominant position in world politics within 20 years.
Among bis more important collaborators were Alfred Rosenberg,

9+ N A1 10NAL S OC IALI S ~I
tb~ author of Ou J,J,,,,,, d•s :::ole'I Jultrltun~. rzs The ~lvth ,,f Rtlt.•hrr. o_1l . . v "I"' ht d h.1 1ncoqJt1rate hi' 'l°1nim1l1t.1ry formalh>n'
tht• :oth l rnluf) ', 1930 t, the mu-t "rdtly rad hook ol the ~l­ "'"the arm' thu- tndan~erm~ Hatkr's rclatmn h111 not only \\lib
Uuru.l '~i-..uh't mo\ rmrnt l"te ... idc... Hitler\ O\\ n \/ rin K111P1,j; h111 hu-rne-. but al..., \\llh 1he arm\ lr.1der,h1p l he appr03rh1~
Rudi h I k-s "ho hl'iped Hu lcr "nte If"" I\ ~m~f dunll)( their cri-1' ""' heJghtened t;v the rntraparty nvalne' het\\ecn Roehm
internment m the turtre-s rn Land-beri: am l.cch m t•Ji.i Gre~or on the one lund and Goring ancl I l1mmler on the otht'r T he cri-i'
'tm--a. proh.1bl) the mo,• 1mpnnant of Huler s collaborators, •a- 'olved by the blood puri:e" ot June JO 1QH \\hen Roehm
\\ hu St'J>.'.I r~lt d I rom hrm rn prote-1 a~ain-t t he leader", oppurtuni,t and many oihcr :'\azi leaders \\ere executed \\lthout tnal Hitler
p<•hue' and "a' killed m the blood puriie of )WI<' 19.\-1; hi- brother u-ed the opportunity to have murdered a numlkr of '•ther prom1·
01tc1'tra-~r "h" 1n 1930 lounded the Black front b a more radi- nl'nl men "horn be feared or di,Jiked . \monit Lhe-e \\ere Gen.
c.11 \\In~ uppo,ed to llita~r; \_;01tlri~-d Feder. \\ho dre• up the lir-t Kurt von Schleicher. Hitler\ prcdecc>SOr 3> chancellor of the Ger·
prui:r.im ot Xatronal :s.>cial"m and \\a- for ''"·cral year, tli> eco· man R· ic/1, and Gregor Stra-.cr, \\bO bad been friendly to the
nomr. "expen" but tberealt~r receded mto oblivion. Capt Em;L tr..de-union mo\·ement
Rt•eh•11 the foundrr and ori:anizer of the SA or Sturmahtetlun~tn, National ~ciah-m rttarded Cbn-tianity from the hcg1nnin1t as
·ht' '\Jtional !iociali-t militia. "ho wa, purged m June 19.q Julru' an un-German faith. National ~,,oaJi,m \\a> in it•elf a total
'•re1ther \\ho berame famou- lhrou~h hr- anti-~em1uc weeklv Der creed centred upon Germanrom and '" unique and <pttial mi"1on
:Jt1irrnrr: Heinrich H immler the organizer and commander of the be:.to"ed upon tl by nature and h1,tory. Thoul(h Hitler, for op-
$~ or Scl•ut:.sta!el, Hitler$ per>onal elite guud, and of the Ges· portuni>t rea~ns. stres<ed hi< tolerance oi the Chn-uan church,
l..lJ>l.I the secret <ute police; jo<ef Goebbels, the ma<ter of '\•tronal or \\'bat he called " po•iti,·e Chriqianity." true Cbri>ttamty \\3>
:,oci;w.,,t prop.wanda Hennann Goring the org3n1zer of the Ger- incompatible with :"lauonal Sociali-m a- it i> incompatible \\1th
man air force and controller oi the German induotrial mobilization; Russian Commum-m, and the Nazi> and the Commuru>l> kne" rt
R \\ alther Oarre the organuer of the National Socialist peasant belier and earlier than many Chriott.ans. The \ atican even ''gned
policy. and finally Robert Ley. the leader of the German Workers' a concordat with Hitler's ~overnment on ) ul} :., "H3· But the
front conconfat protected the Roman Catholic Churdl in Germany as
It took q year.. for the N .S.D.A.P. to achieve power in Ger- little a> it did the Prote:>tanl Church from con.tant interference and
many. It had been burn at a time \\hen il wa.;. only one of many e\'fn per>ecution by the German authorities ~fany Prute'lanl
~emirevolutiona11· re•ctionary and terrorisL organizations spring- lDlnister>, though acknowledgmg the :"132i government·, authority
mg up throughout Germany composed of former officers and in all <ecular and political matte.- denied it the ri1tbt to interfere
,oJdier>. students and other elements dissati<fied \\ith the republi· \\;th the preaching of the go,pel and with the internal administra·
can democratic and peaceful order which seemed to dawn for tion of the church They founded the Bekennmde Kirche (con-
Germany in 19r9 That it survived and absorbed all others was fe.-.inl!: church), of which the be•t-known leader was :\fa rttn
due lo Hitler's leadership and to the fact that Captain Roehm Xiemoller.
interested the Rci<hs'IL<hr in supporung Hitler. On Feb. '"' 1920, ·1 be last conservative obotacle to Hitler's lotalit.:irian police
the X !:>.D-\.P. drafted in Munich. the centre of tG activities a state was remo,·ed by the death of Hmdenburg in his :>;th year on
proirram of :s points. which ID 1916 was declared unalterable, but Aug. ! 1934. Hitler aboli£hed the pre:.1dency and assumed the
"b1cb ID rclty vru •·ery soon surpassed by developments. On po;ition of supreme commander. He now contented himself \\ith
Nov. Q. 11p3. Hitler, supported by Field Ma rshal Erich Ludendortl, the titles of Fiilirer and Reicltskan:ler, leader and chancellor of
attt!mpted Ins tir:>t Putsch in :\l unicb, but it nllicarried. Reaction the Reiclt. All troops and officials were immediately forced to
wa; >O brmly entrenched then in Bavaria. however. that Hitler w;is l3ke the oath of fidelity to Hitler personally. A plebiscite held
let oft "'ith only a formal punishment. The ensuing year:> of po· on Aug. 19 confirmed these measures. Out oi 43 519,;10 vot es
litic:ll and economic con;;olidation in Germanv did not allow HJtler s:..zc( were cast in Hitler's fa\'OUr.
to make any con"derable progres:.. The eco~omic cnsis at the be· In Power.-Out\\ardly. tbe X32i party iollo\\ing the pattern of
ginnmg of the '30.. however. and the lack. of eoergeuc mea•ures on the Communist ll:lrty. wa, strictly centralized. fuller's \\Ord was
the part oi the eo,·emment against the indefatigable propaganda to the supreme and und1'puted command The out\\ard a•pect of
undermrne democracy brought the tirst gTeat succes:. of the efficiency and unit~· ""' impr.--sh·e X= document- found after
X.!>.U.A.P. m the R•1clrstar, elections of Sept. 14, 1930. 1945 revealed however ho" much the party. like other totalitarian
The Rdclr;tag election> oi :-:o\. 6, 1~3~, marked a tt!Olporary parties wa, torn by internal d.o,,en-ioos and jealousie>. There was
setback for Hitl"r, but an intrigue. started by Franz von Papen, conolaot overlapptn~ and workinl! at cro»·purpose> on all levels
pre\3lied upon the aged pre>ident of the German republic, ~lar<ba.l of the complex or~an.iz:11ional >Y>tem. The situation deteriorated
Paul von Hmdenburg. to name Hitler chancellor on Jan 30. 1933. \\hen aiter 1938 and e.pecially with the proi:re>> oi the \\ar, the
He \\3.S tbl!D only the head of a coalition cabinet of :"lational So- older. tramed Cl\il servants and army leader. "ere replaced by
culbt> and members of the conservative and nationalistic right. partr members.
A fire in the Reiclrstar, building on Feb. 27, 1933, gave Hitler the Oppo-ition to the regime wa~ broken either by outright terror
chance to rouse the spectre of a Bolshevik revoluuonary dan1?er or more frequently. by the all-pen-:idinit iear of pu"ihle repre<-
and to hold the elections of :\larch 5, 1933; thougb they µve the •ion e,·en 1i no actual repre<•ion took place. As in the :,o,,et
Xational Socialists only H~ of the ,·ote>. the anudemocratic l·nion all opponent• of the retlime were declared enemie< of the
totabtarian partie, ( Xational SoctalisLs and Communists I bad a state and of the people .-\n elaborate web oi informers--often
majority folio" m~ in Germ..ny against the democratic republic, members of the family or intimate friend<-workin2 and reporunc
"bile the democratic forces "ere \\ea.le and \\~thout a dear program. in .ecrecy imposed utmo,t cauuon on all expres<tons and activities.
Th11.>. th<: new Rtichstar,, meeting on March 21. 1933, in the gar· justice \\35 no lon~cr recol!"nized 35 obJecth·e but wa, completely
n,on church m Potsdam. the historic receptacle of J>ru»tan m1h- >ubord.mated. to the all'1!•d need, and intere>t> of the "people "
u • .
 From thal mom"'1l oa, lhe releatless process of Gleich.sckaJ11111g
( "co-ordinatioa" I began, and wilhin a few months the German
Rt icll bad become a loulitarian st.ale which was entirelv identical
wilh lhe :\.S.D.A.P in e\'ery concern of public or private life, and
that meant wilh lhe will of 1u leader. !See GERMANY: History)
Once firmly in power Hiller wished to <ecure bis posilion again<t
the lefl "ilhin h1, own party and against opposition from con-
>er\"ali\'C circles without. ::\1.any of the adherents of :\ ational So-
ciali•m. e'pecially in the SA demanded radical •ocial reforms.
Hitler, on the other hand. vn•hed to stabilize his revolution and to
a,·oid alienating big business circles. The leader of the ~A
f\AT IONAL \.VORKSH OPS
Rfther •nth mmibers of the Gennan official and educated class, 'l\orld ord~r tlut ,.,·ould establish the pnnciple of :'l:utioll3.1
~ that Hitler "~ leadi1111: the GermaM into defeat they
joined in a conspiracy that led to the attempt on July 20 '9H to
assassinate Hiller in bi;; headquarters in East Pruuia. Th~ attempt
amc.arried, and the party look a frantic re.·en11e on the con•plra-
lors Many members of the German ari,tocracy and many h1Rh·
ranking officers were executed, and the movement •tres>ed aµin its
aotiaristocrauc maso character as it had done at it• beirinnin11:
Tunlia1 Point; the Wa r .-The historv nf :Sat1on.al Soc 3hsm
after 1q34 can be di,;ded into two parts -of about equal length.
The years between 1934 and 1939 were used to el'tabli<h the iuU
control of all phases of life in Gttmany by the party. The pnnci-
pal instnunent of control 1'3.5 the unification of all the police,
security and SS on:anizat1ons under th<' direction of Himmler
and his chief lieutenant. Reinh.ud Heydnch. The years bet\\een
1q38 and 1945 witnessed the attempt lo expand and apph· the
Na.zi system lo territories outside the German Reicll. This attempt
was confined. in 1Q3S, lo lands inhabited by a German-spe:1kinR
population. In 1939 began the ,ubjugation of non-Gennan-opeak-
ing nationalities to the totalitarian Nazi police slate. In 194S this
attanpl colla!>"ed.
The tumin11 point in the brief bul disastrous career of the Nazi
~e in Germany ,.-as the year 1931'\. In that yl'llr the conserva-
ti\'e influence in the two remaining bulwark< of an older. aulhori-
tarian but ci\ili.ied Germany was ended-m the army and in 1he
foreii!n office. In the same yl'llr Hitler b~n German ttrritorial
apaosiOll, carried throUl[h under diplomatic pressure, by ''pc.1ce-
ful' means. lo such a .. ay he incorporated into the German
R~icll first the republic of .\uotria and then the Sudetenland I the
Gennan-speak.iog part;. oi the republic of Czecbo>IO\ akia).
By 1939 the military preparation:;, including the militarwtion
of German life and education and the estabh.bment of a war econ·
omy. had made such pr~ss in Hiller's opinion that he could
challenge the European order even al the risk of a second great
war. On Aug 23, Hitler. without consultation ,.;th hi• Italian and
Japanese ·'allies." concluded a pact of friendship and nona~es-
9ion 1'ith lhe C.S.S.R The pact contained a secret treaty between
Germany and Russia panitioruni: Poland and d1,;dinR the "hole
of eastern Europe into spheres of iniluence. It 11as the tir.t step
opening the road into the heart of central Europe to Joseph Stalin
uad..ltllllllUI Communism and the immediate prelude to World War
II (q.11.), which began in Poland on Sept. I.
T o a certain extent World War 11 repeated the pattern of World
War l . peat initial German military successes; the forging of a
~ coalition against Germany as the result of German pre·
tensions and behaviour; the loss of the 11ar because of German
owrreaching and cooduct. (Su also Germany: History )
Ultimate PartJ' Goals and Failure-When Germany started
World War 11. it came as the logical outcome of Hitler's plans.
known to the Germans since his publication of Mein Ka,,. pf
(1926), and of bis systematic prepantions $Ince 1933. From the
bewinning National Socialism did not intend lo establi•h a new
onlrr of authoritarianism and of inequality for Germ.any alone
Tbr:rein it again imitated Communism. Its dynamism was bound
to~ and to spread . . ~y it:. own. nature it could not recocn!ze
judicial proceo.. :.pecial det~nlion camp. "ere er~cled. In these
camps--of which some. such as Dachau and Auschwitz ( 0.-
..-iecim). achieved notoriety-the SS exercised supreme authority
and introduud a •y<aem of sadistic brutality unknown in m~m
tirnf' and by far •Urp.l«ing anything known in that ~"JlCCt in
Fa'fi•t Italv or Communist Russia
Rniltan tt.-Church lraders participated acth·ely in the re-
si•tance movement aRain•t :-;azi<m This mo,·ement never reached
any popular dimensions and did not become active before the later
year> of the "ar inlo 11·bich Germany plunRed Europe and the
world. When lhe more ratioml leaders oi the German army, to-
95
~octtl­
bm all o\cr the Riobe and gt\"e to mankind as a ,.h<ile the bene-
fit> o f a peace mamtamed by German bayonet> and admuu-lered
by a unih..d 1~uty bureaucracy
1he extreme neomrrcantilist economic odf--ufficiency 1>rotec-
tion1sm and rejection of lrtt trade \\bicb received the new name
or II d1r,.-.,r1icli1Jft ("delenoe" or ""ar economy ), wa> accom-
panied by an extreme cultural natioruli,l ~lf-,ufficiency and a
re,olute bmtility against all ""'tern thought. The world ruJ., to
which Nauonal :>ocialu.m ~!Jired \\Ould nol only represent a rruli-
tary economic and political domination but equall) an wtellectual
and moral leadership. The new ""rid age or ll'elt:titalter would
be German and "alional Socialtst at the same time
These utra\"ai:ant German hopes came to an end "ith Germany's
defeat in 19H aiter almost six years of war Out of the ruins
or :Sational !'oc1alist Germany there aro-e a divided and occupied
Germany. The eastern pro,,nce- were put under Ru•oian and Pol-
ish admioistrat1on . rhe lands ea>t of the Elbe. Saiony and
Tburing1a ri\"er< formed under Ru--ian occupation a CommUDi•t-
dommated 'tale. cal ed the German Uemocrat1c Republic ln
we<tern German\ , in clo>e co-operatwn w]th the ,.e,tem democ-
racit":>. tbe German Federal Republic, under the chancellor.hip of
Konrad Adenauer, came into bein1r in 1949. Thouzh a number of
Germans remained faithful to :Sational So<"iah-m il< principle'
and drea:t'< e\·en after Hitler's downfall. and th•>11eh there "ere
~evt.'ral atlempt• made to reorganize :Sational Soc ali•l z-roup> m
the ~rman Federal Republic the political and mental climate
there wa> nnt favourable to it , and it was hardly po«ihle to •peak
of, or lo expect, a re,;,·al of :-;auonal "ociali•m in Germany
Su aloo reierence• under ' Nauonal "ociali•m" in the Index
Btauoc,..PBY -TAtt Thrrd ReuAt. a <Ludy publio;hod by the Uruted
Nations Educational, Sdentitlc and Cultural Organization ( 1955);
Adolf Hitler, Mtilt Ka,,,pf, complete Ene. trano by J. ::\lurpb} (19J9);
Al!Rd RoS<"nberir. Dtr Jlythu1 dts 20tt11 lohrh1tdrrtJ 11930); Gregor
Stra-..,r, Kampf ""' DtMlschl4nd (1Q32): R. Walther Dure, .Vtru1dtl
a11s Bl1tl 11>ed Bode" (1930); Oswald Spengler, Politucht Schrilttn
(193:), HoMr of Dtcirion, Enir Iran; (19Hl; Wernrr Sombart, DtMI·
sclur So:ioJiJmws (19J4); Erich l:n1ter, Da> Sd<nftl""' du .VatiDNGl-
so:i4!ism11s 1q10 193-l (1934): J. E. Spenle. La Ptnslt alltm~"4t
(1934), K. Ht1den. A Histor) of lfotianal SocialiJm, Eiu! traru. (1935);
P. J Goebbeb, Dtr hgrrj (193; ; R Olden, Hitkr, E.n~. trans.
(1936); Alkn Bullock. Hitkr (1952), Hitkr's Stcrtl Co,.~crs~ti,,,.s,
19.µ 19-14 (19531; Edmond \'ermeil, Doctri'IUJires dt la revol..1ia11
allt,.andt (193~1. Auro Kolnai. Tlr' War Agai•ut tlu ll'tst (1938);
Hermann Rau><boing. Rtvol1.tion of .'VihiliJm, Eng . trans. (tq39) , Tlrt
I' oir( of Destructian, Eng trans. ( 1940); K.arl Barth. Tht Chrclr a•d
tht Political Prol>km of 011r Day, Enir traM lt939); W Gurian,
Hitlu a"d t4t Clrri>tia>&S (1<136); G6akl Rritlincer, TAt FinoJ Sol•tian
(1953\; J W. Wbeeler-Bennett, Tlrt N09tlis of Po111n: tire Gtr,,,an
Ar111y in Pol;tus 19r8-•N$ (1954); Department of State, :S-o. 1364,
Natiu...,/ SocialiJ,.., Ba. ic Proccrfllts, TlrtiT Af>plicatUI" by tlrt .Vaci
Party's Fortign Organi:alion, a>Cd tire Ust of Gtr.,.a•s .l.broad for Sa:i
A11ou (1943); Stcretariat of tbe International .Military Tribunal, Trial
of t4t Major JI.or Cn...i..als, 41 \•ol. (zt).47-49); U.S. Government
Printing Office, ...a;i Coospiracy a>ed Aggrtssio11, S \·oL (zQ46; suppl.,
2 vol, 194;); Koppd S Pin!on, J/odtr" c,,,,.any. its Hutory and
Civili=atio>C (19~~); Hans Kobn, Tire Tu:tnlkth Ct7ttury, ~" ed.
(19<71 ; W L Shirer, Tlrt Rut a11d Fall of lht Tlrwd Raca ( t960) .
(H. Kol
NATIONAL WORKSHOPS (in French, attlius llillionau.r)
fan:es. Thus Hitlers lirst year. were spent in preparing lhe Ger-
mans for the approaching <truggle for world conuol and in forging
that instrument which would enable Germany to e-tabli<h it- mili-
tary and industrial superiority, and thus to fultill its ambitions.
Witla mom1ting success, the aims gTew in quick progression The
first aim was to unite all people of German descent within their
historic homeland on the basis of "self-determination " Tbe nen
step foresaw the creation of a GrossvirtscllaftsrOMtn ("large eco-
nomic unmed space.,' or a l.eber<srlJllM ("livinl! space"). (See
GEOPOuncs.) Thereby the Germans •·ould acquire sufficient soil
to beccxne economically self-sufficient and militarily impregnable.
There, tbe German master race or Herre1tt1olll would rule over a
bienrclly of subordinate peoples and organue them with German
"•h!eenes and efticiency. Tlle initial success of diat plaa iD
1941 widened it into the vision of a hemispheric order that would
mallraee all of Europe, western Asia and Africa. and finally of a
republic on Feb 2i 1848. The aim •3'> to employ those •ho
were thrown out of .,.·ork by the economic crisi, of 1S46-4S and
to mttt the workers' social demands \\lthout going so far as to
accept the program of the Socialist• led by Louis Blanc, •ho
wanted labour organized in social workshoP"', i.e , producer.• co·
operative< Some bi•torian< wrong!)• allege that :\farie (:Marie de
Saint-Geoo:es 1, the minister of public worlr.• bad "t up the JU·
tional workshops in such a way as to discredit the ideas of Blanc,
his political opponent
On Feb 25, 1848, threatened by a popu1ir demon<tration the
provh.1onal government pa• .ed a decrtt drafted by Blanc in .,..b1ch
it UDdcrtoolr. to 11uarantee the • orkers' livelihood throu11b em·
ploymeot and to pronde "'ork for e\'rry citiun As bis wnUngs
>how Blanc ™" that thk could be acbie,·ed only by a .oaal
revolutioo aimed ultmiately at the abohuon oi the prolrtariat but
meanwhile be • ished to bind the go\'ernment by a >olemo pro1Wse.