Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Hitler, Adolf, Fascism Germany'

The rationale for this study is Albert Speer's unique value as a source of information concerning the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler. Although there is a wealth of information available on Nazi Germany and Hitler, the observations of this intelligent man who was an important official of the regime and a close associate of Hitler himself carry weight that no other report can match. He was a well-educated, intellectual, and articulate man who left behind three comprehensive books and many articles and interviews. In addition to such publications, there are, in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., many records of interviews with Speer conducted by Allied personnel immediately following the war. Those documents have been used extensively in this study.There is no attempt either to indict or to vindicate Speer, as many authors have done, but rather the purpose is to present in narrative form an analytical study of the relationship between the two men. The central focus throughout examines Speer and Hitler in juxtaposition and forms conclusions on the nature of their complex and compelling attachment. In the process, historical events form the backdrop as Speer describes them for us. It is always Speer, not Hitler, with whom the primary interest lies.The question of how anyone of Speer's background and intelligence could have given his life to a regime devoted to gutter politics, conquest of a continent, and genocide always arises in any study of Speer. The strange hold the Nazis exert on the world's imagination seems to ebb and flow, but does not die out, nor does the awful suspicion that something similar could happen again. Speer used his writings to describe the process and warn against its resurrection, especially in light of the tremendous leap in technology we have seen. Do not look for monsters, he counseled, for monsters are easily identified and avoided. Beware the manipulators who orchestrate on a national scale those policies which bring harm to whole populations, men who loudly proclaim their humanness and ordinariness.This inquiry is not an attempt to prove a predetermined hypothesis, since it embodies a historical approach rather than an experimental one. Information is drawn from the books and papers of Speer, as well as official documents, but secondary works to corroborate the basic sources are cited at times. There is still no definitive biography of Speer, although he appears as a central figure in many works. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that the Speer family has put his personal papers in Heidelberg beyond the reach of anyone until 1999, probably as a result of his negative treatment in various publications.The technical papers from the Ministry of Armaments and War Production are housed in the Bundesarchiv at Koblenz, but were not pertinent to this study. The Institut fur Zeitgeschichte in Munich houses official papers, as does the Berlin Document Center, while the Washington has the transcripts of Library of Congress in Hitler's Table Talks, some parts of which are used in this study. Speer's books and published material give an extensive look at his part in the Third Reich, his relationship with Hitler, and his own feelings and observations concerning both. The International Military Tribunal records from Nuremberg are both extensive and enlightening. One may also view the collection of Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler's personal photographer, in the Special Collections section at Bracken Library.Chapter I deals with Speer in the pre-war years as he rose to fame and became part of Hitler's inner circle, while Chapter II views the war years through Speer's experiences. In Chapter III the early relationship between Speer and Hitler is developed, and in Chapter IV the war, the collapse of the Third Reich, and the attendant disasters are covered.

Thesis advisor: John Michalczyk
Although the National Socialists' ultimate intentions in regard to religion were concealed from the pubic under layers of political rhetoric, their objectives were nonetheless clear. The National Socialists sought the destruction of the Christian religion, whose teachings and values were seen as inimical to those of the State, and the establishment of a Reichskirche that would preach the doctrines of National Socialism. The German government during the Third Reich was a totalitarian regime, but there was one matter in which the Nazi Party did not have carte blanche, religion, which made it an intrinsic threat to the authority of the State. Many Nazi officials saw Christianity as the inherent and irreconcilable enemy of National Socialism, but they knew they risked losing the support of the German people if they instantly dissolved the Christian Churches. Instead of vehemently attacking the Christian confessions the way they did in Poland, in Germany the National Socialists set up a mirage of support for and acceptance of religious institutions, all while working to undermine the Christian tradition that they considered of greatest detriment and danger to their State
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: College Honors Program

Hitler claimed to have studied Clausewitz and Machiavelli, but violated the tenets of both by permitting ideology to override strategy. Hitler's ideology is revealed from documentary sources: Mein Kampf, his speeches, and Tischreden (table talks.) Operation Sea Lion, the planned 1940 invasion of England, was cancelled because the Fuhrer regarded the British as nordic cousins. Operation Citadel, the 1943 Battle of Kursk, was conceived because he decided the racially inferior Slav must be subdued. Doomed from the outset, Hitler nevertheless launched Citadel and squandered most of Germany's remaining armor and elite troops. A general staff officer is interviewed as witness to the period. His background, training, and opinions of the Fuhrer are presented. Thesis conclusion: flawed ideology brought disastrous decisions.

This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.
Bachelors
Office of Undergraduate Studies
Liberal Studies

For historians of twentieth-century British affairs, the decade of the 1930s is very significant. It was marked not only by a devastating economic crisis at the outset, but also by the rise of fascism in Europe and the onset of the Second World War at its close. These issues were problematic in themselves, but Britain’s response to them was complicated still further by the deep divisions between the Left and the Right over socialism and over the Soviet Union. The presence of the USSR in the East and its influence in Britain loomed over the internal debates that took place, affecting British responses to difficult situations in drastic and far-reaching ways. People of both anti-Soviet and pro-Soviet persuasions were forced to account for events that did not tally with their most strongly held beliefs, hopes or fears. This dissertation explores the ways in which British people of a variety of political leanings publicly processed and coped with the role of the Soviet Union in these debates. Using a range of sources including contemporary newspapers, books and pamphlets, I will trace the evolution of attitudes to the Soviet Union from 1929, the first year of the economic crisis, up until 1943, the high point of the Anglo-Soviet wartime alliance. My analysis will show how people with fundamentally different belief systems mirrored each other in their responses to intellectual challenges, and how interactions between different groups sustained or exaggerated each group’s response to the Soviet Union. I will also critique the analyses of some historians who have limited the parameters of their studies to take in only single groups or single events, and in so doing have become unfairly critical of individuals who struggled to process a large number of difficult and confusing events.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2009-07-14.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed March 5, 2010). Advisor: Mary Ann Heiss. Keywords: Foreign Relations; United States; Germany; Weimar Republic; Hitler, Adolf; National Socialism; Nazis; U.S. State Department; Houghton, Alanson; Schurman, Jacob Gould; Sackett, Frederic; Murphy, Robert; Smith, Truman; 1920s; 1930s; Interwar Period; America. Includes bibliographical references (p. 318-335).

Cette étude comprend l'analyse et le commentaire de quelques cent-trente-cinq caricatures qui ont pour but de tenter de répondre à la question sur l'éventualité d'une reconstitution historique au travers des caricatures antihitlériennes de la presse satirique de la République de Weimar. Elles illustrent la montée du national-socialisme, du moins par le biais de la critique, puis de l'opposition et de la révolte, que ce dernier a pu susciter au cours des années 1923-1933. Ce travail a nécessité la recherche de faits politiques précis auxquels chaque caricature faisait référence et la comparaison de la représentation proposée par la caricature avec les informations et les jugements donnés rétrospectivement par les historiens. Ce jeu de va-et-vient entre le document-source et l'arrière-plan référentiel a aidé à proposer une estimation de l'écho suscité ou non par l'événement politique en question. Ce choix de caricatures a permis par exemple de voir quelles avaient été les apparitions de Hitler sur la scène politique qui avaient le plus déchaîné les passions. Toutefois il reste difficile de concevoir une histoire de la montée du national-socialisme et de l'opposition à Hitler avant 1933 à partir des seules caricatures.

This project analyzes the various opinions in the United States of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during the 1930s and studies the amount of information that was available in the United States regarding Nazi Germany before entering World War II. Specifically, it seeks to understand why the United States did relatively little to influence German and European affairs even in the face of increasing Nazi brutality and bellicosity. The analysis has been divided into three different categories. The first focuses on the United States government, and the President and Secretary of State in particular. The second category analyzes the minority opinion in the United States that had Nazi sympathies. Finally, the third deals with the American public in general. The evidence suggests that there was enough information regarding Nazi Germany for Americans to make a reasonable judgment. Most of the United States was opposed to Nazism and the German government. In spite of this, the majority agreed that the United States should not intervene or enter war. This study is significant because it helps shed further light on a debate in the country that continues to the present day: what role should the United States have when it comes to world affairs? The research in this thesis suggests that, in spite of opposition by the American public, if there is enough verifiable evidence of a humanitarian crisis to justify intervention, the government should act.
B.A.
Bachelors
Arts and Humanities
History

This thesis examines how the concept of evil was understood by opposing German perspectives during the era of National Socialist rule (1933-1945). The rise of Nazism in Germany marked a period of massive political upheaval wherein the National Socialist government encouraged the masses to view the world in terms of a great struggle between forces of good and evil. This was the central theme of their propaganda, which zealously encouraged racialist beliefs in the popular consciousness, and was based on assumptions of German superiority and Jewish evil. Despite Hitler's apparent success in creating an obedient nation, a significant number of Germans opposed his rule, amongst whom a small group of writers expressed their discontent through creative fiction. Through a comparison of the worldviews communicated through political propaganda and anti-Nazi literature, it is revealed that the crux of the divide between their opposing perspectives hinged on the meaning of evil. Since evil is a concept with many meanings, this thesis approaches the subject thematically. The comparison begins by focusing on the perception of evil as an all-corrupting force that had taken hold of Germany, followed by an exploration of how power and brutality were understood, ending with a comparison of views on how the struggle between good and evil took place on both a social and individual level. In addition to demonstrating the subjectivity of moral perspective during a tumultuous period of the recent past, this research reveals how the struggle against Nazism existed as a conflict of ideas. Moreover, the comparison of cultural sources (including Nazi art, visual propaganda, written texts such as Mein Kampf, and anti-Nazi creative fiction) demonstrates the value of art as a tool for conducting historical enquiry. Since the legacy of the Third Reich continues to directly influence modern perceptions of evil, exploring how evil was understood according to contemporary Germans – from both pro and anti-Nazi perspectives – is of particular historical interest.

The functioning and apparent successes of the political leadership in Nazi Germany, has for long presented political scientists with a very complex and seemingly ambiguous system to interpret and explain. This study addresses this very matter by firstly identifying the ideological environment within which it functioned as one in which an effective leader with effective leadership tactics was vital. Secondly, two factors are identified as key to the understanding and explanation of political leadership in the Third Reich. These factors are the 'Hitler myth' as a vibrant leadership cult that stood at the centre of Adolf Hitler's relationship with the German people and thus formed the base of Hitler's authority, and the 'Fahrer Prinzip' as expression of the totalitarian style of leadership present in the Nazi movement and the Nazi State, especially regarding the role of Hitler as Fahrer of the Nazi Party and later also of the Nazi State.
Dissertation (MA (Political Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Political Sciences
unrestricted

The critical component of this thesis, “Hitler Comedy”, is a dissertation on the intersection between comedy theory in general, and the specific practice of Hitler comedy. Focusing on Bertolt Brecht’s play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (1941; directed by Heiner Müller in 1995), and Dani Levy’s film Mein Führer: the Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler (2007), my argument critiques existing “instrumentalist” theories of comedy as didactic and morally reductive. Moving beyond prevailing conceptualisations of comedy as corrective and/or forgiving, my dissertation emphasises the centrality of pleasure, displeasure and disruption for audience members in the process of their experiencing Hitler comedies.
The creative component of this thesis is a script and a DVD recording of Hitlerhoff, a theatre and multimedia work that combines the characters of Adolf Hitler and David Hasselhoff into a single hybrid figure. Hitlerhoff is a spectacular black comedy that uses comedy to entertain and unsettle, and to disrupt audience members’ expectations. Hitlerhoff is a practical demonstration of the ability of “irresponsible” comedy to act as a potent catalyst for “responsible”, ethically engaged discussions.

Master thesis Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 in the Czech period press focuses on the reception of the Hitler's putch atempt on 9th and 10th of November 1923 in czech and slovak written political press of the 1920's. The preliminary part of the thesis is dedicated to the political and the economical developmnet in the postwar Germany between 1918 and 1923. The following two chapters are dedicated to the Hitler's youth and early polical career and the München putsch. The second half of the thesis evaluate the reaction of the press to the Hitler's putch. It focuses on to the reaction of legitimate bavarian goveremnt and the legitimate german goverment. The press also follows the overlapt of the Münich revolution ant its suppor between some of German nationals in Czechoslovakia. In the analysis will be used daily party's newspapers as well as small regional newspapers. Keywords Adolf Hitler, Beer Hall Putsch, Germany, 1923, Czechoslovakia

The Master's thesis aims to map and analyse especially pre-war correspondence from Berlin sent by Czechoslovak envoy Vojtěch Mastný since his accession to the Berlin embassy to the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The work is divided into six chapters, while its goal is to analyze the opinions, the nature of its political messages and reflections of the Czechoslovak diplomat at the pre-war political development in Germany. This subjective perception of the historical events and context is further compared with contemporary literature so it is possible to make a reconstruction of dramatic turn of events after 1933. The thesis also deals with social and political situation in Germany after World War I, the Czechoslovak-German relations and the life of a Czech diplomat V. Mastný.

This thesis examines selected political speeches with regard to word-formation and its processes, namely from the grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic points of view. The analyzed political speeches are the Otto von Bismarck's speech delivered on 20 July 1870, the Adolf Hitler's speech delivered on 1 September 1939, the Willy Brandt's speech delivered on 10 November 1989, and the Angela Merkel's speech from 14 December 2015. This is an interdisciplinary thesis which deals with politics, history, and linguistics. The thesis examines four different periods, namely Bismarck's era, Nazism, the Federal Republic of Germany between 1949 and 1990, and the contemporary Federal Republic of Germany. These periods are analyzed from the political, historical, and socio-cultural points of view. Subsequently, the selected political speeches are analyzed with respect to word- formation, its processes, and the period in which they were delivered. The individual results are then compared and certain conclusions are drawn from the comparison. The aim of this thesis is to highlight the importance of word-formation and its processes which are significant for political speeches from the 19th century onwards. This thesis shows and analyzes the motives, purposes, aims, and consequences of their usage in particular...