Paper Summary:

This essay argues that Hitler's charismatic leadership has been an overrated factor in the success of National Socialism in pre-war Germany. The author contends that the appeal of the NSDAP was its rhetoric and propaganda tapped into preexisting social values and standards, such as German folk and rural movements. The author concludes that Hitler did not appear in a political vacuum, nor did he ascend to power alone, nor did he present much that was new. Various historical references are presented throughout the paper to support the author's thesis.

From the Paper:

"The psychological and historical appeal of fascism to the German people, particularly the ruling and corporate elites living under Weimar, cannot be understated. The instability of government and economics during this period, and the fragmentary and combative relationship between left- and right-wing parties between World War I and 1928 spawned a fertile rejection of centrist ideologies. Conventional historiography suggests that German fascism was both a reversionary response to post-Enlightenment liberalism and a protective reaction to socialism; it soldered together hitherto disparate interests with the common goals of nationalist regeneration, social unity and subordination to state and leader."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barbu, Zevedei, "The Product of Social-Psychological Malaise" in H
• Barta, Tony, Nazi Germany: Understanding the Third Reich, Melbourne, La Trobe University, 1991
• Fischer, Fritz, From Kaiserreich to Third Reich: Elements of Continuity in German History 1871-1945, London: Unwin Hyman, 1986
• Hamilton, Richard E., "Braunschweig 1932: Further evidence on the support for National Socialism" in Central European History, March 1984, Vol 17 Issue 1
• Huxley, Aldous, "Notes on Propaganda" in Harper's Magazine, December 1936

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