Was Nazism Nationalist or Racist?

This essay analyzes whether Nazism was nationalist or racist. It argues that Nazism was racist and not nationalist, as it aimed to establish a homogenous Aryan national community through persecution of those who did not fit into their society, including those with German blood who were considered weak and wayward.

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Was Nazism nationalist or racist?
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Was Nazism nationalist or racist?
The national socialist worker's party which is popularly referred to as Nazi was
established back in the year 1919. In 1921, the party emerged not only as the most influencing
but also as the most powerful political force in Germany under the leadership of Adolf Hitler.
Germany was governed using the party’s ideology from 1933 to 1945. The party’s ideology was
based on nationalism and racism. The party utilized the scientific theory of racism to attain its
superiority. Under this theory, they believed that the Nazis people were racially superior to all
others. Through their relentless effort and endeavor, the party achieved an immense success to
the followers and the nation at large. If the statements by the party authorities were something to
go by, the party advocated for equality of the German people with all other nations. According to
NSDAP program ex.3, the Nazi authorities demanded liberty on land and soil for the
nourishment of their people. Looking at the party’s ardor on a quick glance, it seems to harbor
more of nationalism in its ideology. But this is not the case when a deeper analysis, evaluation
and appraisal is conducted. In fact, nationalism was just an ideology used to hoodwink
unsuspecting followers and interest group about the motives of the party. In reality, the party was
a racist. The purpose of Nazism was to discriminate the non-Germans. The people with German
blood were favoured against foreign races. The party formulated and adopted massive
restrictions against foreign races to advance racial discrimination. This was in comparison with
the utmost favoritism advanced towards the people with German blood in all aspects of the
country’s agenda. The non- Germans were banned from participating in the country’s politics,
intellectual events and cultural activities (Hitler 1937 speech ex.1). the Nazi beliefs gave rise to
Adolf Hitler dictatorship. An open racism where foreign races were discriminated through being
abjured to experience Germany environment was witnessed. This was a lifetime ban. This essay

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analyses the practices of Nazism on the basis of racism approach. The essay tends to argue that
Nazism was racist and not nationalist.
The aim of the national socialist was to establish a homogenous race commonly referred
to as Aryan' national community (Volksgemeinschaft) by reshaping the existing society. The
ultimate way to achieve their goal was through persecution of those who did not perfectly fit into
their Aryan society. This did not spare those people with German-blood who were considered
weak and wayward. These included the homosexuals, those who were congenitally sick and also
the asocial. They were discriminated together as those of foreign races. The Nazis considered the
Jews as their lead enemy and the represented them as anti-race. The Nazis believed that the Jews
were as a result of natural selection and had integrated into the German national body through
assimilation. According to them, the Jews served as a barrier towards their aim of creating an
Aryan society. The Nazis had to revive what had become a social convention though Anti-
Semitism (German blood ex. sec 1). The native-Christianity hostility was revamped. In
additional to the Jews, gypsies were considered as a dangerous race by the Nazis.
The Nazi racism was prominent between 1933-1939. This was the period which saw a
massive persecution of Jews who were considered as foreign races. In 1933-1934, the Nazis
focused on excluding the Jews from public life ((Hitler 1922 speech ex.1).). Adolf Hitler, who
was the leader of Nazi, announced that the Nazis should boycott the Jewish businesses He went
ahead to introduce anti-Jew laws where the Jews were barred from being public servants or event
practice law. No Jew was allowed to hold any public position (German blood ex. sec 1). To
extend their discrimination towards gypsies and others who could not fit into the Aryan society,
the Nazis passed a law that allowed forced sterilization to those people who were congenitally
sick in 1933. Around 300000 Germans were victims of this legislation by the end of the 3rd

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Reich. Also, the year 1933 was characterized by anti-Semitic rioting fronted by Nazi supporters.
In 1935, the Nazist party authorities under the command of Adolf Hitler sponsored Nuremberg
laws which defined on who was to be considered as a Jew ((Hitler 1933 speech ex.3).). This
show the termination of 1871 equal rights that existed between Jews and Germans. This led to
the abolition of intermarriages and extramarital sexual relations between the Jews and the non-
Jews.
The appointment of Heinrich Himmler as the head of police in 1936 led to the
persecution of other stigmatized groups. According to Nuremberg laws extract (1935), the
Nuremberg laws were extended to include the Gypsies who were put other house arrest through
the established special camps and their freedom of movement curtailed (Abel life ex 1). The
social outsiders were pronounced asocial having being accused of carrying defective genes and
on top of being imprisoned, they were sterilized. Homosexuality was abolished and homosexuals
were persecuted. A comprehensive campaign conducted in 1937 saw the sterilization of
Rhineland Bastards (crossbreed children between German mothers and fathered by French-
African soldiers in Germany).
The 9th of November 1938 was characterized by a pogrom after extensive demonstrations
and rioting of Nazi party workers. The Kristallnacht commonly referred to as the “Night of
Broken Glass” saw the introduction of further anti-Semitic laws where the Jews were stripped off
all their rights. The forceful acquisition of Jews property came into a halt as the Jews started
being expulsed forcefully through the use of threats and violence (Heredity and race ex 1). In
1939, the Nazis celebrated their conquest and started expanding their racist policies throughout
the European continent. Their effective tool to achieve their goal was mass murder.

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In August 1939, a programmed duped Euthanasia (T4) was established where all malformed
children in Germany were required to register. Around 5,000 children which were registered
were transferred to different ‘children departments’ and then they were persecuted. More than
70000 adults who were in psychiatric hospitals were massacred after the programme was
extended to include adult patients in mental institutions just after the start of the 2nd world war
(Hitler motivation ex 1). There were six massacring centers fitted with gas chambers where the
killings took place. Despite the abolition of the programme in August 1941, the killings
continued through the locally decentralized actions. It is documented that, there were thousands
of murders targeting institutionalized patients occupying Poland centers. The special SS units
either used the gas chambers or mass shooting to undertake the massacre. This is the period after
the commencement of world war 2. Other documentation revealed that over 10000 people of the
polish elite group were systematically killed by the special SS unit during the Poland invasion.
After the Nazis conquered Poland where over 1.7 million polish were brought under the
Nazist rule, a Jewish reservation was established. This reservation was meant for all Jews from
Poland and extended regions of the German Reich (citizenship law ex. Art.1). There was mass
displacement where hundreds of thousands of polish were transferred to create room for
ethnically German settlers. Due to the scale of the polish megalomania, the idea of creating a
reservation failed but was replaced by a territorial solution, a project that was established after
the Nazis conquered France. Under what was referred to the Madagascar plan, all the Jews were
to be transferred to France territory(colony) of Madagascar. This plan did not work because the
British royal navy continued to control the seas. After conquering Soviet Union, however, a
variation to the territorial solution was presented by Adolf Hitler where the Jews were to be
deported to the said colony. Regardless of the location where the Jews were to be secluded, be it

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Poland, Madagascar or Soviet Union, the intention was to expose them to diseases, malnutrition,
general abuse and forced labour. Thus, the territorial solution advanced by the Nazis was meant
to exterminate the Jews from Europe. The invasion of Soviet Union territory began in June 1941
where the German Nazis contemplated to advance a racial war of extermination in addition to
exploiting the territory economically. The Nazi leadership also planned on how to liquidate the
territory’s ruling class on its entirety (prevention ex 1). This was followed by a mass murder
operation in Soviet Union targeting the Jews. It was the belief of the Nazis that the Jewish mass
murder was the beginning of creating an ethnic new order. After successfully carrying out the
mass murder, Adolf Hitler ordered for the deportation of Jews from German Reich to European
Ghettos (citizenship law ex. Art.3-4). The killings which were executed by the Nazis were
systematic in that they discriminated the Jews and the gypsies although they both faced the same
fate. It is important to note that the mass murder and genocide perpetrated by the 3rd Reich and
the conformist allies till the final days of the word war also contextualized the racist policies of
the Nazis (proclamation ex 1).
In conclusion, it is evident from the discussion above that the Nazism was racist oriented
rather than nationalist-oriented. They were advocating for the seclusion of other races from the
European continent. They considered the Jews as their lead enemy towards achieving their racist
policies. They hatched extermination plans where they could seclude the “foreign races” and
exterminate them. That’s the reason they established a territorial solution campaign to deport the
Jews to Poland, Madagascar or Soviet Union where they would easily exploit and exterminate
them. The Nazis racist policies resulted in mass deaths where millions of people were massacred.

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Bibliography
Abel, T 2018, Nazi followers: life history extract, Trinity College Foundation Studies,
Melbourne.
Heredity and race extract 2018, Trinity College Foundation Studies, Melbourne.
Hitler, A 2018, On the motivating force of life extract, Trinity College Foundation Studies,
Melbourne.
Hitler, A 2018, Speech, 12 April 1922 extract, Trinity College Foundation Studies, Melbourne.
Law for the prevention of genetically diseased offspring extract 2018, Trinity College
Foundation Studies, Melbourne.
Law for the protection of German blood, 2018 Trinity College Foundation Studies, Melbourne.
NSDAP program extract 2018, Trinity College Foundation Studies, Melbourne.
Proclamation of the Reich government 1933 extract 2018, Trinity College Foundation Studies,
Melbourne.
Reich citizenship law extract, 2018 Trinity College Foundation Studies, Melbourne.