One thought on “Session 9: Democracy’s Deserted Temple (1): The Rise of the Nazis”
Thanks Bethany and Rhys for this very thorough summary and for precisely delineating each’s contribution. I think you’ve relayed Bessel’s key points very well here. I think it’s crucial to understand just how far antisemitism had become a feature of the political landscape in the early 1930s, and the kind of issue that many (certainly not all) would shrug their shoulders about, or justify to themselves. This holds many lessons and warnings for the present day. In terms of the violence itself, I do struggle to get my head around the paradox of the Nazis’ message of order being attractive when they were encouraging violence themselves. I see this in Spain too, and in other contexts, and I still find it a challenge to understand some people’s rationalisation of this.
You tie the readings together very well at the end. I wonder what you think of the role of Hitler after reading them. To my mind, they seem to downplay his importance… There also seems to be an underlying emphasis on flexibility, rather than a rigidity of method and message…
Thanks Bethany and Rhys for this very thorough summary and for precisely delineating each’s contribution. I think you’ve relayed Bessel’s key points very well here. I think it’s crucial to understand just how far antisemitism had become a feature of the political landscape in the early 1930s, and the kind of issue that many (certainly not all) would shrug their shoulders about, or justify to themselves. This holds many lessons and warnings for the present day. In terms of the violence itself, I do struggle to get my head around the paradox of the Nazis’ message of order being attractive when they were encouraging violence themselves. I see this in Spain too, and in other contexts, and I still find it a challenge to understand some people’s rationalisation of this.
You tie the readings together very well at the end. I wonder what you think of the role of Hitler after reading them. To my mind, they seem to downplay his importance… There also seems to be an underlying emphasis on flexibility, rather than a rigidity of method and message…