Nazi Social Policy

886 Words4 Pages
In order to determine if the Nazis achieved their social policy aims, the aims must first be established and then the extent of the success can be reviewed. The Nazis has two main aims. The first was to create a 1000 year Reich, this was hoped to be achieved through the use of Indoctrination and create a society in which only Nazi ideology was known. The second aim was to establish the idea of a people’s community, known as Volkgemeinshaft, to be able to do this, Hitler wanted to restore traditionalist ideas and provide space for the Aryan race to grow. The most important aim of the social policy was to indoctrinate, this was essential to Hitler as he wanted to restrict opposition and create a 1000 year Reich. In order to Indoctrinate, systems had to be put in place to ensure only Nazi ideology was spoken of. This saw the establishment of the Hitler Youth. The importance Hitler attached to indoctrination is clearly shown as by 1936, as much as 60% of youth had joined the Hitler Youth, however force was involved and in 1939 it was made compulsory. Hitler targeted 10-18 years as he saw these as the future of Germany, this importance of this system is shown with the quote “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future”. Hitler was clearly intent on ensuring the Nazi regime lasted and therefore targeted the young. The Hitler Youth focused on things such as Nazi heroes, the Jewish threat and the greatness of the Fuhrer. Despite the Hitler Youth aiming to restrict opposition, opposition grew with groups such as the swing movement who boycotted and later attacked the Hitler Youth. This showed that, the aims of the social policy, creation of the 1000 year Reich would prove more difficult than Hitler first thought. The opposition to a system such as the Hitler Youth shows that despite how much something is taught, there will always be opposition no matter how small.
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