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Two main historical interpretations of the relationship between Hitler and the
Nazis.
Weak Dictator
Structuralists; emphasis ‘intuitional anarchy’ of Nazi regime and
'leadership chaos'
Argue Hitler was merely a puppet, a figurehead
Polycratic chaotic government consequence of Hitler’s inability to
effectively direct government
Social Darwinist ‘divide and rule’ (a term coined by 'intentionalists')
strategy resulted in time-wasting and bureaucracy
Argue that whilst Hitler’s ideas were central to Nazism, they were
empowered and enforced by others
Argue that under Hitler, Germany suffered
Blame Hitler’s inaccessibility, reluctance to give policy directives or
even to document his ideas
Structural limitations to Hitler’s power, as argued by Bracher.
Many measures can be seen as responsive to pressure of events, and not
the result of long-term planning; Hitler reacted to events, rather then
creating them
Night of the Long Knives was a response to pressure from business and
the army, not a predetermined strategy.
Idea that Hitler was an ‘all-powerful dictator’ is straight out of Nazi
propaganda
Hans Mommsen: “Hitler was just one extreme element of the extensive
malevolence that was the Nazi system”
“Several powerful empires ran underneath Hitler”
Preoccupied with self-image
“Hitler Myth”, Kershaw – was the great vision of Hitler reality or simply
myth
Built on fear
Ultimately weak in that he relied on, albeit a very powerful, propaganda
machine, run by Goebbels, to provide a façade, a myth”
Rosenthal: “Without Goebbels, there was no Hitler”
Alan Bullock: “It’s not what Hitler said, it’s the way he said it”
Corkery: “Hitler had the unique ability to persuade people”
“Hitler uber Deutschland” 1931
Norman Rich: “Hitler had a fixed plan from the Beer Hall Putsch to
death in his bunker in 1945”
Jackel: “the essential political decisions were taken by a single
individual, by Hitler”
Williams: “There was no effective institution which could depose him”
Hitler has been portrayed as a leader who dictated events and who
established ascendancy over all who came into contact with him. He was
regarded as the master of the Third Reich
However, some historians disagree with this image, emphasizing a man
who was remote from public affairs
Hans Mommsen, 1971: “Hitler was unwilling to take decisions,
frequently uncertain, exclusively concerned with upholding his prestige
and personal authority, influenced in the strongest fashion by his current
entourage, in some respects a weak dictator”
Hitler did not actively intervene in government and his withdrawal made
the machinery of government slower and more chaotic, as the important
decisions were not taken
Government disintegrated into competing personal empires; Goring,
Himmler and Goebbels
Hitler became dispensable in this personal system; he rarely issued
written orders; fuelling the view that he was an inactive leader
Structuralists stress the limitations on Hitler’s freedom of action as a
result of forces operating within the State. They argue that, under Hitler,
Nazi Germany suffered a leadership crisis. From the mid 1930s Hitler
abandoned the normal business of government. He resorted to extreme
working methods and lifestyles, a development which was commented
upon by contemporaries.
Structuralist historians: Hans Mommsen, Martin Brozat
Saw Hitler as ‘weak’, failing to give clear planning and consistent
direction, leading to the collapse of ordered government and self-
destruction
Emphasise ‘institutional’ anarchy and leadership chaos. Power was
distributed among many. Hitler’s own authority was only one important
element
Hitler ruled through his trusted henchman but could not ignore his
dependence on the traditional elites
A radical purge of the civil service would jeopardise this relationship
The government cabinet did not operate, so the Reich Chancellery co-
ordinated events, although Hitler only made decisions when absolutely
necessary
Hitler’s government can be described as ‘polycratic’, where his authority
was only one element
However, Hitler still expected total loyalty and that all power rested with
him
There are no examples of major policy decisions by Hitler being
successfully opposed by subordinates or the Party
It would be misleading to view Hitler as a weak dictator
Between 1933 and 1941 Hitler was central to the regime and certain
developments would not have happened without his authority; the SS
would not have developed on the large scale that it did and Germany
would not have gone to war, as war was unpopular with the Army and top
Nazis such as Goring
Ian Kershaw argues that Hitler had three main functions: “to integrate
the many different and antagonistic groups, to mobilise the actions of his
subordinates and to legalise many of the barbaric actions taken by
subordinates”
Hitler seized the opportunity in the 1930s as European diplomacy
collapsed. Hitler exploited the weakness of Europe and was central to the
collapse of international order
Hitler’s non-interventionist style of leadership, born out of Social
Darwinist theories, has been misinterpreted as weak leadership
The Nazi state would have collapsed if Hitler had died or been removed,
as he integrated the divergent Nazi groups
The succession would ultimately have passed to the Army elites, who,
more Conservative in their ways, would have most likely began de-
Nazifying Germany