Nazi Dictatorship, Cold War, and Old Regime: A Historical Analysis
The Nazi Dictatorship
Hitler used rhetoric, promising to work for everyone, reduce industrial profits, and improve wages. He accused Jews, communists, and democrats of being responsible for the crisis in Germany. Nazi militias violently opposed the republic and staged various insurrectionary attempts, clashing with communist organizations and their members. In the 1932 elections, the Nazi party won 13 million votes, and in 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor. Shortly after, the Nazis orchestrated a fire in Parliament, blaming the Communists. Hitler used this incident to eliminate opponents and demand full powers, becoming Chancellor and Führer of the Third Reich.
In 1934, the Nazis transformed Germany into a dictatorship. Workers were forced to join the National Socialist Labor Front, the only permitted union. Public administration was subjected to a law authorizing dismissal for political and racial reasons. The judiciary disappeared.
The Nazi state aspired to total cohesion of German society, based on the superiority of the Aryan race and Nazi ideology. The educational system, culture, and art had to follow Nazi slogans. The Nazis assigned women a very marginal social role. The State Alliance became a police state, imposing its regime of terror. The Gestapo was in charge of security and prosecuting any opposition. In 1933, concentration camps were created to imprison opponents and enemies of the Reich. Many Jews were arrested, forced into hard labor, and some were exterminated.
The Cold War
The Cold War was a model of international relations that developed after World War II. It was based on a standing antagonism between the United States and the Soviet Union, which led their respective blocs.
Partition of Germany into Two States
In 1948, the three Western Allies (USA, UK, France) decided to unite their territories and create a German federal state. In response, the USSR ordered the blockade of Berlin, which was also divided into four zones and located within the Soviet zone. The crisis accelerated the division of Germany into two states: the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Division into Two Blocs
The Yalta and Potsdam conferences had divided Europe into two zones of influence. The British and Americans distrusted the Soviet Red Army’s dominance in liberated areas, and the Soviet Union felt threatened by the atomic bomb possessed by the USA. The US acted to expel communists from coalition governments.
The Old Regime
The Old Regime was a way of life based on an agricultural economy, lordships, absolute monarchy, and a society structured into estates.
Agricultural Lordship
Agriculture was the most important activity. It was a subsistence farming system based on three-year crop rotation with fallow. The land was owned by the nobility and clergy, who held large properties. Most people were farmers working the lands of their lords in exchange for paying taxes.
Absolute Monarchy
The king held absolute power. The monarchy was of divine character, concentrating all powers in the person of the king, who was not accountable to anyone.
The king was assisted by advisory institutions (Council of State).