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History   >   Germany – Adolf Hitler: Ideology

Hitler's Ideology

 
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Germany – Adolf Hitler: Ideology

In this course, Professor Henk de Berg (University of Sheffield) explores the ideology of Adolf Hitler. In the first lecture, we think about what an ideology is and how it works. In the second lecture, we think about the propaganda strategies Hitler and the Nazis used to spread their evil ideology. In the third lecture, we think about the nature of National Socialism as a conspiracy theory. In the fourth and final lecture, we think about the ways Hitler and the Nazis sought to ‘buy’ the consent of the German people: that is to say, we think about National Socialism as a ‘feel-good dictatorship’.

Hitler's Ideology

In this lecture, we think about Hitler’s ideology, focusing in particular on: (i) the sources from which Hitler’s ideology can be gleaned, including his 1925-26 autobiography and political manifesto Mein Kampf and his posthumously published Second Book as well as his written articles, speeches and informal statements; (ii) Hitler’s social Darwinism, according to which culture is merely an extension of nature, meaning that human history follows the laws of nature as (purportedly) described by Charles Darwin’s 1859 On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life; (iii) Hitler’s view that the ‘Aryans’ were the superior race and as such were destined for a great future; (iv) Hitler’s pan-Germanism, the idea that these so-called Aryans were really one people and should therefore be united rather than remain split up into different countries; (v) Hitler’s idea that this supposedly superior people required additional ‘living space’ (Lebensraum), an idea that gained succour from Germany’s territorial losses following the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and which ultimately led to the Second World War; (vi) Hitler’s idea that he was the one to lead this people into this great future; (vii) Hitler’s anti-Semitism – in many ways the core of his ideology – according to which the Jews were rootless internationalists who lived like parasites among the ‘Aryans’ and, be it as capitalists or as Marxists, were a threat that must be dealt with: an idea that ultimately led to the Holocaust.

Cite this Lecture

APA style

de Berg, H. (2025, January 15). Germany – Adolf Hitler: Ideology - Hitler's Ideology [Video]. MASSOLIT. https://massolit.io/courses/germany-adolf-hitler-ideology

MLA style

de Berg, H. "Germany – Adolf Hitler: Ideology – Hitler's Ideology." MASSOLIT, uploaded by MASSOLIT, 15 Jan 2025, https://massolit.io/courses/germany-adolf-hitler-ideology

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Lecturer

Prof. Henk de Berg

Prof. Henk de Berg

Sheffield University