Quote:
Originally Posted by icenine
By denying that the election of Hitler was legitimate, under the current system at the time, is to sort of to say well Germany (or Germans) were not really responsible for Nazis coming to power, or starting World War II, or the Holocaust. By using the term coup you are saying Germany was somehow "stolen" by the National So************************ts. In effect it is like trying to mitigate a cancer.
A coup implies an illegal seizure of power. Street battles, fights with Communists, Horst Wessel, the Reichstag, the SA yes those were agents of Nazi intimidation. However, the elections are viewed as legitimately giving the Nazis a plurality in the legislature. Remember Hitler himself vowed to use legitimate elections to gain power after the failed coup in 1923 in Munich.
Granted the Weimar Constitution and Hindenburg's age gave him his complete dominance AFTER he was elected and given the Chancellorship. Hitler was evil but he used democracy to destroy it, and I think millions of Germans followed him freely.
That is my point...no coup. An election.
The concentration camps started almost immediately, as did The Enabling Acts. Like all politicians I am sure Hitler had a strong base of supporters, and his alliance with the military and industry, coupled with rising war preparations and the employment that went along with it, made him more popular as the depression ended.
Saying the Nazis did not use the German electoral system to gain power is historically wrong. In my study of history the only coup attempt discussed in connection with Hitler is the Putsch of 1923. The weakness of the system, wherein Hindenburg could rule by decree and select a Chancellor, was the key that Hitler was going after when he ran for office.
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If there's anything I would never use as evidence for anything, it's what Hitler 'vowed.'
There is plenty of blame to go around for all the crimes and brutalities of the WWII time. But yes, in a sense I think the Nazi's 'stole,' Germany. Many were complicit, many were enthusiastically on-board, at least for a time. Many others died opposing the Nazis. You agree that it was at most a plurality that were true-believer Nazis, do you not?
Is the idea that 'Germany' may not be exactly 'to blame' the problem here? I'd say' Germany' never could be 'to blame.' Huge collective nouns like 'Germany' are way too abstract to be moral actors.