Sociological & Economic Environment in Germany

There are those individuals who view the manifestations of the reunification of Germany--the rise in hate crimes, a slumping economy, and political dissension--as signs that hearken back to the Germany of the Weimar Republic. Many of these observers think that the similarities between present day Germany and the pre-NAZI Germany are sufficiently strong to indicate that contemporary Germany may soon disintegrate into an economic and social chaos from which another repressive, authoritarian, and dangerous government will emerge. The thesis of this current research is that the similarities between the Germany of the 1920s-1930s and the Germany of the 1980s-1990s are superficial, and that the likelihood is remote that contemporary Germany will be plunged into social chaos or that a reactionary, dictatorial government will come to power.

Comparing the Sociological and Economic Environments

Pre-NAZI Germany was "vulnerable to the lure of militarism and totalitarianism" (Englemann, 1986, p. xiii). There existed a propensity to violence in Germany during this period (Schoenbaum, 1966, p. 1). Many German citizens viewed totalitarianism as an acceptable means of controlling societal violence.

In 1946, Douglas Kelly (1946), pp. 34-49), following his psychological examination of the Nuremberg prisoners, concluded t

. . .
e Nazis began to present themselves as the saviors of the German nation (Hamilton, 1982, p. 164). To begin with, the Nazis attracted the "mass of shopkeepers, craftsmen and farmers crippled by lack of credit," by attacking the "interest slavery" of the Jewish controlled (according to the Nazis) banks (Grunberger, 1971, p. 15). Deep-rooted social and economic anxieties "did not find their outlet in abstractions--such as the social system or market mechanism--but in the Jews" (Grunberger, 1971, p. 15). The Nazis exploited the idea already present in German society that the Jews were the "embodiment . . . of every ill besetting state and society" (Shirer, 1984, p. 116). In addition to offering to German society a villain, the Nazis also offered pleasing alternatives to unemployment, despair, and an absence of national pride. The Nazis promised (and later delivered) employment; promised to end food shortages (and later did just that); thumbed the collective German nose at Britain and France, and brought on a resurgence of German pride. For millions of Germans, the loss of some of their own civil liberties, and the terrorizing of a few Jews, gypsies, liberals, and homosexuals seemed a small price to pay for those benefits (Shire
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jews Germans, Britain United, Douglas Kelly, Nazis Hamilton, Party German, Weimar Republic, Jews Grunberger, Germany Germans, Social Democrats, Hitler NAZI, contemporary germany, german society, german people, 1920s 1930s, friedrich 1972, germany 1920s, grunberger 1971, social economic, shirer 1984, german political, economic growth germany, sociological conditions day, german political environment, unemployment contemporary germany, society shirer 1984,
Approximate Word count = 2371
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)