Nazi propaganda played an important role in promoting the image of Adolf Hitler as a great German leader. But indoctrination was only one part of the story. Many Germans protected their position in society by joining or supporting the Nazi Party. They saw that their chances of preferment or promotion would be greatly enhanced by backing the Nazi Party. It was bureaucrats acting out of self-interest who allowed Nazism to flourish.
This extended into the classroom and the lecture hall; teachers and academics were quick to join the Nazi side. In the first year of Hitler's Chancellorship, the Nazi Party grew from some 2.5 million to over 4 million. Nazism became all-embracing - even apparently non-political groups like gardening clubs, choral societies and sports organizations chose to affiliate to the Nazi Party. This was not coercion from the top; it was done willingly by ordinary, respectable Germans. A striking fact is that most of those who might be regarded as the natural leaders of society - teachers, doctors, professors, priests and pastors - were among the strongest supporters of Hitler's Nazi regime. It was not surprising that where they led, most Germans followed.
Many Germans regarded Hitler as a saviour. As one German journalist put it: 'Adolf Hitler - the living incarnation of the nation's yearning.' His great conquests as a war leader between 1939 and 1942 raised his prestige in Germany to unprecedented heights. The British historian, A. J.P. Taylor, remarked that Hitler was the most popular leader of any European country in modern Europe and that it was 'silly to claim otherwise'. Resistance to the Nazis in power was minimal. It was only from 1942 onwards, after things began to go badly militarily, that opposition became at all significant. Nazism answered to the aspirations and needs of the great majority of German people. They took pride in a leader and a regime that elevated their nation's standing. It must be stressed that when Nazi Germany did finally collapse it was not because its people rose up and rejected the regime. Nazism was broken by force of Allied arms, not by internal resistance.
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World History
