Existing comment:
The 'National Community'
A cornerstone of Nazi propaganda was the ideal of the "national community" (Volksgemeinschaft), an organic union of all "Aryan" Germans. Nazi propagandists continually stressed that the new Germany would have no class, religious, or regional differences, and the political strife and dissension that characterized the Weimar parliamentary democracy would end. Through collective work, Germans would rebuild the shattered economy. In theory, neither birth nor economic status would be obstacles to social, military, or political advancement.
The vision of the "national community" enjoyed genuine mass appeal, but it masked persecution. Many Germans, swayed by the "positive" allure of unity, overlooked the glaring inequalities and abuses in the Third Reich. |