Drake |
01-08-2006 04:46 PM |
You have to remember:
1) Hitler didn't represent death camps and murder to many. In the beginning he was simply a charismatic leader who brought Germany back from the brink. Many people weren't even aware of death camps or the horrors that came out after the war (their were no such camps until years into the war). The breadth of his 'evil' became known to many only after the war. So it's not so amazing that he and his party were popular among ordinary citizens.
2) Hitler was a German nationalist in addition to a racist with the focus on the former . That is, 'Nordic' superiority, hence his war against other European nations and the slaughter of millions of the same race but different nationality (ex. Polish etc). Nazism has come to represent only white racist fringe groups but during the time or Hitler's rein it was more specifically about German pride.
3) Hitler's government suppressed opposition from other parties or people who spoke out against them. Some leaders even had members killed within their own party in order to maintain their position.
|