Document Analysis on Hitler Speech

Document Analysis on Hitler Speech. On September 3, 1933, Adolf Hitler delivered a speech on culture. It came barely eight months after he had been called to the chancellorship by President Hindenburg to head a coalition government. This was a political deal made after the previous election which Hitler won 30% of the votes, forcing his opponent to a runoff. In this speech, he made it clear to the German artists that the nation was in need of their artistic help at that time when there was a real crisis, both economic and political, in the country. Lack of the audience’s reactions is a weakness encountered while analyzing this speech, but on examining various secondary sources, it can be acknowledged that this speech is a very resourceful primary source.
Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, an Austrian town, on 20th of April, 1889. His family later moved to Germany. At the age of about 10, Hitler started realizing his talent as an artist; this is an important point to note because his entire speech revolved around art and culture. He was a talented painter, and his passion for the art even made him prefer painting over studies. He even stated in his speech that art and a man are two inseparable things. Although he obeyed his father’s demands to join Realschule, he did not perform quite well.
Hitler’s message was about the German culture and its importance. Significant events related to the theme took place in 1933 which give the importance to this speech. At the beginning of the year, the German doctors were allowed to perform forced sterilization.

This made it impossible for the victims to have children. The German scientists, who supported the Nazi ideologies, believed that the human race would have a chance of improvement if their reproduction were limited. Among the target population was a small ethnic community known as Roma and the disabled.
On January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed to the government office by President Hindenburg to head in the coalition government. He came to power with other National Socialism leaders who had more ambitions than to gain political authority. They wanted to develop a racial community which was in line with the Nazi traditions. They also wanted to return the country to the German traditions and culture. The Nazi ideals emphasized on race, family, and Volk as the most important representations of the German culture. These values played a significant role in harmonizing the Germans with their native soil. They also stressed on elevating the Volk and the nation at large on top of any individual. Hitler’s speech made it clear that the Nazi goals were to be followed by everyone, including the German artists and cultural organizations, to the latter. It was a mission that would later see some of the artists become victims of both the government and its citizens.
The works of the so-called un-German writers were set ablaze on May 10, 1933. Nazi activists, together with the National Socialists German Students’ Association, mobilized the people to take part in a series of nationwide book burning ceremonies. The books of Jewish authors and those who were considered as un-German were all burnt down. July 14, 1933, the Nazi state enacted Racial Purity Law. This Law was by what the scientists were doing to prevent some specific people from having children. It was now a crime for an ‘undesirable’ to reproduce. The approximated number of victims of this Law over the following 18 months was about 400,000. Early September, a new Reich Culture Chamber came into action with the aim of regulating and supervising all German culture facets.
Hitler’s speech showed how strict the Nazi ideologies were, and everyone was supposed to follow the rules. According to him, those who did not wish to appreciate the culture lacked the understanding expected of them. This statement can be interpreted to mean that everyone born in German colors was supposed to understand everything concerning the Nazi ideologies. Those who did not get a grasp of the rules were to be taught through a calculated education, as he stated. This was a revelation of Nazi’s views on the German culture and arts. Architecture ranked on top of Adolf’s favorite forms of art. He, therefore, pushed for the construction of the Olympic Stadium situated in Berlin. Olympic Games were on the calendar, and Hitler saw this as an opportunity to showcase the German traditions to the world through art. He wanted to let the whole world realize that his country was a force to reckon.
There is a lot that can be learned from any historical content, and this speech is no exception. It is clear that Hitler and the Nazi activists valued their ideologies and wanted the rest of the nation to conform to this belief. In his speech, he referred to art as a majestic mission and one that requires real passion. This goes to show that regardless of the outcome, the mission of transforming the German nation into a Nazi-believing community was not going to change. It was an obsession that the Nazi activists were hoping to satisfy. He believed that whenever art is in the heart of someone, he will do whatever the voice in him commands him even if the rest of the world is against it. He promised that his government would put a lot of attention to matters culture than the previous one. This was in line with the plans of the Nazi fanatics who worked very hard to ensure that their ideologies came into play.
Hitler went down as a renowned dictator in the global political history. The significance of this piece is that; it brings out more of his character. Therefore, it acts as another evidence of what has always been passed through generations regarding Hitler’s way of governance. Based on the events that took place during the time of this recording, it is clear that it was either Hitler’s way or no way. He was always obsessed with the issues surrounding races and viewed others, for instance, the Jewish, as impure and undeservedly living in Germany. The law of ‘no reproduction for the undesirables’ was evidence enough of how he viewed the rest of the people.
This was a man well known for his propaganda tactics. His words and those of the Nazis were meant to attract more Germans to his side so that he could have a better way of manipulating them. When a lie is drilled into a person’s mind every day, it becomes part of his thoughts, and he starts believing it. This was the tactic that saw the tactician win 30% of the votes during an election held in 1932. President Hindenburg saw that he could not deal with the waves of the masses controlled by Hitler and therefore decided to honor their political deal. By this time, Hitler had more controlling powers than Hindenburg, and a larger part of the population was behind him because of his propaganda. When Hindenburg died, Hitler took the German presidency in a simple fashion because of his followers.
Hitler’s dictatorship had a lot of impact in the German nation. Going by the Nazi’s culture, the Germans were not allowed to learn. This way, they were going to be manipulated easily. When the minds of the people are not built for asking questions, they will accept any idea fed to them. This was the case with the people at that time, Hitler’s policies were working and he kept on winning more followers and creating a larger fan base.
The German art developed once the Nazis ideologies took root. In his younger age, Hitler was a lover of art, and it is no surprise that he emphasized on its development. With his self-proclaimed knowledge, he concluded that there were two types of arts that were in German. The one that related to the Nazi culture is what he considered the German art. However, art by the likes of Pablo Picasso was regarded un-German and was prohibited under Hitler’s leadership. He was against the modern culture and this prompted him to take action against those spreading it. Those who were in line with the Nazi ideologies were given special treatment. Johannes Heesters, for instance, was given special treatment after each of his performance.
His quest to enforce his Nazi artist’s policies came even before he joined Hindenburg as a chancellor. In March 1933, the Enabling Act was enacted and it gave him the power to put his ideas into action. As a chancellor, he was now able to enforce his artistic policies, and he came up with the Reich Chamber of Culture. This was supposed to supervise all cultural issues. Under this chamber, there were seven small units, and art was one of them. Up to 42,000 artists joined the Reich Chamber of Culture but under some conditions. They were required to be politically inclined to the government whenever they were called upon. Failure to do so would result in cancellation of their membership and they were, hence, not allowed to teach or showcase their paintings to the public. These conditions saw other artists flee the country because they could not conform to them. Those dubbed as un-German artists were among the ones who fled the country. To keep developing the German skills, Hitler introduced art competitions which had great rewards for the winners.
The theme of Hitler’s speech was based on the culture and art of the Germans. The Nazi ideologies were taking over, and it was time to encourage people to keep following this tradition. He first started by insisting that the National Socialists Party was still in effect even after completing the political mission. He believed that it was the educational task of the nation to teach its people to demonstrate their cultural values and ideas. This statement shows that the Nazi believers were now on a mission to ensure that the whole nation believed in their ideologies. This primary source, together with other secondary sources gives an idea of how propaganda was spread. Sweet words were used to lure people into believing that it was all in their best interests. Hitler himself once told his fellow activists that it was a good idea to address people in the evening because their minds were weak at that time and they would believe anything. He took advantage of every situation provided he got the end result.
In conclusion, this primary source doesn’t answer some questions concerning what happened during that specific period. It needs to be complemented by other secondary sources so that the whole picture can be painted. For instance, the act of forcing people into conforming to the Nazi ideologies may not be found in this source keeping in mind that the owner of the speech is guilty of the same. It, however, answers all the questions about the Nazi culture and Hitler’s passion for arts. Throughout the speech, he reveals his feeling about culture and art and his plans on the same. The interpretation of this source is in line with what many historians have written about Adolf’s government. According to many history writers, Adolf Hitler is one man who shook the world with his dictatorship. This is evident from his expressions about those who were not ready to conform to the ideologies and the events that occurred before the day of this speech. Therefore, this is an essential primary source of information regarding Hitler and his government because it gives his personal views and opinions.

Bibliography
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Sherratt, Yvonne. 2013. “Hitler The Philosopher Führer.” History Today 63, no. 4: 17-23. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 13, 2018).Simms, Brendan. “Against a ‘world of enemies’: the impact of the First World War on the development of Hitler’s ideology.” International Affairs 90, no. 2 (March 2014):317-336. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 13, 2018).