A song I've done on the topic of Nazi popularity

Nazi Popularity

Role of Hitler

Interpretation

“The function of historical controversy, … is to bring out the many-sidedness of events and to emphasise the absurdity of riding any one hobby horse too hard .” A. Marwick

Arthur Marwick

One of the most fascinating things about history as a subject is that it attempts to achieve a variety of things. The words for history in French and German (histoire and Geschichte) are the same words that are used for story. History is often seen as a narrative, in other words, what happened, when and how, and for many people this is how they experience and consume history. Popular history on the television or in coffee-table books tends to focus on this aspect of the past. But the study of history also encourages us to be analytical and to ask not just what happened but to develop an understanding of why something happened. Analytical history gets to the heart of matters and generates the opportunity to learn lessons from the past.

Analytical history also creates debate. The famous historian, E.H. Carr, said that in everything they do historians are affected by their own subjective views. Some historians have consciously tried to be more objective in their approach (i.e. to not let their own personal beliefs affect the conclusions that they draw), but this is ultimately almost impossible to fully achieve. Historians will gather factual evidence in order to develop an interpretation but in doing so they have to select which evidence is used and which is discarded. The availability of evidence often changes over time with the release or discovery of new sources opening up different lines of interpretation. For example, Fischer’s theory of German aggressive foreign policy in the build up to the First World War was largely based on documents relating to Bethmann-Hollweg. Other historians had access to different sources of evidence, such as Erdmann using Riezler’s diaries, which leads them to often very different interpretations.

Debate in historical interpretations can become very heated and whole schools of historians emerge who are likely to adopt a particular view. You will come across some of these groups in your study of Germany between 1871 and 1945. Intentionalists focus on the intentional policies and ambitions of individuals such as Kaiser Wilhelm or Adolf Hitler. Structuralists (functionalists) focus more on the structures in play such as groups, institutions and customs of the period. Some historians will bring a particular political or religious perspective to bear on an interpretation, such as Marxist or Jewish historians while others will try and find a consensus approach that considers a variety of different interpretations and reaches some kind of middle ground.

Without different interpretations history would not be so interesting and controversial and would not reflect the complexity and importance of the issues that we examine.

Causation

“The study of history is a study of causes.” E.H. Carr

E.H. Carr

Causation is one of the most frequently studied aspects of history as it seeks to give reasons to why significant events took place. It is rare, however, whether in discussions about historical or current events to give a definitive and clear answer to the question, ’why did this happen?’ It is perhaps the difficulty in seeking satisfactory answers and the possibility of addressing a variety of factors that makes causation such a popular topic for both the student and the professional historian. It is the cause rather than the course of great events that create the historical debates which fill the pages of historical journals, dominate the discussions of university seminars and create the examination questions for students at all levels.

The causes of wars and other human tragedies such as genocides are especially important for historians to address both to establish the rather negative issue of blame and the more positive understanding of lessons that can be learnt for the future. A good example of this is the historiography of the causes of the First World War. In the immediate aftermath of the war the examination of causation centred on the need to establish blame and the finger was very directly pointed at the defeated nations of Germany and Austria-Hungary. This led to the significant decisions made at the peace treaties such as Versailles (1919) which forced Germany to accept blame (war guilt clause) for the start of the war and pay reparations that covered the losses incurred during the four years of fighting. As time passes emotion is replaced with objectivity and the unearthing of evidence which introduces other factors that might be considered in establishing the causes of the First World War. The abundance of factors leads to differing interpretations and debate, such as the Fischer Controversy, which will rumble on for generations.

Causes of WW1

Historians will try and look for both profound and specific causes and isolate the significant factors from other background relevance. This links to the logical topic of necessary and sufficient causes. J. Rohl talked about how “the deeper causes (of the First World War) were necessary but not sufficient”; in other words, factors such as the continental alliances, militarism and secret diplomacy were all necessary for the outbreak of war but were not sufficient in themselves to cause a war which the same factors had long preserved peace in Europe. The student of this period should ask themselves why war broke out in 1914 rather than, say, in 1911. As A.J.P. Taylor illustrated the point; “every road accident is caused in the last resort by the invention of the internal combustion engine … but the police and courts do not weigh profound causes. They seek a specific cause for each accident … So it is with wars.”

A.J.P. Taylor

Auschwitz

In August 1999, aged 24, I travelled to Poland with a group of friends for a three week tour of the southern end of the country. As we were based in Krakow for much of the stay we took the opportunity to spend a day visiting the Auschwitz Concentration and Death Camps near the village of Oswiecim. I was about to start my first year as a history teacher and so the trip was particularly poignant and left me with strong memories which are as vivid today as they were when I wrote this diary entry at the time of the trip.

“Up early to get to the Hotel Crackovia and get on the bus for Auschwitz. This was part of the holiday that I had been both dreading and looking forward to. I wasn’t really sure what to expect despite all the things that people tell you. I guess you have to experience these things for yourself. Personally, as I’m sure for the others, it was going to be a very unique experience. Writing about it now I don’t think I can explain the day sufficiently in words so I’ll just make some general comments.

The bus into Auschwitz was, as you’d expect, a sombre affair, especially as we entered the town of Oswiecim and the camp itself. The tour started with a short film using some footage taken by the Red Army on liberating Auschwitz and Birkenau. After the film we met our guide, Sebastian, a guy of about our age who turned out to be a wonderful guide. He explained to us that he had his own strong opinions about the camps and didn’t mind expressing them. I was glad of this – Auschwitz is not the kind of place where you want some monotone, tired commentary, the history of the place is too complex for that. It turned out that the guide stopped doing the job for some time because he was letting his personal feelings get in the way of his job, but was persuaded to rejoin.

The tour started in Auschwitz I, the first of the camps in the area established initially for Polish political prisoners. The buildings here are all stone; many of them were administrative and housing areas for the Nazis and so had to be fairly respectable for official visits. Auschwitz I now holds the exhibitions of remains from the death camp at Birkenau. The personal belongings (piles of glasses, named suitcases etc) make the horrors of what happened come to life. The platted hair was particularly poignant. The guide was keen to make us understand the individual tragedy of Auschwitz rather than concentrate on the incomprehensible statistics – he pointed out some specific suitcases with dates of birth on them, some of which were owned by very young children.

We were taken down some of the cells, which were tiny and completely isolated. We saw some of the etchings on the walls which prisoners drew before being taken to their deaths, such as a picture of Christ. Many of the political prisoners were executed against what became known as the ‘Wall of Death’ which can still be seen, an old lady was carefully laying flowers by it while we were there.

Auschwitz I was also the place where they first experimented with the gas chamber and we were shown one of these along with the incinerators. The guide told us how the prisoners were kept in the dark about their fate, often being told they were going to be given a shower, and were even given soap and towels. Whilst undressing guards would ask prisoners what their occupation was, telling them how useful they would be after the ‘shower’. This was all done to prevent any kind of panic – the Jews had been living in unbearable conditions in the ghettos and could only believe they were being taken to a better place where they would be used as labour for the war effort. Unaware of their fate panic was avoided which would have disturbed other prisoners. During the gassing a motorbike would drive up and down the street to muffle the sound of the screams. The first experiments of gassing were horrifically unsuccessful – it took 3 days for the victims to die.

Auschwitz I was where the experiments on Jews began, but following the Wannsee Conference (January 1942) it proved to be insufficient for the realisation of the Nazis’ ‘Final Solution’. Auschwitz II/Birkenau was therefore built with the sole purpose of the extermination of the Jewish population of Europe.

After a short bus journey we entered Birkenau and I was immediately struck by the sheer size of the place. It was enormous. We entered into the camp through the famous gatehouse and past the railway line. Like they say, the birds don’t sing, there is a deathly silence about the place and the scale of the camp only exaggerated the silence.

The crematoria and many of the buildings were destroyed by the evacuating Nazis and some of the more useful materials were used to help rebuild Warsaw, but a large number of accommodation blocks and toilet blocks remain. The bed bunks were made of old horse beds and prisoners often had to sleep three to a bunk, literally on top of each other. The description of the living conditions was chilling.

Outside the blocks we were told how the guards, positioned on the fences, would beckon prisoners over by throwing food down. The prisoners were so hungry and desperate they would run to the fence and be shot immediately by the guards as a potential escapee. The guards got a bonus for every potential escapee they shot and knew the prisoners were going to die anyway so didn’t really see anything wrong with getting something out of it themselves.

The toilet blocks were also a horrific sight. Prisoners could not go to the toilet when they needed it, only twice a day at set times. There were not enough seats/holes in the room for everyone and so the floor quickly became awash with mess – the conditions to us are unimaginable. Getting a seat in the toilet was a much sought after acquisition – it gave the prisoners a semblance of dignity as they could still sit to go to the lavatory – the toilets were also the place where information was passed as well as a black market where food could be bought at a price.

Again, to introduce the individual element, the guide told us a moving story about two friends. One of the men was big and strong and his friend was weak – weak prisoners were very quickly selected for the gas chambers whereas stronger ones were put to work for a few months before being killed. During a selection process the weak man somehow managed to stay on his feet and avoid being sent to the gas chamber – he thought this was some kind of miracle but on his return to the accommodation block he fell to the floor and in despair told his friend he was going to commit suicide (run to the fence) because his body would not be able to stand up to any more tests. But his friend managed to persuade him that he had to stay alive, despite all the hardships and horrors it was their duty to stay alive so that they could tell people exactly what had happened in the camps – they were the witnesses to the crimes. Both men survived and were able to tell their stories. It was this kind of belief that kept many people going in such adverse conditions.

We were finally taken up into the sentry tower in the entrance building where we could view Birkenau. It was here that our guide left us; his final remark was that we didn’t treat Auschwitz like just another tourist attraction to cross off the list - a very apt remark at the end of an extremely well-presented tour.

Birkenau was an incredibly moving experience and it angered me to see tourists taking photos of their smiling children standing in front of buildings where millions of innocent people met their deaths.”