Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
History
Date of Award
5-2024
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Stephen Fritz
Committee Members
Henry Antkiewicz, John Rankin
Abstract
Historiography of the National Socialist Volksgemeinschaft, or people’s community, has traditionally been divided between historians surmising its construction under the Third Reich as a genuine undertaking meant to uplift German society, and those who view the project as a propaganda effort which assisted the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in retaining legitimacy. Utilizing the plethora of works written on the topic, and a handful of primary sources from pre-Nazified Germany, NSDAP officials, and average citizens alike, this work will demonstrate that, as early as 1807, German philosophers, statesmen, and eventually a large majority of the population yearned for the national unity of Volksgemeinschaft; that the National Socialists adapted the concept for their own ideology. Furthermore, this study finds that, although Adolf Hitler indeed exploited the Volksgemeinschaft for his retention of power, the Third Reich’s efforts in its development were certainly authentic, thus combining both schools of thought in the historiographical debate.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Robert B., "Community, Race, and National Socialism: The Evolution of the Ideology of Volksgemeinschaft, 1807-1945" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4392. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4392
Copyright
Copyright by the author.
Included in
European History Commons, Holocaust and Genocide Studies Commons, Social History Commons