No Detail is Too Small

We all probably know by now that the Nazis and Hitler was opportunists and that they thrived on chaos, violence, conflicts and social, economic and political problems of all kinds. Allen makes it clear in his book that depression at its worst, frequent outbreaks of violence, strong presence of nationalism and class antagonism are favorable conditions for the rise of Nazism (92). While it is important to know that the Nazis were able to take advantage of political, social and economic issues in Northeim, the fact that other parties at times chose to ignore these problems is equally significant to the rise of Nazism in Northeim and Germany on the whole. For example, in February 1932, at a meeting of the Northeim Lutheran parish, a pastor “linked the SPD with the communists as the chief force behind atheism and ‘free-thinkerdom’” (89), while another warned the faithful Lutherans against the SPD, “which he characterized as ‘fundamentally antichurch’” (88). Allen points out that the SPD ignored these accusations and charges, while the Nazis proceeded to exploit them (89). The Nazis taking advantage of these charges against their opponents, an example of their proactivity and opportunism, contributes to their eventual gain in support. The SPD ignoring these charges probably allows the Nazis to take greater advantage of the situation. Perhaps this not only caused the SPD to lose support from Northeimers, but also offered a boost to the Nazis’ gain in support from Northeimers. While this occurred in Northeim specifically, it applies to other parts of Germany as well, where the opponents of the Nazis brought their own demise and could have taken further action to slow down or perhaps even prevent the Nazis and Hitler from ruling Germany.

The actions taken by the Nazis to resist other parties is just one of their many displays of opportunism and proactivity. Perhaps it is an exaggeration to say that the Nazis are the epitome of the saying, “a little bit goes a long way,” but it seems that while the Nazis were not very different from the other political parties, the slight differences between the Nazis and the other parties significantly distinguished the Nazi Party and Hitler from their political opponents and other politicians. The Nazis paid a lot of attention to details to improve the quality of their movement by ensuring they got the best speakers possible for their meetings and rallies. Allen mentioned that “no one could be an official Nazi speaker at a Nazi meeting without a special identification card issues by the Gau” and that the speaker had to pass a test before receiving the card. This increased competition amongst Nazis who strove to be certified speakers and allowed the Nazis to have a selective group of speakers. Competition compels each speaker to give his best to surpass other potential speakers, and therefore ensures that Nazis who get to speak at the meetings are the fittest ones possible.

What adds to the quality of these speeches is the Nazi party’s polling system to find their best drawings cards in a particular town or district. The Nazis then tailor their speeches and campaigns according to what would appeal most to the people of any particular location. For instance, the Northeim Nazis discovered that religion and nationalism, preferably combined, were the two areas they should focus most on in their speeches to the predominantly Lutheran population of Northeim (Allen 46). Tailoring their speeches according to the topics of greatest interest and importance of any particular German town is another example of a Nazi tactic that set the Nazis apart from the other political parties.

The Nazi effort to increase the quality of their speeches and campaigns is also evident in the way they ensure that the NSDAP and Local Group meetings get to be held in the most desirable locations. For instance, the SPD had to hold their second meeting for Hindenburg in the Riding Hall because the 1910er Zelt, presumably the location they had preferred, had been rented out continuously by the Nazis just to keep anyone else from using it (Allen 94). The Nazis did this probably because the 1910er Zelt was regarded as the best location to hold political rallies and meetings, and wanted to save this meeting space for their own use. Later when the Nazis were going to embark on their own saturation campaign, they booked out all the meeting halls in Northeim so that the opposition could hardly counter the Nazi rallies (96). In addition to carrying out procedures to raise the quality of their campaigns and meetings, the Nazis also took steps to prevent opposition parties from countering their movement.

Excellence is in the detail. The Nazis giving attention to measures and procedures that may improve the quality of their campaign in the slightest possible way has proven to have a cumulative effect on voters, and allowed them to gain outstanding support from various groups of people, even those who, prior to join the NSDAP, were supporters of other parties. Correspondingly, while the Nazis’ rise to power shows that giving attention to details reaps excellence, it shows that the devil is in the detail as well. The opposition parties and the German population often overlooked the “small” problems in their society and economy, as well as the steps taken by the Nazis. The overlooking and ignoring of small but existing problems, or failing to notice them, were part of the causes of serious problems in Germany later on.