Jeffrey Herf's The Rise Of Anti-Semitism In Nazi Germany

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In order to further understand Nazi Germany, under the rule of Adolf Hitler, this paper analyzes relevant a primary and secondary source. The article “The Rise of National Socialism in Germany” looks at a number of works in order to understand how the Nazi party came into power, as well as addressing anti-Semitism as a core element of the Nazi ideology (Herf 515). Published by Jeffrey Herf in the 10th volume of the journal of Contemporary European History, the article mentions a number of factors that contributed to the acquisition of power by the Nazi party. A crucial factor that influenced the population to vote for the Nazi party was the pervasive and attractive anti-Semitism during the Weimar Republic, which was in power prior to Hitler, and greatly differentiated the Nazi party from the others (Herf 515). …show more content…

Völkisch ideology in Germany also contained anti-Semitism influence (Herf 515). Anti-Semitism is defined as hostility towards Jews, however, Herf clarifies that the persecution of Jews a direct result of political decisions and administrative policies (Herf 522). Nonetheless, the Nazi party successfully managed to reduce unemployment through work creation proposals by working with big business to achieve a common goal (Herf 516). The success of the Nazi party did not stop there, as Hitler’s plan for expansion and his larger vision of racial superiority and the political and economic dominance of Germany is discussed in detail in The Hossbach Memorandum. This memorandum is a confidential conference which occurred on November of 1937 in Berlin, contains valuable information regarding Hitler’s political agenda. The purpose of this conference was to address ideas concerning development in foreign affairs, German policies, and what should happen in the case of Hitler’s