Peter Loewenberg's Resentment In Germany

World War One was only the first of a series of major epidemics throughout the period of 1919 - 1939 that led Germany and its people further down the drain of poverty, vulnerability, political turmoil and despair. Not only is it apparent that World War One caused much chaos, and economic downturn within Germany, it was also responsible for the creation of a strong sense of resentment towards the allies of the First World War. This resentment is rings clear when looking at what Hitler along many other Germans thought about the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed by Germany on June 28th, 1919. Jackson Spielvogel notes that Germany was “outraged” by the dictated peace of the Versailles peace treaty that had forcibly stripped back its army,

Loewenberg even states early on in his article The Psychohistorical Origins of the Nazi Youth Cohort that, “The rapid political ascendancy of the NSDAP in the period from 1928 to 1933 was marked by particularly strong support from the youth.” However, in this article, Loewenberg goes one step further than Hamilton did by implying that it was because of a particular “cohort” that enabled popular support for Hitler. For Loewenberg the term cohort is used to describe “individuals within a population who have shared a significant common experience of a personal or historical event at the same time.” Due to the fact that this particular cohort in Germany shared the same experiences, it made the people susceptible to Hitler, his Nazi party, and their ideals , which in turn allowed for Nazism to gain support from all across Germany. What Loewenberg also points out is that the people described in this particular cohort often went on to become soldiers and SA members, and part of other operations that supported Nazism. This is an interesting remark as it suggests that the German people not only wanted to vote for Hitler and the Nazis, they also wanted to play a part, willingly, in the Nazi regimes, which consisted of killing millions of innocent

During the early part of this period Hitler and the Nazis used a series of techniques such as public speeches to stir up support for Nazism from Germans. As mentioned in the speech of 1921, Hitler was insistent on seeking revenge upon the enemies of Germany, and not allowing German society to be brought to ruin because of Jews. Through these techniques it is evident that Germans signed up by the thousands to support Hitler and the Nazis not only by voting in elections, but also by aiding through military means. Due to the continuous support from the German people Hitler was able to move forward with his plans for the complete eradication of Jews. Although Hitler did not accomplish his goals, the concentration camps across Europe still managed to wipe out roughly two thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. The dedication shown by Hitler, the Nazis, and German citizens over the course of this period is concrete evidence in proving that the ideal of making German blood free from Jewish impurities was the driving factor that led to continuous support for Nazism throughout this twenty year