Local Level Effects of Nazi Violence

As one of the most notorious political powers in history, the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi party) and the unspeakable atrocities it committed are practically common knowledge. One need only pick up a history book for the generalities. And while the answer to the infamous "what" the Nazi party did during their twelve year reign from 1933-1945 is at least referenced in most history classes as early as middle school, it is the "why" and the "how" questions that leave people puzzled. How did a political party gain so much power and influence? How did they manage to terrify and muscle multiple countries into allowing them to take the political reigns and perform such despicable acts? In his book, The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town 1930-1935 , William Sheridan Allen explores how the Nazi party ascended to power and how it changed life at a local level through his study of the nationalistic town of Northeim, Germany. The techniques used by the Nazi party to achieve political success in Germany had a pronounced effect on the lives of the German people, as is made apparent in Northeim. Looking specifically at the year 1933, the year that the Nazi party came to power, it is possible to use Allen's analysis of this town as a model to see how the party was able to influence people through violence into giving them political control and power in addition to influencing the everyday life of it's people.

A patriotic and militaristic town prior to and throughout World War II, Northeim, Germany is located in the hilly expanse almost exactly in the center of Germany. A great many of the citizens who lived there were government officials and subsequently mostly involved with the Social Democratic Party of Germany under the Reichsbanner. Though in the election of 1928, the Nazi party only claimed less than 3% of the voting population, its assaults on the government garnered attention. Among the townspeople, the Nazi's were known to be "violent and vicious." A great deal of this violence was directed towards opposing political party members, such as those belonging to the social-democratic Reichsbanner, which were numerous in Northeim. This party member v. opposing party member violence took on a visible and predictable pattern and from 1930 to 1932 it was apparent that violence and fighting peaked when the occurrence of political meetings increased. According to Allen, "the main contributors of the streets fights were Hitler's Brownshirts, the SA." It is this brutality of civil society for which they became known and were able to win elections.

This affected the average resident of Northeim by making violence commonplace in the town. In the three year period between 1930 and 1933, Allen states that "there was no fewer than thirty-seven political fights in Northeim...newspapers reported the presence or lack of violence in almost the same tone as the weather or auto accidents." Through this violence, in addition to a massive propaganda campaign involving slander and focus on topics relevant to the town specifically, the Nazi party was able to claim a large percentage of voters in the town. Unlike other towns in Germany at that time, Northeim had become predominantly supportive of the Nazi party prior to the beginning of the Third Reich. Little did these people know that their support of such a party, and lack of understanding as to what it really stood for and aimed to accomplish, would lead to more violence than they had seen in the years leading up to 1933. In fact, this "violence and political tension were significant factors in preparing the town for Nazi takeover."

In the start of 1933, the Nazi's gained significant power and prestige at the end of January when Adolf Hitler was appointed as Chancellor of Germany which brought about significant changes to the town of Northeim. Reaching to grasp control at all levels in the town, as if part of a premeditated plan unbeknownst to its people, the Nazi's began to aggressively oppress free speech and thinking in the town. While these civil liberties decreased, violence towards opposing party members drastically increased. This was owed greatly to the Nazi seizure of the town's police force; they did not simply aim to regulate or command the police, but they ultimately became the police, stormtroopers taking the place of previous officers. Such an undertaking allowed them to "do violence without fear of police hindrance." The Nazi's were able to reach their means of absolute power in the town and now faced the task of showing the people of Northeim that "they were willing to use the power apparatus in a ruthless and effective way."

Nazi leaders hoped that by implementing violence, and using such to inspire terror in the townspeople in the months immediately following Hitler's appointment to chancellor, they would be able to avoid needing to use either with the specific purpose of controlling the people at a later time. This led to drastic changes in everyday life for the people of Northeim. As previously mentioned, the town was filled with civil servants, most