Ultranationalism in Germany and JapanNationalism, the most important single cause of World War I, became even morepotent in the 1920s and 1930s, leading to a second world war many times morecostly and horrifying than the struggle of 1914 to 1918. In Italy and Germanyextreme nationalism was the driving force behind right-wing, antidemocraticmovements personified by Benito Mussolini, whose Fascists seized power in Italyin 1922, and Adolf Hitler, whose Nazis took over Germany in 1933. In Japanultranationalists never subverted the limited democracy established by the 1890constitution, but in the 19305their views inspired millions and became dogmawithin the Japanese military.

These three nations in whieh nationalism ran wild were similar in several re-spects. All three in a sense were recent creations: Italy gained national unity be-tween 1859 and 1870;Germany achieved the same in 1871; and a new Japan wascreated after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. All three had weak parliamentarygovernments and lacked democratic experience. All three resented their treat-ment after World War I: The Germans were humiliated by the Versailles Treaty,and the Italians and Japanese were insulted by the refusal of Great Britain andFrance to recognize all their territorial claims. Finally, all three faced severe post-war economic problems - problems that extreme nationalists claimed could beeliminated by expansion and conquest.

Ultranationalism in each state also had the same tragic result: It led all threenations into catastrophic wars. After conquering Manchuria in 1931, invadingChina in 1937, attacking the United States at Pearl Harbor in 1941, and expand-ing into Southeast Asia, Japan conceded defeat only when atomic bombs devas-tated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.Germany launched World War n

in :!Europewith its attack on Poland in September 1939, but after conqueringmuch of Western :!Europeand invading the Soviet Union in 1941, its armies weresteadily pushed back until the leaders of a devastated land surrendered in May1945. haly entered World War non the side of Germany in 1940, but its armiesperformed poody, and only massive German support prevented its rapid col-lapse. Anti-fascists captured Mussolini and shot him without trial on April 28,1945, just a few days before Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker underthe rubble of what had been Berlin.

Hitler's Dreams

93 w Adolf Hitler; MEIN KAMPFBorn the son of an Austrian customs official and his German wife in 1889, AdolfHider moved to Vienna at the age of nineteen to seek a career as an artist orarchitect. His efforts failed, however, and he lived at the bottom of Viennesesociety, drifting from one low-paying job to another. In 1912he moved to Munich,where his life fell into the same purposeless pattern. JEnlistment in the Germanarmy in World War I rescued Hitler, giving him comradeship and a sense of di-rection he had lacked. After the war a shattered Hitler returned to Munich, wherein 1919 he joined the small German Workers' Party, which in 1920 changed itsname to the National Socialist German Workers' Party, or Nazis.

After becoming leader of the National Socialists, Hitler staged an abortive coupd'etat against the government of the German state of Bavaria in 1923. for this hewas sentenced to a five-year prison term (serving only nine months), during whichhe wrote the first volume of his major work, Mein Kampf (My Struggle). To aremarkable degree this work, completed in 1925, provided the ideas that inspiredhis millions of followers and guided the National Socialists until their destruc-tion in 1945.

1. What broad purpose does Hitler see in human existence?2. What, in Hitler's view, are the basic dissimilarities between Aryans and

Jews?3. What is Hitler's view of political leadership?4. What role do parliaments play in a "folkish" state, according to Hitler?5. How does Hitler plan to reorient German foreign policy? What goals does

he set for Germany, and how are they to be achieved?6. Based on what Hitler says in these excerpts, what can you guess about his

objections to the ideologies of democracy, liberalism, and socialism?7. How do Hitler's views of race compare to those of van Treitschke (source

66) and Henry Cabot Lodge (source 70)?

There are some truths that are so plain and obvi-ous that for this very reason the everyday worlddoes not see them or at least does not apprehendthem ....

So humans invariably wander about the gar-den of nature, convinced that they know and un-derstand everything, yet with few exceptions areblind to one of the fundamental principles Na-ture uses in her work: the intrinsic segregationof the species of every living thing on the earth.... Each beast mates with only one of its ownspecies: the titmouse with titmouse, finch withfinch, stork with stork, field mouse with fieldmouse, house mouse with house mouse, wolf withwolf. ... This is only natural.

Any cross-breeding between two not com-pletely equal beings will result in a product thatis in between the level of the two parents. Thatmeans that the offspring will be superior to theparent who is at ~ biologically lower level of be-ing but inferior to the parent at a higher level.This means the offspring will be overcome inthe struggle for existence against those at thehigher level. Such matings go against the will ofNature for the higher breeding of life.

A precondition for this lies not in the blend-ing of beings of a higher and lower order, butrather the absolute victory of the stronger. Thestronger must dominate and must not blend withthe weaker orders and sacrifice their powers. Onlyborn weaklings can find this cruel, but after all,they are only weaker and more narrow-mindedtypes of men; unless this law dominated, thenany conceivable higher evolution of living or-ganisms would be unthinkable ....

Nature looks on this calmly and approvingly.The struggle for daily bread allows all those whoare weak, sick, and indecisive to be defeated,

JAryan, strictly speaking, is a linguistic term referring to abranch of the Indo-European family oflanguages known asIndo-Iranian. It is also used to refer to a people who around2000 B.C.E. began to migrate from their homeland in thesteppes of western Asia to Iran, India, Mesopotamia, AsiaMinor, and Europe. Their related family oflanguages, basedon an even older language known as Proto-Indo-European, isbelieved to be the ancestor of all Indo-European languages,

while the struggle of the males for females givesto the strongest alone the right or at least thepossibility to reproduce. Always this struggle isa means of advancing the health and power ofresistance of the species, and thus a means to itshigher evolution.

As little as nature approves the mating ofhigher and lower individuals, she approves evenless the blending of higher races with lower ones;for indeed otherwise her previous work towardhigher development perhaps over hundreds ofthousands of years might be rendered useless withone blow. If this were not the case, progressivedevelopment would stop and even deteriorationmight set in ....

All the great civilizations of the past died outbecause contamination of their blood causedthem to become decadent .... In other words,in order to protect a certain culture, the type ofhuman who created the culture must be pre-served. But such preservation is tied to the inal-terable law of the necessity and the right ofvictory of the best and the strongest.

Whoever would live must fight. Whoever willnot fight in this world of endless competitiondoes not deserve to live. Whoever ignores or de-spises these laws of race kills the good fortunethat he believes he can attain. He interferes withthe victory path of the best race and with it, theprecondition for all human progress ....

It is an idle undertaking to argue about whichrace or races were the original standard-bearersof human culture and were therefore the truefounders of everything we conceive by the word .humanity. It is much simpler to deal with thequestion as it pertains to the present, and herethe answer is simple and clear. What we see be-fore us today as human culture, all the yields ofart, science, and technology, are almost exclu-sively the creative product of the Aryans.l In-

including Greek, Latin, Celtic, Persian, Sanskrit, and Balto-Slavonic, as well as their derivatives. In the nineteenth cen-tury, Aryan was used to refer to the racial group that spokethese languages. According to Hitler and the Nazis, theAryans provided Europe's original racial stock and stood incontrast to other peoples such as the Jews, who spoke Semiticlanguages.

deed this fact alone leads to the not unfoundedconclusion that the Aryan alone is the founderof the higher type of humanity, and further thathe represents the prototype of what we under-stand by the word: MAN. He is the Prometheus2

from whose brow the bright spark of genius hasforever burst forth, time and again rekindlingthe fire, which as knowledge has illuminated thenight full of silent mysteries, and has permittedhumans to ascend the path of mastery over theother beings of the earth. Eliminate him - anddeep darkness will again descend on the earthafter a few thousand years; human civilizationwill die out and the earth will become a desert.

If we were to divide mankind into three cate-gories - the founders of culture, the bearers ofculture, and the destroyers of culture, only theAryans can be considered to be in the first cate-gory. From them are built the foundations andwalls of all human creations, and only the out-ward form and colors of these are to be attrib-uted to varying characteristics of the otherindividual peoples. He provides the mightiestbuilding stones and designs for all humanprogress ....

The Jew provides the greatest contrast to theAryan. With no other people of the world hasthe instinct for self-preservation been so devel-oped as by the so-called chosen race.3 The bestproof of this statement rests in the fact that thisrace still exists. Where can another people befound in the past 2,000 years that has undergoneso few changes in its inner qualities, character,ete. as the Jews? What people has undergoneupheavals as great as this one - and nonethe-less has emerged unchanged from the greatestcatastrophes of humanity? What an infinitelytenacious will to live and to preserve one's kindis revealed in this fact ....

2In Greek mythology Prometheus was the titan (titans wereoffspring of Uranus, Heaven, and Gaea, Earth) who stolefire from the gods and gave it to humans, along with allother arts and civilization. He was also variously regardedas the creator of man (from clay), the first mortal man (alongwith his brother Epimetheus), and humanity's preserverwhen Zeus threatened to kill all human beings.

Since the Jew ... never had a civilization ofhis own, others have always provided the foun-dations of his intellectual labors. His intellecthas always developed by the use of those cul-tural achievements he has found ready at handaround him. Never has it happened the otherway around.

For though their drive for self-preservatibn isnot srpaller, but larger than that of other people,and though their mental capabilities may easilygive the impression that their intellectual pow-ers are equal to those of other races, the Jewslack the most basic characteristic of a ttuly cul-tured people, namely an idealistic spirit.

It is a remarkable fact that the herd instinctbrings people together formutual protection onlyso long as there is a common danger that makesmutual assistance necessary or unavoidable. Thesame pack of wolves that an instant ago com-bined to overcome their prey will soon after sat-isfying their hunger again become individualbeasts .... It goes the same way with the Jews.His sense of self sacrifice is only apparent. It lastsonly so long as it is strictly necessary. As soon asthe common enemy departs, however, as soon asthe danger is gone and the booty secured, thesuperficial harmony among the Jews ends, andoriginal conditions return. Jews act together onlywhen a common danger threatens them or a com-mon prey attracts them. When these two thingsare lacking, then their characteristic of thecrassest egoism returns as a force, and out of thisonce unified people emerges in a flash a swarmof rats fighting bloodily against one another.

If the Jews existed in the world by themselves,they would wallow in their filth and disasters;they would try to get the best of the other in ahate-filled struggle, and even exterminate oneanother, that is, if their absolute lack of a sense

3A reference to the Jewish conviction that God had chosenthe Jews to enter into a special relationship or covenant inwhich God promised to be the God of the Hebrews andfavor them in return for true worship and obedience.

of self sacrifice, which is expressed in their ve-nality, did not turn this drama into comedyalso ....

That is why the Jewish state - which shouldbe the living organism for the maintenance andimprovement of the race - has absolutely noborders. For the territorial definition of a statealways demands a certain idealism of spirit onthe part of the race which forms the state andespecially an acceptance of the idea of work. ...If this attitude is lacking then the prerequisitefor civilization is lacking.

c> Hitler describes the process by which Jews inconcert with communists have come close tosubvet-ting and controlling the peoples and na-tions in Europe.

Here he stops at nothing, and his vileness be-comes so monstrous that no one should be sur-prised if among our. people the hateful figure ofthe Jew is taken as the personification of the deviland the symbol of evil. ...

How close they see their approaching victorycan be seen in the frightful way that their deal-ings with members of other races develop.

The black-haired Jewish youth, with satanicjoy on his face, lurks in wait for hours for theinnocent girls he plans to defile with his blood,and steal the young girl from her people. Withevery means at hand he seeks to undermine theracial foundations of the people they would sub-jugate .... For a people which is racially pureand is conscious of its blood, will never be ableto be subjugated by the Jews. The Jew in thisworld will forever only be the masters of bas-tardized people ....

Around those nations which have offeredsturdy resistance to their internal attacks, theysurround them with a web of enemies; thanks totheir international influence, they incite them

4The word Hitler uses, viilkisch, is an adjective derived fromYolk, meaning "people" or "nation," which Hitler definedin a racial sense; thus a "folkish" state is one that expresses

to war, and when necessary, will plant the flag ofrevolution, even on the battlefield.

In economics he shakes the foundations of thestate long enough so that unprofitable businessenterprises are shut down and come under hisfinancial control. In politics he denies the stateits means of self-preservation, destroys its meansof self-maintenance and defense, annihilates faithin state leadership, insults its history and tradi-tions, and drags everything that is truly greatinto the gutter.

Culturally, he pollutes art, literature and thea-ter, makes a mockery of natural sensibilities, de-stroys every concept of beauty and nobility, theworthy and the good, and instead drags othermen down to the sphere of its own lowly type ofeX1stence.

Religion is made an object of mockery, moral-ity and ethics are described as old-fashioned, untilfinally the last props of a people for maintainingtheir existence in this world are destroyed.

PERSONALITY AND THE IDEALOF THE FOLKISH4 STATE

The folkish world view differs from the Marxist worldview fundamentally in that it not only recognizesthevalue of race} but also that of the individual} andmakes these the pillars of its ve1'ystructure. These arethe sustaining factors in its view of the world.

The folkish state must care for the well-beingof its citizens by recognizing in everything theworth of the person, and by doing so direct it tothe highest level of its productive capability, thusguaranteeing for each the highest level of par-ticipation.

Accordingly, the folkish state must free theentire leadership, especially those in politicalleadership, from the parliamentary principle ofmajority rule by the multitude, so that the rightof personality is guaranteed without any limita-

the charaCteristics of and furthers the interests of a particu-lar race, in this case, the Aryans.

tion. From this is derived the following realiza-tion. The best state constitution and form is that whichwith unquestioned certainty raises the best minds fromthe national community to positions of leading au-thority and influence ....

There are no majority decisions, rather onlyresponsible individuals, and the word "advice"will once again have its original meaning. Eachman will have advisers at his side, but the decisionwill be made by one man.

The principle that made the Prussian army inits time the most splendid instrument of theGerman people will have to become someday rhefoundation for the coristruction of our completedstate: authority of every leader downward and re-sponsibility upward ....

This principle of binding absolute responsi-bility with absolute authority will graduallybring forth an elite group ofleaders which todayin an era of irresponsible parliamentarianism ishardly thinkable.

THE DIRECTION AND POLITICSOF EASTERN EUROPE

The foreign policy of the folkish state has as its pur-pose to guarantee the existence on this planet of the racethat it gathers within its borders. With this in mindit must create a natural and healthy ratio between thenumber and growth of the population and the extentand quality of the land and soil. The balance must besuch that it accords with the vital needs of the people.What I call a healthy ratio is one in which thesupport of the people is assured by its own landand soil. Any other condition, even if it lasts cen-turies or a thousand years, is nevertheless an un-healthy one and will lead sooner or later todamage, if not the total destruction of the af-fected people. Only a sufficiently large space on theearth can assure the independent existence of apeopk ...

If the National Socialist Movement really is to beconsecrated in history as fulfilling a great mission forthe people, it must, spurred by knowledge and filledwith pain over its true situation on this earth, boldly

and with a clear sense of direction, take up the battleagainst the aimlessness and incompetence of our for-eign policy. It must, without consideration of ((tradi-tions)) orpreconceived notions, find the courage to gatherour people and their forces and advance them on thepath from their present restricted living space to newland and soil. This will free the people from the dan-gen of disappearing from the earth altogether or be-coming a slave people in the service of another.

The National Socialist movement must seek to elimi-nate the disproportion between our people's populationand our territory - viewing this as a source of foodas weil as a basis for national power - and betweenour historical past and our present hopeless impotence.While doing so it must remain conscious of thefact that we as protectOrs of the highest human-ity on earth are bound also by the highest dutythat will be fulfilled only if we inspire the Ger-man people with the racial ideal, so that theywill occupy themselves not just with the breed-ing of good dogs, horses, and cats but also showconcern about the purity of their own blood.

Against everything else we National Social-ists must hold unflinchingly to our goal of for-eign policy, namely, to securef01' the German peoplethe land on this ea1,th to which they are entitled ....

State boundaries are made by man and can bechanged by man.

The fact that a nation has acquired a largeamount of land is no mandate that this shouldbe recognized forever. This only goes to provethe strength of the conqueror and the weaknessof the conquered. And only in force lies the rightof possession. If today the German people areimprisoned within an impossible territorial areaand for that reason are face to face with a miser-able future, this is not the commandment of fate,any more than a revolt against such a situationwould be a violation of the laws of fate; ... thesoil on which we now live was not bestowed uponour ancestors by Heaven; rather, they had to con-quer it by risking their lives. So with us, in thefuture we will win soil and with it the means ofexistence of the people not through some sort offolkish grace but only through the power of thetriumphant sword.

But we National Socialists must go further:The right to land and soil will becomean obligationif without further territorial expansion a great peopleis th1'eatenedwith its dest1'uction.And that is par-ticularly true when the people in question is notsome little nigger people, but the Germanmother of life, which has given cultural shape tothe modern world. Germany will either becomeaworld power or will no longerexist. To achieve worldpower an expansion in size is needed, which willgive the state meaning in raday's world and willgive life to its citizens ....

And so we National Socialists consciously draw aline below the direction of ourforeign policy beforethewar. We take up where we broke off six hundred yearsago. We put a stop to the eternal pull of the Ge1'manstoward the south and western Europe and turn ourgaze to the lands of the east. we put an end to thecolonial and commercial policy of the prewar periodand shift to the land-01'ientedpolicy of the future.

When today we speak of new territory and soilin Europe, we think primarily of Russia and hersubservient border states.