In our second episode on the topic of Gleichschaltung or the "coordination" of German civil society, we explore the responsibility individuals had in the process of conforming to Nazi ideology. Simply put, I argue that while the Nazis did use violence and terror to intimidate Germans into obedience, social forces including economic opportunism and the desire to be "left alone" also led people to submit willingly to totalitarianism. In particular, the episodes explores case studies such as Gustav Krupp (of Krupp industries), the history of German soccer and changing cultural practices such as greeting - each of which illustrates a major reason why people chose submission over their own personal freedom.
Post script: for those interested in the topic, I highly recommend reading Andrew Stuart Bergerson, Ordinary Germans in Extraordinary Times (2004), which discusses greetings and other cultural ways of normalizing Nazism in greater detail.
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