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Assess the view that the German people were active and enthusiastic supporters of the Holocaust

1. To what extent did the Nazi regime rely on coercion and propaganda and to what extent did its policies have the broad support of the German people?
This is a highly contentious issue. After the war, there was a consensus in the west that Germany had almost been an occupied country which had been liberated from the minority of extremists who had held the country captive. They had gained power in an unprecedented crisis, misled the people, never had a majority, relied on the Gestapo, SS and SA to crush any opposition and constantly bombarded the people with propaganda. By these means an unrepresentative clique held down the population until the war came, when people had little choice except to support Hitler as he stood between them and total defeat and occupation. This made it easier for the western powers to support West German democracy and it was very acceptable to Germans needing to go forward and defend themselves against Russia. However, this view has been seriously challenged. It has been argued that dictatorial traditions in the nineteenth century set Germany on a ‘special road’ towards Nazism, and the Nazi outlook was acceptable because of this special development – the so-called ‘Sonderweg’ school. Then research cast doubt on whether support was so limited. Local studies revealed that the population acquiesced in many aspects of Nazi Germany to such a degree that Gestapo forces were quite limited and relied a lot on denunciations by the population. Resistance has been seen as quite limited not so much because of repression, but indifference. Propaganda has been seen as unlikely to persuade as to confirm existing views and outlooks. There have been claims that anti-Semitic policies were popular.
German voting habits- opinions Ian Kershaw
Active and enthusiastic daniel goldhagen

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