Visions of Community in Nazi Germany: Social Engineering and Private Lives
New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
First Edition. Hardcover. 9 1/2" X 6 1/4". xx, 336pp. Mild shelf wear to covers, corners, and edges of unclipped dust jacket. Bound in black cloth over boards with spine lettered in gilt. Binding is firm and sound. Pages are clean and unmarked.
ABOUT THIS BOOK:
When the Nazis seized power in Germany in 1933 they promised to create a new, harmonious society under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. The concept of Volksgemeinschaft--'the people's community'--enshrined the Nazis' vision of society'; a society based on racist, social-Darwinist, anti-democratic, and nationalist thought. The regime used Volksgemeinschaft to define who belonged to the National Socialist 'community' and who did not. Being accorded the status of belonging granted citizenship rights, access to the benefits of the welfare state, and opportunities for advancement, while these who were denied the privilege of belonging lost their right to live. They were shamed, excluded, imprisoned, murdered.
Volksgemeinschaft was the Nazis' project of social engineering, realized by state action, by administrative procedure, by party practice, by propaganda, and by individual initiative. Everyone deemed worthy of belonging was called to participate in its realization. Indeed, this collective notion was directed at the individual, and unleashed an enormous dynamism, which gave social change a particular direction. The Volksgemeinschaft concept was not strictly defined, which meant that it was rather marked by a plurality of meaning and emphasis which resulted in a range of readings in the Third Reich, drawing in people from many social and political backgrounds. (Publisher). Very Good / Very Good. Item #15534
ISBN: 9780199689590
Price: $45.00