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Liberals into Nazis

Liberals into Nazis. George S. Vascik Miami University Hamilton Downtown March 5, 2010. Liberals into Nazis. My project Sources Historical GIS Why were Germans who voted Liberal before World War I early supporters of the Nazis? What did German Liberals believe? What my research shows.

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Liberals into Nazis

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  1. Liberals into Nazis George S. Vascik Miami University Hamilton Downtown March 5, 2010

  2. Liberals into Nazis • My project • Sources • Historical GIS • Why were Germans who voted Liberal before World War I early supporters of the Nazis? • What did German Liberals believe? • What my research shows

  3. My project: Peasants and Jews

  4. Quantity of data • 37 newspapers and records found in 30 archives and libraries • 290,000+ independent; 120,000+ dependent variables for 582 polling places • 2000+ hours to create database; 1500+ hours to create GIS; 200+ hours for conference papers Vascik with 1/35 of his data set

  5. simple GIS

  6. GIS and more discrete units

  7. GIS and data over time

  8. Focus area of this study Hamburg Bremen Berlin

  9. Polling places

  10. village-level election results population and area soil and landscape type land tax livestock holdings confession settlement types railroads, transportation connectivity lists of supporters with occupational information campaigning (ads and tempo) Types of data

  11. Findings on pre-War Agrarianism and anti-Semitism • before the Great War, party-political anti-Semites were contained within a broad Agrarian-led coalition • the most important variables in determining Agrarian voting patterns were tax valuation, population density, and transportation connectivity • landscape form (Marsch, Geest, or Moor) framed the Agrarian/Liberal competition

  12. Agrarian dominance, 1893-1912 Marsch Marsch Geest Geest

  13. The Impact of the Great War • “no War, no Hitler” • The Reichstag election of May 1924 • The success of the Racist (Völkisch) coalition, which included the Nazis

  14. Determinants of Racist success in all villages(single variable) Determinants of Racist success in all villages (multiple variables)

  15. Racist percentage of vote,1924

  16. Racist percentage of vote,1924 VSB

  17. Racist percentage of vote,1924 Wittmund Bremervörde

  18. Völkisch votes in relation to pre-War Agrarian hegemony, May 1924

  19. Völkisch votes in relation to pre-War Liberal hegemony, May 1924

  20. Determinants of Racist success in Liberal villages(single variable) Determinants of Racist success Liberal villages (multiple variables)

  21. Understanding anti-Semitism • Why did the anti-Semitic Racist parties exert such appeal in traditionally Liberal areas after 1918? • “Triumph on the Periphery” • Why was Nazism resisted in Conservative and traditionalist areas? • “Guardians of Tradition or Agents of Change?”

  22. Why Wittmund?

  23. Votes for the VSB in the election of May 1924

  24. Historic political variables

  25. Post-War political landscape

  26. German liberalism • What did German liberals believe? • Nationalism, a strong Germany • Rule of law and constitutional order • Neither “democratic” nor egalitarian • “modern” • Secularist, opposed to religious orthodoxy • Pro-capitalist market economy • Education - “Bildung” • Who was Liberal? • Most economically progressive and market-integrated farmers • Small business owners, merchants • The local “great and good”

  27. Why Liberals became Nazis • Fear of revolution • Economic trauma • Effective Racist propaganda

  28. Why Liberals became Nazis • Fear of revolution • Proximity to port cities and naval bases • Workers’ and Soldiers’ Councils (soviets) • Looting, strikes • Presence of Home Defense Forces • The “Jewish” nature of the revolution • Republican parties seen as supporters and beneficiaries of the revolution Revolutionary marines in Wilhelmshaven

  29. Why Liberals became Nazis • Economic trauma • Confiscatory nature of the war economy and economic controls • Open markets - loss of agricultural protection under the Treaty of Versailles • Inflation and stabilization • Best farmers took on most debt • Credit shortage • 30% interest

  30. Why Liberals became Nazis • Effective propaganda • Formerly Liberal areas had least experience of modern politics • Proximity to small Racist groups in harbor towns • Hard-driving, young activists Jan Blankemeyer

  31. Coming in April • If Liberals were drawn to Nazism, but about Conservatives? • “Loyal to the End: Ludwig Alpers and the Monarchist Opposition to the Rise of National Socialism” Ludwig Alpers

  32. http://www.peasantsandjews.org http://www.muohio.edu/vascikgs/

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