The German Dictatorship: The Origins, Structure And Consequences of National Socialism

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Bracher advocated the view that Nazi Germany was a totalitarian regime, although Bracher maintained that the "totalitarian typology" as developed by Carl Joachim Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski was too rigid, and that totalitarian models needed to be based upon careful empirical research. [21] In Bracher's view, Friedrich's and Brzezinski's work failed to take into account the "revolutionary dynamic", which Bracher argued was the "core principle" of totalitarianism. [21] For Bracher, the essence of totalitarianism was the total claim to control and remake all aspects of society together with an all-embracing ideology, the value on authoritarian leadership, and the pretence of the common identity of state and society, which distinguished the totatitarian "closed" understanding of politics from the "open" democratic understanding. [21] In Bracher's view, "politics is the struggle for the power of the state", and in his opinion, the traditional methods of the historian have to be supplemented by the methods of political science to properly understand political history. [22] Speaking of historical work in his own area of speciality, namely the Weimar-Nazi periods, Bracher stated: Bracher sharply criticized the Social Democrats for not resisting the Preußenschlag launched by Franz von Papen that saw the Social Democratic government of Otto Braun ousted by presidential decree. [13] Bracher wrote that the Reichswehr would probably have crushed any resistance, but "there remained the possibility of a lasting demonstration, a manifestation of the unbroken will of democracy to assert itself against a temporarily superior force. This might, beyond all justified practical calculations, have make it possible to save the democratic consciousness from the psychological and moral collapse of the republican forces; it made have made the way harder for the new rulers; delayed future developments and lessened their effects." [14] In Die Deutsche Diktatur (1969), Bracher offered one of the first German-language interpretations placing Hitler’s anti-Semitism and racism at the center of the Nazi policies leading to dictatorship, war, and the Holocaust. Yet as historians divided into camps focused on either right-wing or left-wing forms of totalitarianism, Bracher remained the quintessential liberal, directing his gaze at the threats to democracy from both directions. Germany’s intellectual and public life had numerous articulate and impassioned advocates for liberal democracy, but Bracher was noteworthy for his focus on “the double threat” of totalitarianism of both the Nazi and Communist variants. Bracher was mainly concerned with the problems of preserving and developing democracy. [1] Bracher was consistent in all his works in arguing for the value of human rights, pluralism and constitutional values, together with urging that Germans align themselves with the democratic values of the West. [1] He saw democracy as a frail institution and has argued that only a concerned citizenry can guarantee it. [1] This theme began with Bracher's first book in 1948, Verfall und Fortschritt im Denken der frühen römischen Kaiserzeit which concerned the downfall of the Roman Republic and the rise of Augustus. His 1955 book Die Auflösung der Weimarer Republik ( The Disintegration of the Weimar Republic) is his best known book, in which he ascribed the collapse of German democracy not to the Sonderweg ("special path" of German historical development) or other impersonal forces but to human action that followed conscious choice. [1] In that book, Bracher rejected not only the Sonderweg thesis, but also the Marxist theory of National Socialism as the result of a capitalist "conspiracy", the theory that the Treaty of Versailles caused the collapse of the Weimar Republic, and the view that the Nazi dictatorship was simply the work of "fate". [1] Bracher's methodology in Die Auflösung der Weimarer Republik involving a mixture of political science and history was considered to be highly innovative and controversial in the 1950s. [1] The German historian Eberhard Kolb wrote Die Auflösung der Weimarer Republik was "still unsurpassed as a work of research" on the end of the Weimar Republic. [2] Bracher wrote that though almost all Germans rejected the Treaty of Versailles, this dislike of Versailles had nothing with do with the coming of "presidential government" in March 1930 or rise of the Nazi Party starting with the September 1930 Reichstag election. [3] Furthermore, Bracher wrote that under Weimar, the judicial system had already politicized as the judges, almost all of whom had begun their careers in the Imperial era, had a tendency to impose very lenient sentences for political crimes done in the name of the right. [4] In Die Auflösung der Weimarer Republik, Bracher wrote the judiciary was in part responsible for the collapse of the Weimar republic, "contributing to its overthrow by authoritarian and totalitarian movements." [4] Looking at present-day Germany, Bracher notes that many of the conditions that prompted the rise of the Nazi movement still exist—“the social and ideological feelings of imminent crisis, antidemocratic and völkisch-nationalist emotions, authoritarianism and antimodernism,” along with a refusal to accept historical experience.

While the world has changed to be almost unrecognisable to what Henry Bracher would have known in 1895, what hasn’t changed for the business is our focus on our clients and the quality of advice. turn against the "old-liberal" totalitarianism theory and talk about a relativizing interpretation, which emphasizes the "improvisational" politics of power and domination of National Socialism. Leftish interpretations would like to leave behind the questions of guilt and responsibility in favor of a more modern, realistic analysis. But in doing this they slide into the danger of a newer underestimation and trivialization of National Socialism itself. Their analysis also brings with it, in another way, the vague leftist talk about fascism and reaction" [25] editor) Quellen zur Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Parteien, Bd 4/1 Politik und Wirtschaft in der Krise 1930–1932 Quellen Ära Brüning Tel I, Bonn, 1980.

Over 140 Years of Experience

Arguing that the collapse of the Weimar Republic was not inevitable and that Nazi Germany was a totalitarian dictatorship.

co-edited with Annedore Leber & Willy Brandt Das Gewissen steht auf: 64 Lebensbilder aus dem deutschen Widerstand 1933–1945, 1956, translated into English as The Conscience in Revolt: Portraits of the German Resistance 1933–1945, Mainz: Hase & Koehler, 1994 ISBN 3-7758-1314-4.Karl Dietrich Bracher, professor of political science and contemporary history at the University of Bonn and the author of major studies on the dissolution of the Weimar Republic and on the Nazi seizure of power, is one of the new generation of German historians who in recent years have come to confront their national past without evasion or self-pity. In The German Dictatorship (the first of his books to be published in English) it is no exaggeration to say that he has produced a work of unparalleled distinction, combining the most scrupulous objectivity with a passionate commitment to the democratic ethos. As Bracher writes in the preface: “This book is dedicated to the hope that a sober picture of the German dictatorship may help Germany avoid both old and new dangers, primarily the traditional authoritarian concept of the state, but also a radical utopianism—both expressions of intolerance and conceit, and, moreover, profoundly unpolitical modes of behavior.” Today, we remain a law firm renowned for building lasting relationships with clients and delivering high quality advice. The firm is run by an executive board which makes all major decisions with these objectives in mind. The firm has changed a lot over the years but its core values and culture are still recognisable.

The team of funeral directors and arrangers at our Sherborne funeral home will provide support throughout, offering guidance and comfort; helping to ease some of the emotional strain you may presently be under. Our friendly team of funeral directors is available to ease your concerns and take care of all the funeral arrangements. By sitting down with you and talking through your needs, we will establish what type of funeral you want for your loved one and let you know how we can achieve this.Karl Dietrich Bracher (13 March 1922 – 19 September 2016) was a German political scientist and historian of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Born in Stuttgart, Bracher was awarded a Ph.D. in the classics by the University of Tübingen in 1948 and subsequently studied at Harvard University from 1949 to 1950. During World War II, he served in the Wehrmacht and was captured by the Americans while serving in Tunisia in 1943. Bracher taught at the Free University of Berlin from 1950 to 1958 and at the University of Bonn since 1959. In 1951, Bracher married Dorothee Schleicher, the niece of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. They had two children. [1] Historical views [ edit ] Researching the collapse of Weimar [ edit ] Das deutsche Dilemma: Leidenswege der politischen Emanzipation, 1971, translated into English as The German Dilemma: The Throes of Political Emancipation, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1975 ISBN 0-297-76790-9. Kershaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation, London: Arnold; New York: Copublished in the US by Oxford University Press, 2000 ISBN 0-340-76028-1. Dawidowicz, Lucy S. The Holocaust and the Historians, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1981, ISBN 0-674-40566-8.