Chelsea
New Member
yeah exactly what he/she said!
hmm, I think its easier to argue that it wasn't a totalitarian society.Originally posted by Lazy
You will have a lot of trouble in the HSC if you argue that the Third Reich was not totalitarian
Sure u need to take into account that we are applying our values now onto a time over 50 years previous but on the other hand you need to remember that historians who have been writting about this issue 20,30 years onwards or more have access to MORE information than those writting at the time of the event. AJP Taylor and the 30 year rule is a prime example of this where after 30 years in Britain all of the secret war documents were released and as a result of which he revised his history.Originally posted by Arch-man
That's my argument that the Friedrich 6 point system for totalitarianism is anachronistic. It was made AFTER the fall of Nazi Germany, and, as each period fo history needs to be studied on it's own terms, we are applying a new historical definition of totalitarianism on an era where totalitarianism as a concept wasn't even invented.
What has been done, instead of letting the event shape the concept, the concept is shaping the event.
I do not think Nazi Germany was a true totalitarian state (by Friedrich's definition anyway - And I am only using his definition because it seemed easier to construct an essay from it) but in no way does that undermine Nazi Germany.Originally posted by Arch-man
My own thoughts (and somewhat bias as I have an enormous amount of respect for Hitler's methods) lead me to think that the people who are in agreement with Friedrich are trying to undermine Nazi Germany by saying it wasn't a totalitarian state.
ssssshh, I was trying to pretend history wasn't that soon.Originally posted by lane
Anyway good luck for next friday everyone.