Germany: The Story of Nationalism Gone Wrong

A computer is composed of multiple parts. Without one or more them, like the monitor
and systems unit, it is no longer a computer. Similarly a nation, in most basic terms, is composed
of multiple components that define it. A nation is a group of people who share culture, ethnicity,
language and government. Without one of these components a nation is nothing more then a
region. From ethnicity to culture, luckily, Germany does have all the workings to be a nation. As
a nation in the early 20th century Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement would bring glory to
Germany as he and the German people conquered half of Europe in a five year span. During this
time Hitler spread strong but extreme nationalism. People would follow his extreme nationalism
as they were willing to let innocent people be brutally murdered as shown by the Holocaust. This
extreme nationalism, based on ethnic nationalism, in Germany would continue even after the fall
of Nazi Germany thanks to Neo Nazism. However, Germany still has potential for unity and
positive nationalism in the future. Positive nationalism is when people put the nation about
territories and regions in a nonviolent way. The destruction of the Berlin Wall led to the unity of
not just East Germany and West Germany but the German people. Traditions such as
Oktoberfest and Karnival continue to grow and spread thanks not to ethnic nationalism but of
nationalism based on Germany’s rich culture aside from wars and politics. Overall the German
Nation had and, even today, has extreme nationalism as shown by Nazism and Neo-Nazism;
however through the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the ever- expanding traditions they show
potential for unity and positive nationalism which could allow them to overcome radical
nationalism in the future.

Germany is nation thanks to its population of people who share culture, ethnicity,
language, and a government. Germany is the fifteenth most populated nation with 82 million
people. It is fair to say that Germany is a people. Only approximately eight percent of Germans
are of other ethnicities including Spanish and Greek. Germany clearly share an ethnicity as 91.5
percent of Germans are of the German ethnic group. Germany also shares a common language
of German. This allows the Germans to have no language barriers. The Germans, as stated
earlier, are governed by a federal republic which was formed in 1991 after the reunification of
Germany. This government has a legal system as shown by the German constitution, known as
The Basic Law, as well as judicial review. The government is based on a three branch
government in which Chancellor Merkel is head of government and the Executive Branch. Most
of all Germans share a rich culture of literature, science, music, cuisine, and above all traditions.
Literature includes many famous works such as Wolfram von Eschenburg’s famous epic
Parzizal. Germany is also known for some of the most famous inventors, engineers, and
scientists in the world including Albert Einstein and Gabriel Dan Fahrenheit (inventor of the
thermometer). In the modern day 99 Luftballoons, by Nena, is the most famous German single.
In the past Germany has been the birthplace and home of many great composers including Bach
and Orff. As for cuisine the Germans are known for their distinct types of sausages, pretzels, and
beers (or as the Germans call them beir). Most important in making Germany a nation is their
rich traditions. (Geneology 7-10)Traditions such as Karnival and Oktoberfest unite and help
Germans overcome radical nationalism such as Nazism and Neo-Nazism.

Germany is a nation that is entrenched in affairs in Europe thanks largely to its

geographic location. Germany is in between the Netherlands and Poland but also borders many
other Central European nations. From 1945-1990 Germany was two separate regions known as
East and West Germany. West Germany was democratic while East Germany was communistic.
Berlin, even though in the East, was split in half between both regions. Berlin would be split by a
wall which upon its destruction would lead to great nationalism. In modern times Germany is
right in the middle of Europe. It borders two major bodies of water know as the Baltic Sea and
North Sea. This allows Germany to be ingrained in European affairs from politics to economics.
Economically Germany trades with nations across Europe but their main trade partners are
France and the Netherland. Germany imports and exports 307 billion dollars worth of good from
these two nations alone. Germany therefore has a huge role in Europe economically. They also
show their role in Europe as part of the European Union. The European Union is a political and
economic union of 27 nations in Europe. Germany is currently the top economy in Europe as
well as the third largest in the world. Thanks to their geographic location and powerful economy
Germany held the EU presidency in 2007. (Countries 9) Germany, through their EU presidency,
strengthened the continents economy and brought better environmental standards to Europe.

Statistics play a huge role in understanding the German people. Ethnically, as stated
earlier, 91.5% of Germans are ethnically German. The next highest ethnicity, thanks to a large
immigration in recent years, is Turkish with 2.4 %. As for religion, the German people have for
centuries and still today been predominantly Christian. They are 74 % Christian and 26% other
religions including Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish. There is no language barrier in Germany and
thus the language is 100% German. The literacy rate in Germany is 99.5% which shows how
educated the German people are. This statistic shows that only 1 in 200 Germans cannot read.
Germany is one of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron,
steel, and vehicles. They are famous for their prestigious car companies such as BMW and
Mercedes Benz. (CIA 1) (Germany’s economic rank is 3rd in the world due largely to their
success in producing these three items.

Religion and ethnicity play a major role in shaping the strong radical nationalism that has
plagued Germany for over a half a century. Strong radical nationalism in Germany formed due to
Nazism. Nazi Germany and today’s Neo-Nazi movement is based on the idea that the “impure”
must be liberated. The impure are the minority groups who, in the eyes of Nazi’s, caused all
wrongs in the world and in Germany. Germany is religiously, heavily Christian. They are also,
ethnically, to a great extent German. With a heavily Christian people who almost all share the
same ethnicity it can be easier to convince people (who are naturally biased toward their own
groups) that the minority faiths and ethnicities (such as the Jews) must be rid of. Overall religion
and ethnicity play a huge role in German’s extreme nationalism.

Language and literacy rates play their own roles in making nationalism stronger and
allowing for positive nationalism in the future. In certain nations, such as Spain, multiple
languages cause regional barriers among the people and thus hurt nationalism. With no language
barriers Germans can communicate with one another which thus leads them to have a greater
identity as one people. This feeling of unity as one German people (not East or West) leads to
stronger nationalism. Language does not, however, have a direct correlation with positive or
radical nationalism. (Evans 55) No matter what language or languages Germans speak, as Jan
Frings of Munich University has stated, “the Germans will form their own unique nationalism”
(Genealogy 6). Literacy rates show the vast majority of Germans are educated. Radical
nationalism such as Nazism becomes strong with uneducated people who cannot see past the
propaganda. Germans can be optimistic for the future as their populace will be educated enough
to see past the Neo-Nazi propaganda. Instead, Germans hope, these knowledgeable people will
focus their attention on positive nationalism which can help the country grow stronger in the
future.

Germany’s major industries and economic power can help them overcome extreme
nationalism and can indirectly help positive nationalism grow. Hitler and Nazism rose for a
multitude of reasons. One of the main reason was Germany was in a bad economic state at the
time. In a bad economic state, where people are starving and dying, people are willing to go to
extremes whether it be revolution or Nazism Similarly Neo-Nazism grew strongest in East
Germany when the economy was based on communism and thus in a bad state. (Identity 2)With
major industries and more affluence per capita (thanks to their economic rank) the people will
not move their views toward Nazism. If the German economic state can stay on top and continue
to grow it can help the German people overcome Neo-Nazism. On top of this with affluence
generally come better schooling. This leads to a more educated people, and as stated earlier, the
more educated the less the support for Nazism. With a more educated people also leads to a
larger focus on positive nationalism. Therefore, Germany’s economic power, can indirectly take
the formers (radical nationalism) place in Germany.

Many events shaped Germany’s extreme nationalism but the Holocaust had one of the
most profound effects. After being defeated in World War I Germany was humiliated. Hitler
wanted to restore Germany’s glory as a power in Europe. He believed the way of doing this was
for Germany to unite under strong nationalism. He believed this nationalism would help reshape
the country to its former self. His nationalism, however, was extreme as Hitler himself defined
the word as a “boundless all embracing love for the Volk (the people) and if necessary, people
must be willing to die for it”(Evans 27). Innocent people would end up dying for it in one of the
largest genocides ever known as the Holocaust. The Holocaust was genocide of all people the
Nazi’s believed were “impure”. Nationalism did become strong in Nazi Germany. People united
for the nation, but were willing to go to all ends for it. People put the nation over the lives of
human beings. Strong positive nationalism is when the nation is supreme to territories or regions
in a nonviolent way. This extreme nationalism was all too violent as it showed Jews and others
persecuted by the Nazi government that the nation was all powerful over its people. Everyone
from the postman to the pharmaceutical companies to top ranking officials in Germany were
involved in the persecution, terrible conditions, and death of these minority victims. People were
willing during this regime to have their co-workers, neighbors and most of all fellow countryman
taken away to their deaths for no legitimate reason other then their own love for Nazi Germany.
Over 6 million European Jews were killed. 11 million peoples of other minority groups were also
killed. These people included Romani people, Freemasons, and even Jehovah’s Witness’
(Identity 1). Tim Rein of the University of Munich said it best as he described the Holocaust as,
“a bizarre grotesque fantasy of nationalism” (Countries 2). The Holocaust showed strong
nationalism gone radical.

After the fall of Nazi Germany Neo-Nazism would continue the negative extreme
nationalism that the Nazi’s had begun. After the fall of the Third Reich Germany the new
German governments of East and West Germany tried to prevent Nazism from once again
spreading. They made laws against Nazism which were punishable with fines and jail time.
However, even with strict government regulation Neo-Nazism began to appear across Germany.
Waving the nations flag was closely associated with the Nazi movement and propaganda. Neo-
Nazi’s began their movement in East Germany through large rallies. They used the beautiful tri-
color German flag which hundreds of years before stood for determination and generosity as
symbolism for their movement knowing the government couldn’t prosecute them. As stated
earlier because of East Germany’s weak economic state Neo-Nazism grew stronger in East
Germany. From the 1990’s to the present there are still extreme nationalistic demonstrations,
similar to those of the days of Nazi Germany, held by Neo-Nazis. (Hutchinson 10) One of these
is held on the yearly anniversary of the bombing of Dresden in which thousands of Neo-Nazi’s
come together. The NPD, a German political party, holds Neo-Nazi views including ethnic
nationalism, similar to Hitler’s ethnic nationalism which included the Holocaust. The NPD at the
moment holds 14 seats in regional parliaments but is a growing power. In the last 4 years this
party went from having 3 to 14 seats in regional parliament. Another statistic which is rising is
the number of hate crimes committed by Neo-Nazi’s. In 1991 there were 849 hate crimes
committed by Neo-Nazi’s while in 2009 there were over 2000. (Countries 5)In order to increase
the number of Neo-Nazi’s in the future the group has targeted youth. In 2010 alone they set up
13 kindergartens across Germany. Overall the strong severe nationalism of Hitler’s days has in
many ways passed the test of time.
 Germans should not feel hopeless as there is unity and positive nationalism spreading as
first shown by the destruction of the Berlin Wall in the early 90’s. After World War II Germany,
as mentioned previously, was divided into an East and West Germany. Berlin was also split into
an East and West. The Berlin Wall was built to help keep the two parts of Berlin separate. This
caused hardship for families divided by the wall. There was also suffering for workers as many
East Germans were employed by West Germans and vise versa. Interestingly the Berlin Wall
began as barbed wire and soon became a concrete wall with border towers and bunkers. Over
200 East Germans were killed trying to defect across the wall. However, on November 9, 1989 a
gigantic step toward positive nationalism occurred. After large demonstrations of over one
million East Germans and pressure by West Germans for political reform the wall was opened.
On both sides celebrations began as families and friends were reunited. Both East and West
Germans began to peck at the wall and over time it was completely destroyed. Just as East and
West Berlin people united political unification began as East Germany went from communistic
to a democratically elected government like West Germany. On July 1, 1990 the two German
states finally entered into economic and monetary union. Germany was once again one nation.
(Identity 7) The destruction of the Berlin Wall brought reunification of Germany and just as
importantly positive nationalism. Thus unity and positive nationalism can even be shown today
as the united German people are behind their national teams, celebrate holidays together, and
follow national traditions. People no longer referred to themselves as Eastern or Western
German, but instead German. Overall the destruction of the Berlin Wall was the first showing of
positive nationalism as it began as a nonviolent protest and ended with a peaceful reunification
of Germany and its people.

After the reunification of Germany thanks to the destruction of the Berlin Wall
Oktoberfest remerged and has since been increasing positive nationalism in Germany. Beginning
in the 1850’s, this festival has since been the biggest and best known in all of Germany. It is held
each year in Munich over a sixteen day span in late September. The German people wear
traditional 18th century attire, drink beer from large tankards, eat pork sausages (or as the
Germans call them wursts), and go on different attractions from Ferris wheels to rollercoaster’s.
After World War II Oktoberfest became a much smaller venue for Germans. The festival clearly
has a profound impact on positive nationalism as shown by the statistics. In 1984 the festival hit
all time attendance lows with around 2.5 million people present at the festivities. Since the
reunification of Germany the tradition has clearly grown. In 2009 over 6 million Germans from
across the nation came to Munich to celebrate this proud tradition. (Countries 8-10) Oktoberfest
spreads positive nationalism as it allows Germans to sustain their national identity in a constantly
unifying world, as shown by the EU earlier. More importantly it is a nonviolent way in which
Germans unite and come together as a people under one strong national tradition, which is what
positive nationalism is all about.

Karnival, similar in many ways to Oktoberfest, spreads positive nationalism for the
people of Germany. The event, which goes from November 11 to Ash Wednesday, is one which
Germans throw one excessive party. People throw extravagant costume balls. Parades are held in
which there are bands, dancers, and notorious floats. These floats are caricatured figures
mocking politicians and other famous German personalities. Before the reunification of Germany
the Karnival was only hosted in West Berlin and Munich. The tradition, similar to Oktoberfest,
has since grown greatly. (Genealogy 7)Now parades can be found in every major city and even
in some towns. Karnival had a profound impact on nationalism for similar reasons as
Oktoberfest. It is a way for Germans to celebrate their rich ethnic and national culture. The
Karnival is shown all across Europe on TV and the Internet. (Countries 2) The coverage allows
Germans to show their rich history apart from politics and war. Radical nationalism has plagued
Germany for just under a century. Positive nationalism, if it continues to grow at such a rate, can
eventually force out radical nationalism such as Neo-Nazism. Though Neo-Nazism is still
prevalent, Karnival as well as Oktoberfest bring growing positive nationalism which over time
could overcome this strong radical nationalism.

Germany has proven itself a nation as it holds true to all five components from being a
group of people to sharing the same government. As a nation they have showed strong extreme
nationalism. Religion and ethnicity has, as stated before, played a role in radical nationalism as
they helped form Nazism and Neo Nazism. The Holocaust showed the strong nationalism of
Germany had too much might and thus was radical. Neo Nazism, extremely similar to its former
who caused the Holocaust, is radical nationalism Germans face today. However Germany can
overcome this extreme nationalism and move towards strong positive nationalism and unity.
They began this uphill battle in the destruction of the Berlin Wall, which brought reunification of
Germany and positive nationalism in a nonviolent rate. In the future through literacy rates and
major industries Germany can move past Nazism and focus on the future of peaceful
nationalism. Finally, traditions such as Oktoberfest and Karnival give and will hopefully give
more positive nationalism and unity to the Germans as a people. These traditions, along with
literacy rates/major industries will define whether Germany of the future will thrive on passive
nationalism and be able to overcome radical nationalism which has plagued them for so long.
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Name: Andrew Stukalin

Date: December 15, 2010

Class: World History (H)

Period: 6

Radical Nationalism in the Nation of Germany