Research on German Nazism seems to give us a clear explanation of the relation between the ideologists of the 3rd Reich and Adolf Hitler himself with the Slavs, due to his vastness and the amount of publications.
It has become clear that these views were constant both in chronological terms, as in relation to individual Slavic nations, and uniform in relation to the beliefs of the leaders and ideologists of the 3rd Reich. Meanwhile, the analysis of Hitler’s views alone brings many divergent opinions. Looking at the German culture world, it must be noted that the Slavic threat was viewed differently from the Hohenzollerns in the Habsburg Empire. In the early 20th century, more than half of the inhabitants of Vienna were Slavs: Czechs, Poles, Slovaks, Slovenians, Serbs, Croats and Ukrainians. all 4th hybrid Vienna had a Slavic surname and all 5th 1 was Czech. In the Reich, Poles were the most many Slavic minority, so they were fought fiercely both culturally and economically. Vienna considered Poles to be little dangerous than the Czechs or even confederate Slavs. This difference in the opinion of Poles differed between Hitler Austrian and his political environment in the 1930s. Hitler had the most prejudice over Czech aspirations, though at the same time he considered them to be a nation at the highest level of east European nations.
In “Mein Kampf” Hitler ignored the state-genuine capacity of Slavs writing: ‘The state-forming power of Slavs must be called into question to the highest extentIt’s okay. ” He spoke specified views despite the fact that he meant mainly Russians, who had not so much a state as a power. At the same time, he emphasized that the Slavic thread was propagated by the Russians, and his goal was to effort to consolidate Slavic nations around Russia, to exploit them against the Germans. Panslawism considered the biggest threat to ambitious plans to conquer east Europe.
Czechs are urgent and Poles are stupid
Interestingly, although the Polish opposition was much more of a nuisance to Germans than to Czechs, in 1942 he argued: "The Czech Republic is the most dangerous of all Slavs due to the fact that it is urgent. He's disciplined, more mongoid than Slavic.It’s okay. ” He besides considered all Czech to be a born nationalist who subordinates all another obligations to his interests. However, she said about Poles: “With Poles, we are fortunate that they are lazy and stupid, conceited.” A fewer months later, comparing Poles and the Czechs, he argued: “In politics, 1 must be completely devoid of utilizing the word “if”. Where would we be present “if” The Czechs were a small fantasized, and Poles had a small sense of reality and a small more conscientiousness at work. It was precisely the fact that Pole is simply a fantasist, and the Czech Republic only reasoning about real matters, that made it possible for us to rapidly establish the fresh rules of relations in the erstwhile Czech Republic and in the erstwhile Poland."
Although Poles placed lower in the hierarchy of Slavic peoples than their Slavic neighbours from the south, they stood far higher in the hierarchy than the Russians. ‘Compared to Russia, even Poland is simply a civilized country” – wrote Hitler. According to him, Poles had this advantage, unlike Czechs or Bulgarians, that they did not engage in the Panslavist movement and the Russians treated them as enemies. The Bulgarians did not know, and the only thing that convinced them was the German dynasty ruling this country.
He initially had a neutral relation with Poles. He thought Bismarck mistakenly assumed that it was adequate for Poles to talk German to make them Germans. He did not support Austrians' participation in fighting against Silesian insurgents, although he spoke about the banditism of Polish insurgents. After Poland's triumph in the war with Bolsheviks he was full of appreciation for Józef Piłsudski. Aversion to Slavs as specified Hitler acquired surviving in Vienna, but the increasing hostility to Poles is the time of his stay in Munich. The attitude of the Prussian military and earthen spheres besides affected this. These spheres, unlike Hitler, have proclaimed straight hostile views of Poland since the beginning of the revival of the Republic, not only recognising the borders of western Poland, but in general its independence.
When in 1930 he accused the Germans of misleading sympathy for the liberation movements of Burów or Armenians, with a peculiar improvement of the Polish uprisings, Polish insurgent leaders and Polish love of freedom, which was in conflict with the German state's ration. He supported the agreement with Poland, but this 1 failed him. Analyzing Hitler's attitude towards Poland, we forget that he was the first after 2 presidents and thirteen Chancellors of the Republic of Weimar, to 1 who was ready to agree with Poland, hoping to bring Poland into the war against the Russian “subhumans”. Hitler had large hopes for Pro-German Joseph Beck. Hitler was besides pleased by Piłsudski's coup as he felt that he was importantly weakening French influences in Poland.
In the 1920s Hitler and the German higher command felt respect for the Polish army, considering it as more dangerous than the russian army. Only the pact on non-aggression between Poland and the USSR was recognized by the Germans as a sign of the hold of the WP towards the Red Army. Piotr Wandycz In 1978, in the emigration of Independence, he raised the subject of an effort to make contact with Hitler in the fall of 1930. Piłsudski was expected to press for a decade to sign a cooperation agreement between the 2 countries after the Nazis took power in Germany. due to his old age, he appealed for Hitler’s fast reaction, as only through his authority can specified a pact be made. Piłsudski was of good head to see Hitler far more as a compromise Austrian than the possessive Prusak.
Meanwhile Joseph Goebbels He was dissatisfied with the pact with Poland and Rosenberg felt that Poland should be destroyed and enter the satellite deal with Ukraine. The vast majority of the Führer's surroundings were against Poland being treated as a partner. The deficiency of Poland's submission to the corridor and the unequivocal support for a joint anti-communist crusade in the USSR, Hitler declared his defeat. Even worse, he abolished the British guarantees for Poland, as they put an end to the chances of winning the British into war with the USSR. Besides, the British were 1 of the fewer nations he respected and the confrontation with London was a last resort. He considered Poland's attitude from the last 2 years before the robbery to be irrational. Poland was liable for the outbreak of war and for the corruption of German-British relations
Despite the profession which Poland had caused him until September 1939, erstwhile he personally watched front actions in Poland – he did not lose his imagination of the satellite's hull Poland ready to support him in the Bolshevik pogrom. Hitler was to be amazed at the scale of judaic presence in Poland and the backward civilization of Poland. As a result, he found Poles incapable to meet ambitious plans he had put forward. Until the end of the war, contrary to the suggestions of the environment, he opposed attempts to unite Poles to support Germany. Prof. Franciszek Ryszka emphasized that Nazism did not make hostility to Poles from scratch, but expanded it and effectively spread it throughout the German people.
Russian subhuman
Thinking of conquering the East, Hitler primarily meant surviving space in endless areas of Russia. In addition to this episode, politics was created by Alfred Rosenberg, who in the 1920s was more anti-Russian than Hitler, who at the time was more anti-bolshevik than rusophobe. It was Ludendorff, von Hindenburg or von Seekkt who directed Hitler towards the search in the East of Lebensraum, as part of Ostpolitik. Among east Slavs he did not make a national distinction, the Russians Ukrainians or Belarusians considered subhumans. According to him, the USSR was a state led by Bolshevik-Jewish barbarians, whose existence was possible thanks to the Slavic disability.
He was impressed by Russian ideological fanaticism, allowing him to put Russians as “the only large opponents of Germany”. The Slavs were to live briefly and reproduce in a minimal way, so nothing was expected for them but contraception, abortion and sterilization. In the 1930s, the Nazi leader writing about Russia was referring to a Bolshevik state in which his own prejudices with elements of imperial ideology and anti-Semitism and anti-Slavism that existed in German society were melting. After the attack on the USSR, the Germans not only committed mass murders on Russian or Belarusian civilians and russian POWs, but besides led a cultural war. As the historian emphasized in 2006 Jerzy W. Borejsz“The hatred and contempt of all that Russian dictated top down was immeasurable. The work of Russian composers and dramatic authors was banned (...)". By the way, it is interesting what Borejsza would say present if he lived, learning that Russian composers and writers were banned in Poland.
"A comic 100 million Slavs"
In August 1942, he said, "We will consume or remove a ridiculous 100 million Slavs." He meant mainly Russians, Ukrainians and Poles, due to the fact that even the Czechs and Moravians placed higher in creating a protectorate there. On the another hand, after a successful effort on Reinhard Heydrich threatened to clear Prague of the Czech Republic. Assigned to Bulgarians and Slovaks during the war he gave up, and the Serbs and Croats had a small easier due to the fact that they were not in the main direction of German expansion, which primarily included Western and east Slavic lands.
Hitler's changing opinions on Slavicism are not only a consequence of ad hoc political needs, but besides a consequence of his superficial and selective cognition of them. This mediocre knowledge, however, was adequate for this skillful manipulator of ideas. Today, especially in Western Europe and North America, Hitler is remembered for his imperialism and anti-Semitism, while his anti-Slavism escapes almost entirely there.. Although Slavs planned to take care of all Jews in the territories he controlled, he did not wait for specified a course of affairs only simultaneously exterminated Poles, Russians, Ukrainians or Belarusians. And even though he didn't have time to execution them in the planned 100 million, he inactive passed judgement on millions of them.
Arkadius Miksa
photo public domain
Think Poland, No. 43-44 (22-29.10.2023)
