Visions of Community in Nazi Germany Social Engineering and Private Lives [Paperback]

When the Nazis seized power in Germany in 1933 they promised to create a new, harmonious society under the leadership of theFuumlhrer, Adolf Hitler. The concept ofVolksgemeinschaft--'the people's community'--enshrined the Nazis' vision of society'; a society based on racist, social-Darwinist, anti-democratic, and nationalist thought. The regime usedVolksgemeinschaftto define who belonged to the National Socialist 'community' and who did not. Being accorded the status of belonging granted citizenship rights, access to the benefits of the welfare state, and opportunities for advancement, while these who were denied the privilege of belonging lost their right to live. They were shamed, excluded, imprisoned, murdered.

Volksgemeinschaftwas the Nazis' project of social engineering, realized by state action, by administrative procedure, by party practice, by propaganda, and by individual initiative. Everyone deemed worthy of belonging was called to participate in its realization. Indeed, this collective notion was directed at the individual, and unleashed an enormous dynamism, which gave social change a particular direction. TheVolksgemeinschaftconcept was not strictly defined, which meant that it was rather marked by a plurality of meaning and emphasis which resulted in a range of readings in the Third Reich, drawing in people from many social and political backgrounds.

Visions of Community in Nazi GermanyscrutinizesVolksgemeinschaftas the Nazis' central vision of community. The contributors engage with individual appropriations, examine projects of social engineering, analyze the social dynamism unleashed, and show how deeply private lives were affected by this murderous vision of society.

Preface
Glossary
1.Volksgemeinschaft: Writing the Social History of the Nazi Regime,Martina Steber and Bernhard Gotto
Part I:Volksgemeinschaft