Nazification of the State Governance System in the Third Reich in 1933–1939: the Social and Legal Aspects

Introduction. Studying the policy of state service Nazification pursued in the Third Reich is gaining relevance not only due to the long existing trend for gradual rehabilitation of Nazism formed in some countries, but, primarily, due to the emergence in Ukraine, with the active mediation of the United States and its European allies, of a political regime, which has built a system of state governance based to a large extent on the Nazi model. Therefore, a dangerous precedent has been created, making it possible to assume that in conditions of the crisis of the Western liberal democracy and its revealed disability to adequately respond to the challenges of the modern world, the same trends may prevail in the leading European states in the future. The research aims to identify the substantive aspects of Nazification of the state governance system in the Third Reich in the period of 1933-1939.

Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the research was formed by the interdisciplinary and systemic approaches, dialectical and historical-comparative methods.

Results. The study has determined the substantive aspects of transformation undergone by the German state governance system in the pre-war period of Hitler regime existence. The large-scale Nazification became a backbone of transformation process, and was accelerated by joining the National Socialist movement veterans the ranks of the state officials. In the Third Reich, the main criterion for evaluating the occupational aptitude of a state official was not his competence, but unconditional loyalty to the political regime and fitting into the National Socialist racial standards. Thus, the state bureaucracy represented the obedient and efficient tool for implementing home and foreign policy objectives of Hitler regime.

Discussion and Conclusion. Due to National Socialists’ ability to codify the German bureaucratic law in the pro-Nazi spirit during the pre-war period of Hitler regime and to make the state institutions subject to the strict control of the party authorities, they succeeded in reaching the objective of unification and Nazification of the bureaucratic apparatus by integrating the representatives of all levels of state administration into the political system of the Third Reich. By enabling the individuals having merits to the National Socialist movement and some of the lower social class representatives to hold a state positions (thereby ensuring the growth in vertical social mobility to the latter), the German authorities had made a significant step forward in Nazification of the bureaucratic apparatus. Eventually, the Nazis managed to fully adapt the state governance mechanism to the objectives of preserving and strengthening their political dominance on the eve of the World War II outbreak.

1. Vinkler GA. Weimar 1918–1933: The History of the First German Democracy. Monograph. Moscow; 2013. 878 p. (In Russ.)

2. Galkin AA. The German Fascism. Monograph. Moscow; 1989. 352 p. (In Russ.)

3. Burleigh M. The Third Reich: A New History. London: Pan Books. 2001. 965 p.

4. Noakes J, Pridham G. (Eds.). Documents on Nazism, 1919–1945. New York: The Viking Press. 1975. 704 p.

5. Muhl-Benninghaus S. Das Beamtentums in der NS-Diktatur bis zum Ausbruch des Zweiten Weltkrieges: Zu Enstehung, Inhaltund Durchfuhrung der einschlagigen Beamtengesetze. Dusseldorf: Droste. 1996. 212 s.

6. Hitler A. Mein Kampf. Moscow; 1992. 598 p. (In Russ.)

7. Palamarchuk EA. Legal Culture of the Third Reich. In: Proceedings of the XII Scientific Conference on the Occasion of the Day of the Faculty of Law, International Scientific Conference Held in Pale, October 28, 2023 “Legal Gaps and the Completeness of Law”. Vol. V. East Sarajevo: University of East Sarajevo Faculty of Law. 2024. P. 97–105.

8. Mommsen H. Beamtentum im Dritten Reich. Mit ausgewahlten Quellen zur nationalsozialistischen Beamtenpolitik. Stuttgart: Deutscher Verlags-Anstalt. 1966. 246 s.

9. РГВА. Ф. 1363. Оп. 2. Д. 100. Л. 3. Russian State Military Historical Archive. F. 1363. Op. 2. D. 100. L. Z.

10. Stolleis M. History of Public Law in Germany: Weimar Republic and National Socialism. Monograph. Moscow; 2017. 663 p. (In Russ.)

11. Orlow D. The History of the Nazi Party: 1933 – 1945. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1973. 535 p.

12. Aycoberry P. The Social History of the Third Reich. 1933–1945. New York: The New Press; 1999. 380 p. URL: https://archive.org/details/socialhistoryoft00ayco (accessed: 01.02.2025).

13. Caplan J. Civil Service Support for National Socialism: An Evaluation. In book: Der «Fuhrerstaat»: Mythos und Realitat. Stuttgart: Klett Cotta. 1981. P. 167–193.

14. Grunberger R. The 12-Year Reich. A Social History of Nazi Germany 1933–1945. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1971. 535 p. URL: https://archive.org/details/12yearreichsocia0000grun/page/n1/mode/2up (accessed: 01.02.2025).

15. Kershaw I. Popular Opinion and Political Dissent in the Third Reich: Bavaria 1933–1945. Oxford: Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press; 1984. 425 p. URL: https://books.google.ru/books/about/Popular_Opinion_and_Political_Dissent_in.html?id=QAPmule8mdcC&redir_esc=y (accessed: 01.02.2025).

16. Broszat M. The Hitler State: the Foundation and Development of the Internal Structure of the Third Reich. London; New York: Longman; 1981. 378 p.