Totalitarianism and Political Religions, Volume III - Historiaonceib ...

6 Introductionspent the day for the most part reading Fascist pamphlets. They have,in any case, transformed the entire country into an army. One is pressedinto the Fascist mould from the cradle to the grave; no one can escapeit. On paper, this all seems very virtuous and impressive. But I askmyself how the life of the individual looks. This I will not be able to saybefore I have lived in Italy for a certain period of time. To the extentthat it destroys individuality, in any case, a socialist experiment isinvolved. It also destroys freedom. If someone first prescribes for youhow you should think, then he immediately also prescribes howyou should conduct yourself. With such a system, I confess, a measureof energy and effectiveness can be attained such as we, on our island,do not attain. And yet, and yet ... The whole thing is a pyramid set onits head. 14The second testimony arises from William L. Shirer’s Nightmare Years1930–1940 and describes the Nuremberg Party Convention of September1934.[F]ifty thousand young men in dark green uniforms, the first rows withnaked torsos, stood before their Führer with flashing spades thatmirrored the morning sun. Standing at attention on the Zeppelinwiese,they listened as he praised their service to the Fatherland. When theythen began to march forward – in a perfect goose step; presumably,even the old Prussian field sergeants could not have done it better – thehuge multitude went wild with enthusiasm. I found the goose steplaughable, but it appeared to please the spectators so much that theysprang up spontaneously and cheered. In marching past, the youngmen paid homage to their Führer in a powerfully reverberating speakingchorus, one that concluded with another thundering ‘Heil Hitler!’ Isoon learned that Hitler – besides the Work Service – had built up aneven more comprehensive youth organisation, the Hitler Youth. Here,children were to be sworn to the Führer beginning in the seventh year oflife. 15The new movements sought to form the entire human life. This was toinfluence the conduct of each individual. Not that such reactions were new:‘vulgar obedience toward those who have somehow come into power soonoccurs’, as Jacob Burckhardt says. 16 Here, though, obedience is born notonly from habit or a need for peace. Nor is it born solely of fear: whoevermarches with the rest has the liberating feeling of standing in harmony withthe era and realising a historical new beginning. Thus does mobilisation ofthe masses arise in response to the commanding presence of the leadership:the will to political power is transposed upon the many. These, in turn,march ‘with the new era’. 17