A Totalitarian Regime

Was Nazi Germany a totalitarian state?

Historians debate whether Nazi Germany could be considered a totalitarian state.

Was Nazi Germany a totalitarian state?

There are 4 key ways in which Nazi Germany could be considered a totalitarian state.

• ❖ Nazi Germany was a one party state, so there was no democratic alternative to the Nazi Party.
• ❖ The Gestapo and the SS ensured that any opposition to the regime was harshly punished.
• ❖ Through propaganda and terror, the Nazi Party was able to control people's public and private lives.
• ❖ The Nazi Party controlled the media and all cultural output.

How did the Nazis fail to create a totalitarian state in Germany?

There are 4 main ways in which Nazi Germany could be said to have failed to create a totalitarian state.

• ❖ The fact that there were instances of opposition shows that the Nazis were unable to establish total control.
• ❖ The Nazis didn't take a centralised approach to the economy.
• ❖ They weren't able to control people's religious lives.
• ❖ While they controlled many areas of people's lives, their control was not total.