Nazism

Hitler's speech-Triumph of the will :

“the people in ever
greater numbers have joined this
leadership and subordinated themselves.
(applause)
The German people are happy in the
knowledge that the constantly changing
leadership has now been replaced by a
fixed pole; a force which considers
itself the representative of the best
blood, and, knowing this, has elevated
themselves to the leadership of this
Nation and is determined to keep this
leadership, to use it to the best
advantage and never to relinquish it
again. ...
(applause)”

I chose this quote because it shows how by 1934, after being in power for one year, Hitler is telling the country that he does not plan on giving up the power. He’s is essentially telling them that he will be a dictator and they all applaud him!!!  He is also made his reference of what’s to come by saying that he is a force which considers  itself the representative of the best blood.

1. What were some of the major reasons that led to the rise of Nazi Germany?

One of the contributing factors that lead to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany was the Great Depression that hit worldwide as a result of the crash of the stock market in the USA. As a result there where mass bank failures and Germany’s economic recovery was tie to the US economy. Another reason was the DNVP endorsement of the Nazi as a junior political partner that gave them political legitimacy. Also the representative form of government instituted by the Weimar republic made it possible for a party to control government without winning the majority of the votes. However I would cite Hitler‘s   release from jail after serving only one a despite committing what could clearly be called treason. Had he remained in Jail for a decade or two, we probably wouldn’t be talking about him in the same manner.

2. How did Nazis resolve conflicts between workers and owners and why was this attractive model for business executives? They took control over wages and that appeased the workers, and for the owners they also controlled the prices of raw materials and got rid of the workers unions and replaced them with a national union control by the government.   I think it was an attractive business model for the executives because it guaranteed a profit at the end of the day and that is what they care the most about.

3. What is the significance of the phrase "Arbeit Macht Frei?" the significance is that it was both true and a lie. It was a lie because it means "work makes (one) free," meaning "work sets you free" or "work liberates” but in reality they where never going to let them go or “free” them to return to their homes. However, it was true because they where going to work them until they die and when you die you are free from working.

4. What is state capitalism and how does it relate to Nazi Germany? It is a form of capitalism where the state is in control but allows the business to make and keep the profits it makes. the Nazi regime was a form of “state capitalism.

5. How would you evaluate the psychological causes of anti-semitism in the context of German society? I believe that without a Hitler, the German people would not have done the atrocity that they did. I think the reason he made them the target of his anger was because they where the ones holding the money, they where the bankers. Most teachers of Marxist class-war politics in Germany where Jews; and they where Nazi opponents. That is not to say that the majority of the German population where not anti-Semite

Max Weber’s “Politics as a Vocation”

The passage I chose from Max Weber’s “Politics as a Vocation” lecture is:

“There are two ways of making politics one's vocation: Either one lives 'for' politics or one lives 'off' politics. By no means is this contrast an exclusive one. The rule is, rather, that man does both, at least in thought, and certainly he also does both in practice. He who lives 'for' politics makes politics his life, in an internal sense. Either he enjoys the naked possession of the power he exerts, or he nourishes his inner balance and self-feeling by the consciousness that his life has meaning in the service of a 'cause.' In this internal sense, every sincere man who lives for a cause also lives off this cause. The distinction hence refers to a much more substantial aspect of the matter, namely, to the economic. He who strives to make politics a permanent source of income lives 'off' politics as a vocation, whereas he who does not do this lives 'for' politics. Under the dominance of the private property order, some--if you wish-- very trivial preconditions must exist in order for a person to be able to live 'for' politics in this economic sense. Under normal conditions, the politician must be economically independent of the income politics can bring him. This means, quite simply, that the politician must be wealthy or must have a personal position in life which yields a sufficient income.”

I like this passage because the message is very clear and simple. Even dough all politician will say they become politicians to serve the people, in reality they do it for personal gains. Nowadays people become politicians because of it is lucrative and for monetary compensation. A few of them don’t need the money, they do it for the power. For example, NYC Mayor Bloomberg has more money than I can count. He certainly does not need the money, but his ego needs the power.  I personally don’t believe that nowadays there are people who are interested in making politics one's vocation for the main purpose of serving the public. I say this because every politician has the eye on the next higher office, and rarely are satisfied with their level achievement on the political latter.

The Weimar Republic

From the first par I choused

Article 4.
The generally recognised rules of international law are valid as binding elements of German Reich law.

I find it interesting that they choused to include international law in the constitution. To me it means that the Weimar republic was trying to elicit a favorable view from the international community by stating that it will abide by their laws

From the second par I picked

Article 21.
Members of parliament represent the entire nation. They have to follow nothing but their conscience and they are not bound to instructions.

I choused this article because I find it funny. On the one hand they are to represent the people and on the other hand they are to follow their conscience. In my opinion I want somebody that is representing me to follow my wishes and not necessarily his or her conscience because as unique individuals that we are, we may disagree on a topic or principal and if you follow you conscience against my wishes, you are not representing me.

1) What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of proportional representation?

From my understanding the biggest disadvantage that a proportional representation system has is that it fragments the leadership of the government in to too many parties and as a result they can not keep the government together and can not run it effectively. It also allows for a minority to rule the majority like in the case of the Nazis which took control of the government even dough it only got less than 30 percent of the votes.   

            On the other hand some of the advantages of proportional representation include: giving a voice in government to minorities groups therefore increasing the number of political parties. It would reduces “wasted votes” and produce higher turnout at the polls because people would know that their votes really count.

  2) What were the leading causes of the decline of the Weimar Republic?

The main problem that leads to the decline of the Weimar Republic was the bad economy. The hyperinflation, huge national dept and the effects of the great depression contributed in the USA contributed to the   horrible economic environment in the  Weimar Republic. Another problem was the proportional representation for the reasons stated above.

3) What is hyperinflation? It is  a very rapid escalation of prices  for goods and services. For example when in Germany 1923 a pound of bread cost 3 billion Marks.  Or when on December 2008, inflation in Zimbabwe was estimated at 6.5 quindecillion novemdecillion percent (that's 6.5 x 10¹⁰⁸ % which is 65 followed by 107 zeros) soon after Zimbabwe was forced abandon its currency and create a new form of currency.

4) How would you judge the Weimar Constitution as compared to the American Constitution?

 I believe it the Weimar Constitution is very similar to the American. There are some provisions in the Weimar Constitution that differ from the US but over all I think is what you do with it that makes the difference. Look at what Bush started and Obama continued under the patriot act, the erosion of our civil liveries in the name of national security. I guess the short answer would be that the American Constitution is better because we are still around and the Weimar republic is not.

The Junius Pamphlet

Sparticists carry the red flag through the streets of Berlin in their call for a revolution on 1 December 1918.

What then has changed in this respect when the war broke out? Have private property, capitalist exploitation and class rule ceased to exist? Or have the propertied classes in a spell of patriotic fervour declared: in view of the needs of the war we hereby turn over the means of production, the earth, the factories and the mills therein, into the possession of the people? Have they relinquished the right to make profits out of these possessions? Have they set aside all political privileges, will they sacrifice them upon the altar of the fatherland, now that it is in danger? It is, to say the least, a rather naive hypothesis, and sounds almost like a story from a kindergarten primer. And yet the declaration of our official leaders that the class struggle has been suspended permits no other interpretation. Of course nothing of the sort has occurred. Property rights, exploitation and class rule, even political oppression in all its Prussian thoroughness, have remained intact. The cannons in Belgium and in Eastern Prussia have not had the slightest influence upon the fundamental social and political structure of Germany.
  Rosa Luxemburg The Junius Pamphlet Chapter 6

The meaning of this passage is very clear. It tell us that the class struggle does not ceased to exist just because of the war. And yet the official leaders proclaim that it has to be put aside in order to unite the nation. However they only ask   the working class to put their differences aside for the good of the nation but do not demand the same from the ruling class. That tactic continues to be play even  today. The people in power continue to tell us that we must make sacrifices for the good of our nation and to maintain our freedom. At the same time they don't send their kids to war but they  makes millions of dollars on defense contracts, weapon manufacturing and with companies like Halliburton who billed the Pentagon $4.18 billion dollars  for " logistics work"   in Iraq and Kuwait.

 
 1-  Luxemburg believed that the wars of 1871 affect the wars in 1914 because the war of 1870 split Europe into two opposing camps and established the rule of militarism in the lives of the European peoples. In turn this created a period of insane competitive armament and that lead to the 1914 world war.
2-  Luxemburg  makes it clear that the SPD placed   "Russian despotism" as a danger to German freedom.
3- The relationship between nationalism and capitalism according to some scholars is that nationalism is a product of capitalism. I believe this because one of the first things that lights the fire of revolution for freedom is people’s desire to own their land and the fruits of their labor. After you become an owner with something to protect just like your neighbors, now your loyalty is not to the king or queen, is to you land (you r Nation) However, Nationalism tries to keep capitalism tame because if left unchecked, capitalism will destroy the very nation in peruse of capital.
4. Luxemburg believes that the war supports the business interests of steel and the banks because those are the two industries that profit from it. The steel industry supplies the weapons and materials needed to carry out the war and the banks supply the capital to by the goods.

M (1931)

The M (1931) movie was very interesting to say the least. The parallels to our times are scary. For example, one of my favorite parts of the movie is when the commissioner is conducting his brainstorming session to try and figure a way to catch the murderer. The first response from the uniformed official in charge of the police is to “step up ID checks, comb the entire city and raids, relentless, ever tougher raids!”  He wants to do this without having a clue of what or who he is looking for. Let’s harass the people and something may fall in our laps, ala NYPD style with their Stop-and-Frisk Campaign which according to NBC New York, the Campaign has hit an all-time high; 684,330 people stopped in 2011 alone and only 12 percent were charged or received summons!  Further more, in that scene we see how the authorities view the public with contempt.

1. The evolution of police power as it is depicted in M is far from what we see in Dr. Caligari. The police were portrait in a very rudimentary way with their tight uniforms and funny looking mustache in the Dr. Caligari film. That is in very sharp contrast to what we see in the M film where the police officials are wearing suits and have different branches. Also they have more scientific knowledge at their disposal including what would be considered in today’s time a FBI profiler.  

2. Whether the killer deserves to die or not is a very personal question. I am of the opining that in cases like this one where there is no doubt of his innocence, the best thing to do is to kill him.

3. The criminals’ ability to organize themselves is what gave them the ability to capture Beckert. The police was after Beckert for eight months with no results, and yet the criminals where able to capture him in a couple of days.

4. I think the Nazis where depicted as the real heroes of the film because they where portrait as being on the right side of common and justice. They even went as far a giving Beckert a fair trial. I think that the label of criminal only added to their appeal. Yes they where criminals, but they conducted themselves as a well organized an enterprise which    held regular meetings like any good business would. They where also portrayed as being with the people and not above them like the authorities.

5. The significance of the media in this film is the same as it today. It only serves one purpose and that is to agitate the masses. The media exacerbated fear and panic and turned it in to chaos to the point that the people were turning on each other.

The Blue Angel

This film was very interesting and entertaining for me, perhaps because I know someone who followed Professor Rath’s footsteps. The scene I chose was the one where Professor Rath is leaving the school followed by his start pupil and the other students. The other students trip him after setting him up with Lola’s picture. I think that scene represents the typical scenario where a person or group is trying to obey the rules or laws and in the process becomes the outcast. He became the target of his peers because he was the nerd. I the same way anyone who did not follow the established and accepted social norms in Germany, would have suffer the same fate.   I the film reinforce traditional notions of morality because at the beginning the professor was a model citizen and everything appeared to be well in his life until he decided to get involved with Lola. Since he deviated from the rules of proper class people, he became an outcast and suffers until the end for it.

1. I the same way that Siddhartha fell for Kamala,   Rath became enamored with, so mush         so that he chooses her over his career.

2. I think Lola is an emancipated woman because she did as she pleased with men including Prof. Rath. Also her views on life are reflected in her song when she performs. All the men want her and she can’t help it.

3. I think the significance of the clown is very simple. It represents the Professor’s downfall. It clown is seen as a coarse, rude, vulgar person foolishness and disrespect, ridicule and that is what Prof. Rath becomes in the end.

4. Chaos thematically represented in the film from the very first scene where we see the houses has very irregular shapes and the disorder in the street with the ducks making noises. We also see chaos in the Blue Angel where people are coming and going back and forth for no apparent reason. The kids are hanging around and people are shouting during the performance.

5. I think the overall meaning of the film illustrates what can happen when we let irrational thinking govern us. I think the film is more inline with keeping people in fear of acting on irrational thoughts, or take a change in life and deviate from the norm. On one hand we see Prof. Rath try to corrects his students and on the other we see him throwing away his life career  for a Bar woman.

6. I think   comparing Rath to the Haussmann painting/montage is a good comparison because in the painting we see an intellectual man who is knowledgeable of the sciences and is well dressed but is juxtapose with a men who is broke with a map above him which represents his travels.  

Expressionism: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

At first glance the Doctor Caligari movie appears to be boring if we look at it from our current day’s perspective. However when we take in to consideration the time that it was filmed in, we can clearly see how it relates to that time period. There is a scene where Caligari goes to apply for a permit to operate a booth at the fair. He is very polite and patient until he noticed that the clerk is done attending the other people that where there. He gets up and goes towards the clerk official sitting on an absurdly large stool. The clerk yells at him to sit-down and calls him a fool.  After all the waiting is He is rudely dismissed by a minor official.

I choose this scene because it reminded me of my visits to the motor vehicle department. The clerks treat you like you are a bother to them and speak to you like you are a fool if there is anything missing or left unfilled on your paperwork. I also think that the clerk is showed in the absurdly large stool to portray his higher authority. He was elevated above Dr. Caligari to show that he had power over him. I believe the scene reflects the corruption of power in the German government and like the rest of the movie it shows people suffering the abused of the authorities. in this case the evil Dr, Caligari was trying to do the proper thing which is to apply for a permit to operate his both only to be ridiculed and denied his right to his per mint because the official disapprove of the show. In the same way the whole movie is about power and control.

1. Dr. Caligari has power and control over Cesar in the same way the German government had power and control thru the used of mass media also know as their propaganda machine.

2. The profit motive affects cultural production in the modern age in the same way it affected film production back then. The screenplay is change from what ever it was to something that will sell box-office tickets without regards to how those changes affect or completely change the intended message of the story. Like they say:, “it’s all about the Benjamins."

3. I believe the Frankfurt School's elitism regarding mass culture is simply part of what is normal. The only way people will understand what the Frankfurt school is trying to teach the public is if the people have a certain level of education, and so inevitably the message only reaches the few people who are educated enough to understand it.

4. I believe the three aspects of the film that relate to the attributes of the culture industry are first is  the fact that  original story intent is changed in the movie in favor for a n ending that can appeal to the masses and second because the change was drive to generate more revenue. Third  is the changing of the meaning of the story. By changing the ending of the story, Francis became a crazy person and Caligari   the hero of the story. In essence removing the anti-war message and reinforcing traditional authority.  

5. Kracauer interprets the film as a choice between chaos and anarchy because he believes that expressing freedom as the carnival is really the desire to go back to the pre-industrial past. and that the circular movements of the merry-go-round and the organ grinder's arm as he plays his music box are supposed to symbolize chaos.

6. There was increased pressure to develop the German film industry after the First World War because Germany's economy was struggling to survive due to the peace Treaty of Versailles which stated that Germany had to de-industrialize large segments of its economy. As a result Film was then seen as a very important export for Germany's economy.

7. I do not agree with the claim that expressionism breeds excessive inwardness and withdrawal. One only needs to look at the United States for example. We are made up of many cultures and we all express our individualism and at the same time we all unify by the same core believes of freedom and the pursue of happiness.

8.  According to Kracauer the film foreshadow the Nazi regime because it illustrated the unsolvable dilemma facing the German people during the 1920s. They had to choose between tyranny on the one hand and chaos on the other.

9. Praxis is the fusion of theory and practice. It relate to cultural criticism because it elicit the practical enrollment of the philosophers. Praxis calls on the cultural critics to get involve and shake things up and not just critique from the sidelines or from seclusion.