The Transformation of National Identity in Germany: the Role of Political Parties

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The Transformation of National Identity in Germany: the Role of Political Parties The Transformation of National Identity in Germany: The Role of Political Parties Saya Hautefeuille A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Doctorate degree in Political Science School of Political Science Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © Saya Hautefeuille, Ottawa, Canada, 2018 Acknowledgements It’s been a long journey to say the least. The thing is about long journeys is that you end up meeting a lot of people on the road who not only transform it but also have a significant impact on the project. First of all, I wish to address my gratitude for the patience and constructive comments that my director, André Lecours, has always had for me as I struggled to find my direction. I am indebted to the encouraging emails and Skype conversations we had that helped keep my enthusiasm for the project. I also wish to thank Daniel Stockemer for reading my multiple drafts. His comments and ideas have always been important roads of guidance. I thank my friends who have listened to me as I bounced out ideas and who have provided me with intellectual support. I also wish to give my deep thanks to my parents who have supported me throughout this project. There were many late calls and editing support that was fundamental to me. Finally, I am greatly indebted to my amazing husband, Rafael who has constantly been my rock in so many different ways throughout this very long journey. I dedicate this thesis to you and our equally amazing children, René, Gabriel and Sophie, whose presence always reminded me of life outside academia and to keep laughing. ii Abstract This thesis examines how national identities change and evolve through time. In that sense, it joins other studies that have studied the mechanisms for changes in national identities. While some authors have tended to focus on state structure, institutional changes (i.e. the creation of federal institutions that encourage regional identities) or belief systems, this study argues that political parties play an important role on national identity formulation. Essentially, this study will establish the argument that political parties have an impact on the direction of national identity. Using HI it will illustrate that the institutional framework in which political parties operate affects the direction that they will push national identity towards. Indeed, political actors have a vision for national identity and they will articulate and redefine how national identity is conceptualized but not freely. Rather, how institutions guide actors, preferences and ideas is central to understanding why national identity takes the form and direction that it does. Using the case study of Germany (1949-1969), it will demonstrate that the CDU sought to define German national identity as one based on Christian weltanschauung, integration with the west (westbindung) and social market economy (sozialen Marktwirtschaft) and that with each notion the influence of the Basic Law and previous political institutions could be felt as emphasis would be put on how each concept was related to “freedom”, “individual rights” and “democracy”. Key words: national identity, political parties, West Germany, CDU, NSDAP, Historical Institutionalism iii Table of Contents Chapter 1: National Identity: the Impact of Political Parties……………………………………………1 Literature Review ……………………………………………………………………………………………4 - National Identity……………………………………………………………………………………4 - Changes, Transformations and the Evolution of National Identity....through the State, Belief Systems, or Institutional Changes?..................................................................................................10 - Changes, Transformations and the Evolution of National Identity.... through Political Parties?....13 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………………………………...22 Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………………...26 - Case Study: Germany as an Important Case Study……………………………………………….26 - Process Tracing……………………………………………………………………………………30 - Sources…………………………………………………………………………………………….31 Chapter 2: The Establishment and Creation of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) and Birth of the Third Reich…………………………………………………………………..35 A Republic in Crisis…………………………………………………………………………………………35 The National Socialist Party’s Rise to Power……………………………………………………………….42 - The Building of the NSDAP………………………………………………………………………43 - The Putsch and its Consequences on the NSDAP…………………………………………………47 - Rebuilding the NSDAP and Momentum…………………………………………………………..49 - The NSDAP’s Critical Junction: The Great Depression………………………………………..…51 The Evolution of NSDAP Identity………………………………………………………………………….56 - Volksgemeinschaft or People’s Community………………………………………………………58 1. Volksgemeinschaft as an Idea of “Belonging” and Saving the German Nation……………...58 2. Volksgemeinschaft as the Exclusion of Foreign Elements…………………………………...59 The Racial State……………………………………………………………………………………………..60 1. 1920-1925: Anti-Semitism as a Principle…………………………………………………….63 2. 1925-1933: Anti-Semitism as a Science……………………………………………………..64 3. 1933-1939: Anti-Semitism as the Building of a New German Nation through Segregation...66 4. 1939-1945: Anti-Semitism as the Final Solution…………………………………………….69 Chapter 3. The Diffusion of NSDAP’s vision of National Identity onto the Third Reich……………..73 Propagating NSDAP’s vision of Identity through Public Displays………………………………………..73 - The Arrival of the Political Radio………………………………………………………………..73 - Public Rallies, the Art of Persuasion……………………………………………………………..76 Propagating NSDAP’s vision of Identity through Education……………………………………………...80 - National Socialist Teachers’ League (NSTB)…………………………………………………….81 - The Curriculum…………………………………………………………………………….……..83 - Hitler Youth (HJ)………………………………………………………………………………….87 Propagating NSDAP’s Vision of Identity through Entertainment…………………………………………89 - Strength through Joy (KdF)……………………………………………………………………....89 Propagating NSDAP’s vision of Identity through Violence and Fear…………………….……………….91 - Sturmabteilung (SA)……………………………………………………………………………...91 - Schutzstaffel (SS)…………………………………………………………………………………93 Chapter 4: The Establishment of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Foundation of the Federal German Republic (FRG)………………………………… ……………………………….…....96 The End of WWII……………………………………………………………………………...…………97 iv - Population Transfers……………………………………………………………………………..98 - Hunger…………………………………………………………………………………………...100 - Prison Camps…………………………………………………………………………………….100 - Denazification……………………………………………………………………………………101 - Start of the Cold War…………………………………………………………………………….101 The Birth of the Federal German Republic (FRG)………………………………………………………..103 - A New Federalism……………………………………………………………………………….103 - The Basic Law…………………………………………………………………………………...104 The Birth of the Christian Democrat Union (CDU)………………………………………………………105 - Its Beginnings and Consequent Expansion as a National Political Party…………………...…...105 The CDU and its Vision for German National Identity……………………………………………………111 - Christian Values (Weltanschauung)……………………………………………………………112 - Social Market Economy (Soziale Marktwirtschaf)…………………………………………….115 - West-integration (Westbindung)………………………………………………………………..119 Chapter 5: The Diffusion and Development of the Three Pillars of the CDU’s Vision of the Federal Republic of Germany’s National Identity………………………………………………………………123 Christian Weltanschauung (identity)……… ……………. ……………………………………………….125 Westbinding (West-integration)………………………………………………..…………………………..130 Soziale Marktwirtschaf (Social Market Economy)…… …………………… ………………………….....138 Conclusion: Future Implications………………………………………………………………………..149 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………...160 Annexe………………………………………………………………………………………………........182 v 1. National Identity: the Impact of Political Parties How and why does national identity evolve? This is a simple enough and rather straightforward question, but the answer is far more complex. This thesis will look into the role that political parties play in transforming and directing the course of national identity. It therefore implies that national identity is not static and that changes can be made over during its articulation. Looking at the case study of Germany, it will analyse how the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) and the Christian Democratic Union (Christlich Demokratische Unions – CDU) have influenced the direction of national identity in the German nation. During Nazi-era Germany, it was considered that Germany was being polluted by non-Volks, or non-Germans “resulting in the violent exclusion of any non-Germanic ethno-cultural group within the Nazi realm” (Allen, 2010: 2). The NSDAP sought to direct national identity towards an ethnic conception that was essentially based on its vision of a biologically and racially “pure” state. However, after the military defeat of the Third Reich in World War II (WWII), the birth of the FRG under the government of the CDU provided a different direction for how national identity was imagined. Not only did the German national identity seek to incorporate many elements of a nationalism based more on civic and cultural reading of nationalism (Allen, 2010), but also, as it was positioned by the CDU as Christian, Western and legitimized by the successes of the social market economy. The “why” component to the question about changes in the direction of national identities is therefore linked to the role that political parties play in conceptualizations of national identity. Next, “how” do national identities
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