Reflection 1
The history of Germany is incomplete without the mention of Adolf Hitler. Germany was under the dictatorship of Hitler from 1933 to 1945. This was the era in the middle of the two world wars. Under the leadership of Hitler Germany in the aftermath of World War I, Hitler tried to occupy the whole Europe. Germans were of the belief that they are better and superior to the other nations. This belief held by Germans was embedded in the theory of Sonderweg. Sonderweg is a theory which differentiates Germans from other western nations. These beliefs by Germans led the world towards World War 2. WWII was a fight between Britain, France, the USA against Russia, Japan, and Germany. During this war, Nazi propaganda was to fortify the whole of occupied Europe against its enemies. Hitler built armies and was planning to construct Atlantic war.
However, in 1945, the Allied powers were successful in defeating the Axis and bring the World War II to an end. This brought a collapse of Fortress Europe and the theory of Germany Sonderweg was shattered. Looking at the repercussion of the defeat of Germany in WWII and the position of Germany in the present world it can be said that the history of Germany is not tainted by the Nazi rule. This is because in 1945 the situation of Germany was very abject. People were poor and lacked basic necessities but in the 21st century, Germany is a great power with a stable economy (Storm and Naastepad). Hagen Schulze in his book argued powerfully that Germany in the present time is not like the Germany of the past (Schulze). It is true that history leaves a strong impact on the nations but a successful nation is the one who can learn from the mistakes and make a better future for themselves. Germany adopted the good things from the past but never supported the theory of Sonderweg again.
Works Cited
Schulze, Hagen. Germany: A New History. Harvard University Press, 2001.
Storm, Servaas, and C. W. M. Naastepad. “Crisis and Recovery in the German Economy: The Real Lessons.” Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, vol. 32, 2015, pp. 11–24.
