The Third Reich in the Balance of German History
| Author | Karl Dietrich Erdmann |
| Published date | 01 December 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206401900401 |
| Date | 01 December 1964 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Third
Reich
in
the
Balance
of
German
History
Karl
Dietrich
Erdmann*
There
is
perhaps
no period
of German
history
of
which we
know
as
much as of
the
years
1933-1945.
There
is
at
the
same
time
no
period
which
is
so
disturbing
to
our
historical
conscious-
ness
and
so
difficult
to
place
in
the
total
picture
of
the
German
past.
Court
proceedings and
historical
research
have
brought
forth
documents
in
a
profusion
which
can
hardly
be
mastered.
Certain features,
to
be
sure, may
need
a
correction.
There
are
questions
we
should
like
to
know
more
about.
But
what
hap-
pened
during
that
period
is
clear
in
all
its
essential aspects.
The
fundamental
facts
of
the
extermination
of
the
Jews,
the
unleashing
of
the war, the
abolition
of
the
rule
of
law,
are
not
to
be
shaken.
But
here
the
real
historical
question
sets
in:
what
do
the
years
1933-45,
the
years
we
know only
too
well,
signify
in
the
balance
of
German
history?
How
was
it
possible
that
national
socialism
became
the
dominating
factor,
and
where
did
it
lead
to?
Let
us
start
our
investigation
with
the
position
of
Germany
after
the
breakdown
in
1945
when
the
balance
of
twelve
years
of
national
socialist
history
became
apparent.
I
We
must
first
realize
that
the
ethnographic
map
of
Germany
underwent
a
radical
change
during
that
period.
Up
to
the
Second
World
War
the
ethnographic
and
linguistic
lines
of
demarcation
in
Eastern
Europe
were
quite
different
to
those
in
Western
Europe.
In
the
West
there are
comparatively
clear-cut
boundaries
between
the
various
nationalities
and
languages.
In
Western Europe,
therefore,
lies
the
cradle
of
the
national
state.
In
Eastern
Europe
things
were
more
complicated.
The bound-
aries
between
the
various nationalities
were
not
so
unmistak-
*
Professor
of
History, Christian
Albrecht
University,
Kiel.
This
article
is
a
slightly
altered
version
of
a
lecture
given
in
the
University
of
Toronto,
March
31,
1964.
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