With that increasing power in the country, towards the end of the 19th century, the nationalism was not just a political phenomenon for Germany; it was more than a world. The German society had accepted the nationalism as their road for their rising on the Europe. During the struggles of the country with the other major states of the European continent, the country had been serious threat for their rivals in the Europe. The most important one, the nationalism had encouraged Germany’s administration against their enemies France. So, with that way, it is easy to say that Germany’s rising over the Europe had started with the rising of the nationalism on the country at the same time (Mayall, 1990).
It is hard to see the nationalism as only an ideological viewpoint in Germany. The socio-cultural environment of the country was focused on the nationalist spirit of the country. Except the politicians, all the famous names, scientist, historians, religious leaders and even the musicians had followed the ideological trend and they had encouraged the ideological infrastructure of the country. As one of them, Richard Wagner is seen the basic name of the German nationalism for the 20th century. Wagner had affected the ideas of Hitler and the other German authorities and the soldiers; his feelings about German race and the Anti-Semitism had seen a great respect from the German authorities and the German community (Calhoun 1990, p. 213).
Actually, the nationalism in Germany had not brought a serious military achievement to the country. In contrast, the country had fought against many enemies in the different battlefields. Right in the beginnings of the 20th century, the nationalism was bleeding in Germany. Moreover, the society had begun to lose its belief to the nationalism’ power. The beginning of the new century was a critical threshold for the nationalism. It was a test for the nationalism’s reliability for the people’s spirit. It is not hard to say that, at truth, the nationalism’s effect had showed itself towards the first period of the First World War. The war a rebirth for the nationalism’s losing spirit in Germany (Conrad and O'Hagan, 2010). Germany of Wilhelm II had encouraged the people about the victory after the war. So, the people had followed the German nationalist spirit after Wilhelm II. However, the end of the war was a serious disappointment for the German nation. In this manner, it could be said that the nationalism could not pass the threshold in the beginning of the 20th century (Calhoun 1990, p. 216-217).
In the beginning of 1920s, there was nobody to believe that Adolf Hitler who was the Nazi leader would be a great leader for Germany’s political and social area. Most important one, he and his political party was a simple political society at first. But, at the end of the 1933 elections in Germany, view was completely different. They had had the votes of most of the German people. Hitler had used his people’s nationalist feelings as trump for his ideological and political projects. Actually, he was also a powerful German nationalist. So, his rising was not a coincidence. The Nazi Germany’s main point was development about economical, social and army issues. They did not need to have political side’s efficiency because they had the nationalist spirit of the people completely (Bracher, 1990). For this situation of the Nazi Germany, it will be right to say that Nazis’ power had won ideological and political sovereignty systematically at first. They had believed that it was the key point to apply their violence policy for Germany and all the Europe. So, Hitler’s rising and fast movement in Germany and in his country’s political area is valuable to understand the nationalism’s influence on those terms’ Germany (Gellner, 2009).
It is clear to see that the Nazis’ increasing power, Adolf Hitler’s powerful structure against European countries and the full support of developing Germans was creating a complete impact. And there was a deep effect of the historical German nationalism. Hitler’s ideology had triggered the existing nationalist structure in the country. It’s the main reason of Hitler and Nazi Germany: Complete power, state, society and army.
However, although there was a complete power system in Germany, the nationalism could not reach the expected level. Hitler’s plans had not worked and the Nazi Germany had seen the same fortune as in the First World War. The nationalist Germany had paid its bill heavy; the country had lost the Second World War badly. The nationalism could not save Germany sufficiently. In contrast, it had removed the country form the continent politic system. The nationalist utopia of Hitler had been destroyed. It was a clear sign of that the hard and the heavy nationalist feelings of the German society had made the country’s names as “murderer”. The Jewish matter and the interventions of Nazis to the environment countries had made Nazi Germany as a racist as more than nationalist (Calhoun 1990, p. 218).
After the Second World War, the meaning of the nationalism had changed; because, the people and the authorities had seen the truth that the nationalist feelings had not brought any profit to the states. In contrast, rising of the nationalism had brought insoluble matters to the people; the two world wars were the basic examples of that. On the other hand, the situation of Germany was the other negative example of the nationalism’s problematic structure. However, the Second World War was the last point of that. In those years, Germany was separated as Federal Germany and Eastern Germany (Conrad and O'Hagan, 2010). Federal Germany was the symbol of the new and a democratic country. Federal authorities had agreed with the other European leaders about founding a union. Federal Germany would be an example of the new, modern and civilized European region. So, the nationalism had lost its powerful influence on the country. The other part of Germany, Eastern Germany was under the control of the Soviet system and the communist system had hegemony on the country. Directly, it had made impossible the nationalism to survive (Smith 1992, p. 58-59).
In those years, specifically, in 1957, the Europe had lived an integration process to remove the problems between the regional states with the foundation of European Coal and Steel Community and Federal Germany had joined this community. It meant that Federal Germany had accepted the cooperation with the regional states, particularly with France. This cooperation environment in the Europe had obstructed the nationalist movements in the region. So, German public had been stayed away from their nationalist ideas. It was normal that they had seen that the nationalism had provided them disaster; not achievement. Hereby, the society of Germany had understood dimensions of the problems and the numbers of the nationalism or the extreme nationalist people had reduced (Calhoun 1990, p. 228). On the other hand, the new formation and the peaceful view of the Europe had seemed attractive for them. The Nazi soul and popular nationalist discourses had lost their influences on the German society. The German society had developed its logic and political viewpoint after the last disaster.
During the development process of the European community, Federal Germany’s ideological structure had developed under the rules of the democracy and that situation had provided a serious civilizing period in the political structure of the country; with that way, the people and the state administration had come together after hundred years in the country. The people were happy with their situation, because, the European development had provided politic and economic stability to the Europe and Federal Germany had begun a reconstruction period. So, the nationalism was nothing for the German society; it seemed like a useless belief for the people (Smith 1992, p. 63). There were already a negative approach for the nationalism all around the region; it had lost its popularity. When the Soviet Union was pulled down, Eastern Germany had joined the German lands and the separated structure of Germany had ended. This situation had helped the development of the democratic structure of the country.
However, the 1980s, right before the union of two German lands, there was a new threat for the German democracy: Neo-Nazis. In actually, Neo-Nazi problem had showed itself during the mid-period of the 1970s; but, it had reached its powerful potential in the 1980s. It was a threat for the democratic structure of the country. The Neo-Nazi fact had cause the death of the migrants including Turkish people, Negro people, Muslim and Jewish religious groups. The armed Neo-Nazi groups had ordered different operations against these groups until the 1990s (Mayall, 1990). Perhaps, they had no serious support from the society; however, the young people trusted their ideas.
In basic, the Neo-Nazis seem like the terrorist groups; they do not see any respect from the society and the state establishments. Moreover, they are accepted as the potential guilty people. That is why the efficiency of the Nazi culture and the nationalism had lost its efficiency mostly; because, the nationalism does not mean an extreme opposition against the other states, people, societies and cultures. The changing definition of the nationalism had gained a positive viewpoint between the German people (Smith 1992, p. 58-59).
But, today, the German nationalism is in a different way. It is a truth that the German nationalism had lost its dangerous and threatening view; as mentioned above, it has become more peaceful. However, it is hard to say that the extreme German nationalism is not alive. Today, Germany is a European Union member and the federal country has a powerful democratic system. At the same time, the ideological are free to be voiced. But, it is a new chance for the extreme German nationalism. In the current democratic structure of the country, there are a lot of extreme nationalist parties like NPD. These parties are the changed and developed structures of the German nationalism and they announce their voices in the political platform (Gellner, 2009). On the other hand, they are not related the extreme terrorist and anarchist groups. Fortunately, they have no connection with the Neo-Nazis. However, their viewpoint on the migrant people and the different religious groups in the country is not peaceful.
In the conclusion, it is right to say that the nationalism has lived different periods in Germany. The specific terms between 1850 and 1945 were the terms the German nationalism was so powerful. But, the revolutionary change in the country after the Second World War has opened a new political future for Germany and it has removed the nationalist influence from the country. After the Soviet Union’s downfall, two Germany lands have come together and today, Germany was one of the vital parts of the European Union. Naturally, the democratic change and the existing modern political structure is effective Germany’s change. The German identity concerns so many different nationalities and religious groups today; particularly, rising of the Turkish society on the German lands has changed their position from minority to the natural nationality. There are Jewish people live in Germany, too (Conrad and O'Hagan, 2010). So, it is easy to say that Germany’s nationalism is limited and the new formation of the addresses different groups of people in the country. Although, ongoing Neo-Nazi threat and the new nationalist political parties, Germany seems like that it has forgotten its painful past during the extreme nationalist years of the country.
