How the Nazis Constructed an Aryan Identity During World War 2?
During World War II, the Nazi government employed a vast array of tactics to establish of their ideal of the “Aryan race.” Drawing on longstanding ideals of racial purity, the Nazis utilized a variety of methods to both cultivate and enforce their Aryan identity. This included the promotion of certain physical traits, the destruction of those deemed innately flawed or impure, and popularization of certain activities and values associated with the “master race.” This article will explore the ways in which the Nazis used propaganda, laws, and violence to create and maintain an Aryan identity during World War II.
The Nazi Ideal of German Physicality
At the heart of the Nazis’ Aryan identity was the ideal of a Germanic physicality. This was used to measure the worth and purity of an individual, based on external characteristics such as overall health, body shape, skin color, hair, height, and eye color. Those who were deemed to have strong and “Aryan-looking” features were praised and celebrated while those who were deemed to have “less desirable” features, such as being disabled, were maligned and discriminated against.
In particular, the Nazis famously valued blond hair and blue eyes as signifiers of Nordic Aryan beauty. This notion was popularized via posters, statues and other propaganda, setting a stringent standard for the appearance of an Aryan ideal. Notably, this ideal often excluded darker-skinned people from being viewed as part of the Aryan race, no matter how strong their Germanic lineage.
Nazi Laws and Racial Policies
The Nazis also developed a range of laws and policies concerning race, which shaped the identity of Germans and other Europeans living under their rule. This included requiring all citizens to register their heritage and lineage with the state in order to prove their “Aryan” status. Jews in particular were ordered to wear a yellow star to identify themselves as “other”, a designation often met with violence, discrimination, and segregation.
The Nazis also implemented a Nuremberg Race Laws in 1935, which provided detailed instructions on who could be considered a citizen of the Reich. These laws are famously known for making it illegal for Jews to marry or have sexual relations with “Aryans”. They also mandated the extermination of disabled people deemed “unfit” to live in Nazi Germany and allowed the forced sterilization of those deemed to have “defects”.
Nazi Propaganda
One of the most powerful tools used to spread the Nazi ideal of Aryan identity was its propaganda machine. The Ministry of Propaganda, headed by Joseph Goebbels, spread its message through the press, film, and radio. This included Nazi slogans, movements, and organizations such as the Hitler Youth, which sought to foster a sense of loyalty, national pride, and racial purity in young people.
The Nazis also utilized symbols and iconography such as the swastika, as well as physical devices such as banners and parades to effectively spread its message. Nazi leaders were often depicted in heroic poses, with their bodies and faces demonstrating their Aryan strength and beauty. The Nazis were master political propagandists, and their message of Aryan supremacy was able to take a firm hold in the psyche of the German public.
The Holocaust
Finally, one of the most well-known but horrific methods of maintaining a Nazi Aryan identity was through the Holocaust. This is when millions of Jews were systematically murdered in gas chambers and other concentration camps. The Nazis also murdered other identifiably “undesirable” people, such as disabled people and homosexuals.
These executions were designed to rid Nazi Germany of those who were deemed innately flawed or impure, and to create a “purified” Aryan race. The murder of millions of Jews was part and parcel of the Nazi attempt to achieve their vision of a perfect society and their messages of racial superiority.
During World War II, the Nazi government used a variety of methods, from propaganda and laws to violence, in order to create an Aryan identity. This identity was based on physicality and race, with physical traits, such as blond hair and blue eyes, being celebrated. At the same time, certain groups of individuals, namely Jews and other minority groups, were maligned and systematically killed in the Nazi attempt to create a perfect Aryan race. Today, the legacy of the Nazi Aryan identity, with its horrific implications, serves as a reminder of the power of ideology and the need to confront hate and prejudice in any form.
