Social dimension of the Third Reich: promises and expectations (the case study of the German labour front activities in 1933-1939)

Despite a great deal of work done in studying National Socialism, there are still “blind spots” in this subject matter that continue to attract attention. In this article, the authors raise the issue of social preferences and social order in Nazi Germany. Attention is focused on the activities of the German Labour Front, which was involved in social policy. The purpose of the article is to assess the results of the practical activities of the Labour Front in terms of their compliance with the pledges and formed expectations. Sources of the research included the works of the National Socialism leaders, regulatory documents, statistical materials and the periodicals of the Third Reich. As a result of the parliamentary elections of 1932, the National Socialist German Workers' Party led by A. Hitler took power in Germany. For many Germans, Hitler's pledges presented him as a person who knows what to do under the conditions of post-war peace unfair for Germany, what the German people need and how to give it to them. Hitler supported his promises with the concept of the “popular community” (Volksgemeinschaft). The German Labour Front, which united people regardless of their social and economic situation, was perceived as a platform for the formation of a new social model in which consensus could be reached based on common interests and common good. Primarily, the emphasis was placed on the possibility of overriding class contradictions and unfolding social partnership. In 1933-1939 German Labour Front formed a solid foundation for the dialogue with the Germans in terms of “popular community”. Using the attitudes of collectivist ethics, they aimed at forming with people “offended” by the Weimar Republic a sense of equal opportunities, class solidarity, and incorporation into a single social organism. R. Ley, who was interested in the favorable reputation of his organization, voiced attractive pledges, but their implementation caused questions. As practice showed, the GLF met the expectations in some part, thereby maintaining a positive image of a caring state and providing the capital of popular confidence in the regime. Nevertheless, a part of the expectations turned out to be failed, since the organization's possibilities were limited in a certain way. First, it supported the general discriminatory attitude of the regime, and even some Germans, for one reason or another, recognized as “undesirable”, were excluded from the sphere of its activity and could not count on its support. Secondly, it could not withstand competition with the relevant government departments and was forced to deviate from its promises, as it happened in the field of labour relations. Thirdly, the scope of its activities and its promises depended on the economic and political conjuncture.

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