In conclusion we see that Nationalism started out as wanting to be a liberating influence on the world, such as in Fichte or Herder, with an emphasis on freedom of the individual and sovereign nationality. These ideas as we have seen were soon distorted beyond all recognition.
From the late nineteenth century onwards we see a growth in nationalist tendencies, the philosophies become increasingly harder in their opinions and their world outlook. Also as they become harder in their opinions, the further they distance themselves from the original roots of German nationalism. Amongst their opinions, we have the conception of the Left as an evil and decadent influence on society, an enemy within. This in turn leads on to the development of an impure race which needs to be purified to rid itself of these decadent traits. Following on from this the creation of a master race who will expand and rule the world. After this there is the mystical side of nationalism giving it its religious fervour, and finally the concept of the Führer who would make all this happen.
Hitler was indeed the man who made it happen. He was able to utilise all the past conceptions for his own benefit. The Zwischenreich idea he was able to claim was the Weimar Republic, and as people had lost faith in it they believed something new must be coming. The idea of the enemy within was a gift for Hitler as it enabled him to give something for people to concentrate their hate and energies on, without its long history the Nazi propaganda would have probably been far less effective. Likewise the idea of purifying the race had existed for a long time and was accepted by many people as a scientific fact due to distortions on the theories of Darwin, purity of the species and survival of the strongest. Thus many people believed Hitler when he said it was necessary. Finally the concept of the Führer enabled Hitler to use this image to its fullest and portray himself as the saviour of Germany. However, these concepts again have nothing to do with the earliest forms of German nationalist thinking at all. They show clearly that there is no real logical to the development of the Nazis' ideas. The Nazis choose the ideas that suited them from the nineteenth century and applied them to the modern world. It is therefore a mistake to try and see a logical, coherent development from Herder to the Nazis as there is none. The want to try and see this development also in fact distorts history to a dangerous extent. If there had been a logical development the Nazis would have been inevitable, however they were not if we look closely at history.
Finally, the last question is why did the nationalist cause and parties not gain more credibility before Hitler? One answer is of course the economic and historical circumstances would not allow an extremist party to take over before the First World War, indeed in 1932 the Nazis started to lose votes as the economic situation started to improve. On the question of parties however the answer is slightly different. There were indeed many other nationalist parties, what these however lacked was a Hitler. His impressive oratory skills no doubt helped him, however he also created a unique Weltanschauung which appealed to many people. As we have seen he used common past völkisch conceptions to build and illustrate his Weltanschauung, yet other nationalist parties also used old völkisch conceptions so what then was the difference?
The difference was that Hitler gave these philosophies a new lease of life. He knocked the dust off their covers and brought the words alive. He turned these words into a reality by the creation and organisation of his party. His party was a Führer party which meant it had a united front, something which had never really been achieved in völkisch circles before with their various factions. He also gave his Weltanschauung a new aggressive, fighting edge to it which appealed to many frustrated people in the Weimar Republic.
From the various philosophies, myths and stories that had gone before he created a powerful new ideology which fused various elements of völkisch mythology together to appeal to the broad masses. Indeed, this ideology although very illogical in its construction and its history had just the appeal he desired, and Hitler gained power. The world Hitler constructed though was very different from that desired by Herder and Fichte. Only one man was in charge in Germany under Hitler in contrast to Herder's and Fichte's want for more liberal forms of government. All freedom of thought was abolished under Hitler which would have outraged both early thinkers. Also the aggressive edge which Hitler added contrasts especially strongly against Herder's more liberal, peaceful attitude. Even with Fichte who was suggesting revolution against the French, Hitler's aggressiveness seems overpowering and evil. Where as Fichte wanted to free and liberate, Hitler wanted to enslave people to his will. Thus we again see that there is a great difference between the world desired by early nationalist thinkers and the Nazis. In the end though, this ideology took him and Germany to the final conclusion of Nazi ideology in war and genocide.
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