The paradoxical reality of the totalitarian system: between ideological cleansing and pragmatic integration

The establishment of totalitarian rule in the Soviet occupation zone and the later republic required the complex balancing act between ideological purity and pragmatic securing of power. What was presented to the outside world as a consistent overcoming of the fascist past turned out to be the system full of contradictions inside. On the one hand, the new elite had tocreate seemingly homogeneous society that nipped any resistance in the bud, and on the other hand was forced to compromise with those forces that would have had to ideologically eradicate them. This profound upheaval affected all sections of the population and formed society, which was shaped by constant surveillance, collective coercion and the constant presence of the imaginaryenemy was held together.

The social truce and the power of the collective

The new dominion elite was forced to enter the implied pact with the working class, on whose behalf it legitimized its claim to power. However, the regime took great severity and class-struggle rhetoric towards farmers, private entrepreneurs and independent thinkers. Public debates about social grievances were prevented because conflictswere considered alien to the new order. The staged backdrop, which was intended to shape the socialist consciousness and mobilize the masses for the construction, took the place of the critical public. The rulers presented their system as the almost perfect structure, the harmony of which is only disturbed by a few enemies.

The education through the collective and the limits of autonomy

In order to put this historical teleology into practice, the prevailing commonalities had to find common ground with the majority population. The transfiguration of work and progress proved to be the most sustainable means of making the autonomy permanent. In this civilization, the work was not just done, but the work was transfigured to the heroic deed. The individualalways had to act within the framework of the collective, be it on the production front or in the fight against the enemy. These collectives acted as the social buffer between the individual and public authority. They ensured social security as long as one adhered to the limits given politically.

The construction of the objective enemy

The enemy in his various forms was the central player in the ensemble of totalitarian myths. Society saw itself as selective and divided people into good and bad categories. Real and supposed opponents were marked ideologically and rigorously removed. The prerequisite for this exclusion was the construction of the objective opponent. This differencefrom earlier suspects by not becoming an enemy through the regime’s policy alone, but solely through the regime’s policies. The methods of exclusion ranged from physical annihilation to imprisonment to expulsion.

The re-education and the dehumanization of the dissenter

Parallel to the process of exclusion, the process of re-education as a whole was set in motion. Those elements that the party found receptive were allowed to participate in the construction of the new order. The armed organs were responsible for physical extinction and imprisonment, while all state institutions served for re-education. The communists maintainedThe externalist image of man, according to which the new man still had to be formed. Language and images were manipulated to create new links among the population. The propagandists dehumanized the groups to be fought through by nature concepts to justify their exclusion.

The psychological function of enemy images

In order for the majority of the population to signal their approval by passive watching, the image of the enemy had to be plausible. Only the acceptance of the idea that enemies should be destroyed on the way to paradise could be justified by dictatorial rule. The publicly mediated enemy images were vague enough to increase the motivation of those involved in persecutionwanted to participate. These terms were often not pure inventions, but nuances of existing vocabulary. For those who were not assigned to the enemy groups, the risk of repression was low until they publicly objected. The enemy projections welded the adjusted majority with the elite and consolidated the regime.

The total penetration of society

In the early days of rule, violence and terror were the legitimate means of exercising power. In order to introduce the population into the new system, the leadership became a social concession after the elimination of the internal party opposition. The apparatus of dominance permeated all areas of life, and the autonomy of social subsystems was deliberately destroyed. totalitarianReign is ultimately measured by the loss of individual and collective autonomy. No population group was exempt from repression and re-education. Totalitarianism grasped the entire society and hardly left any structure untouched.

The fate of the Sorbian organization

Under these circumstances, the Sorbian individual was only collectively involving the Domowina organization or the renunciation of public participation. This organization owed its existence to the fact that it had to act as a transmission belt of the ruling party. She was responsible for educating people to become socialist personality. At the same time they wereofficials strive to control and discipline Sorbian society. The thinking of the members was explored by constantly fueling ideological debates. However, after its turning to the ideology of power, this organization hardly represented the significant part of the population.

The staging of justice in the show trials

After the secret camps were dissolved, the prisoners who were handed over were taken to Waldheim to be judged in staged proceedings. Carefully prepared show trials served as the flagship for alleged reckoning with the criminals of the past. In reality, this was the abuse of anti-fascism to justify the previous onesinternment policy and for oppression of those who think differently. When convicted, the justification was often succinctly that the accused had promoted the tyranny through his position. Proof of individual guilt was not provided, and the sentences were extremely hard. The former camp prisoners were the first political prisoners of the new state.

The work of the military tribunals and the arbitrariness of the judiciary

The large part of the citizens convicted by military tribunals also came to prison in prison. The increase in convicts shows that the Soviet courts continued their activities on this territory. The occupying bodies were able to criminalize political opponents and politicize criminal acts. With the arrest was the danger of theThose affected have already been proven, and the mere enemy suspicion sealed the fate of the convicted. The procedures were often carried out without defenders and without witnesses. Often the charges were based exclusively on blackmailed confessions.

The paradoxical integration of former fascists

The occupying power’s actions enabled the leadership to integrate former members of the fascist party into political life. The involvement of these followers created the loyal potential and helped to overcome other traditions. It was not required to prove the unloadedness, but to prove positively of the cooperation in the new structure. At the same time, the cleanuppushed forward by the enemy’s own party. Numerous members were removed, and those who returned from exile claimed absolute power. The cleanup affected former comrades, dissenters and dissenters within their own ranks.

The rise of the burdened to the new elite

Since the former supporters of the fascist party made up the large part of the total population, there was no alternative to opening the party. Many former supporters of the youth organizations found their way to the new management elite. A number of them rose in the new hierarchy, although they had kept secret their previous membership. There were also numerous in the highest committeespeople previously organized in the fascist party. After the Stalinist purges, the confrontation with the past lost importance. The problem was projected outward and one was staged as the moral authority.

The invention of subsequent purification

In contrast to Western society, which critically dealt with the past, such a process did not take place here for ideological reasons. The leadership suppressed any criticism of the integration of the burdened. She invented the pattern of interpretation, after which all who had recognized the true character of the system automatically became anti-fascists. Ideally hadThis averting to happen before the end of the war, if necessary only in captivity. This construct allowed to keep the past silent and still claim moral superiority.