What are the peculiar features of Nazi thinking?

Nazi thinking was synonymous with Hitler’s worldview. The features of such thinking are as follows:

(I) There was no equality among the human race, only a racial hierarchy with the blonde, blue-eyed, Nordic German Aryans being at the top and the Jews being placed at the bottom level. All the other colored people were placed somewhere in between depending on their external features.

(II) The other aspect of Nazi ideology was the concept of Lebensraum or living space. It was believed that new territories had to be acquired at the expense of the local population in order to enhance material resources and the power of the German nation.

(III) They believed in the survival of the fittest, which was a twisted version of Charles Darwin's theory about natural selection. In their version, they believed that the strongest race would survive while the weak would perish

(IV) Nazi thinking put much emphasis on ‘racial purity. This meant that anyone born with physical and mental disabilities was considered ‘undesirable’ and impure. Allowing their existence would only pollute the German race and hence they had no right to exist. Along with Jews, Gypsies, Slavic race and blacks were considered subhuman and executed in large numbers under the shadow of World War II.

(V) Nazis believed in war and aggression. Any notion of peace or related ideologies was considered weak by their standards. They believed that world domination through the war was justified in proving the superiority of the German race.