Nazi Philanthropy and German Society. Reflection of mentality in everyday life

Each nation is characterized by specific features of character, behavior and world outlook. This is where the concept of "mentality" comes in. What it is?

Germans are a special people

Mentality is a fairly new concept. If, characterizing an individual, we are talking about his character, then when characterizing a whole people, it is appropriate to use the word "mentality". So, mentality is a set of generalized and widespread ideas about psychological properties nationality. The mentality of the Germans is a manifestation of national identity and features people.

Who are called Germans?

The Germans call themselves Deutsche. They represent the titular nation. The people belong to the West Germanic subgroup of the Germanic peoples of the Indo-European language family.

The Germans speak German. It distinguishes two subgroups of dialects, the names of which originated from the distribution among the inhabitants along the course of the rivers. The population of the south of Germany belongs to the High German dialect, the inhabitants of the northern part of the country speak the Low German dialect. In addition to these main varieties, there are 10 additional dialects and 53 local dialects.

There are 148 million German-speaking inhabitants of Europe. Of these, 134 million people call themselves Germans. The rest of the German-speaking population was distributed as follows: 7.4 million are Austrians (90% of all inhabitants of Austria); 4.6 million are Swiss (63.6% of the Swiss population); 285 thousand - Luxembourgers; 70 thousand are Belgians and 23.3 thousand are Liechtensteiners.

Most of the Germans live in Germany, approximately 75 million. They constitute the national majority in all the lands of the country. Traditional religious beliefs are Catholicism (mainly in the north of the country) and Lutheranism (common in the South German lands).

Features of the German mentality

The main feature of the German mentality is pedantry. Their desire to restore and maintain order is fascinating. Precisely pedantry is the source of many national virtues of the Germans. The first thing that catches the eye of a guest from another country is the thoroughness of the roads, life and service. Rationality is combined with practicality and convenience. The thought involuntarily arises: this is how a civilized person should live.

Finding a rational explanation for every event is the goal of every self-respecting German. In any, even an absurd situation, there is always a step-by-step description of what is happening. The mentality of the Germans does not allow to ignore the slightest nuances of the expediency of each activity. To make "by eye" is below the dignity of a true German. Hence the high evaluation of products, which is manifested in the famous expression "German quality".

Honesty and a sense of honor are the features that characterize the mentality of the German people. Young children are taught to achieve everything on their own, nobody gets anything for free. Therefore, cheating is not common in schools, and in stores it is customary to pay for all purchases (even if the cashier makes a mistake in the calculations or does not notice the goods). The Germans feel guilty for Hitler's activities, so in the country for the post-war decades not a single boy has been named after him Adolf.

Thrift - that's what else manifests the German character and mentality. Before making a purchase, a true German will compare the prices of goods in different stores and find the lowest one. Business dinners or lunches with German partners can confuse representatives of other nations, as they will have to pay for the meals themselves. The Germans do not like excessive extravagance. They are very thrifty.

The peculiarity of the mentality of the Germans is amazing cleanliness. Cleanliness in everything, from personal hygiene to the place of residence. An unpleasant smell from an employee or wet, sweaty palms can serve as a good reason for dismissal from work. Throwing garbage out of a car window or throwing a bag of garbage next to a trash can is nonsense for a German.

German punctuality is a purely national trait. The Germans are very sensitive to their time, so they do not like it when they have to waste it. They get angry at those who are late for a meeting, but they treat those who arrive earlier just as badly. All the time of a German person is scheduled by the minute. Even to meet a friend, they will need to look at the schedule and find a window.

The Germans are a very specific people. If they invited you for tea, know that there will be nothing but tea. In general, the Germans rarely invite guests to their house. If you have received such an invitation, it is a sign of great respect. Coming to visit, he presents flowers to the hostess, and sweets to the children.

Germans and folk traditions

The mentality of the Germans is manifested in the observance folk traditions and strict adherence to them. There are a great many such norms passing from century to century. True, at the core they are not of a national character, but are distributed over a certain area. Thus, urbanized Germany has retained traces of rural planning even in large cities. In the center of the settlement is a market square with a church, public buildings and a school. Residential neighborhoods diverge from the square in radii.

Folk clothing on the Germans appears in each locality has its own colors and decoration of the costume, but the cut is the same. The men wear tight pants, stockings and buckled shoes. A light-colored shirt, vest and long-skirted caftan with huge pockets complete the look. Women dress in a white blouse with sleeves, a dark corset with lacing and a deep neckline, and a wide pleated skirt, over which is a bright apron.

The national one is pork dishes (sausages and sausage) and beer. Festive dish - pork head with stewed cabbage, baked goose or carp. Drinks include tea and coffee with cream. Dessert consists of gingerbread and biscuits with confiture.

How Germans greet each other

The rule that came from the depths of centuries to greet each other with a strong handshake has been preserved by the Germans to this day. The gender difference doesn't matter: German women do the same thing. When parting, the Germans again shake hands.

At the workplace, employees on "You" and strictly by last name. And in addition to the business sphere, the appeal to “you” is common among the Germans. Age or social status does not matter. Therefore, if you are working with a German partner, be prepared to be called "Mr. Ivanov." If your German friend is 20 years younger than you, then he will still address you as “you”.

Passion for travel

The desire to travel and discover new lands - that's what the mentality of the Germans is manifested in. They like to visit exotic corners of distant countries. But visiting the developed USA or Great Britain does not attract Germans. In addition to the fact that it is impossible to get unprecedented impressions here, a trip to these countries is expensive for a family wallet.

Commitment to education

The Germans are very sensitive to the national culture. That is why in communication it is customary to demonstrate one's education. A well-read person can show off knowledge of German history, show awareness in other areas of life. Germans are proud of their culture and feel a sense of belonging to it.

Germans and humor

Humor is, from the point of view of the average German, an extremely serious matter. The German style of humor is crude satire or caustic witticisms. When translating German jokes, it is not possible to convey all their colorfulness, since humor depends on the specific situation.

Joking in the workplace is not accepted, especially in relation to superiors. Jokes about foreigners are condemned. Jokes spread over East Germans after German reunification. The most common witticisms ridicule the carelessness of the Bavarians and the cunning of the Saxons, the lack of intelligence of the East Frisians and the quickness of the Berliners. The Swabians are offended by jokes about their thrift, because they see nothing reprehensible in it.

Reflection of mentality in everyday life

German culture and German mentality are reflected in daily processes. For a foreigner, this seems unusual, for Germans it is the norm. There are no 24-hour shops in Germany. On weekdays they close at 20:00, on Saturday - at 16:00, on Sunday they do not open.

Shopping is not in the habit of the Germans, they save their time and money. Spending on clothes is the most undesirable item of expenditure. German women are forced to limit spending on cosmetics and outfits. But few people care. In Germany, they do not strive to meet any accepted standards, so everyone dresses the way they want. The main thing is comfort. No one pays attention to unusual clothes and does not condemn anyone.

Children from early childhood receive pocket money and learn to satisfy their desires on it. From the age of fourteen, a child enters adulthood. This is manifested in attempts to find their place in the world and rely only on themselves. Elderly Germans do not seek to replace parents for children, becoming nannies for their grandchildren, but live their own lives. They spend a lot of time traveling. In old age, everyone relies on himself, trying not to burden children with self-care. Many old people end up in nursing homes.

Russians and Germans

It is generally accepted that the mentality of Germans and Russians is the complete opposite. The proverb “What is good for a Russian is like death for a German” confirms this. But there are common features of the national character of these two peoples: humility before fate and obedience.

The book "The Way to One Way" will be presented in Moscow. Its release is timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the deportation of Russian Germans. The basis of this book was the diaries of one of the hundreds of thousands of Russian Germans deported in September 1941 - Dmitry Bergman. The author began to keep his diary on the day when the Decree on the deportation of the Germans was published, and the last entries were made a few days before his death. Dmitry Bergman lived with his family in the Volga region, but he and his family were taken out of what was then the Republic of Germans to a remote Siberian village.

In 1941, the autonomy of the Volga Germans ceased to exist. Although this territory was inhabited by the German people for many years. The most massive settlement occurred thanks to Catherine II. At the beginning of the second half of XVIII century, the empress invited the inhabitants of some European countries to move to the banks of the Volga.

Manifesto on permission for all foreigners entering Russia to settle in which provinces they wish and on the rights granted to them.

We, knowing the space of the lands of Our Empire, among other things, see the most favorable for the population and habitation of the human race most useful places, to this day still idly remaining, a considerable number, of which many in their bowels hide an inexhaustible wealth of various metals; and as there are enough forests, rivers, lakes and seas for commerce, so the ability to multiply many manufactories, factories and other plants is great. This gave Us a reason in favor of all Our loyal subjects to issue a manifesto...

In her documents, the empress wrote that life in Russia would become a dream for visiting foreigners: “with the provision of more favorable conditions for a better life than they had in their homeland.”

The colonists were provided with money, promised not to apply bans on religion, and were given the opportunity to take a loan from the state. At that time, ordinary Germans experienced difficulties - they were subjected to harassment by landowners, they experienced economic needs. Therefore, many accepted the invitation of the Empress of Russia with joy. Most of the immigrants settled in the territories of the current Saratov and Volgograd regions. These places were well suited for agriculture, and hardworking Germans quickly settled down there.

In the Volga region, the Germans managed to preserve their culture and customs. Although they respected Christian holidays, but marked them in their own way. On Easter, for example, they put gifts in chicken nests, and the children were told that they had brought them " Easter Bunny"(from this, perhaps, the expression was fixed in Russia, -" this is for you from a bunny, "when they bring goodies to children).

By the twentieth century, there were about two hundred colonies in the Volga region, which were inhabited by 407.5 thousand people. Most of them were immigrants from Germany. By this time they were known as "Volga Germans". At home they were called die Wolgadeutschen.

German settlement

But the Volga region was not the first to let the Germans into its territory. Foreigners from Germany settled in Moscow and other Russian cities as early as the 15th-16th centuries. Their villages were called the German Quarter. The first settlement in Moscow appeared and did even Basil III. But it survived its heyday during the reign of Peter the Great. The settlement attracted the young king - he was interested in communicating with people who knew how to build ships, who knew how to have fun and skillfully look after the ladies.

It was there that Petr Alekseevich met the teachers of maritime affairs - Franz Timmerman and Karsten Brandt. New Nemetskaya Sloboda (the Old one was burned down during the attack of Khan Devlet Giray in 1571) eventually became the social and cultural center of Moscow: the Kremlin with its ancient palaces did not please Peter.

Ancient Russia with the Germans

If you dig even deeper, then a lot of German roots can be found even in Ancient Russia. On the territory of the East Slavic principalities there were German masters and artisans. Some came voluntarily, while others had to leave their native lands by order: for example, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince Andrei, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa sent his architects to build part of Suzdal (first half of the 12th century).

Bilateral marriages between the nobility were actively concluded in Ancient Russia, which allowed the Russian princes to strengthen relations with Europeans. For example, Prince Vladimir the Red Sun married the daughter of the German Count Kuno von Enningen. And three sons of Yaroslav the Wise were married to German princesses. So German family trees have a very long history in Russia.

Century XX. Post-war life

The Great Patriotic War, of course, left a big imprint on the fate of the Germans in Russia. After the events of 1941-1945, there were 2,389,560 Germans on the territory of the USSR (according to Soviet data, there were other figures in Germany - more than three million). The topic of their life in the post-war USSR was closed to conversation. They rebuilt the destroyed cities, lived in camps. It is worth noting that their work was benign - they could not even understand the meaning of the word "hack".

Temporary accommodation of Volga Germans in Kansas, 1875

During the years of the Khrushchev “thaw”, the picture changes slightly. At this time, the institutions of national culture even began to be restored. But the Germans still did not feel complete freedom. For example, they were allowed to hold their own cultural events, but only those that were not contrary to party policy.

The Germans breathed freedom during the period of perestroika. Indicative during this period was the fact that they began to write about them in the newspapers.

Closer to our days

In the early 90s, the German Society of St. Petersburg was organized in St. Petersburg. Newspaper relaunched "St. Petersburgische Zeitung». Social movements of Russian Germans began to emerge, which dealt with the issue of national revival. One of the leaders of such a movement was the famous academician Boris Raushenbakh. He also made a significant contribution to the development of Soviet cosmonautics. However, many events, discoveries, works of culture and art are connected with the Germans in the history of Russia. The artist Karl Bryullov, the navigator Ivan Kruzenshtern, the outstanding pianists Svyatoslav Richter and Rudolf Kerer, the poet Afanasy Fet, Denis Fonvizin and many other outstanding personalities left a trace in time.

Russian Germans today

At the beginning of 2010, according to the All-Russian population census, more than three hundred thousand Russian Germans lived in Russia. These people treat their ancestors with great respect, honor their traditions and culture. They collect historical facts, hold festivals in Russia.

Today in Russia there is a large number of associations of Russian Germans at the local, regional and all-Russian level. In large cities of the country there are cultural German centers. For example, the German Cultural Center. Goethe has many branches in Russian cities. The Russian-German House in Moscow is actively working. There are communities in social networks, for example, "The German Community in Russia", "Russian Germans", "Society of Russian Germans". So, if you enter the search for "VKontakte" the phrase "Russian Germans", the result will give about 40 found groups.

In one of these groups, we talked with Russian German Marina Essen, who lives in the city of Orenburg. In 1765, her distant ancestor, on the basis of the manifesto of Catherine the Great, decided to move to Russia. He came from southern Germany and founded a colony in the Volga region called Galka. Marina's ancestors lived there until 1941, then they were all deported. Marina Essen treats the history of her family with deep respect, but, according to the girl, it is extremely difficult to revive culture.

“Unfortunately, the deportation caused enormous damage and forever changed the life of the Germans on Russian soil. The history of (Russian) Germans is tragically over and it is almost impossible to revive something: to preserve their way of life, culture, traditions in such a vast country. In my opinion, after a while the Germans may completely disappear from Russia. We do not have our own territory, we are scattered not only throughout Russia, but also in Kazakhstan. mixed marriages will dissolve the Germans in numerous other nationalities,” says Essen.

Ekaterina Gerbst lives in Tyumen. her ancestor Johann Herbst immigrated with his wife from the city of Mecklenburg. They arrived in Russia around 1762-1763, already here their children were born.

Several generations of Herbst lived in the Volgograd region. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the family of Ekaterina's grandfather, Viktor Gerbst (who was still a child), was repressed in the village of Mirny, Tyumen Region. Ekaterina's grandfather, his mother and brothers managed to survive, and already his grandfather and father were shot.

Subsequently, three brothers were sent to the Gulag for 10 years. After Catherine's grandfather's brothers left the camp, they got married and took their wives' surnames. Only Catherine Gerbst's grandfather, Viktor, left his German surname. He lived in Mirny until 1985, then moved. Now this village does not exist - its last inhabitants were Germans - Ekaterina Gerbst's maternal grandparents. When they died, the village was gone.

Ekaterina says that her grandfather moved to the village of Leninka in the Tyumen region and lived there until his death. Sometimes she comes to this village. There, according to the story of a Russian German woman, they still celebrate Easter according to the Lutheran tradition and bury people according to German customs: “this is all that remains of German culture and all that I observe as a representative of this nation. And when these two German grandmothers and grandfather of 78 years old are burying people, I think about what will happen next. The young generation of Russian Germans also lives in this village, but few of them honor the traditions of German culture,” says Ekaterina.

“For my family, all this is very important, as this is my story, the story of my family. I understand that our customs are forgotten over time. My grandparents were fluent in their language and honored traditions, in the post-war period - from about the 50s, when my parents were born - they were branded "fascists". Not only for my parents, but for the entire generation of that time. Someone was ashamed of this, and someone got married or got married and took the name of the spouse. Traditions were gradually lost. In my family, on both sides, all Germans, but there are only a few people like us. And I am very positive about the revival of German culture - we also have our own customs and traditions, just like Caucasians, Chuvash, Russians, ”adds the Russian German.

Our own among strangers and strangers among our own. The beginning of the history of their life in Russia, it seems, cannot be found. Maybe their story has no boundaries at all. It is clear that many Russian Germans greatly honor their traditions and feel that they belong to some special culture, whose people love Russia and respect their German roots.

Oksana Anatsheva

Once they were invited to Russia by Catherine II. They came looking better share, cultivated the steppe lands, gave birth to children. And after a few centuries they were forced to leave their homes and sent in cattle cars to the Far North, Altai, Siberia, Kazakhstan. Where many did not return.

Our story is about the Russian Germans, who have had a lot of hardships. About all this, "AiF on Don" talked with the chairman of the Rostov regional organization of Russian Germans "Wiedergeburt-Don" Irina Weber. She could have lived in Germany, but she chose Rostov.

cozy nest

Yulia Morozova, AiF on Don: Irina Fridrikhovna, the first Germans who arrived in Russia were called colonists. Why did Catherine need them?

In 1763, the queen signed the "Manifesto on the Advances and Privileges Granted to Foreign Settlers" (exemption from conscription and taxes for decades, settlement in any part of the country, duty-free trade, interest-free loans, etc.).

Irina Weber Photo: From the personal archive /

And wagon trains from European countries were pulled. Most - from Germany, torn apart by internal problems.

The Germans came to the Don later, around the 70s of the XIX century. The settlers, with characteristic German pedantry, were able to arrange a neat family nest, to recreate a corner of the Germany they had left.

In 1914, there were 123 German settlements in the Don Host Region, among them Olgenfeld (Olgino Field), Ruenthal (Valley of Peace), Mariental (Valley of Mary), Blumenthal (Valley of Flowers), Eigenheim (Our Home), Eigenfeld (Our Field).

And in 1917, 35,000 Germans lived on the Don. Their way of farming was adopted by landowners, Cossacks and peasants.

Indeed, there was much to learn. The Germans had the most modern agricultural equipment for that time. Which, by the way, for the most part they themselves made in iron foundries.

Factories and forges, carpenters, craft workshops, steam and water mills, oil mills - all this was in almost every village. The Germans communicated with the native locals, but still their communities were isolated. Only the settlers spoke their native language among themselves, and at school all instruction was in German.

- Probably, hard times began for the Don Germans with the onset of the First World War?

Not certainly in that way. This war did not particularly affect the measured course of their lives. During civil war the German colonies were plundered by numerous gangs traveling around the steppes. But the same thing happened in the Cossack villages.

Then food detachments went along the Don, a wave of requisitions and requisitions swept. However, the majority of Germans accepted Soviet power and collectivization. And already in the 30s, newspapers were full of reports about the victories of German brigades and collective farms in various socialist competitions.

And on August 28, 1941, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the deportation of Germans to Siberia and Kazakhstan was issued.

Representatives of my people were accused of espionage. Thousands of Germans died in prisons, in deportation, in labor army camps and special settlements.

Children were torn from their mothers, sent to orphanages. And on all the stigma "fascist saboteur." The charges were dropped only in 1965. Now August 28 is the Day of Memory and Sorrow of the Russian Germans.

Separation for a lifetime

- Did all these tragic events destroy your family as well?

My father was the director of a school in the small town of Kizel in the Perm Territory, he taught German. There he met a Russian woman who worked as an accountant. Her first husband was shot in the 30s, leaving a daughter.

Friedrich Weber, father of Irina Weber Photo: From personal archive /

My parents' marriage was a happy one. But when the war began, my father was arrested, under a political article (enemy of the people) he was given seven years. Mom was not touched, she is Russian, and she had three children (my brother and I and a daughter from my first marriage).

There was always a picture before my eyes: a broken country road, me, my mother and brother walking along it in the pouring gray rain. On a date in a transit prison. Coldly. Iron gates, bars.

Then my mother told me that while her father was in prison in Perm, she was given one visit, to which she was allowed to bring her children. It's strange that I remember it, because I was only three years old ...

Mom tried her best to feed us, her half-sister died of leukemia, there was nothing to treat her with. My father's term was coming to an end.

How we rejoiced at the letter in which dad asked us to send money for the journey home. But he did not come, and we had no further news of him. We were constantly on the lookout, we found his mother and sister, the relatives said: "Don't look for him, most likely, Friedrich is dead."

Years have passed. We moved to Solikamsk, then I got married in Rostov, a son was born. Suddenly phone call, in the tube my mother's voice: "Irina, now you will talk to your father." I still can’t remember without tears, it doesn’t go away over the years. Hearing dad after 21 years of separation...

- How did it happen that he could not be with you all these years?

When prison term father came to an end, he was sent to Kazakhstan. He also looked for us, but letters from neither side did not reach. Later we found out that private correspondence was subject to lustration and was undesirable for the authorities.

In 1964, during a business trip to the Baltic States, my father lived in a hotel and got into a conversation with one of the guests. We found out that the one from Perm knows the address of my mother's sister's husband. Immediately from the Baltic states, my father rushed there.

My cousin gave the coordinates to my mother. I can't imagine what the parents' meeting was like... I know that they cried for three days.

My story is not unique, there are thousands of such broken destinies. One of the members of our organization, Polina Ivanovna, joined the labor army at the age of 17. She recalls that they, like criminals, were driven to work under escort. And she was inexpressibly ashamed of the fact that on her feet were heavy wooden shoes that rumbled on the pavement.

Such shoes were given to the Germans on purpose, you can’t run far in it. By the way, returning to my father, I will say that he was never allowed to work as a teacher in his specialty. Until his retirement, he was ... a livestock specialist.

Take off your rose colored glasses

- Almost all of your relatives are already in Germany. Why didn't you leave for historical homeland?

All my childhood and youth I experienced difficulties because of a German surname. So, I was the only one from the class who was not accepted as a pioneer: “Wait a minute, girl.”

In the questionnaire, I had to write that my father was convicted under Article 58. There were problems with admission and work. But the patronymic and surname of the father did not change even in marriage.

Now I don't want to deal with paperwork again. And I don't want to go anywhere. Refused to leave and my native brother. He said: “I don’t need their cleaned lawns and flower gardens. Needed where was born".

You know, many Russian Germans, having visited their historical homeland, talk about the extraordinary feeling of “touching their roots”, etc. I don’t feel anything like that, it seems to me that this is for a red word.

- Are those who returned to Germany satisfied with their lives there?

To many people leaving for their historical homeland, I advise you to take off your rose-colored glasses. So, one woman, a musician, before leaving Russia, planned that she would work as a musician in Germany and have students.

But in the end, the Germans take on the prestigious, well-paid work of their native citizens, not visitors. Education must be proven, retrained.

My friends left, one graduated from the philological faculty, the other also has a higher education. As a result, both found work in the Bundeswehr (War Ministry) ... as cleaners. At the same time, they had to complete special courses for this.

Some of the holders of a diploma from a Russian university agree to work on garbage trucks, in bars, but it’s hard for someone to come to terms with this. It seems that the pay is quite decent by our standards, but pride suffers. Therefore, there are cases when people return to Russia.

- You are the chairman of the Wiedergeburt-Don organization, what does it do?

Once in the newspaper "Arguments and Facts" I saw an article about the Rostov regional organization of Russian Germans "Wiedergeburt-Don". Found them, wrote an application for entry.

Communication with people close to me in spirit, learning the German language, culture - all this became necessary for me. In 1999, I became the chairman of the organization and still remain in this position.

My dream was to return the Lutheran Church to all Don Germans. Before the revolution, it was one of the most beautiful buildings on Sedova Street. But then only the pastor's house remained. Later he was gone too.

This place is now a private institution, a restaurant and a trading house. Now the Lutherans of the Rostov region do not have their own church. We held many events to tell the people of Donetsk the history of our people.

Surprisingly, many still sincerely believe that the Russian Germans are "unfinished fascists", I quote verbatim. To this I say: “We are the ones who came at the invitation of Catherine. We are the ones for whom Russia has become a homeland.”

Nazi charity and German society

During the years of the Weimar Republic, only the embryos of the Nazi social welfare system existed inside the NSDAP, and party activists limited themselves to all possible assistance to members of the party or the SA who were left homeless or without a livelihood. In contrast to the weak Nazi philanthropy, there were strong non-Nazi charities in Germany during the Weimar Republic - the Protestant "Inner Mission" (Innere Mission) since 1848, Catholic "German Benevolent Union" (Deutsche Caritasverband) since 1896, German "Red Cross", "Workers' welfare" (Arbeiterwohlfahrt)."Christian Working Aid" (die christliche Arbeiterhife),"Union of prosperity on a parity basis" (Paritdtische Wohlfahrtverhand). Confessional charitable organizations were quite large - they had half the places for charity for the elderly, the sick, the homeless. Religious charities employed tens of thousands of nurses and nurses; half of them were simultaneously employed in public health care. After 1933, the Nazis were able to unify all the social welfare organizations mentioned above (except for the two religious ones), and their property was transferred to the Nazi welfare organization (216) .

Before the Nazis came to power, only the metropolitan party organization was actively involved in charity work. This organization, the Gauleiter of Berlin, Goebbels noticed back in 1931, ordered to provide it financial assistance and actively used it in propaganda. After 1933, Goebbels tried to extend the experience of the metropolitan charitable organization to the entire Reich, and put Erich Hilgenfeld, the most serious social politician of the Third Reich, at its head; he directed this organization from 1933 until its very end. Already in May 1933, Hitler recognized the Hilgenfeldt organization as part of the party organization, and its competence in all matters of charity was also recognized. We are talking about the "National Socialist Service for People's Welfare" NSV (NSV- Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt, second largest after DAF.

At first (after 1933), cooperation between the NSW and religious charitable organizations proceeded normally; Hilgenfeld emphasized his interest in this. The Protestants from the Inner Mission were pleased that after the dissolution of the Center Party, a balance was restored between the two varieties of Christianity: after all, the Protestants did not have their own political party. The new president of the German Red Cross, Duke of Saxe-Coburg, Karl Eduard, was a completely loyal person to the Nazi regime: at the solemn meetings of his organization, he even introduced the Nazi salute and the Nazi anthem. However, on March 24, 1934, the autonomy of religious charitable organizations was ended, and the principle of the Fuhrer was introduced in this area as well: Hilgenfeld took over the leadership (217) . At Hitler's insistence, they did not begin to liquidate religious charity, and only during the war (March 10, 1940) was church charity dissolved - the Gestapo confiscated kindergartens and shelters and transferred them to the NSV (218) .

At first, the party was rather cool about the very term “well-being”, because it was associated with the Weimar Republic and the trade union movement, but this did not last long: after coming to power, the Nazis put on the agenda the task of continuing the powerful German tradition of social politics. Based on this need, Erich Hilgenfeld energetically took up the solution of social problems. A former military man himself, he introduced a hardline command style to the NSW; his task was to create a strictly centralized and scrupulously fulfilling the prescribed functions of the social welfare system throughout the Reich. As noted above, at first the activity of the NRW was inconspicuous in comparison with the activities of working charitable organizations, with Christian and Jewish charity, and with the Red Cross. At first, its competence did not even include non-state assistance and assistance to communities. In addition, within the Nazi regime there was an intense struggle for competencies of any kind - each group (be it the SA, SS, Hitler Youth, etc.) sought to grab the most power; each group would like to take care of its members into its own hands. It was only after the first successful fund-raising campaigns under the leadership of Hilgenfeld in May 1933 that Hitler recognized the NSV as an “internal party organization for the common good”, as an organization responsible for welfare throughout the country (219) . Subsequently, Hilgenfeld used formal powers to overcome the competition of rivals - in this he was greatly assisted by Goebbels and the Minister of the Interior Frick. Hilgenfeld formulated the task of the NSW as follows: "The main task of the NSV should be to assist all the healthy forces of the nation and serve for the benefit of the health of the nation" (220) . As for the rival groups, Hilgenfeld concluded agreements with them on the delimitation of spheres of influence. Hilgenfeld managed to negotiate with the leadership of the Nazi women's organization, but relations with the DAF did not go well - Hilgenfeld and Ley had mutual antipathy (221) . In January 1936, in the process of negotiations with the leadership of the "German Assembly of Communities" (Gemeindetag) and the head of the party committee for communal policy, Reichsleiter Karl Fieler Hilgenfeld, under his auspices, managed to merge all private and state aid. Constantly repeating that it was not he who sought to interfere in the activities of state and communal institutions, he was going to unify all charity. It should be noted that Hilgenfeld was a very ambitious man, and his desire for power took the NSW far beyond the real social assistance. For example, Hilgenfeld took over the leadership and ensuring the "Germanization or Arization" of the children of the peoples occupied by the Nazis. Hilgenfeld did everything thoroughly: they say that after visiting one of the orphanages from of Eastern Europe he wrote to Himmler that these children must either be properly fed so that they become good workers, or killed so that they do not suffer (222). Hilgenfeld even planned to take away the Lebensborn boarding schools from Himmler, in which the children of front-line soldiers were raised. Goering (within the framework of the four-year plan) entrusted him with the "post" of the imperial commissioner for the use of kitchen and food waste, which caused ridicule (223) . On the other hand, this testified to a thorough and scrupulous approach to business, to the desire to rationally take into account all resources. The scope of competence of the NSV was huge and extended not only to the assistance itself, but also to neighboring areas - youth assistance, care of motherhood and childhood (the Mother and Child program), summer and recreational camps for schoolchildren, women's consultations, kindergartens. Hilgenfeld subordinated centers for the training of personnel for social work, legal advice for young people; his organization regulated the process of adoption of children, oversaw nursing, and so on. In 1938, 6,000 nurses were involved in nursing, and during the war a decree was issued on the obligatory departure of three-month service by girl students as sisters (224) . By 1939, the NSV had become the largest organization of the Third Reich after the DAF, with 12.5 million members (15% of the German population); the organization had huge financial resources (225) . The activity of Hilgenfeld and his subordinates should be given their due: the Nazis greatly changed the face of charity. If in the Weimar Republic charity (in the opinion of most Germans) degraded to a thoroughly bureaucratized and soulless system, then the Nazis replaced bureaucratization with the activity, even selflessness of workers in this troublesome area.

At the height of the war, the NSW reached more than 17 million people - it was the largest charitable organization in German history; throughout the country she had comfortable rest homes (226). The SNV activists could even find fault with those who took the places reserved for mothers with children and the elderly in transport; such violators could not only be scolded, but also set on them by stormtroopers, who did not differ in polite manners. In the minds of the broad masses of the population, the NSV often personified the conscience of the nation; she did good in an extremely efficient and effective manner and on a scale never seen before. If it is possible to speak about the implementation of the slogan declared by the Nazis about the creation of a “national community”, then on the largest scale this took place within the framework of the NSV. It can be considered that the NSV has become not last reason the amazing loyalty of the Germans towards the Nazi regime during all the years of its existence (even the most difficult military ones). The beneficiaries were grateful public system which favored the expansion of social assistance.

Hilgenfeldt and his subordinates (on the initiative of Goebbels and under his patronage) organized the Winter Aid program (Winterhilfswerk, WHW), created in order to relieve the state system of assistance to the unemployed, as well as to strengthen the sense of national community. Winter Relief (WHA) has surpassed all similar campaigns in the past in terms of scope; even critics of the regime recognized its efficiency and effectiveness. The slogan of the VHV was the words “no one should starve and freeze. (227) . Throughout the country, the VHV held well-organized actions to collect warm clothes, donations, deductions from wages, voluntary charitable participation in public works. Propaganda supported these events in every possible way, thanks to which many artists took part in charity concerts and evenings of relaxation. The first seasonal Winter Aid campaign was announced on September 13, 1933, and in winter months these campaigns were carried out every year until 1945. Money was sometimes collected so much that it was even enough to allocate funds to religious charitable organizations"Internal Mission" and "Caritas", which, in theory, were competitors of Nazi charity. As mentioned above, for some unknown reason, Hitler even in 1941 refused to abolish religious philanthropy and integrate it into party structures. However, even without them, Hilgenfeld concentrated in his hands significant funds, which his organization lacked so much before, especially since the funds of all organizations of workers' assistance were transferred to Hilgenfeld.

On April 1, 1933, the VHV completed its first campaign, during which 320 million Reichsmarks were collected; it was a huge success. October 9, 1934 Hitler opened the next season of the VHV. The proceeds from the fees were constantly growing; so, in the winter of 1937-1938. an amount of 358.5 million Reichsmarks (228) was collected. Billions of funds passed through the Hilgenfeld organization, and it became an important national economic entity. On October 5, 1937, at a meeting on the occasion of the start of the next VHV campaign, Hitler, justifying the need for charity, said: “When they object to me and say, wasn’t it easier to find the money I needed by introducing a new tax? No, this does not suit us, although this way is easier and would free many from the hassle. The point is that VHV is the most important means education of the national community” (229) . In opening the 1935 campaign, Hitler ranted about the need to introduce the "one-dish lunch" into practice. (Eintopfgericht) and spoke in the sense that one should not object to this dish, offering money in return, because only after tasting an unpretentious meal can one understand ordinary Germans who eat it not once a week, but every day throughout the winter (230) . A certain memoirist had a sum deducted from his salary for a “voluntary” donation to the VHV, and no one asked him for his consent. It was, in fact, a new tax, which cannot be evaded; voluntariness consisted in the fact that a person had the right to donate more than a set amount (231) .

Teachers distributed VHV badges among students, which they had to sell to neighbors, and the names of those children who could not meet a certain sales norm were blacklisted and hung in schools ... Conductors often “confiscated” the change for charitable purposes when paying for the fare . Gradually, voluntary donation for charitable purposes became mandatory. Those who openly refused donations could be coerced in many ways, from threats to being summoned to a general meeting to report and explain their act. A crowd could gather in front of the house of the “guilty person,” shouting insults at the defaulter (232).

The "charitable" fever of the Nazis often annoyed the Germans; they did not like the fact that huge public funds were spent on armaments, and the Nazi party organization was enriched by this. This help did not satisfy the poor either: there was even a comic decoding of the abbreviation VHV - "Wir hungry weiter"(we continue to starve further). Christmas gifts, according to eyewitnesses, were often inappropriate: in 1938, an 11-year-old girl received Walnut, 6 hazelnuts, 6 tiny cupcakes and a bag of dirty men's gloves huge size(233) . Often, the reaction to the activity of the functionaries of the VHV was the demonstrative preference of the Germans for religious charity, but the positive impressions from the activity of the regime still outweighed.

During the activities of the VHV, huge masses of goods were transported - clothing, coal, firewood, potatoes, cereals. In 1938, the VHV bought up 33% of the German marine fish catch and ensured its transportation to the interior of the country. At Christmas, the WHV provided every child whose parents were unable to do so with a Christmas present. It is curious that the functionaries of the VHV preferred things rather than donations, since the visual effect of the huge mass of collected things was much stronger. For better clarity, a propaganda brochure (1938) indicated that a 9-meter-high wall could be built around Germany from a coal briquette distributed by the VHV (234) . This was to give a true picture of the scale of the WHC activity, as well as the degree of German solidarity. In 1938, each donor in the statement of charity, next to the amount of his own contribution, could write the estimated amount of the total collection for the entire Gau. If this amount coincided with the actual amount, then the lucky person received a prize - a camera, a vacuum cleaner or a portrait of the Fuhrer. Prizes were provided by German firms in the interests of publicity or under pressure from SNV activists (235).

Nazi charity ruled out helping "racially alien elements" (Fremdrassischen), persons in places of detention, as well as the old and helpless, providing the opportunity to provide such assistance to religious charity. In this sense, Nazi charity differed sharply from Christian charity, for which all people were equal from birth and equally needed support and help. According to the Christian rules of charity, the more severe the degree of disability, the more severe the patient, the more help he needed. Beggars were sometimes arrested by the police and sent to concentration camps, for the Nazis hoped to direct the generosity and sympathy of the Germans to healthy families of compatriots in difficulties, and not to alms to professional beggars.

Despite the fact that the "Winter Relief" was organized by the NSV, Hilgenfeldt was subordinate to the Minister of Propaganda Goebbels in this campaign, since the purpose of this action was to demonstrate the "socialism of action" to the whole world. (Sozialismus der Tat). Even communists, having abandoned their former beliefs, could become an object of charity.

During the war, assistance from the NSW funds was intended primarily for evacuees, victims of bombing and children (sending them to summer mobilization or recreational camps from cities became dangerous due to continuous bombing). Often the EAR was the last hope for people who had lost loved ones and property.

In conclusion, it must be stated that the loss of freedom was more than compensated in the Third Reich by social equality and prosperity (or the prospect of such), moreover, for the majority of Germans, the elimination of social need meant incomparably more than freedom. It can be said that the German people were intoxicated with the ideal of a national community, socialism, whose theoreticians themselves believed and tried to convince the Germans that the centuries-old German disunity and democratic party selfishness were replaced by the loyalty and discipline of a single nation, whose well-being is the main concern of the Fuhrer.

The impact of the war on the level of prices and incomes, on the level of supply, on the labor market and working conditions was insignificant compared to the First World War. Social peace was indestructible, and only the offensive of the Allies destroyed the internal order in the Third Reich. In this regard, the well-known researcher social history Nazi Germany Marie-Louise Reker pointed out that the Nazi social politics to the very end only strengthened the will of the Germans to resist and consolidate during the war (236) .

It is noteworthy that the social policy of the Third Reich confirms the incompatibility of the principle of ideology and reality characteristic of Nazism: the ideology of the national community excluded the presence of private, heterogeneous interests; it denied even the fundamental possibility of group interests. It is for this reason that the social policy of the Nazis until the last days did not lose the character of a "policy of bribery" (237) . On the other hand, social policy has been an effective instrument of social stabilization, and the scale of this stabilization can be well defined as a precedent welfare state, which in others Western countries appeared on such a scale only after the war. Even more clearly than in the economic and social spheres, the focus of the Nazi state on achieving the common national good was manifested in its geopolitics.