Nazi ideology was a cooked up mish mash of late 19th century crackpot spiritualism, with socialist, nationalist, and racialist thinking animated by Jew hatred and Germany's deep sense of grievance over losing the Great War (WW I). The Nazis cared little for scientific and historic accuracy in a conventional sense but sought to fashion what they claimed was a new science and history based on race.
Nevertheless, although Norse and German mythology and history provided the Nazis with a supposed link to Germany's past, even Hitler though thought that Himmler was a bit of a kook about the whole thing, with his oddball medieval style ceremonies in robes in a specially built SS castle. In the end, the Nazis were essentially a movement based on aggressive political gangsterism in a country weakened and unhinged by defeat in war and economic catastrophe. The flags, symbols, ceremonies, and ideology were just contrived elements of costume.
“...and Germany’s deep sense of grievance over losing the Great War (WW I).”
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That was probably the biggest impetus, and how humiliating and stiffling the treaty of versailles was (mostly justifiable) after WWi.
But we also forget how fluid used to be before the 20th century, because we have seen the maps of Europe change so little in the last 100 years, relatively speaking. Even when the soviets took over much of eastern europe after wwii, the soviet block national borders still existed.
I believe both Germany (holy roman empire) and Russia (russian empire) not only dreamed of (re)conquering parts of europe, and they not only felt like they were owed the territory, but also that the concept of a crystalized europe was not true then. Just look at how much change there often was in borders before the 20th century. So many kingdoms and duchys and changing borders even where nation states existed.
I am in no way excusing it, but the territorial aggression and transition was the norm in Europe.
“Nazi ideology was a cooked up mish mash....”
True!!
“In the end, the Nazis were essentially a movement based on aggressive political gangsterism in a country weakened and unhinged by defeat in war and economic catastrophe. The flags, symbols, ceremonies, and ideology were just contrived elements of costume.”
Even more true!!