They obey, at first awkwardly, but surprisingly soon, spontaneously:
"Take ... a city cut off from the outside world by flood or fire advancing from every direction. The mayor proclaims martial law, ... View MoreThey obey, at first awkwardly, but surprisingly soon, spontaneously:
"Take ... a city cut off from the outside world by flood or fire advancing from every direction. The mayor proclaims martial law, suspending council debate. He mobilizes the populace, assigning each section its tasks. Half the citizens are at once engaged directly in the public business. Every private act - a telephone call, he use of an electric light, he service of a physician- becomes a public act. Every private right -to take a walk, to attend a meeting, top operate a printing press - becomes a public right. Every private institution -the hospital, the church, the club - becomes a public institution. Here, although we never think to call it by any name but pressure of necessity, we have the whole formula of totalitarianism.
The individual surrenders his individuality without a murmur, without, indeed, a second thought -an not just his individual hobbies and tastes, but his individual occupation, his individual family concerns, his individual needs. The primordial community, the tribe, re-emerges, its preservation the first function of all its members. Every normal personality of the day before, becomes an "authoritarian personality".
A few recalcitrants have to be disciplined (vigourously, under the circumstances) for neglect or betrayal of their duty. A few groups have to be watched or, if necessary, taken in hand - the antisocial elements, the liberty-howlers, the agitators among the poor, and the known criminal gangs.
For the rest of the citizens -95 % or so of the population -duty is now the central fact of life. They obey, at first awkwardly, but surprisingly soon, spontaneously. "
They Thought They Were Free
The Germans, 1933-45
Milton Mayer
Chapter 20 Peoria über Alles, page 254, 255
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