A necessary part of the propaganda in Nazi Germany of 1930-1940. Even children in elementary school were tought and required to write essays about the benefits of war over the pacifist attitude. Adolf Hitler, in his book Main Kampf, noted the importancy of such propaganda "to create a spirit which enables a nation to bear arms".
So, why is war prefered over pacifism?
- Accelerating creative thought. During times of peace, the mind "freezes", while during times of war, the greatest achievements are made. (Anna Freud's works also confirmed the human mind is more creative at times of stress.)
- Advancing technological development. War forces unity among the nation, ceasing social disputes and unifying in a single front against the enemy, creating an "us vs. them" separation. State of war allows the democractic state to enter a short-term near-dictatorship in order the manage the country's resources more efficiently.
- Advancing economical development. While in short term, war is a burden on economy with its enormous expenses, the accelerated development benefits the economy in the long term. Thus, war has a purifying effect on economy.
- Eliminating weaker subjects. The war benefits all participating nations, since it filters out the weaker men of the nation (improving the nation's genetical base). All of this connected very well to the theories of Social Darwinism, which were popular at the time due to their appeal as being scientific and logical -- war is a good way to achieve 'survival of the fittest'. (This notion was proven wrong by World War I, where those incapable of fighting were the survivers, while those men eager to go on the front line never returned.)
- Eliminating weaker nations. The war benefits humanity by eliminating or reducing weaker nations.
Reference:<
- http://husky1.stmarys.ca/~wmills/course203/8Racism.html