The National Socialists described their government as an authoritarian state. This was roughly a compromise between the liberal concept that administrations exist to serve the public, and absolutism’s doctrine granting the head of state supreme authority to make political decisions. It disallowed the majority’s voice in government, but promoted the welfare of diverse social and economic groups evenly. Die SA offered this definition of the authoritarian state: “It rests in the hands of the leader alone. He forms and directs his cabinet which makes policy decisions. But he also bears sole accountability to the nation for his actions. The diverse interests of individual strata of society he brings into harmony and balances in conformity with the general interests of the people. This is accomplished through the endeavors of representatives who work within their group’s respective occupations, but possess no political authority. In this way, conflicts of interest and class struggle are eliminated, as is unilateral control by any commercial or political special interest group."29
In 1936, Hitler stressed that “a regime must be independent of such special interests. It must keep focused on the interests of everyone before the interests of one."30 With respect to commerce, he announced that he intended “to crush the illusion that the economy in a state can conduct an unbridled, uncontrollable, and unsupervised life of its own."31 As Führer, or leader of the nation, he reserved the right to take whatever action he considered appropriate. During a wartime speech he told military personnel, “When I recognize a concept as correct, I not only have the duty to convey this to my fellow citizens, but moreover the duty to eliminate contrary interpretations."32
Under National Socialism, the head of state wielded supreme power. This was with the understanding that there would be no favoritism directing public affairs, and that “along with the loftiest unlimited authority, the leader bears the final, heaviest responsibility,” as stated in NS Briefe.33Rehm offered this explanation in Die SA: “This system differs from dictatorship in that the appointed leader accepts responsibility before the people and is sustained by the confidence of the nation. . . . His actions insure that the leadership of the state is in harmony with the overall interests of the nation and its views. The essence of this system is overcoming party differences, formation of a genuine national community, and the unsurpassed greatness of the leadership as prerequisites. The leader of the authoritarian state personifies the principle of Friedrich the Great: I am the first servant of the state."34
Dr. Joseph Goebbels, in charge of propaganda in Hitler’s cabinet, contrasted democracy with the authoritarian state in a speech to foreign journalists in Geneva in September 1933: “The people and the government in Germany are one. The will of the people is the will of the government and vice versa. The modern state form in Germany is a refined type of democracy, governed by authoritarian principles through the power of the people’s mandate. There is no possibility that through parliamentary fluctuations, the will of the people can somehow be swept aside or rendered unproductive. . . . The principle of democracy is completely misunderstood if one concludes from it that nations want to govern themselves. They can't do it nor do they want to. Their only wish is that the regime governs well."35
The authoritarian state form required that only persons exhibiting natural leadership ability assume positions of responsibility. Hitler spoke of the importance of finding such individuals during a speech in Berlin in February 1933: “We want to re-establish the value of personality as an eternal priority; that is, the creative genius of the individual. In this way, we want to sever ties with any appearance of a listless democracy. We want to replace it with the timeless awareness that everything great can only spring from the force of the individual personality, and that everything destined to last must again be entrusted to the abilities of the individual personality."36
National Socialism adopted liberalism’s practice of creating opportunities for advancement for persons in the community. It disputed however, the population’s right and ability to select leaders. Democracy allows the voters to choose their representatives. As a safeguard against tyrants, the parliamentary system favors moderation. It supposedly frowns on assertive persons accustomed to independent initiative. Hitler argued that this practice “thwarts the freedom of action and creative possibilities of the personality and shackles any talent for leadership."37 He later wrote that the “true leader will distance himself from political activity that does not consist for the most part of creative achievement and industriousness.” Conversely, “timid do-nothings and blabbermouths,” especially those fearing decision-making and accountability, will seek office:38 “Democracy is the mortal enemy of all talent."39
When Goebbels announced at the 1933 Berlin radio exhibition that Hitler’s revolution has “dethroned unbridled individualism,” this did not imply curtailing freedom for personal development.40 Hitler clarified his party’s position in a January 1941 address: “Our ideal is the nation. In it we behold a mental and physical community which providence created and therefore wanted, which we belong to. Through it alone we can control our existence. ... It represents a triumph over individualism, but not in the sense that individual aptitude is stifled or the initiative of the individual is paralyzed; only in the sense that common interests stand above individual freedom and all individual initiative."41
The National Socialist government assigned German schools to train the country’s cadre of future leaders. Der Schulungsbrief defined it in this way: “Education receives the twofold task of molding strong personalities and committing them to community thinking. The primary objective of ideological instruction is formation of a solid, community-oriented viewpoint. Building assertive personalities demands steady competitive performance, selecting the most accomplished, and setting standards of achievement according to questions of character, will and ability. Only achievement justifies advancement."42 Opportunities for self-development in the authoritarian state conformed to the National Socialist concept of individual freedom: “Being free is not doing what you want, but becoming what you are supposed to be."43