“Strength Through Joy Organization” in the Ideological Fortification of Nazi Germany

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the role, position, and function of the Organization of Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude- KdF), which was established in 1933, in Nazi Germany. In the context of the projection on the social and economic structure of the aims of totalitarian regimes to intervene in social life without leaving any gap, in Nazi Germany, KdF organized events that affected many points of social life, especially holiday organizations, and strengthened the Nazi regime until the year it ended its actions, taking the principles and goals of national socialism at the center of these activities. At this point, the KdF first played a major role in increasing the trust and loyalty regarding the Hitler government. Second, it constituted one of the transporter and application areas of the eugenics politics at the point of Nazism's project of creating a pure race. Finally, it contributed to the establishment of socio-economic and socio-cultural harmony between German society in accordance with the ideological structure of Nazism, and to the cultural production based on this harmony.