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Dissertation Information for Robert Barry Kane

NAME:
- Robert Barry Kane

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Los Angeles (USA) (1997)

ADVISORS:
- Peter Loewenberg

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- David N. Myers
- Deborah Welch Larson

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: The Hitlerian oath of loyalty of August 2, 1934: Origins, consequences, and significance

Abstract: This dissertation examines the personal oath of loyalty that the officers of the German army swore to Adolf Hitler on August 2, 1934--its origins in Prusso-German military history and its consequences and significance for the German army during the Third Reich and the Second World War. Using the research of Dr. Stephen Milgram as the foundation, the dissertation demonstrates that the majority of officers, the nonconspirators and the followers, followed Hitler until May 1945, despite the abuse and scorn he heaped upon many of them, his militarily unsound strategic and tactical decisions, and the widespread devastation and atrocities his army caused during World War II, because of their general tendency to obey authority figures, as most people in general society do. This general tendency caused these two groups of officers to see the oath as an unbreakable sacred vow and to view loyalty and obedience as unconditional or "blind." The dissertation also shows why and how only a few officers, the conspirators, lost confidence in Hitler as supreme commander, came to criticize and then oppose him, and finally attempt to assassinate him in violation of that oath. Unlike the nonconspirators and followers, most of the conspirators had had early childhood experiences, liberal educational opportunities, and a well developed belief in a system of values and ethics (spiritual Christianity) that allowed them to question their blind obedience to Hitler, once he had passed certain limits, and then ultimately oppose him. To them, the oath was a mutual contract between them and Hitler; and loyalty and obedience was conditional or limited. This dissertation begins with a review of the theoretical and historical review of the military oath in Western European armies in general and the Prusso-German army in particular from the 1660s to 1918. The remainder of the dissertation examines the development of the German army from 1919 through July 1944, with specific consideration to the concepts of loyalty and disloyalty, obedience and disobedience, as exemplified by the Hitlerian oath of loyalty.

MPACT Scores for Robert Barry Kane

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calculated 2008-10-14 14:20:45

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Students under Robert Barry Kane

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None