In all honesty, Nazi philosophy was totalitarian, but it was imposed over a population that was generally free, hence Nazi Germany was not nearly as "totalitarian" as Soviet Russia. Many anti-Nazis were just disregarded, Konrad Adnaur being one such example. Nazi methods, aside from their treatment of Jews, were not particularly dictatorial until World War II, when they spread to all of the participating nations. However, a number of "preexisting" customs allowed for totalitarianism. One was the need that everyone have an identity card that showed their ethnicity. The previous corporate system, which included several oligopolies, industry organizations, and a heavily regulated retail sector, was the second factor. Another tool was the widespread custom in Europe that calls for new residents to register with the local police. Many ‘totalitarian’ practices had been in place Napoleonic times. A totalitarian state is one that aims to have complete control over every aspect of its citizens' lives. Nazi Germany was undoubtedly like that. As part of the Lebensborn initiative, infants were manufactured. The state took control of all trade unions, sporting organizations, and cultural associations. It even went so far as to take control of local choirs and subordinate them to the national socialist choir organization and local knitting societies, which it subordinated to the national socialist handicraft association. It gave boys early Nazi education in the Hitlerjugend, similar to what girls received in BDM. Holidays were provided by the state via the Kraft durch Freude program, and national socialist indoctrination permeated every aspect of this. It was virtually difficult to engage with others in any official capacity in late 1930s Germany without the Nazi party being involved. When people made informal connections, the gestapo were instantly suspicious and arrested those involved. Even if a group of young people gathered together to listen to music recordings and dance a little, the gestapo would round them up, detain them, and question them to learn why they were hanging out with people who weren't affiliated with official Nazi groups. Although it seems absurd, it actually did take place in that manner. It was awful. True to the definition of the word, the Nazi state was a totalitarian one. It want complete dominance over everyone's life.
