1.2 Opposition, Control and Consent - Nazi Dictatorship Flashcards
Revision
When did it become impossible to oppose the Nazis in the Reichstag?
August 1933
What did opposition parties like KPD, SPD and trade unions do in the early 1930s?
printed and distributed pamphlets and literature
What is an example of printed opposition in the early 1930s?
Red Shock Troop newspaper (SPD)
3000 members
What happened to the Red Shock Troop?
leaders arrested and sent to concentration camps December 1933
Why had the opposition stopped printing by 1938?
became extremely easy to trace publications
moved to word of mouth only and not organised groups
What happened after Germany invaded the USSR?
June 1941
communist groups revived
What are examples of communist groups that revived?
Uhrig group: distributed leaflets and posters encouraging workers to sabotage
Red Orchestra: government workers who passed the Allies information
How did workers sabotage production?
lightning strikes eg. 1936 workers who built autobahns
worked slowly
damaged product
reported in sick
What act of passive rebellion did people do?
not give the Nazi salute when officials present
What was the response to workers’ sabotage?
overlooked as workers in high demand
BUT if too successful Gestapo would arrest eg. Anti-Fascist Workers’ Group 1944
How did sabotage escalate during WW2?
Allies aid - able to blow up bridges/railways
How did young, usually middle class people rebel?
did not join Hitler Youth
listened to swing and jazz music
dressed in Western fashions
What happened to the young people who rebelled after 1940?
went underground
only arrested occasionally as they were not actively anti-Nazi
Who were the Edelweiss Pirates?
young working class people, actively anti-Nazi
What did the Edelweiss Pirates do?
varied by area
wore own uniform, hiking, camping
painted anti-Nazi slogans, collected and distributed leaflets dropped by Allies
worked with resistance group
What happened to the Edelweiss Pirates if caught?
executed
Who was the White Rose Group?
University of Munich students
What did the White Rose Group do?
distributed material urging sabotage, exposing murder of Jews, urged non-violent resistance
What happened to the White Rose Group?
The leaders Hans and Sophie Scholl and Probst were beheaded 22 February 1943
How many known attempts to assassinate Hitler were there?
July 1921 - July 1944: 15
How many assassination attempts were there after 1939 and who carried them out?
7 all by army members / groups led by army
What changed for the army in 1934?
had to swear the oath to Hitler, not Germany
What happened if you were caught plotting to assassinate Hitler?
immediate execution and an investigation to find all others involved
What was the most serious assassination attempt on Hitler?
July Plot of 1944 by Lieutenant von Stauffenberg
What happened in the July Plot of 1944?
Lieutenant von Stauffenberg left a bomb in a conference room where Hitler was
4 people died but Hitler only had minor injuries
What happened after the July Plot of 1944?
200 people executed
What agreement did Hitler make with the Catholic Church?
Concordat with the Pope
(to leave each other alone)
Why did many church goers appreciate Nazism?
nationalism
conservatism
anti-communism
What did the Nazis do to influence religion?
by 1933:
developed the ‘People’s Church’
became more celebrating Nazism that Christianity eg. displayed Nazi banners
removed the ‘Jewish’ Old Testament
What church was formed in response to condemn the Nazis and when?
Confessing Church
May 1934
What happened to members of the Confessing Church?
many arrested and executed
Pastor Niemoller (a founder) sent to a concentration camp
Which Bishops were imprisoned for speaking out against the Nazis and when?
Meiser and Wurm
October 1934
What happened after Bishops Meiser and Wurm were imprisoned?
public outcry and protests
led to them being released
What happened before Germany was going to invade Czechoslovakia?
1938:
military processions
the public was unenthusiastic
What did the public reaction to the plan to invade Czechoslovakia mean happened?
Czechoslovakia not invaded
an agreement with Chamberlain at Munich Conference instead
When was the Decree for the Protection of the People and the State and what did it do?
28 February 1933
Nazis could control publications
suspend civil rights
take people into ‘protective custody’ without a trial
When did Goebbels take over all radio stations and why?
25 March 1933
believed radio was most effective way of distributing Nazi message
What did Goebbels do once in control of all radio stations?
purged them of Jews, those married to Jews, communists and socialists
What did Goebbels do to spread the Nazi message by radio?
made cheap radios available
eg. ‘People’s Receivers’ for 35 or 72 marks
and only 2 marks per month to cover broadcasting
limited range - only receive German broadcasts
What happened to newspapers after 4 October 1933?
editor would be held responsible for anything published harmful to Germany
Reich Association compiled a list of ‘accredited’ journalists - not jewish/politically unstable
How many newspapers and readers were there in December 1933?
86 newspapers with over 3 million readers
What did the state-owned press agency do?
set up in December 1933
set stories allowed to be published
very detailed guidelines
When and why was the first concentration camp established?
1933 - Oranienburg, Russia
hold political prisoners
How many prisoners were there in concentration camps for political crimes?
over 500,000
When was the Gestapo set up?
1933 by Goering
What was the Gestapo?
secret police
with own independent legal system - acted as judge, jury and executioner
hunt out threats to Nazis eg. ‘untermenschen’
tackle resistance
How did the Gestapo operate?
through fear
wore no uniform
What was the SS?
elite bodyguard
ran concentration camps
How many members did the SS have when they started versus in 1936?
240 initial members
240,000 1936
When was the People’s Court set up?
1934
What did the People’s Court do?
tried accused traitors of the Third Reich
private trials
impossible to appeal the verdict
How many people had passed through the People’s Court by 1945?
10,000s
Who monitored the people in their specified areas for all infringements of rules?
Nazi Party Officials and Bloc Wardens
What did Nazi propaganda usually feature?
simple messages eg. ‘Ein Volk, Ein Reich Ein Fuhrer’
negative images of Jews, stereotyped with hooked noses
What did the report of Hitler’s appointment as chancellor look seem like?
huge cheering processions chanting Sieg Heil!
In 1939 what proportion of the population owned a radio?
over 70%
How were mothers rewarded?
1000 mark loan on marriage - repayment reduced by 250 marks per child
regular pregnancy check-ups and vitamins
medals for more than 4 children
How were workers rewarded?
Strength Through Joy ran activities and holidays (filled with Nazi propaganda)
heavily subsidised by government - extremely cheap or free
Why were the Nazis popular with people with shared prejudices?
policies against undesirables
Why were the Nazis popular with wealthy industrialists?
banning KPD and trade unions
Why were the Nazis popular with the middle class?
savings had value again
Why were the Nazis popular with those who applied to ‘Germanise’ an area?
given homes and farmland
Why were the Nazis popular with nationalistic people?
seen as reversing the Treaty of Versailles and asserting Germany’s power
How was WW2 initially received by the public?
lukewarm reaction
Why did WW2 gain public support?
Germany’s initial success
How did the Nazis retain support during the war?
Fuehrer myth
Hitler seen as Godlike
When did support for WW2 fall?
when living conditions deteriorated and bombing destroyed cities
