14 - The Terror State Flashcards
Who’s word was the law
Hitlers
How did the law change under Hitler
New laws introduced to do with political offences
No longer were all citizens treated as equal beneath the law
Individuals could be arrested and imprisoned without trial
Introduced new courts and laws to snare opponents were dealt with
Did the nazis abolish the police forces created in the Weimar Republic
No however they did create seperate police forces which was answerable to Hitler
What were the different forces that existed under hitler
The SS controlled by Himmler
The DS an intelligence gathering offshoot of the SS
The SA controlled by Rohm in 1933
The Gestapo - the secret state police for Prussia was extended across the whole country in 1933
Who’s power particuarly strengethed after the Night of the Long knives
Himmler, Rohm was murdered and the SA power was eliminated
What was under Himmler’s power in 1936
The SS,SD and Gestapo
What sealed Himmlers victory and success in 1939
The creation of the RHSA (reich security department headquarters) which placed all state police organisations under one organisation supervised by the SS)
What else did Himmler do aside form the police force
Ran concentration camps
What were the SS responsible for
The round up of Jews and their eventual murder in occupied countries
What was Himmler appointed as nearer the end of the war
Military commander organising the defence against the red army’s advance but relieved him due to his lack of military experience
How did Himmler meet death?
Betrayed Hitler and attempted to negotiate a secret peace deal with the allies
Went on the run but was captured by British forces and committed suicide in custody
What did Himmler make key aspects of teh SS
Had to be strictly disciplined and racially pure
How were SS concentration guards treated
Deliberately brutalised to remove any feeling of humanity they might have felt towards their prisoners
When and where were extermination camps established
In occupied territories in 1942
Who were vast majority of prisoners in concentration camps in their early months
Communists, socialists and trade unionists
When was the SD established
1931
What was the SD
The internal security service of the Nazi party
Who led the SD
REinhard Heydrich
How many officers did the SD have in 1939
50,000
How many officers did the Gestapo have in 1939
20,000
How did the Gestapo have so much power
Though they were relatively small, they relied on informers who were motivated by political commitment and personal grudges.
So many crimes were reported it was impossible to investigate them all so they often resorted to arbitrary arrest
What political orientation did judges and lawyers have?
Why was this a problem for the Nazi party
Very conservative but few belonged to the nazi party
A problem as the actions of the SS and Sa was clearly illegal
Why was hitler angry at the legal system
They acquitted all but one of the defendants from the Reichstag fire trial
What courts did hitler set up
1933 special courts
1934 the peoples courts
How many people wear tried by the peoples court 1934-39
34,000
What was the SS presented as an instrument of
Used to protect the majority against the corrupting influence of minorities
Did teh SPD and KPD pose a threat to the regime
Expected to just as they did in 1920 deafening the KApp Putsch
In the end did not pose a threat, as they were bitterly divided with the KPD attacking the SPD
How did SPD deputies defy SA and SS intimidation
By voting against the enabling act
What had happened to most SPD activists by the end of 1933
Had been murdered to placed into ‘preventative custody’
Why was the KPD more prepared than the SPD
They had a background in revolutionary politics
Who was the first part to be banned in Germany when hitler became leader
KPD
Hope much of KPD”s membership was killed in 1933
10%
What happen to the trade unions when the nazis came to power
Absorbed into the DAF (German labour front)
Did strike activity occur from workers?
Strike action was risky but it did occur
In the whole of 1937 250 strikes were recorded
Statistic of how many people participated in strikes 1935 and how many were participated
4000/ 25000
How did workers alternatively strike
How did the nazis stop this
Absenteeism but the 1938 new labour regulations lay down sever penalties for slackers.
Deliberately damage machinery, but the regime quickly made this a criminal offence
What organisation retained some ideology in the regime
Christian churches
Why did the church compromise
To protect its organisation
What was the relationship between nazis and the church like
Complex and varied both over time and between communitues
What was the aryan paragraph
A section of the 1933 law on the reconstruction of civil service that stated anyone not of Aryan birth had to be dismissed from their jobs.
How many pastors had been imprisoned by the end of 1937
700
Did the Protestant church speak out
The church stayed silent but individual pastors risked their lives speaking out
Why was the Roman Catholic Church in a stronger position than the protestant church
Stronger position to retain its independence as it was more united, with centralised power and traditionally had more independence from teh state
What did the pope issue in 1937
The papal encyclical “with burning grief” which condemned nazi hatred on the church.
How was the 1937 papal encyclical spread
Smuggled into germany and secretly distributed
What was the most the Roman Catholic Church did in terms of speaking out
Didn’t move beyond a narrow defence of its independence
Many individuals showed courage in speaking out
What resistance was their from young people
In the early years of the nazi regime the Hitler youth was successful in channeling the youth, however as the commitment became more compulsory- making demands on teenagers free time (it was designed to reduce independent time) which mounted to more teen rebelliousness.
Some young people formed cliques or gangs to show their independence, some were little more than criminal gangs whilst others were more political such as Meuten gangs (communist).
What did many members of german conservativ elites think
had serious misgivings about the nazi party in general and Hitler in particular.
What did old elites think hitler threatened
The old germany
How did the regime consolidate its power from elites in 1933
An alliance with the army, big businesses and conservative politicians
How did opposition to hitker from the army and civil service come to head in 1937
In November 1937 Hitler outline his secret thoughts to leading army commanders and nazis such as Goering, making it clear he envisaged a union with Austria and an invasion of Czechoslovakia within a year.
In this meeting defence minister Bloomberg and commander in chief of the army Frisch expressed their doubts to Hitler- Hitler purged them both from the army leadership and replaced them with more compliant generals.
The imminent threat of war when Hitler began to prepare plans for an invasion of Czechoslovakia prompted senior army figures to plot to remove Hitler from power in a military coup.
However, with Britain and France not prepared to risk war- they failed to back Czechoslovakia and agreed to a peaceful German takeover of the area. War was not declared and the conspiracy to overthrow Hitler receded quietly in the background.
What extent of opposition was there from society in general
Grumbling about economic hardship was widespread at times
In a society where subservience and conformity were demanded even a moan about a shortage of essential foodstuff could lead to arrest and criminal charges.
What was the aims of Nazi propoaganda
Didn’t want people to be neutral to the regime but to be ‘addicted to it” (Goebbels words)
What areas did propaganda infiltrate
Press, radio, films, literature, theatre, music and fine arts
What happened to newspapers
They became bland and conformist
Why was the radio liked by Goebbels and hitler
They believed spoken word had more impact than written
What happened to radio ownership 1939
Germany had Highest proportion of households possessing a radio was at 70%
What happened to radio stations 1934
All bought under the control of the Reich Radio company controlled by the propaganda ministry
Who was responsible fir approving films
Goebbels himself
What rallies did the Nazis organise, were they effective?
Annual party rallies at Nuremberg in September were managed to achieve maximum effect; the 1937 rally had some 100,000 people.
What did the Nazi party do to books in 1933
6th May 1933 a group of nazi students and stormtroopers made a huge bonfire in Berlin of about 20,000 books.
Why is it hard to gauge effectiveness of propaganda
due to the fear the Nazi party instilled it is difficult to gauge how much genuine support there was for the Nazi party, that didn’t come from a place of fear- the elections were in no way free.
How did Nazi propaganda present Hitler
Hard working
Uncompromising
Responsible for economic restoration
Dynamic and forceful
Guardian of traditional morality and justice
What was the reality of what Hitler was like
Supplied a vision but wasn’t active in the decision making
Stayed up late watching films and didnt get up until midday
Spent his days eating and walking around his grounds and delivering long rambling speeches to subordinates
Disliked reading documents and rarely got involved in detailed discussions regarding policy
Did very citizen come into regular contact with the party
Was unavoidable
Who was one of the most succesful nazis in creating a powerful regime for himself
Himmler, arguably by 1941 there was an SS state at the heart of the Nazi state
