14. The 'Terror State' Flashcards
1
Q
To what extent was Nazi Germany a terror state? (the law)
A
- The Nazis introduced new laws to deal with political offences
- German law that existed in the Weimar period no longer applied
- A series of harsh laws were introduced against those Germans who opposed or conspired against the Third Reich
- Under the Third Reich, Germans lost the right of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly
- All citizens were no longer treated as equal (in terms of the law)
- The law was applied in an inconsistent fashion
2
Q
To what extent was Nazi Germany a terror state? (justice and the courts)
A
- All judges were appointed by the Nazi Minister of Justice
- Any opposition to National Socialism was deemed to be criminal
- In 1934, Hitler created the People’s Courts - made sure opponents of the Nazis charged with treason were found guilty even if there was little or no evidence
- Individuals could be arrested and imprisoned without trial - the police did not have to provide any evidence against them
3
Q
To what extent was Nazi Germany a terror state? (block wardens)
A
- The regime kept an eye on people via party officials and 400,000 block wardens
- They were responsible for local-level political supervision of their neighbourhood
- Wardens were also expected to spread Nazi propaganda but also monitor their neighbours for signs of deviancy
4
Q
To what extent was Nazi Germany a terror state? (concentration camps)
A
- March 1933, Himmler established the first concentration camp (for political opponents) at Dachau
- By summer of 1933 almost 30,000 had been taken into ‘protective custody’ without trial or the right of appeal
- Dachau became the model camp - imposed a system intended to break the spirits of inmates
- The camp guards had total power
- Corporal punishment was routinely administered and the prisoners were expected to do hard physical labour
- Prisoners were barely fed and lived in awful conditions
- By 1937, the 3 main camps (Dachau, Sachsenhausen and Buchenwald) held only a few thousand Communists, Jews and ‘asocials’
- Some inmates died
- Some inmates were ‘reformed’ and released
- The takeover of Austria in 1938 led to an increase in arrests
- By September 1939 there were some 25,000 prisoners and 3 new camps (Flossenburg, Mauthausen and Ravensbruck)
5
Q
To what extent was Nazi Germany a terror state? (Himmler and the SS)
A
- By 1936, all the police were unified under Himmler’s control
- SS men were drafted into the police
- Police officers were encouraged to join the SS
- The SS had to go before a racial selection board - strict criteria that only accepted perfect aryans (tall, blonde, blue-eyed and intelligent)
- Key values of the SS were loyalty and honour
- Involved in identification and arrest of political prisoners
- Controlled the entire Third Reich police system and concentration camps
- Used systematic terror - violence and murder were instruments of the SS and were employed ruthlessly
- SS concentration camps deliberately brutalised - removed any feelings of humanity towards their prisoners
6
Q
To what extent was Nazi Germany a terror state? (the SD)
A
- Offshoot of the SS set p to investigate the claims that the party had been infiltrated by political enemies
- Role was intelligence gathering
- One of its important roles was to monitor public opinion, identify those who voted against the Nazi party and report them to Hitler
- The SD had 50,000 officers who were committed Nazis
7
Q
To what extent was Nazi Germany a terror state? (Gestapo)
A
- Developed a reputation for being all-knowing
- German people believed that the Gestapo had agents in every workplace
- Reality was very different - relatively small organisation - 20,000 officers in 1939 across the whole country
- Most agents were office based not field agents
- Professional police officers
- Depended on information supplied by informers - Nazi party activists and ordinary people who spied on neighbours and workmates - usually motivated by personal grudges
- Very successful in instilling an atmosphere of fear and suspicion
- People believed they were everywhere and acted accordingly
8
Q
What was the extent of terror? (summary/ways in which it wasn’t)
A
- Hitler regarded terror as ‘the most effective instrument’
- Hitler’s regime brutally repressed its enemies
HOWEVER…
- The influence of the SS was limited pre-1939
- The concentration camps were not extermination camps prior to 1939 - however some died but most inmates were freed
- The Gestapo was small in numbers and was not very efficient at a local level
- Those who disliked Nazis were able to leave Germany
- Relatively few Germans were killed by the Nazi regime before 1939
- Hitler’s regime was far less brutal than that in the USSR at the same time
- Hitler seems to have been genuinely popular - this would have been strange if the state was so repressive
9
Q
To what extent was opposition to the regime apparent and effective?
A
- Strong base of support for the regime
- Propaganda and Gleichschaltung (controlling and coordinating all aspects of German society) was able to gain acceptance from the majority of people
- Very little active opposition to the regime
- Evidence of Hitler’s popularity
- No open or free debate about the regime or its policies
- However various groups did try to resist Nazi attempts to ‘coordinate’ them into the Volksgenmeinschaft
10
Q
To what extent was opposition to the regime apparent and effective? (Political resistance)
A
- SPD and KPD - left-wing parties
- Hitler feared that the unions (linked to the SPD) would stage general strikes to thwart (prevent) the Nazi takeover in 1933
- The left wing did not pose a serious threat to the Nazi regime because it was bitterly divided - the KPD and SPD hated each other (the KPD regarded the SPD as ‘social-fascists’)
11
Q
What opposition did the SPD pose to the Nazi regime?
A
- The SPD was unprepared for the Nazi takeover
- The SPD was not equipped to organise resistance to a regime that did not respect the law - the SPD were committed to working within the State’s legal framework
- SPD activists campaigned openly in the run up to the March 1933 elections - suffered SA violence
- Voted against the Enabling Act - resisted SA and SS intimidation
- Nazi dictatorship crushed the SPD - end of 1933, thousands of SPD activists had been murdered or placed in concentration camps
- SPD leadership had fled into exile
- Established small secret cells of supporters in factories
- Established some city-based groups - Berlin Red Patrol
- Propaganda leaflets were smuggled across the border from Czechoslovakia
- Constant fear of the Gestapo limited the level of activity
- Priority of the SS was to survive the regime rather than mount a serious challenge
12
Q
What opposition did the KPD pose to the Nazi regime?
A
- Devastated by the repression towards communists
- First party to be banned and its leader was arrested
- 10% of the KPD’s membership was killed by Nazis during 1933
HOWEVER… - Much better prepared than the SPD for engaging in underground activity
- The KPD established an underground network in some industrial centres
- Revolutionary unions were set up in Berlin and Hamburg to recruit members and publish newspapers
NEVERTHELESS… - All networks were broken up by the Gestapo
- Factory cells were established and contact between members was confined to word of mouth - limited communication
- Priority was to survive - not mount a serious challenge the regime as this was not possible
13
Q
What opposition did workers pose to the regime?
A
- Before 1933, the German working class was the largest and most unionised workforce in Europe - unions were linked to the SPD and had been opposed to the Nazi party
- After Jan 1933, union resistance crumbled - trade unions were absorbed into the DAF (German Labour Front) and Nazi propaganda emphasised the importance of national solidarity (not class)
HOWEVER… - Strike action was risky but did occur - 250 strikes in 1937
- Strikes were due to poor working conditions and low wages
- Strike activity increased in 1935-36 - discontent over food prices
- 25,000 workers participated in strikes in 1935 - 4000 spent short periods in prison - arrested by the Gestapo
- Absenteeism was common due to dissatisfaction with long hours - labour regulations were introduced (severe penalties)
- Workers deliberately damaged their own machinery - regime was concerned enough that they made this a criminal offence
14
Q
To what extent was opposition to the regime apparent and effective? (Resistance by the Churches)
A
- Only organisation that retained an alternative ideology, independent of the regime
- Churches retained some organisational autonomy
- Strong influence from pastors and priests - as important as that of the Nazi Party
- Churches were aware that if they engaged in conflict with regime they would be the losers - made compromises with the regime in order to survive
- However there were issues where the church were not always prepared to always compromise
15
Q
What resistance did the Protestant Church pose to the regime?
A
- The establishment of the Pastors’ Emergency League in 1933
- Development into the Confessional Church (movement that opposed government efforts to unify all protestant churches into one pro-Nazi Evangelical Church) in 1934
- Refusal to accept being part of a ‘coordinated’ Reich Church
- Growing struggle between the Confessional Church and the Nazi regime in 1934
- Pastors spoke out against the ‘Nazified Christ’
- Churches refused to display swastika flags
- Mass demonstrations after 2 Church bishops were arrested
HOWEVER… - Increased repression towards the Church used - dissenting pastors had their salaries stopped, banned from teaching in schools and arrested
- End of 1937, 700+ pastors had been imprisoned
- Nazi regime failed to silence the Confessional Church but it did not form full opposition to the regime
- Majority of members professed their loyalty to Hitler and the Third Reich
- Churches as a whole remained silent - mostly just individuals speaking out
- No condemnation of the atrocities or defence of human rights
