14 - The Terror State Flashcards
How did the Law help Hitler control Germany?
- did not introduce a new legal system after 1933, only new laws
- new courts and political organisations to deal with political opponents
- individuals imprisoned without trial and evidence
THEREFORE: legal principles no longer applied and law became inconsistent, treating citizens unequally
How did the Police System help Hitler control Germany?
- made up of SS, SA, SD
- in Weimar, state authorities controlled the police, this wasn’t scrapped but party controlled political police introduced
- this created party confusion for institutions
What was the SS and who was it controlled by?
Hitler’s bodyguard, Himmler
How did the SS help Hitler control Germany?
- TNOTLN established their role of identification and arrest of political opponents
- by 1936 Himmler was Chief of German Police, controlled entire third Reich police system and concentration camps
- SS guards deliberately brutalised to remove humanity
- intended to be racially pure and obedient
What was the SD and who was it controlled by?
Internal security service, Heydrich
How did the SD help Hitler control Germany?
- established 1931
- investigated claims that the part had been infiltrated and monitoring public opinion, eg, who had voted no in plebiscites
- was separate to Gestapo, staffed by committed Nazis
- by 1939 had 50,000 members
How did the Gestapo help Hitler control Germany?
- relatively small organisation of 20,000 in 1939
- Nazi activists asked to spy on their neighbours, one on each street
- an overwhelming amount of information so arbitrary arrest was very common
- instilled deep fear into the people
What was the Gestapo before the Nazis?
Prussian secret police, a state body
How did the Courts and Justice System help Hitler control Germany?
- was a problem that judges and lawyers did not belong to the party in Jan 1933, persecution against stormtroopers
- legal associations merged with League of National Socialist Lawyers
- Front of German Law in 1933 made it clear to lawyers they had to comply in order to secure job prospects
- Special Courts set up in 1933 and People’s Court in 1934 for political crimes
- 3 Nazi judges and no juries
- 1934-39 3400 tried by people’s court
How did Concentration Camps help Hitler control Germany?
- in 1933 70 temporary camps set up
- early months, prisoners communists, socialists, trade unionists
- after 1934 controlled by SS
- after 1936 focused on undesirables
When was the first concentration camp set up?
Dachau, 1933
How much of a threat were the SPD to the Nazis?
1/10
- unprepared for takeover
- could not organise resistance to a regime that did not respect the law
- suffered SA violence throughout the March 1933 election
- by 1933 many in preventative custody or murdered
- Schumacher organised them in exile in Prauge in small groups
- Berlin Red patrol emerged
- pamphlets from Czechslovakia
How much of a threat were the KPD to the Nazis?
2/10
- Ernst Thalmann arrested
- 10% of membership killed in 1933
- revolutionary groups set up in Berlin and Hamburg
How much of a threat were the workers to the Nazis?
4/10
- before 1933 largest group in Germany and had resistance power through trade unions
- after May 1933 unions merged into DAF, run by government
- September 1935, 37 strikes in areas like Silesia
ex. 1938, Gleiwitz 114 workers arrested at munitions plant for slow working
How much of a threat was the Protestant Church to the Nazis?
5/10
- Pastors’ Emergency League in 1933 and Confessional Church in 1934 acts of resistance as lead by non Nazis from academic backgrounds
- many refused to display swastikas
- dissenting pastors had salaries stopped, not allowed to teach in schools, arrested
- by end of 1937 700 pastors imprisoned
What were the reasons the Protestant church did not want to merge into a Reich Church?
- protect the independence of the church
- attempting to resist the Aryan paragraph (purging non Aryan pastors)
- defending Lutheran ideology
How much of a threat was the Catholic Church to the Nazis?
7/10
- more centralised and united than Protestant
- 1933 concordat granted them privilege
- 1937, Pope publishes ‘With Burning Grief’ which brought Nazi hatred on the Church
- was read from every pulpit in March 1937
- did not move beyond narrow rebellion
How much of a threat were Young People to the Nazis?
2/10
- membership to the Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1936
- membership to HJ and BDM took up a lot of their time, gymnastics on Wednesday evenings
- some sung banned songs or didn’t attend meetings, but overall little threat
How much of a threat were the Elites to the Nazis?
- 1933 an alliance between businesses, Army and Conservative Politicians confirmed Nazi power
- civil service and army served the state
- November 1937, Hitler wanted Anchluss but Blomberg and Fritsch expressed doubt but were purged from Army roles
- September 1938, Beck plotted to overthrow Hitler when he wanted to invade Czechslovakia
What were the Sopade?
The SPD in exile, which moved from Prauge, to Paris, to London
What did the Nazis want to do with Propaganda?
- keep population contented
- win support for policies
- indoctrinate with their Weltanschauung
What method of propaganda did the Nazis follow?
- subtle but omnipresent
- simple and easily understod
What were examples of newspapers as propaganda?
- Reich Association of the German Press, register of eligible journalists
- from Oct 1933, editors had to remove anything ‘calculated to weaken the strength of the Reich abroad or at home’
What was the message of newspapers?
- all journalism to reflect Nazi messages
- treason to spread false news so no rumors
What was the impact of newspapers?
- Eher Verlag, Nazi publishing house, took over most press
- Nazi ownership of media grew from 3% in 1933 to 82% in 1944
What were examples of radio as propaganda?
- 1925, Reich Radio Company formed and controlled 51% of state, pre established
- 1935, estimated audience for speeches were 56/70 million
What was the message of radio?
- directly from Hitler, his voice
- would often address a real, outside audience rather than a studio
What was the impact of radio?
- 1939, 70% of households had a radio
- communal loudspeakers in workplaces
What were some examples of cinema as propaganda?
- 1/6th of films were propagandist
- 1940 - The Eternal Jew, did not perform well as very graphic
- 1938 - Riefenstahl’s ‘Olympia’ of the Olympic Games
What was the message of cinema?
all film has subtle undertones of propaganda
What were some examples of sculpture as propaganda?
- Arno Breker and Josef Thorak provided with vast studios
- 1934, decreed that all government buildings should be adorned with sculptures
What was the impact of sculpture?
- strength and disposition of Aryan race
- strength and muscle highly valued
What are some examples as government buildings as propaganda?
- 30 square pavilion around Nuremberg for rallies
- plans to rebuild Berlin as Germania by 1950
- 1937, exhibition of arts and technology build 65m tall tower
What was the message of government buildings?
- power and prowess, showed physical dominance
- roman columns created a Reich of strength and reminder of a powerful nation
What were some examples of books as propaganda?
- May 1933, 20,000 books were burnt in the Burning of Books ceremony
- Mein Kampf sold 6 mil copies
- All Quiet on the Western Front banned
