2 - opposition & resistance to nazi regime

Question 1

resistance to the regime

Answer 1

• private grumbling to family & friends, or at work
• underground resistance & open opposition to the govt
• attempts to overthrow the regime & remove Hitler (eg. Bomb Plot, 1944)

Question 2

communists aims & actions against the regime

Answer 2

• had cells in large cities
• produced pamphlets attacking Nazis
• Red Orchestra -> spy network that sent info to Moscow
• minimal impact -> many arrested after Reichstag Fire, & more concerned w/ self-preservation

Question 3

social democrats aims & actions against the regime

Answer 3

• banned as a political party
• retained some underground activity
• leadership was often arrested
• produced anti-Nazi propaganda & kept socialist message alive
• minimal impact -> more concerned w/ self preservation

Question 4

trade unions aims & actions against the regime

Answer 4

• weakened by arrests after 1933-34
• carried out strikes in 1935-36 & 1945
• industrial action proved ineffective

Question 5

churches aims & actions against the regime

Answer 5

• Bishop Galen of Münster attacked policy of euthanasia
• able to stop euthanasia temporarily
• most adopted pragmatic response & preserved religious practices
• did not provide effective opposition
• church leaders sent to camps

Question 6

youth aims & actions against the regime

Answer 6

• groups: Swing Youth, Edelweiss Pirates, Roving Dudes, & Navajos
• behaved in anti-Nazi ways, eg. playing dance & jazz music
• disliked military emphasis of Hitler Youth
• some attacked military targets & assassinated Gestapo officers (but were limited)

Question 7

students aims & actions against the regime

Answer 7

• White Rose (student group in Munich) issued pamphlets condemning values of Nazi regime
• minimal impact -> leaders of WR were arrested & tortured

Question 8

conservatives aims & actions against the regime

Answer 8

• Kreisau Circle (included officers, aristocrats, academics & churchmen)
• drew up plans for post-Nazi Germany
• some pacifists were opposed to a coup (feared arrest)
• resistance only developed late on, & it was difficult to organise & plan

Question 9

army aims & actions against the regime

Answer 9

• slow development due to Army Oath & early military success
• army support of Hitler declined after Stalingrad defeat, & opposition developed
• some commanders began to plot -> bomb plot under Stauffenberg
• bomb plot failed & officers were slow to act, allowing Hitler to gain control
• about 5000 members of the resistance were killed afterwards

Question 10

Army Oath

Answer 10

where the army vowed personal oath of security to Hitler

Question 11

When was the Bomb plot?

Answer 11

1944

Question 12

reasons for little opposition against the Nazi regime

Answer 12

• ‘economic miracle’ -> life had improved so many were willing to accept unpopular policies
• people were frightened of Gestapo & concentration camps
• opposition groups (SPD & KPD) were divided & opposed each other
• Nazis abandoned & hid some unpopular policies (eg. criticism after Kristallnacht -> some anti-Jewish measures performed in secret)

Question 13

Kristallnacht (1938)

Answer 13

‘Night of the Broken Glass’, destruction of many Jewish businesses, shops & synagogues

Question 14

When was Kristallnacht?

Answer 14

9-10 November 1938