2.4: The Nazi Dictatorship 1933-1939

Question 1

What 4 events gave Hitler the availability to create a One Party State

Answer 1

After The Reichstag Fire The KPD were exiled, then the SPD were exiled as a hostile party (22/6/33), The DNVP (27/6) and ZP (5/7) dissolved themselves then finally Hitler banned the formation of all non-Nazi parties (14/7)

Question 2

What were the series of laws passed to centralise power

Answer 2

31st Mar 1933: Replacement of existing State Assemblies (SA) with Nazi one
7th Apr 1933: RG post created
30th Jan 1934: SA abolished RG made useless
14th Feb 1934: The Abolishment Of The Reichsrat

Question 3

How did Hitler manoeuvre his way around the Civil Service

Answer 3

He made local officials resign with nazi replacement whist the sa replaced government officials to keep an eye on civil servants

Question 4

Why was The SA a threat matrix to Hitler

Answer 4

Hitler needed the army on side (there was a co-existing power struggle between The SA and The Army), SA violence was out of hand, Biggest Nazi Terror Instrument (3m) and Rohm’s sexuality wasn’t a secret

Question 5

What event took place between 29th-30th June 1934

Answer 5

Papen had a forged speech conveyed in Marburg condemning SA violence, Bomber threatened which pushed Hitler to purge the SA and its leaders (84 executed and 1000 arrested + big players killed)

Question 6

What was the significance of The Night of The Long Knives

Answer 6

The Army now supported The Nazi Regime, Marked the emergence of The SS and Hitler had secured political supremacy

Question 7

What was The Impact of the death of President Hindenburg

Answer 7

On 2nd Aug 1934, Hitler created Fuhrer role, soldiers took an oath to Hitler as The Commander-In-Chief, a plebiscite was held 10.1% (4.5m) voted for no change but this was irrelevant

Question 8

What was the Role of The SS

Answer 8

Led by Himmler, Hitler’s Protection Squad of 250k men controlled the entire 3rd Reich’s police system and The Concentration Camps

Question 9

What was the Role of The SD

Answer 9

Led by Heydrich, Hitler’s Party Security, its 50k non-committed Nazis investigated and monitored the public and Nazi enemies

Question 10

What was the Role of The Gestapo

Answer 10

Led by Himmler, Hitler’s Secret Police, its 20k officers installed an atmosphere of fear (its reputation was exaggerated and inaccurate info was spread)

Question 11

What were the 2 laws passed to control The Courts and Justice System

Answer 11

The Front German Law (Apr 1933) Career prospects relied of compliance with the regime (10000 lawyers have the Nazi Salute by Oct)
Special Courts (1933) & Peoples Court (1934) dealt with political crimes in 5 years 3400 were tried in the peoples court and 7000/16000 given the death penalty

Question 12

How effective was The SPD resistance

Answer 12

The openly campaigned but by the end of 1933- 1000’s murdered or made to flee (SOPADE), although they weren’t equipped for resistance they relied of the future collapse of the regime as a way to power

Question 13

How effective was The KPD resistance

Answer 13

They were better at establishing underground networks, but ruined by repression, 10% killed by he Nazis, they recognised they weren’t a serious threat so they had to focus on survival

Question 14

How effective was The Workers resistance

Answer 14

They were absorbed into The DAF, they striked due to economic issues, they also used absenteeism as a way to show discontent (Gliewitz) and finally they damaged machinery enough to make sabotage a criminal offence

Question 15

How effective was The Youth resistance

Answer 15

They hummed banned tunes and didnt parade and joined Non-Nazi organisations but that was the extent of the resistance

Question 16

How effective was The Elites resistance

Answer 16

Hitler through Himmler got rid of Blomberg and Fritsch through lies + Beck tried to coup but failed to gather foreign support, they offered up minimal resistance

Question 17

What were the 3 major successes in Propaganda for Hitler

Answer 17

Radios: 70% of households owned a radio by 1939 + loudspeakers installed in public settings
Film: Cinema attendance quadrupled and 1000 feature films were created
Berlin Olympics: Hitler glorified the regime to the world through athletes giving him the salute as a mark of respect

Question 18

What were 2 failure in the propaganda regime

Answer 18

Hitler and Goebbels completed took over the press and newspapers whilst newspapers were in decline (10%)
The Autobahns were a show of employment but had no real use due to 1in 44 Germans owning a car due to the price

Question 19

What were Hitler’s economic aims

Answer 19

Full Employment
Wehrwirtschaft (Rearmament)
Economic Autarky

Question 20

What 5 methods did Hjalmar Schact implement in Aug 1934

Answer 20

Giving subsidies to firms to increase workers, Strict control on wages and prices to control inflation, Mefo Bills allowed rearmament to start through the government paying these bills for military equipment, Reich Labour Service (19-25) and New Plan (1934) controlled Trade, Tariffs, Capital and Currency Exchange

Question 21

What was Goering’s plan for Rearmament

Answer 21

Prioritising strategic imports and exports, Control of key sectors of the labour force to stop inflation, Increase production of Iron, Steel and Chemicals, Development of Substitute products. But it didn’t reach production levels due to economic strain and 1/3 goods still imported

Question 22

What was the degree of economic recovery by 1939

Answer 22

Hitler didnt decrease unemployment, Living Standards decreased and propaganda hid the failures and exaggerated the successes

Question 23

How did the Nazis change schools

Answer 23

1200 uni staff were dismissed, Teachers forced to join NSLB, textbooks vetted (1933), there was increased emphasis on PE (military), Biology (Race) and Geography (Lebensraum)

Question 24

What was The Hitler Youth and The League for German Girls

Answer 24

The BDM prepared girls for motherhood whilst the HJ prepared boys for military life due to membership being compulsory, having to swear an oath to Hitler

Question 25

What was The Nazi’s policy toward Women

Answer 25

To raise the birth rate through marriage loans, propaganda (medals), improved childcare and sanitary conditions, NSF and Mothers Service

Question 26

What was the Nazis policy toward workers

Answer 26

In 1933, trade unions were banned. The KdF was created to improve leisure opportunities but was too expensive for working class workers. The Beauty of Work was introduced to improve work facilities, but workers were expected to pay for them themselves. The DAF also provided vocational training courses, and the Trustees of Labour had power to fix wages and regulate working conditions. By 1936, the average wage was 35 marks per hour, and hours increased from 43 to 47 hours.

Question 27

What was The Reich Church

Answer 27

The Evangelical church was converted into the Reich Church during Nazi Germany’s 1933 elections, with German Christians and Goebbels propaganda winning a victory. Ludwig Müller was appointed Reich bishop, abolished elected bodies, and dismissed 18 pastors, mostly Jewish converts.

Question 28

What were the Nazis policies toward the Confessional Church

Answer 28

September 1933 – group of pastors led by Martin Neimöller + Dietrich Bonhoeffer made Pastors Emergency League. They broke away from church and became confessional church with support of 7000/16,000 pastors by 1934.

Question 29

What was The Concordat

Answer 29

The Catholic Church cooperated with Hitler’s regime, believing its autonomy would remain. In 1933, the Vatican and regime reached an agreement, promising not to interfere with politics and allowing youth groups and schools. However, the Nazis broke the agreement, leading to many Catholics being murdered. Archbishop Galen criticized the Nazi church, provoking a response from the Nazis. Pope Pius issued a critical letter.