3.4 Opposition, resistance and conformity

Question 1

Describe the high level of support amongst the German people for Hitler and the Nazis during the 1930s?

• april presidential election 1932
• july general election 1932

Answer 1

• Hitler won 36% of the vote in the April 1932 presidential election and then the Nazi Party won 38% of the votes in the July 1932 general election
• the Nazis were elected as the largest party in the Reichstag
• For the rest of the 1930s, amongst most Germans, there was a high level of conformity or acceptance of Hitler and the Nazis and their parties

Question 2

Why was the Nazi party growing in popularity?

Answer 2

• censorship and propaganda: Joseph Goebbels banned criticism of the Nazis and used the media to spread positive messages about them, ensuring that Hitler and the Nazis remained popular in Germany
• Nazi success - eg. during the 1930s, Hitler reduced unemployment and achieved several successes in foreign policy

Question 3

Why is hard to know how much opposition there was to Hitler/ Nazis?

Answer 3

• organised opposition, in the form of political paties or trade unions were banned
• unofficial opposition was risky: criticism of Hitler was reported to the Gestapo by informers and those reported were punished

Question 4

Why was Niemoller opposed to the Nazis?

Answer 4

• Nazi interference with the running of Protestant Churches

- Bans on Jews becoming Christians and the other restrictions upon them

Question 5

Niemoller: pro-Nazi

Answer 5

• Niemoller voted for Nazis in the 1924 and 1933 elections as he felt that the Weimar republic needed a strong leader
• he didn’t oppose Nazi restrictions on Jews (apart from when they were banned on becoming christians)
• He wanted to be let out of prison to fight on the side of the Nazis in the WWII

Question 6

What was Niemoller’s punishment for going against the Nazis?

Answer 6

• was arrested many times for speaking out against the Nazis and Hitler between 1934-37
• was sent to a concentration camp in 1938 where he stayed until 1945

Question 7

When was the PEL set up?

Answer 7

1933

Question 8

What was the PEL?

Answer 8

Pastors’ Emergency League set up by a group of pastors including Martin Niemoller

Question 9

What two things did the Pastor’s Emergency League oppose?

Answer 9

• the joining of the regional churches into one national German Christian Church
• Nazi attempts to stop Jews from becoming Christians and to ban the Jewish Old Testament from Christian teaching

Question 10

What did the PEL set up?

Answer 10

the confessional church - 1934

Question 11

Describe the limits of Church opposition

Answer 11

• there were big attendances at Church services in defiance of the Nazis
• Some Germans even publicly applauded Church leaders who opposed the Nazis
• there were few Christians who were brave, or foolish enough to oppose the Nazis openly

Question 12

What’s the deal with Dietrich Bonhoeffer?

• who is he
• what was he known for

Answer 12

a protestant who helped form the confessional church in 1934

he was known for his vocal opposition to Hitler’s euthanasia program and genocidal persecution

Question 13

• what happened to Bonhoeffer in 1937

- how did he respond in 1939

Answer 13

in 1937 the Gestapo banned Bonhoeffer from preaching

In 1939 he joined a German spy operation which was trying to overthrow Hitler

Question 14

• How did Bonhoeffe help Jewish people

- what happened in 1942

Answer 14

he helped set up operation 7 which aimed to help Jewish people be smuggled out of Germany

1942 - arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Hossenburg concentration camp where he was executed by SS in 1945

Question 15

how did Edelweiss pirates oppose the Nazis?

Answer 15

• they taunted and even attacked Hitler Youth
• they went on a hike and camping expedition is the countryside to get away from Nazi restrictions
• sang parodies of Hitler Youth songs
• they read and listened to banned music and literature and wrote anti-Nazi graffiti

Question 16

Explain who the Edelweiss Pirates were/when did they start

what did they consist of,
what did they resent,

Answer 16

• emerged in the late 1930s in working-class districts of big German cities
• consisted of teenagers (boys and girls)
• resented the military discipline of the Nazi youth groups and the general lack of freedom in Nazi Germany

Question 17

what did the Edelweiss Pirates wear and why?

Answer 17

• boys wore their hair long and copied styles of clothing they saw in America, often opting for white or checked shirts and white socks to stress their own freedom
• the Alpine flower, the edelweiss, was used as their symbol

Question 18

How impactful was the Edelweiss Pirates?

Answer 18

• 1939 had 2000 members

- Nazis were not threatened by their activities

Question 19

Explain what the Swing Youth group was,
what did they consist of,
what did they admire,

Answer 19

• mainly teenagers from wealthy middle-class families, located in big towns
• admired American culture such as American clothes, films and especially music
• wealthier = could afford record players and played records illegally imported from America

Question 20

How did the swing youth challenge the Nazis?

Answer 20

• they gathered to drink alcohol, smoke and dances they organised illegal dances attended by thousands

Question 21

What did Himmler say about people who listen to jazz?

Answer 21

that they should be “beaten, given the severest exercise and then put to hard labour”

Question 22

Explain why the power of the youth opposition was limited and why they were not representative attitudes of the entire German youth population?

Answer 22

their actions were limited to :

• occasionally daubing anti-Nazi graffiti
• telling anti-Nazi jokes
• attacking members of Hitler Youth

Their motives were limited :
- opposition of these alternative youth groups to the Nazis was mainly cultural-concerned with clothes, music and behaviours- rather than political

• they wanted freedom from Nazi controls, but they were not a political opposition

Their numbers were limited :
1939 Edelweiss pirates were about 2,000 vs 8,000,000 Hitler youth

Question 23

Whats the deal with secret trade union opposition?

Answer 23

The KPD continued to encourage workers to oppose the Nazis. Workers sometimes undermined Nazi building projects by staying off work sick or deliberately damaging machinery.

Many workers in industry had been members of trade unions and supporters of Communism, decreasing the likelihood of them supporting the Nazis.​

Question 24

Whats the deal with secret army opposition?

Answer 24

Some army officers opposed the Nazis. General Ludwig Beck was chief of staff for the German Army. In 1938, he tried to get follow officers to arrest Hitler. He even sent a message to the British saying that the German Army wouldn’t fight if Britain attacked Germany. Beck led plots to kill Hitler in 1943 and 1944.​

Question 25

Whats the deal with Secret political opposition​?

Answer 25

In 1933, the SPD printed an opposition newspaper, the Red Shock Troop, with a circulation of 3,000 copies. The organisers were arrested and sent to concentration camps. SPD leaders then set up SOPADE –the SPD abroad – to campaign against the Nazis.​

Question 26

Who is Bishop Clemens von Galen?

What was he responsible for?

What action did he take against the Nazis, why was he able to rouse public opinion and how was he punished

Answer 26

a catholic bishop

responsible for the publication of a collection of essays that criticised the Nazis and he helped draft “with burning anxiety”

led catholic protest against Nazi euthanasia and the persecution of the church

since he was a popular figure he was able to rouse opinion

suffered virtual house arrest from 1941-45