Characteristics Of Nazi Germany Flashcards
what did Hitler establish across all German states?
control of police forces
why was Hitler establishing control of police forces across all German states important?
as they would be used as instruments of state repression
what did the Nazi party do to the police force?
-removed any anti-Nazi police leaders
- reorganises police forces
-reoriented police culture towards Nazism
what happened to the police forces in Nazi Germany?
they were centralised under the control of the SS leader Henrich Himmler
who was the leader of the SS?
Henrich Himmler
what was the name of Hitlers secret police?
the Gestapo
what was the aim of the Gestapo?
to keep a close eye on “enemies of state” (communists, socialists and Jews)
what did any criticism of Nazi regime usually result in?
being arrested and imprisoned without trial
what were arrests made by the Gestapo usually followed by?
torture and detention in concentration camps
when were concentration camps first set up?
1933
who ran the Concentration camps?
the SS
what was the initial purpose of the Concentration camps?
to house political prisoners
what was the name of the first Concentration camp?
Dachau
how many concentration camps were established throughout Hitler’s reign?
up to 1000
what were the conditions in the camps like?
extremely tough
what was everyday features of camp life?
violence and state sponsored torture
how many prisoners was there in the camps in Summer of 1933?
100,000
how many people were registered in concentration camps in total?
1.65 million
how many died in concentration camps?
1 million
what was the Night of the Long Knives?
when Hitler took action against large proportions of his own supporters in the SA
what group was disliked in Germany in 1934?
the SA
why were the SA disliked?
due to unacceptable behaviour carried out by thugs within the group
who was the leader of the SA?
Ernest Rohm
who was Ernest Rohm?
a loyal follower of Hitler from the beginning and had a quite a close relationship with ‘Der Fuhrer’
what did Ernest Rohms close relationship with hitler cause?
other Nazi party members to be jealous
what type of culture does Hitler establish?
competitive culture of trying to rise to the top of the Nazi party
what did the other member of the party do as a result of this jealousy?
they plotted against Rohm
what did the other member of the party convince hitler of?
that Rohm was planning a putsch of the party
what actions did Hitler take after being convinced about Rohm?
units of the SS arrested and executed leaders of the SA including Rohm
what did the Nazis use the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ as an opportunity to do?
to wipe out other political enemies
Historian Ian Kershaw estimates how many high ranking members of the SA were purged?
around 200
what was the impact of the ‘Night of the long knives’ have on the SA?
-weakened the group
- put Heinrich Himmler in a far more important position within the nazi party power structure
why did Hitler become extremely popular?
due to the economic prosperity he and the Nazi party introduced
who was the Minister for Economics?
Hjalmar Schacht
by 1932, unemployment had reached what?
6 million
how was the unemployment rate reduced?
-public work schemes
-programme of rearmament
-expansion of army
how many jobs were created as a result of rearmament?
up to 4 million
how many served in the German army over the course of WW2?
13 million
although average wages did not meet pre 1929 levels, how did most workers feel?
felt indebted to Hitler for ending the economic hardship experienced over the interwar period
what did the role of women revolve around?
motherhood and the home
what was the nazi propaganda based around (role of women)?
women’s duty was to support her husband and raise children
what did propaganda encourage women to have?
have large families and to quit their jobs
what was given to mothers who had 4 or more children?
‘The mother’s cross’
what were women often given to encourage them to stop working?
financial incentives
what were women expected to do? (clothing/fashion)
copy traditional german peasant fashion (plain clothes, flat shoes and have their hair in plaits or buns
what were women discouraged from doing?
staying slim or dieting
why were women discouraged from staying slim or dieting?
because tt was thought thin women had trouble. giving birth
who was appointed Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment?
Jospeh Goebbels
Goebbels was the:
“evil genius of the 20th century”
what was the aims of Nazi propaganda?
-promote sense of community among German people (Volksgemeinschaft)
-encourage German nationalism
-promote Hitler’s cult of personality
-inspire pride in the Aryan Race and hatred of Jews
-Maintain public morale
what did Goebbels identify as the most important tool for supporting Nazi propaganda campaign?
the control of the mass media
how did Goebbels refer to the radio as?
“the most modern instrument for influencing the masses”
what was the Reich Radio Chamber?
it meant that everyone working in radio had to be a member of the organisation that gave Goebbels full control
what controlled all radio stations?
the Reich Radio Company
what did Goebbels provide to radio stations in order to stay in complete control?
news bulletins
what did Goebbels understand about radio programmes?
that not all of them could be made up of Nazi propaganda
what was the cheap radio called?
the Volksempfanger
what is regarded as one of the most successful pieces of Nazi propaganda?
the 1936 Olympics
how many seats were in the stadium built in Berlin?
110,000
who was comisioned to produce a documentary about the olympics?
Leni Riefenstahl
what is considered to be the greatest sporting documentary of all time?
‘olympia’
what did foreign visitors leave the games in Germany with?
a positive impression of the country and the Nazi regime
in the lead up to the Olympics, what had the Nazis done?
suspended their Anti-Jewish campaign in the press and removed anti-jew signs and slogans in the streets
