Control in Nazi Germany Flashcards
How did the Nazis establish control?
By transforming Germany into a police state
How was Germany made into a police state?
- Courts fell under Nazi control, death penalty could be given for telling anti-Hitler jokes
-Gestapo - SS
- Concentration camps
Who were the Gestapo?
- the secret police
-they spied on people and opened mail - had the power to arrest anyone without trial
- had a network of informers who could report people who criticised the Nazis
What was the SS?
- led by Heinrich Himmler
- originally Hitler’s bodyguards
- wore black uniforms
What were concentration camps?
- places where Jews, gypsies and ‘enemies of the state’ were imprisoned
- they were forced to work hard and some were even worked to death
Who was in charge of Nazi propaganda?
Joseph Goebbels
What were the key messages of Nazi propaganda?
- blaming Jews
- criticising the TOV
-making Germany great again
How was propaganda used?
- newspapers
- films
- books, theatre and music
- radio
- public (rallies and posters)
Why did the Nazis introduce censorship?
Goebbels felt it wasn’t enough to control people so he wanted to stop ideas being shared that might challenge the Nazis
New laws were made
What was the lowest form of resistance?
Moaning
Usually done in homes when someone would complain about the Nazi regime
What was passive resistance?
When someone may not give the Nazi salute it give money to Hitler youth members who were collecting funds
What was open opposition?
Groups that openly opposed the Nazis
- swing youth
- white rise group
- edelweiss pirates
Sabotaged railway lines, beat up Nazis and made anti-Nazi posters
Church leaders also complained
Who plotted to kill Hitler?
- Kreisau circle - army officers who plotted but didn’t actually do anything
- Beck-Goerdeler group - behind July bomb plot
- July bomb plot 1944 - Claus Von Stauffenberg placed a bomb at a meeting but it failed to kill him
