Control & opposition

Question 1

What were the 2 approaches that the Nazi’s had to control Germany?

Answer 1

The carrot (brainwashing) & The stick (force)

Question 2

What did the carrot include?

Answer 2

Religion, propaganda, censorship, controlling culture and art

Question 3

What did the stick include?

Answer 3

The SS, the SD and gestapo, concentration camps, courts and judges

Question 4

Who were the SS?

Answer 4

1925- Hitler’s personal bodyguard, 300 members.

1929- Run by Himmler, given black uniforms, grew to 50,000 members. Loyal to Himmler and Hitler.
‘Political soldiers’ of Nazi party.

Question 5

Who were the SD?

Answer 5

1931- Formed by Himmler as a security force to monitor opponents. He made Heydrich their leader. They kept tabs on all opponents and often spied on the police too.

Question 6

Who were the Gestapo?

Answer 6

1933- Set up by Goering as Hitler’s non-uniformed secret police force.

1936- Heydrich became their leader.

They spied on people & tapped phones, to identify anyone who opposed or criticised. They could use torture and sent people to concentration camps.

Question 7

How did the Nazis control the judges?

Answer 7

Hitler insisted all judges had to be Nazis and they were instructed that during any conflict, the interests of the Nazi party were the most important.

Question 8

How did Hitler control Law courts?

Answer 8

Hitler abolished trial by jury - judges decided innocence and punishment.

He set up a New People’s court where judges were hand-picked and trials were held in secret. He often imposed sentences himself.

Question 9

What did Hitler agree on with the Pope _____ with the Catholic church?

Answer 9

‘Concordat’ agreement with Pope Pius:

• Freedom of worship for Catholics and to not interfere with Catholic schools in Germany.
• Catholic Priests would not interfere in politics & ordered German bishops to swear loyalty to Hitler.

Question 10

After Hitler broke his promise to the church, what happened to the Catholics?

Answer 10

1937- Pope Pius had enough of the Concordat & sent a letter called “with burning anxiety” condemning nazi beliefs. The next day The Gestapo raided every Catholic church.

Priests who spoke out were harassed and arrested, Catholic schools were taught Nazi ideals or closed, the Catholic Youth League was banned.

Question 11

When was the Reich Church formed and what was it?

Answer 11

1936 - The Protestant churches which favoured working with the Nazis combined to form a single Protestant church.

Question 12

What did Hitler and the Protestant churches agree on?

Answer 12

Pastors who supported Hitler were allowed to continue providing church services (some even displayed the swastika)

The Nazis insisted that Jews should not be baptised into the Reich church and that Jewish teachings of the Old Testament should be excluded from Christian teachings.

Question 13

What two key aspects of Nazi treatment of Protestant churches did Niemoller oppose?

Answer 13

1. The joining of regional churches into one national German Christian church.
2. Nazi attempts to stop Jews becoming Christians & banning Jewish Old Testament from teaching.

Question 14

What was the Pastor’s emergency League?

Answer 14

They set up a confessing church (opposing the Nazis) meaning there were 2 Protestant churches in Germany.

Around 2000 pastors stayed at the Reich church but around 6000 joined the confessing church.

Question 15

What happened to Niemöller?

Answer 15

He spent 7 years in concentration camps before being released.

Question 16

What was Goebbel’s role?

Answer 16

1933- Head of Propaganda. He controlled all aspects of the media, sport, art and culture.

Question 17

What were the 2 aims of propaganda and censorship?

Answer 17

1. To get across Nazi ideology
2. To influence and control minds

Question 18

Where and when was Hitler’s biggest rally?

Answer 18

Nuremberg in 1934.

Question 19

How did the Nazis control the newspaper & press?

Answer 19

Journalists were told what they could/could not publish.

Government told newspapers what they had to post at times.

Question 20

How many newspapers had to be shut down?

Answer 20

1600 newspapers in 1935

Question 21

How did the Nazis control the radio?

Answer 21

1933- Goebbels put all radio stations under Nazi control.

‘The People’s Radio’ were cheaply sold to the public and by 1939 70% of Germans had a radio.

All radios had a ‘short frequency’ to prevent picking up foreign channels.

Question 22

How did the Nazis control music?

Answer 22

Jazz was banned, being the music of ‘black people’.

Jewish producers were banned.

Wagner was a favourite and Beethoven and Bach were ‘traditional’

Question 23

How did the Nazis control film?

Answer 23

Goebbels oversaw every film produced and had to approve them.

Every film had a 45 min ‘newsreel’ before it to glorify Hitler and Nazi achievements.

Question 24

How did the Nazis control literature?

Answer 24

All books and poems were controlled by the Chamber of Culture.

Over 2500 writers were banned from publishing.

20,000 Jewish and Communist books were banned publicly.

Question 25

How did the Nazis control art?

Answer 25

Controlled by the Chamber of Culture, banning anything opposing of criticising.

Art had to show Nazi ideals of strength, loyalty and sacrifice. Also Romantic ideas of country life and family ideas.

Question 26

How did the Nazis control architecture?

Answer 26

The Nazis wanted architecture to show power and strength so Speer became the most famous architect: his buildings were huge and grand with Roman and Greek designs.

Question 27

How did the Nazis control sports?

Answer 27

Nazi symbols covered sports stadiums.

All teams gave the Nazi salute to pay respect.

Sports stars became heroes - 110,000 stadiums were built and showcased Nazi organisation & power to the world.

Question 28

What did the Social Democrats do to resist the Nazis?

Answer 28

They formed small resistance groups & produced anti-nazi leaflets & posters. They were hunted down by the Gestapo who arrested 1200 of them in Rhine Ruhr alone.

Question 29

What did the Communists do to resist the Nazis?

Answer 29

They aimed to provide visible resistance with meetings, propaganda and newsletters. The red flag newspaper produced 10,000 copies every month. This visibility led to them being arrested by the Gestapo.

Question 30

What did the Jehovah’s Witnesses do to resist the Nazis?

Answer 30

Due to the rules of their faith, they were unwilling to comply with the Nazi state, refusing to give the salute & military service. They began writing anti-nazi leaflets.

Question 31

What did the Swing Kids do to resist the Nazis?

Answer 31

In contract to Nazi ideals, they had long hair and wore wide trousers. They listened to jazz and swing (associated with african-americans). Himmler viewed them as dangerous to he wrote to Heydrich, asking the Gestapo to deal with them. Many were arrested & sent to concentration camps.

Question 32

What did the Edelweiss pirates do to resist the Nazis?

Answer 32

Listened to foreign radio and spread news.
They produced flyers & painted slogans on walls.
Picked fights with the Nazis with reported bearings of the Hitler Youth members.

Question 33

Who was Cardinal Galen?

Answer 33

Catholic Bishop.

In 1934 his sermons started to criticise the Nazi regime over its racial policy. The Gestapo went to question him but he was too high profile to be removed from power or persecuted. He suffered house arrest from 1941 till 1945.