Control & Opposition Flashcards
When they came into power, what did the Nazis do with the existing police forces and legal system?
They did not get rid of them, but the SS simply took control of them through terrorising and intimidating the German public into obedience. They were fanatically loyal to the Furher and were utterly ruthless.
Who led the SS?
Heinrich Himmler
What did the SS hold the power to do?
Arrest, detain and execute those suspected of acting against the state.
After the Night of the Long Knives, what did the SS take over the responsibility of?
The police, security and intelligence in Germany.
Which was the general policing branch of the SS?
The Kripo
Who were the Gestapo?
The secret police force in Germany
Describe the Gestapo:
The Gestapo used Block Leaders to report suspicious behaviour and had Provincial Leaders appointed in 42 districts. They were the most feared people in all of Mazi Germany due to their powers to arrest anyone they suspected, force them to go on trial & sentence them to concentration camps or execute them with little to no evidence. The Gestapo’s effectiveness lay within its ability to scare the public through listening to phone calls, intercepting letters and their overall omnipresence, leading to the public being frightened of 5e consequences they may face if caught. The Gestapo were put above the law and their work was legalised by the Gestapo law of 1936; they could do whatever they wanted within their line of duty. This allowed the Nazis to eliminate all opposition with torture, imprisonment and execution.
What was the intelligence arm called and who was it lead by?
SD which was led by Heinrich Himmler’s right hand man Reinhard Heydrich
How was bias shown in the judicial system and what did this display?
The highest-ranking jobs in the Police and the Courts were given to loyal & well connected Nazis. Any crimes committed by Nazis were ignored. The Nazis’ powerful and ruthless grasp on the judicial system made opposition to the regime very difficult. This was the end of the German people’s civil rights & the beginning of a dictatorship. The Nazis were determined that the legal system would not protect those who the state wanted to punish.
What, presided over by Nazi judges, was established by Hitler in 1934?
A special People’s Court
Describe the courts of Nazi Germany.
Hitler established the 1934 special People’s courts where there were no longer any juries & often defendants were simply accused of a crime and were unable to defend themselves. All judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler & were all expected act in the interest of the Nazi state. All lawyers had to join the Nazi Lawyers’ Association so that they could be controlled. The role of defence lawyers in criminal trials was weakened and the number of crimes that carried the death penalty increased from 3 to 46. “Protective custody” was introduced for those who might commit a crime. This meant people could be arrested & interned even if they had not broken the law. These changes broke the previously just legal system and people lost many of their civil rights.
Who had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler?
Judges
What did all lawyers have to join?
The Nazi Lawyers’ Association
What was the previous and then amended amount of crimes to carry the death penalty?
The amount of crimes which carried the death penalty rose from 3 to 46.
What is the meaning of ‘interned’?
Arrested, detained and put in prison without trial
What was “Protective Custody”?
A measure introduced for those who may commit a crime. This meant that people could be arrested & interned even if they had not broken the law.
Why did the Nazis decide to make concentration camps?
Prisons were overrun and they needed somewhere where they could concentrate other prisoners.
Who were the first groups of people out in concentration camps?
Communists, Socialists, Jews, journalists, Trade Unionists and gay people,as well as anyone else who criticised the Nazi party.
Where and when was the first concentration camp established?
Dachau in the state of Bavaria in March 1933
By mid-1934, who ran concentration camps?
A part of the SS known as the Death’s Head Units
By 1939, how many people had been sentenced to concentration camps?
6 million
What was life like in concentration camps?
People were subjected to hard labour and were given very little food. This meant that many people died of malnutrition or overwork.
What were people taught in the people’s community?
Charity and neighbourliness as well as that their primary duty was loyal to the Fuhrer and German state.
What was clan responsibility?
The Ida that, if one member of the family broke the law, all the family was guilty & could be punished.
Who were regarded as ‘enemies of the state’?
People who went against rules set out by the Nazis and showed any sort of opposition, e.g. speaking negatively of the government.
Why did most people approve of eliminating‘enemies of the state’?
It made them feel safer, many people joined the Nazi Party and were eager to follow most rules.
What is meant by the phrase to ‘speak through a flower’?
This meant to select words carefully and in such a way which could not offend the state and the Fuhrer .
What was the change in the number of criminal offences by 1939?
It had halved, though the number of people in prison increased.
By 1939,how many people were in prison or concentration camps?
By 1939, there were over 600 000 people in prison or concentration camps.
Why did society become more suspicious and tense?
Some people publicly criticised or informed on others to make themselves look more loyal. Children were also encouraged to report their parents and teachers.
Why did most people comply with the new regulations?
They were fearful of being arrested without reason, particularly due to protective custody. Justice had disappeared. Many people did not receive fair trials due to the amendments to the defence regulations whilst convicted Nazis had their sentences quashed by the intervention of Hitler.
What Ministry was headed by Joseph Goebbels?
The Ministry of Propaganda & Enlightenment
Who could work in the media?
Only journalists approved by Nazis
By 1939, what percentage of newspapers in circulation were owned by the Nazis?
69%
What happened to newspapers who printed stories which the Nazis disapproved of?
They were shut down
_______ & ______ were held at different stages of the year to glorify Germany, Hitler himself or important anniversaries, e.g. ________ ________
Parades, Rallies, Hitler’s Birthday
Which were the most spectacular rallies and when were they held?
The Nuremberg Rallies, annually during August
What, in 1936, were staged and why?
The Olympic Games; to show off Germany at its best when Germany won more medals then other countries- this was to create a grand vision of efficiency, power, strength and achievement which gave Germans something to be proud of.
Knowing the power of radio, the affordable and mass-produced _________ was created by the _______ _______ _________.
People’s Receiver, Reich Radio Company
By 1939, what percentage households owned a People’s Receiver?
70%
When were loudspeakers pit up in public places?
1938
Who were employed to ensure that everyone listened to important speeches?
Radio wardens
Listening to _______ _______ ________ was banned
Foreign radio stations
Where and when were Nazi propaganda films shown?
In cinemas, Nazi propaganda films and newsreels were shown at the beginning of a show, with no admittance to the cinema once the showing had begun.
Anti-_____ and anti-_____ films were shown before feature films
Anti-semitic and anti-communist
Give one example of a Nazi feature film:
‘Triumph of the will’ which was about the 1934 Nuremberg Rally was used to promote the Nazi Regime.
Give 4 examples of things which were censored by the Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment:
Music, literature, cinema & theatre
To convey Nazi messages through slogans and images, what type of propaganda was used?
Posters
What law outlawed anti-Nazi stories and jokes?
A 1934 law against malicious gossip
________ and _________ of young people led to changes in the school curriculum. _________ were _________.
Education, indoctrination, textbooks, rewritten
When did students in Berlin burn books?
May 1933
How many books were burnt in the Berlin students’ May1933 book burning?
20 000 which were written by Jews and Communists
How was literature censored ?
It was controlled to ensure it only reflected Nazi thinking and could not be published without the approval of Joseph Goebbels
Give 2 examples of artists whose modern artwork was thrown out of galleries:
George Grosz and Otto Dix
________ music and unacceptable dancing including the __________ were banned because they had originated from ______ ______.
Jazz, jitterbug, black people
In particular, who never fully accepted Nazi ideals?
Working class Germans in urban areas
Who were the Nazis hugely popular with?
Rural Protestants areas and lower middle class people, including small businessmen and shopkeepers.
In 1933, most of the German population were Christians. Roughly, what fraction were Catholic and Protestant?
Roughly one third Roman Vatholic and roughly two thirds Protestants
Why did Hitler choose not to provoke conflict with the churches?
In 1933, most Germans were Christians. This meant that the churches held a very powerful influence which meant that provoking conflict with them could mean the Nazis would lose support from the public. Therefore Hitler chose not to provoke conflict with the churches until he was sure that he could win.
What is a Concordat?
An agreement or treaty between the Catholic Church and a sovereign state.
When did Hitler sign a Concordat?
July 1933
What was the conditions of the Concordat?
The Catholic Church would stay out of politics in return for the Nazis promising to let the church run services, youth groups and schools. Furthermore, the Pope the bishops to take an oath of loyalty to Hitler.
When did the Concordat break down and what happened?
The Concordat started to break down in 1936 and the Nazis started to target the Catholic Youth League and schools. In 1937, Pope Pius XI condemned the Nazi regime in an encyclical read out on Catholic Churches. However., this had no effect and the Nazis continued to dishonour the agreement through attacking the church and arresting priests.
Germany’s Protestants or __________ belonged to __ church groups.
Lutherans; 28
Under pressure from the Nazis, the Protestant churches agreed to unite to form what? Who was it lead by?
They formed the Reich Church which was led by Ludwig Müller who became the first Reich Bishop in 1933.
Describe the Reich Church
They are lead by Ludwig Müller who became the first Reich bishop in July 1933. They adopted Nazi-style uniforms, salutes and marches. Their slogan was, ‘The swastika on our chests and the Cross in our hearts’. Its symbol was a Christian cross with a swastika in the centre. The Bible was altered to remove many references to Jews.
What was the Confessional Church?
In 1934, those Lutherans who disagreed with Nazism set up the Confessional Church. More than 6000 pastors joined the Confessional Church and 800, including Martin Niemoller, were arrested by the Nazis and were sent to concentration camps.
What was the German Faith Movement?
A Nazi Church based on Pagan beliefs (e.g.worshipping the sun). Its main symbol was a swastika and they replaced the Bible with Mein Kampf. It fully supported the Nazi state and they Volksgemeainschaft, but it was never popular.
Give one example of a refused to cooperate with the Nazis and briefly explain what happened to them:
Some groups, e.g. Jehovah Witnesses, refused to cooperate with the Nazis. They followed the teachings of the Bible not to take up arms and as a result refused to serve in the army. Most Jehovah Witnesses ended up in concentration camps where one third of them died.
By 1938, how many puppy members were in the Hitler Youth?
Over 7 million
Before 1933, the _______ _______ and _________ Parties had youth wings and these continued (as ‘_________ __ _______’ hiking clubs) until ____ when the government made it compulsory to join the _____ _____ ________.
Social Democrats Communist; Friends of Nature; 1936; Hitler Youth Movement
How many didn’t join the Hitler Youth movement?
Some figures suggest about 1 million.
What did the Swing Youth do?
Rebel by growing their hair long and dance to jazz music.
What did the Edelweiss Pirates do?
They rebelled by wearing check shirts, shorts, white socks & a lapel pin of the edelweiss flower. They hung around in parks and committed acts of vandalism. These were toy people who rejected Nazi values, drank alcohol, and danced to jazz.
Who were the Leipzig Hounds?
A rebelling youth group who were communist.
