DS3: How effectively did the Nazis control Germany? What was it like to live in Nazi Germany? 1933-45? Flashcards
Organisations of Control
SS - set up in 1925, elite soldiers devoted to Hitler. Led by Heinrich Himmler with many sub-bodies, such as Waffen SS (Armoured regiment) and Death’ Head Units (Concentration Camps/Jewish Control)
Army Bomb Plot
July 1944:
- Led by army officers who thought the war was lost, tried to oust him from power
- Blow up Hitler in his conference room, round up Nazi leaders, take over Germany
- Hitler survived and killed 5000 in revenge
Nazis and the church
- Hitler made a Concordat with the Catholic Church in 1933, they’d stay out of politics, and he’d allow Catholic schools
- Official Reich Church, an attempt to unite all Protestants together under 1 church, led by Nazi Bishop Ludwig Muller (many hated this idea)
- Hitler didn’t keep his promises, so in 1937, Pope Pius XI denounced Nazism as anti-Christian, and in 1941 attacked their human rights abuses
- Roman Catholic Bishop Galen criticised Nazism in the 30s, and led a protest in 1941 against the killing of the mentally ill and disabled. They were forced to stop, continuing would have been deeply unpopular
- Martin Neimoller formed an alternative Protestant Church to the Official Reich one, and was imprisoned from 1938-45 in a concentration camp for him (he did the “Firs they came for the Communists and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Communist” poem)
How did Nazis manipulate culture and the mass media?
Joseph Goebbels was the Propaganda Minister. His main “achievements”:
- Nuremberg rallies had bands, marches and speeches, people loved the colour, and allowed the SS to show off
- 1936 Berlin Olympics hoped to show Germany as the superior country, and the superiority of the Aryans. Tourists were impressed by the German facilities and organisation. Germany won the Olympics, but the start was Jesse Owens, a back American who won 4 gold medals and broke 11 world records. Foreign leaders saw this as blatant propaganda and were shocked by the presence of the SS
- Censorship of books and book burnings
- Only approved painters could exhibit, showing approved Nazi ideals
- Newspapers were completely controlled. Became dull and circulation fell 10%
- All films had to have a pro Nazi message, preceded by newsreels about Hitler’s greatness
- Jazz was banned as it was black
- Posters were everywhere
- Cheap radios were made available to everyone, and could only pick up Nazi signals, meaning people could only hear speeches and propaganda. Speakers were in town squares, bars, pubs so propaganda was everywhere
Nazi policy towards Young People
- Hitler needed to secure the future of the thousand year Reich, and needed to win the hearts and minds of children
- Curriculums were changed, history spoke of German greatness, wickedness of Jews. PE trebled in the 1930s. Biology lessons focused on race theory and Aryan vs Jewish or Slavic characteristics. Maths and Science focused on the military. Girls learned to be good mothers and home keepers
- Teachers had to swear loyalty to Hitler
- Hitler Youth was founded in 1926. By 1939, it had over 7 mill members. Many were happy to join, as other clubs were banned. They were effectively training for the armed forces.
- League of German Maidens was the girls’ equivalent to the Hitler Youth. They learned to raise babies, how to cook and sew, and did activities to keep fit
- Children were encouraged to feel allegiance to Hitler first, and the family second
Youth opposition
There were some young people who opposed Hitler:
- Swing Movement were middle class teens who liked American music and jazz. Talked openly about sex and accepted Jews
- Edelweiss Pirates were working class teenagers who sang anti Nazi songs, fought Hitler Youth and were open about sex. In cologne they helped shelter deserters and escaped prisoners, and also killed an SS guard.
- Many were reluctant to join the Hitler Youth, and preferred the Catholic Youth Organisation
How successful were the Nazis’ policies towards women and families?
- Birth rate by 1939 had increased 45%
- Unemployment had almost disappeared by 1939, after women had stopped working
- However, women were forced back into the workplace during the war to make armaments etc.
- Many women objected to second class citizenship. Many disliked giving up their jobs after years of training
How did the Nazis achieve economic recovery?
Dr Hjalmar Schacht reorganised finances to fund a work creation programme
- The National Labour Service employed men on public works (autobahns, houses, hospitals, railways)
- Hitler reintroduced conscription in 1935
- Rearmament led to an increase in iron and steel industries
- Coal mining was increased, Saar coalfield taken back
- Luftwaffe - airforce, was created, and many submarines and naval ships were made
Four Year Plan
1936
- Make Germany self-sufficient and war ready
- Recruit more to the army, produce weapons
- Increase agriculture and coal, steel and oil production
- Autarky, producing alternatives to oil and rubber was encouraged
Autarky
Make Germany self-sufficient, stop relying on foreign imports
- Farmers were subsidised to produce more food
- Scientists tried to make oil from coal, and find substitutes to oil petrol cotton and coffee, partially successful.
How were Nazis able to reduce unemployment?
- Reorganise finances to fund huge work creation. Govt expenditure went from 5 billion to 30 billion Reichmarks from 1933-38
- Women, Jews and minorities were all encouraged to give up jobs, to allow men to take them, reducing unemployment.
How did workers fare under Nazis?
- Millions came out of unemployment
- Propaganda praised workers and associated them with Hitler
- Schemes existed to provide cheap theatre/cinema tickets and trips, courses and sports events for the average worker. KDF (Joy through Work) created to encourage workers to work
BUT
- Trade Unions abolished, strikes forbidden
- All workers had to join the General Labour Front, keeping control
- Working week increased and real wages were lower in 1935 than 1928
Farmers under Nazis?
- Peasant Farmers were guaranteed an income after the Reich Food Estate of 1933 was set up, so there was always demand
- Reich Entailed Farm Law meant banks couldn’t seize farmland if defaulted
BUT
- Food Estate limited efficient farmers
- Banks were unwilling to lend farmers money
- Farmers children left the countryside, 3% depopulation in rural areas per year
What was a concentration camp?
Like a prison, first ones were makeshift prisons in disused factories/warehouses. By 1934, they were purpose built in usually isolated areas
- They were run by SS Death’s Head Units. Prisoners were forced to do hard labour and food was limited. Beatings and random executions were common
Timeline of Jewish policies:
1933:
- Jews banned from Civil Service
- SA and SS boycott Jewish shops, marking them with the start of David
1935:
- Nuremburg Laws removed German citizenship from Jews, forbade Jews to marry or have sex with Germans
- Anti Jewish propaganda constant
- Jews refused jobs and being served
1938:
Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) November 1938, after a German diplomat was murdered by a Jew in Paris, the SS smashed Jewish shops, burned synagogues, murdered 91 Jews and sent 20,000 to concentration camps. Thousands of Jews left Germany
1939:
- Ghettos. After Germany took Poland, they sent thousands of Jews into tiny areas of Polish cities, moving them out of German and Polish towns and cities. Able bodied Jews were used as slave-labour, others were left to die
1941:
- Mass murder. After the invasion of the USSR, 3 million more Jews were now in German territory. Many were shot and killed by the Einsatzgruppen, special SS Units
- Wannsee Conference (January 1942) Himmler was put in charge of systematic killing of Jews (“The Final Solution”) labour camps were set up in places like Auschwitz and around 6 million were killed
