DS3- Nazi Germany Flashcards
What kind of Germany did the Nazis want to create?
- Make Germany great again- powerful/ strong (revoke the TOV, stronger and larger army, modernisation, Lebensraum)
- Make Germany racially pure again (get rid of all racial minorities, spread propaganda through the media, policies to glorify the role of the mother- carrot and stick, indoctrination at a young age)
- The Volk or the people’s community (no room for free speech, all other claims on people’s loyalties were removed, all organisations- churches, clubs, choirs who diverted people’s attention from serving the Volk were removed)
How would the Nazis run Germany?
- A dictatorship
- A one-party state
- Economic success
- A police state (SS and police had the same power- to arrest and even execute the enemies of the state who did not follow the dictator or submit to his demands for complete loyalty)
- A propoganda state
How did the Nazis run Germany? (the reality)
- The SS- 1933-36 (Himmler)
- Nazi Party Organisations (Hitler Youth and German Labour front)
- Government ministries (Ministry for Propaganda- Goebbels, Foreign Office, Ministry for Economics)
- The army
- Big business
- Local Nazi party leaders (Gauleiters- interpreted and enforced Nazi policies at the local level)
What was the SS?
- originally were private bodyguards for Hitler and other Nazi leaders
- The physical standards were very strict
- 1934- even helped Hitler crush the SA in the ‘Night of the Long Knives’
- role changed: became the main means of terrorising or intimidating Germans into obedience
- had unlimited power to arrest people without any trials, search houses or confiscate property
- ran the concentration camps
- when the war began, they had their own fighting units- the Waffen SS which soon rivalled the army’s power
Concentration camps
- at first were temporary prisons set up by the SA or SS for political prisoners or trade unionists/ young people
- opponents were taken there for questioning, torture and ‘re-education’
- if someone died there the family would receive a note saying that the person died of pneumonia or was shot trying to escape
- by 1939, they built a business using their prisoners as slave labour, extracting raw materials and manufacturing weapons
- later became the scenes of mass genocide- were death camps
The Gestapo
- originally the Prussian secret police run by Goering
- after June 1936, it became the state secret police under the command of Himmler
- they tapped telephones, intercepted mail and spied of people
- had a network of informers throughout Germany
- anyone who even whispered any opposition to hitler would be reported to the Gestapo and arrested
- they could strike anywhere at any time against ordinary Germans
- the opponents of Nazism feared the Gestapo the most
The police, the courts and the prisons under the Nazis
- the Nazis took control of these when they came to power
- police was under the command of the SS
- judges took an oath of loyalty to Hitler
How effectively did the Nazis deal with their political opponents?
Phase 1: March- April 1933
- Reichstag fire lead to the SA arresting and executing (57 communist members of the Reichstag) prisoners who were supposed to be in ‘preventive detention’
Phase 2: May- July 1933
- arrested everyone from social democrats to members of the other nationalist parties- jewish writers, lawyers, industrialists etc
- by the end of summer 1933, they had wiped out any organisation where their opponents were strong
- closed trade unions and confiscated their money and equipment
- banned all other parties
How did the Nazis take control in Northeim?
1. By taking over the council
1/3 of Northeim voted for the social democrats giving the Nazi a working majority of 15:5 on the local council but their goal was to eliminate opposition.
By first arresting one councillor and then bullying the others, on 27th June 1933, all social democrat councillors had to resign as their party was banned from Germany.
For the next 12 years, the Northeim council was run by the Nazis and anti-nazis were dismissed from council employment.
How did the Nazis take control in Northeim?
2. By terror
The Nazis needed to convince the Northeimers that the violence with which they dealt with their political opponents was also what anyone who stepped out of the line could expect
They set up a search of all houses for any weapons or ammunition- ransacked home and arrested innocent people and tortured them
How did the Nazis take control in Northeim?
3. By ‘co-ordination’
The aim was that whenever even a small group of people got together, it would be under the watchful gaze of the Nazis
Co-ordination destroyed the social life of Northeim
By autumn 1933, there was hardly anywhere that ordinary Northeimers could go to enjoy themselves with friends which was no Nazi-run- made it impossible to oppose the Nazi regime or honestly discuss it
How did the Nazis take control in Northeim?
4. By persecuting Jews
Northeim had about 100 Jews
On 1st April the Nazis announced a boycott of all Jewish businesses- used the media to spread news
How did the Nazis take control in Northeim?
5. Through propaganda
Propaganda events:
- March- ceremonial burial of the Weimar flag and hoisting of the Nazi banner all over Northeim
- Torchlight parade of 3000 Northeimers
- Adolf Hitler’s birthday- 20th April became a celebration day
- theatre presentations, concerts, films, military manoeuvres by the SA
- Started their own newspaper
- Local businesses sold Swastikas, organised pro-Hitler speeches etc
How did the Nazis take control in Northeim?
6. By tackling unemployment
Most Northeimers voted for the Nazis because of the Depression. The Nazis tried to erase unemployment and on July 24th it was announced that the Nazis eliminated unemployment in Northeim but the truth was:
- Mist of the money to pay for the new jobs had been allocated by the Weimar government before the Nazis took over- but it took months to come through
- Socialists and communists were dismissed from their jobs, replaced by Nazis and excluded from the scheme
- All those who were unemployed were forced to join the new work schemes otherwise they would get no unemployment benefits
How much opposition was there?
- Attempted coup d’etat: only towards the last years if war did plots against Hitler gather any support
- Underground resistance and open opposition: More underground resistance where working-class groups produced anti-Nazi leaflets. Like Pastor Grueber who secretly helped Jews emigrate, spies who passed on military or industrial secrets. Within churches, there were a number of people who openly criticised the Nazi dictatorship and their policies
- Private grumbling: Very widespread, ordinary Germans greatly resented several aspects of the Nazi regime
Why didn’t private grumbling become open opposition?
- Germans were afraid- The SS and Gestapo could destroy lives
- The opposition was divided- opposition did not cooperate to resist the Nazis
- People did not know of what was going on- censorship and propaganda ensured this
- People were pleased with the Nazis
- Quibbles were minor
- The Nazis did drop unpopular policies- like Euthanasia in 1940
- Most people saw the Nazis as having legal authority to do what they wanted as they achieved electoral success
- No organised opposition
Should the Nazis destroy the churches?
Destroy them:
- In 1935 nearly all Germans were Christians- roughly 1/3 were Roman Catholics and 2/3 were Protestants. The Protestant church had more members than any other organisation in Germany, including the Nazi party
- To avoid conflicting beliefs with the Nazis
- Church meeting could spread anti-nazi ideas
- Hitler was subtly hinting at him being the saviour/ Messiah all along
Should the Nazis destroy the churches?
Use them:
- many church members voted for Hitler, especially the Protestants whose pastors were amongst the most popular and successful Nazi election speakers
- there was common ground of several issues like the importance of family life and the importance of the army (in 1936, the priests accompanied the troops as they re-militarised the Rhineland)
- the church was often the local power base for the Nazis- taking a pre-existing concept would ease the transition
Agreements with the church- 1933-35:
- Invoked god from his early speeches- propaganda tool
- June 1933, the Catholic Church signed a Concordat (understanding) with Hitler who promised he wouldn’t interfere with their work or youth group in return for the Vatican staying out of politics
- Hitler united all Protestant churches together into one Reich church under a pro-Nazi Reich Bishop- they became known as the German Christians
- They adopted Nazi-style uniforms, salutes and marches
- Bible/ Mein Kampf, Jesus/ Hitler, the cross/ nazi swastika
Did the Nazis succeed in controlling the churches?
1935- Hitler set up a new department for church affairs to control the churches. The Gestapo arrested 700 Protestant ministers who were opposed to the Nazis.
1936- The Nazis ran campaigns pressuring children not to attend Church schools or youth movements. Hundreds of catholic priests and nuns who opposed the Nazis were taken to court and charged with offences ranging from illegal currency dealings to homosexuality..
1937- Christmas carols and nativity plays were banned from schools
1938- Priests were stopped from teaching religious classes in schools
1939- All remaining Church schools were abolished
However, the majority of the 3 million Nazi party still paid Church taxes and registered as Christians
How did the Nazis deal with ‘burdens on the community’?
Step 1: Propaganda- campaign tried to stir up resentment against people who were burdens on the community
Step 2: The sterilisation Law- prevented ‘undesirables’ from having children. Law passed in July 1933 and between 1934 and 1945 between 320,000 and 350,000 men and women were compulsorily sterilised.
Step 3: The concentration camps- By 1936, all those hampering the economy and society were sent here.
Step 4: The euthanasia campaign- In 1939, the Nazis began to secretly exterminate the mentally ill in a euthanasia programme. Either by lethal injections or starvation 6,000 handicapped babies, children and teens were killed. Gas chambers were also built in 6 asylums including Grafeneck. About 72,000 people had been killed before public protests made Hitler stop the programme in 1941.
Hashude
- Some of the city’s worst families were placed in a camp of modern terraced houses. Here they would be controlled and ‘educated’
- Anyone who was unwilling to work or was being a burden was sent here
- If the family showed improvement they were released into normal society and if not they were sent to concentration camps
- The war led to a shortage of housing so Hashude was closed in July 1940 and it became a normal housing estate
- It was a branded failure- very costly costly and it was argued that families can’t be educated to behave correctly as such characteristics were hereditary
Events leading up to Kristallnacht
1933 (april)- One- day boycott of all Jewish owned businesses, doctors, lawyers all over Germany
1934- Anti- Jewish propaganda increased
1935 (May)- Jews forbidden from joining the army
1935 (September)- the Nurenberg laws
Events leading up to Kristallnacht
1933 (April)- One- day boycott of all Jewish owned businesses, doctors, lawyers all over Germany
1934- Anti- Jewish propaganda increased
1935 (May)- Jews forbidden from joining the army
1935 (September)- the Nuremberg laws were passed [banned marriages between Jews and Aryans, forbade them to have sexual relations outside their marriage, Jews lost certain rights through the Reich Citizen Law]
1936- Anti-Jewish signs were taken down due to Berlin Olympics
1937 (September)- More Jewish businesses were confiscated- outspoken attack on Jews
1938 (April)- Jews had to register their property, making it easier to confiscate
1938 (June-July)- Jewish doctors, dentists and lawyers were forbidden to treat Aryans
1938 (October)- Jews had to have a red letter ‘J’ stamped on their passports
1938 (9-10 November)- Kristallnacht- Nazis destroyed Jewish homes, synagogues and shops
