G People who stood up to the Nazis Flashcards
Why was there lack of opposition?
- The Police State created fear;
- many of Hitler’s political rivals were in exile, prison or hiding. In addition, left-wing groups distrusted each other too much to co-operate with each other in opposing the Nazis;
- Gleichschaltung meant it was difficult for organisations to co-ordinate opposition;
- the massive scale of indoctrination and censorship convinced many of Hitler’s greatness and concealed any problems;
- many Germans liked Hitler’s decisive leadership after the weakness of the Weimar politicians;
- the Nazis had some popular achievements, such as full employment, disciplined youth and the KdF;
- a number of unpopular policies were either dropped, such as euthanasia, or hidden, such as anti-Semitism;
- Hitler restored national pride by breaking the terms of the Treaty of Versailles - for example by rearmament, remilitarisation of the Rhineland and invasion of Austria and Czechoslovakia.
Secret trade union opposition
- The KDP encouraged workers to oppose Nazis. Eg. staying off sick and damaging machinery.
Secret political opposition
In 1933, the SDP printed opposition newspaper the Red Shock Troop, circulating 3000 copies.
Organisers were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
SDP leaders fled abroad, meaning no action was particularly effective anymore.
Opposition within the Church - Pastors’ emergency league
A group of Protestant Pastors set up a protest against
- The joining of regional churches into one national German Christian Church.
- Nazi attempts to stop Jews becoming Christians and to ban the Jewish Old Testament.
Opposition within the Church - The Confessing Church
The PEL set up the Confessing Church in 1934.
This Church refused to cooperate with the Nazis.
6,000 German Pastors joined and 800 were arrested and sent to Concentration Camps.
Opposition within the Church - Catholic opposition
Some Catholic Priests spoke out against the Concordat and Nazi ideas and policies. Around 400 Catholic Priests were imprisoned in the “Priests’ Block” at Dachau, which had been the first Concentration Camp opened in 1933.
Opposition within the Church - The role of Martin Niemoller
Niemoller was a veteran of WW1. He opposed the Nazis but was not 100% against them. In the 1920s, he had opposed the Weimar Republic as a nationalist. He believed that Germany needed a strong leader and that democracy could not offer this. He voted for the Nazis in the 1933 elections and was happy when Hitler was made Chancellor in 1933.
However, he did not like Nazi interference in the Protestant Church and opposed the ban on Jews becoming Christians. In 1934, he discovered his phone had been “bugged” by the Gestapo and realised that Germany had become a Totalitarian State. He spoke out against the Nazis more and more and was sent to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in 1938 after being found guilty of crimes against the country (treason).
He continued to have mixed feelings about the Nazis and asked to be released from prison to fight for the Nazis in 1939. He was later transferred to the Dachau Concentration Camp where he remained until he was freed in 1945.
Opposition within the Church - The Limits of Church Opposition
The power of the German Police State and the presence of the Gestapo made it very difficult for opposition to organise itself into a big movement.
There was “muted” opposition among many ordinary Germans. Ordinary Germans attended Church Services in large numbers, in defiance of the Nazis.
Few Christians were brave, or foolish enough, to oppose the Nazis openly.
What was youth opposition?
Youth opposition was made up of young people who refused to participate in Nazi youth groups, which were made compulsory in 1939.
Opposition from young people - The Edelweiss Pirates
This group emerged in poorer districts of Germany in the late 1930s. They called themselves the “Travelling Dudes” of “Navajos”. They identified themselves by wearing a white flower called an Edelweiss.
They were made up of teenage boys and girls and influenced by American culture. If they found members of the Hitler Youth they would taunt and even attack them. They would get together and camp and sing songs that mocked the Hitler Youth.
Opposition from young people - The Swing Youth
This group emerged in richer districts of Germany. They also admired American culture. They would listen to American “swing music” such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, believed that any young person who listened to jazz should be beaten and made to do hard labour.
Opposition from young people - Opposition or resistance
Actions of both groups were limited. The Pirates and the Swing Youth resisted Nazi expectations, but apart from occasionally coming up with anti-Nazi graffiti, telling anti-Nazi jokes or attacking members of the Hitler Youth - they did not do anything organised.
After 1939 the Edelweiss Pirates did begin to attack the government.
The motives of both groups were very limited. The opposition was mainly to do with Nazi culture. They did not like it. They were not directly opposing Nazi Politics.
The existence of these two groups show that the German youth remained unconvinced by Nazi expectations, however it cannot be said that the Pirates or the Swing Youth were typical of normal Germans and they did not pose a direct threat to the Nazis.
How big were the youth groups?
Compared to membership of the Nazi youth organisations, membership of these groups were very small. Remember that youth membership in the Nazi youth groups went from just over 2 million in 1933, to 4 million in 1935, to nearly 9 million young people in 1939.
