Germany - 3.3.2 The Police State Flashcards
What was the term for controlling though repression?
Gleichschaltung - this means that the Nazi regime combined force and fear to achieve conformity (obedience).
Heinrich Himmler (5)
- Heinrich Himmler was in charge of the Nazi’s tools for repression: the Gestapo, SS and SD.
- Himmler was one of Hitler’s closest colleagues. His career in the Nazi Patty began when he led the SS in 1929.
- Himmler was a fervent supporter of the idea of Aryan superiority and the inferiority of the untermenschen.
- He also believed that he and the organisations he ran did not have to comply with the law if it was for the greater good of the Führer and Germany.
- After 1939, Himmler was put in charge of the occupied countries in the East and had overall control of racial policy.
The Nazi Legal System (4)
- The Nazi got rid of trials by jury and instead all decisions rested with the judge alone.
- All judges had to belong to the National Socialist League for the Maintenance of the Law and had to favour the Nazi Party in their verdicts.
- Cases of treason were tried in secret by specially selected judges.
- The People’s Court in Berlin tried “political criminals” who opposed Hitler. Most people were found guilty.
Who was the leader of the Gestapo, SS and SD?
Heinrich Himmler
Hitler ran Germany as a police state. What did this mean?
That the police controlled every aspect of daily life for German citizens. The gestapo and SS were too key groups in this system.
The Gestapo (7)
- The Gestapo was Hitler’s secret police service, set up by Hermann Goering in 1933 and led by Reynhard Heydrich in 1934.
- Many members were professional police officers, not members of the Nazi Party.
- No uniforms made them hard to identify.
- Their man aim was to identify opponents.
- They spied on people using Party informants and the general population.
- They frequently used torture during questioning and sent many people to concentration camps.
- They were a small force (with never more than 50,000 members, and far fewer before the war) but people were terrified
The SS - Schutzstaffel (10)
- The SS was the Hitler’s Protection Squad (bodyguards).
- It was set up in 1925 and led by Heinrich Himmler.
- Recruits had to be pure Aryans and were expected to marry Aryan wives to breed Aryan children.
- Members were trained to be highly disciplined and obedient so they would carry out any orders they received.
- They had unlimited powers to search property and arrest and imprison people without trial.
- They wore black uniforms.
- The SS had 90,000 full-time employees and 200,000 ‘informal workers’, who were informants passing information.
- After 1936 the SS controlled the whole police system and ran the concentration camps.
- After 1940 a military wing, the Waffen SS was developed.
- During the Second World War, the SS was put in charge of the Einsatzgruppen.
The importance of force
While repression (control by force) and propaganda worked together to create Gleichschaltung, repression was more important.
The impact of police state on the German people (3)
- Fear and intimidation: People believed there were Gestapo agents everywhere and were very worried about being sent to concentration camps. This meant that many people behaved as the Nazis wanted them to, as they were too afraid to do otherwise.
- Stifling debate: People were careful about what they discussed, even with close family members, so there was very little questioning or debate about what the Nazis were doing, which restricted opposition and enabled the Nazis to carry on with their policies. There was no dissent (people expressing beliefs different to the common beliefs)
- Encouraged spying: Although some informants were Nazi Party activists, most were just members of the public. They could be rewarded for information. While some were fervent (passionate) Nazi supporters, others used the opportunity for their personal agendas. Spying could help solve a personal vendetta.
Supporting Hitler and the Nazi Party in 1932 was different from supporting them in 1943. The 2 reasons for this work in different directions:
- Their less humane policies were not clearly articulated in efforts to win the 1932 election. It made support less likely in 1940.
- German propaganda, censorship, the police state, and brainwashing from 1932 would have made it easier to support them over time, despite their policies. This made support more likely in 1940.
What was a key reason why the Nazi had no opposition?
They controlled the legal system.
