Germany: Chapter 4 [Nazi Germany 1933 - 1939] Flashcards
1
Q
POLITICAL STANDING
A
- Hitler = Chancellor but power still limited
- constitution limited his power to make laws
- Hindenburg kept all presidential powers
- cabinet of 12 only had 2 Nazis
- some Germans pleased that constitution kept extremists under control but others blamed it for Germany’s problems hoping Hitler would destroy it
- many politicians underestimated Hitler
2
Q
THE REICHSTAG FIRE [27 FEB 1933]
A
- Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe found on sight with matches
- confessed
- tried alongside 4 other men
- executed with guillotine
- many historians unsure of Lubbe’s guilt but Nazis used his communist beliefs against him
- new Nazi Chief of Police Goering believed van der Lubbe part of communist anti-gov plot
- believed Nazis could use this opportunity to destroy communist opposition
- Hitler used fire to attack communists and increase personal power
- 4,000 communist leaders arrested
- 28 February 1934: convinced Hindenburg to pass ‘Decree for Protection of the People and the State’ whereby police could search homes, ban meetings, close newspapers, take over the state radio station and imprison without trial
3
Q
MARCH 1933 ELECTION
A
- new Reichstag election
- Reichstag previously only 1/3 Nazi
- Goering replaced police with 50,000 SA members
- SA violence and 70 deaths
- thousands of communists arrested and sent to concentration camps
- SA broke up opposing meetings
- non-Nazi newspapers closed
- funds from industrialists collected for campaign
- issued much propaganda
- voters threatened at polling stations and encouraged to vote “correct”
- success = Nazis became largest Reichstag party [but not majority]
- Hitler hoped for 2/3 Reichstag so could pass a law giving him unlimited powers to pass laws without Reichstag approval
4
Q
THE ENABLING ACT [23 MARCH 1933]
A
- used emergency powers to ban Reichstag communists
- nationalist party agreed to support Nazis
- Nazis promised support of Catholic Church to win over Centre Party
- SA and SS placed around Reichstag to intimidate and ensure parties kept promises
- Enabling Act passed on 23 March 1933
- 444 vs. 94 majority
- constitution and democracy ended
- act applied for 4 years
- renewed in 1937
- for rest of Hitler’s reign, reichstag only met 12 times to listen to his speeches
- ‘Nazi Revolution’ in which opposition removed
- main targets were local gov, other political parties and communist sympathetic trade unions [where workers were more loyal to Union than Nazis]
5
Q
HITLER’S METHODS OF REMOVING OPPOSITION
A
- dealt with local gov
- 31 March 1933: closed down all 18 state parliaments
- reorganized parliaments for Nazi majority
- appointed Nazi state governors
- Jan 1934: abolished state parliaments
- dealt with trade unions
- 2 May 1933: Nazis broke into Union offices and arrested leaders
- created German Worker’s Front and forced worker membership
- dealt with opposing political parties
- 10 May 1933: suspended Social Democrats and took their funds and occupied their offices
- communist party suspended
- July 1933: created new law banning all parties except Nazis
6
Q
NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES [30 JUNE 1934]
A
- SA becoming very power with over 2 million members and leader Rohm as potential Hitler rival
- Himmler, head of SS, resented SA influence
- SA drunken fights, violence and intimidation embarrassed Hitler and lost conservative support
- Rohm’s views wanting to take measures against big businesses and adopt socialist policies opposed Hitler’s
- Rohm’s homosexuality corrupting Hitler Youth
- SA wanted to replace remaining 100,000 army men and began stopping army convoys and taking weapons
- 30 June 1934: SS arrested 200 SA members and executed 90
- Hitler also eliminated von Kahr and Schleicher
- claimed he was defending Germany against Rohm’s plot
7
Q
HITLER BECOMES FUHRER [2 AUG 1934]
A
- Hindenburg died and Hitler combined position of President and Chancellor titling himself Fuhrer and leader of Third Reich
- army loyalty oath now made directly to him
- held plebiscite to get public to agree to changes
- 90% vote yes
8
Q
NAZI METHODS OF CONTROL
A
- totalitarian, 1 party state
- all political institutions = Nazi run
- Nazis controlled courts, police, radio, newspapers, education, films, arts, Trade Unions, churches and women’s makeup use
- indoctrination, censorship and propaganda
- good Nazis rewarded with cheap theatre tickets
- women with many babies given medals
- became police state
- SS and Gestapo ruled
- concentration camps opened in 1933 to punish opposers
9
Q
TERROR AND THE POLICE STATE
A
- Nazi beliefs = law
- new central court created = People’s Court
- special courts established with no juries and Nazi judges
- 1933 - 1935: 60,000 homosexual SS members dismissed
- 1936: SS and Gestapo brought under Himmler’s control who believed in racial and moral purity
- SS responsible for arresting political prisoners and running camps
- Gestapo responsible for state security and each flat had block leader [informant] to report gov opposition
- suspected individuals tortured but people believed there to be benefits so stayed snitching
- offenders sent to prisons and camps with forced labour, torture and brutality
- 200,000 imprisoned for opposition
- Law of Malicious Gossip = made Hitler jokes illegal
10
Q
KEY FORMS OF NAZI TERROR
A
- SS
- began as personal bodyguard
- 1932: given new black uniform to stand out
- had hundreds of members with local branches
- could arrest, detaina and execute without trial
- Concentration Camps
- Gestapo
- power to break into anywhere
- 30,000 members
- Informants
11
Q
CENSORSHIP
A
- newspapers strictly controlled with owners, editors and journalists forced to join Reich Press Chamber
- 1934: radio stations all brought under Reich Radio Company
- foreign programmes banned
- Ministry of Propaganda listed unaccepted literature
- Gesto seized and searched bookshops
- students encouraged to burn un-German books
- books burned in Nazi rallies
- anti-Nazi, communist and Jewish authors banned
- writers, musicians and actors forced to join Reich Chamber of Commerce
- American music and modern art banned
12
Q
PROPAGANDA
A
- 1933: Joseph Goebbels made Minister of Propaganda and National Enlightenment
- tasked to win over German hearts using subtle Nazi media, sports, culture and arts
- supremacy of Aryans and inferiority of Jews highlighted
- evils of communism highlighted
- different roles of men and women and importance of women established
- citizens must suffer for nation’s good
- Nazi-positive stories planted in papers
- factories encouraged to produce cheap radios
- 1939: 70% of houses had radios which played lightly Nazi plays and entertainment
- bars, factories and restaurants had speakers to play Hitler speeches
- public rallies and parades held on national holidays
- citizens expected to hang flags and hold torches to show German power and glory
- posters
- pro-Nazi films, marching, German folk songs and heroic Aryan families depicted in art
- 1936 Munich Olympic Games used to show Aryan supremacy
- Germany won most medals but black Jesse Owens starred
- sports emphasized in schools
13
Q
NAZI POLICIES TOWARD EDUCATION
A
- education used to indoctrinate and create loyal Nazis
- curricula changed to emphasize Nazi ideas
- teachers chose Nazi association membership or unemployment
- forced to attend Nazi training camps
- textbooks had to be approved by Nazi officials
- Race Studies introduced
- more PE to make boys fit to be soldiers and girls fit to be mothers
- mathematics used military problems
- history taught rise of Nazi party
- biology taught Aryan supremacy
- geography taught need for Lebensraum
- domestic science taught to girls
14
Q
NAZI POLICIES TOWARD THE YOUNG
A
- kids attended Nazi Youth Groups outside of school to minimize non-Nazi influences
- 1926: Hitler Youth founded
- 1933: other Youth Groups [except Catholic Youth] banned
- 1936: Hitler Youth Law passed
- 1939: law worsened
- children spent evenings and weekends learning about Hitler, distributing political pamphlets and performing military drills
- importance of competition and racial purity emphasized
- girls groups emphasized crafts and childcare
- summer camps and physical activities
- members encouraged to snitch
- 1939: 8 million members
- for boys 10 -14: Young German Folk
- for boys 14 - 18: Hitler Youth
- for girls 10 - 14: German Young Girls
- for girls 14 - 18: League of German Maidens
15
Q
NAZI POLICIES TOWARDS WOMEN
A
- 1920s: women = teachers, doctors, civil servants and 10% of Reichstag
- Nazis aimed for women at home making babies
- launched pro-child propaganda campaign
- contraception and abortion banned
- large families idealized
- 1933: Law for Encouragement of Marriage provided loans to help young marriage but only if woman ceased work
- Honour Cross medals awarded to women with lots of children
- Gold for 8
- Silver for 6
- Bronze for 5
- German Women’s Enterprise Organization trained women in household skills
- traditional attitudes encourged: no makeup, flatter heels, home produced clothes and no drinking
- rearmament policy created economic problems so women encouraged back to work
- 1939: percentage of working women 50% higher than in 1933
