Issue 3: Nazi Control Of Germany

Question 1

The formation of the national socialist government

Answer 1

1. The National Socialist Government was formed when Hitler was appointed Chancellor in
   January 1933.
2. However, this was a coalition government at first, with only 3 of the 12 cabinet ministers coming from the Nazi Party - the rest were conservatives.
3. The March 1933 Enabling Act gave Hitler the powers of a dictator and enabled him to dominate the government and marginalise the conservatives.
4. By July 1933 all opposition parties had been banned and the Nazis had achieved a one party
   state.
5. In January 1934 all state governments were taken over and Nazis were put in charge of all local government in Germany.
6. In August 1934 Hitler took over the Presidency and merged it with the office of Chancellor to become the unquestioned ‘Fuhrer’ of Germany.

Question 2

The characteristics of the national socialist government

Answer 2

1. Hitler quickly established himself as the undisputed leader of Germany 1933-34. The offices of Chancellor and President were merged and Hitler became the ‘Fuhrer’.
2. His government was dominated by loyal Nazis who had been with him since the 1920s, e.g. Hermann Goering. The conservatives in his cabinet were quickly marginalised and then
   forced out.
3. National Socialist Germany was a police state and all aspects of policing were put under the control of the SS in 1936, led by Heinrich Himmler.
4. Hitler kept the existing civil service structure but quickly sacked Jews and opponents of the regime from the civil service.
5. Local government was also dominated by Nazis, but was inconsistent in its application of Nazi policies such as persecution of the Jews.
6. The Reichstag (German Parliament) rarely met after 1933 and was only used to confirm support for Hitler’s decisions.

Question 3

Nazi socialism in power: Intimidation
The ways in which the nazi regime intimidated the German people during 1933-1939

Answer 3

1. The SA and police were used to attack communist and socialist opponents during the March
   1933 election.
2. Political parties and trade unions were forcibly closed down during March-July 1933.
3. Hitler used the SS to carry out the Night of the Long Knives in June-July 1934, murdering SA and conservative leaders as well as about 100 Jews.
4. The number of crimes carrying the death penalty rose from 3 to 46.
5. The SS ran a network of concentration camps in which political opponents were imprisoned.
6. The Gestapo (secret police) ran a network of informers who incriminated anyone who did not conform to the Nazi regime.
7. The Nazi regime carried out a series of measures to persecute Jews and other minority groups, including the shop boycott in 1933 and the Night of Broken Glass in 1938.

Question 4

Nazi socialism in power: intimidation
Reasons why the German people felt repressed during 1933-39

Answer 4

1. They witnessed the regime using violence and brutality against its opponents.
2. They no longer had the option of joining opposition groups if they were unhappy with the
   regime.
3. They saw in the Night of the Long Knives that even supporters of the regime were not safe
   if they criticised Hitler.
4. The extension of the death penalty meant they realised that committing even minor crimes could have serious consequences.
5. They feared they would be sent to a concentration camp if they opposed the regime.
6. They felt they could not speak freely to friends and neighbours in case they were denounced.
7. They witnessed intimidation and attacks by the regime on Jews and other minority groups as they went about their daily life.

Question 5

National socialism in power: treatment of Jews and other minority groups

Reasons why Jews and other minority groups were treated harshly in Germany 1933-39

Answer 5

1. The Nazis wished to scapegoat Jews for Germany’s recent problems, blaming them for the
   defeat in World War One, the Great Depression and the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic, they used this blame to justify persecuting the Jews in Germany and stir up
   popular feeling against them.
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2. The Nazis wished to build a united ‘national community’ (‘Volk’) of Germans and exclude from society anyone who did not conform to their racial standards
3. The Nazis believed in ‘Social Darwinism’, and used this to claim that German people were the ‘master race’ who were destined to win world domination if they kept racial purity.
4. Nazi leaders struggled against each other to win favour from Hitler. One way to win favour from Hitler was to suggest new ways to persecute Jews and other minorities in Germany.
5. The Nazis wished to prepare Germany for war and conquest. Hitler believed that Germany needed to breed ‘pure’ German children who would then be drafted into the German army.
6. By the late 1930s Hitler and the Nazis felt more securely in power and could escalate their persecution of Jews and other minority groups without worrying about opposition.

Question 6

The treatment of Jews and other minority groups in Germany 1933-39

Answer 6

1. The SA carried out a one day ‘Shop Boycott’ against Jewish-owned businesses in April 1933.
2. Jews were sacked from their positions in the civil service in 1933.
3. The 1935 ‘Nuremburg Laws’ forbade marriage and relationships between Jews and non- Jews in Germany, and between gypsies/non-gypsies.
4. The 1938 ‘Night of Broken Glass’, organised by Josef Goebbels, saw Jewish business and property attacked, damaged or destroyed across Germany.
5. The 1933 ‘Sterilisation Law’ led to over 300,000 Germans who the Nazis deemed to be ‘burdens on the community’ being forcibly sterilised.
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6. A secret euthanasia programme was introduced in 1939, where disabled or mentally ilt children and adults were murdered by the Nazi regime.

Question 7

Organised opposition to national socialism in Germany 1933-1939

Answer 7

1. Communist opposition was quickly crushed in March 1933. The Reichstag Fire was used as pretext to arrest, detain and even execute communist leaders.
2. Socialist opposition was crushed soon after. In May 1933 the SPD and trade unions were abolished, their offices ransacked and their money and equipment confiscated.
3. Any remaining communists or socialists who had not been arrested or killed then either fled abroad or went into hiding.
4. Those in hiding held secret meetings, produced anti-government leaflets and occasionally sabotaged factories, railways and army depots. This had little impact on Nazi control over Germany though.
5. The Catholic Church did not officially declare opposition to the Nazi regime but did defy Nazi orders to remove crucifixes and replace them with swastika flags.
6. Opposition by the Protestant churches was limited to individual church ministers such as Martin Niemoller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer criticising Nazi policies. They formed an alternative ‘Confessional Church’ which operated independently from the Nazi regime but did not officially criticise it.

Question 8

Reasons why there was so little organised opposition to national socialism in Germany

Answer 8

1. The Nazi regime was quick to take advantage of the opportunity given to them by the
   rounding up their leaders.
2. The Nazi regime also used its power to abolish independent trade unions and set up the ‘German Labour Front’ instead, which stopped organised working class opposition to the
   regime.
3. As communists and socialists were now only able to operate from abroad or in hiding, it was difficult for them to stir up opposition to the regime within Germany.
4. The Gestapo was active in infiltrating opposition groups and breaking them up-in 1936 alone they successfully raided 1000 socialist group meetings.
5. The Nazi regime made a ‘Concordat’ (agreement) with the Catholic Church in July 1933 in which both sides agreed not to interfere with each other’s practices. This meant that the Nazi never controlled the catholic church but it did not oppose the regime to a great extent
6. The Nazi regime organised the Protestant churches into the ‘German Christian Church’ led by the pro-Nazi Bishop Muller. This made it difficult for all Protestant churches to work together to oppose the Nazi regime.