KeyTopic3: Nazi Control And Dictatorship 1933-39

Question 1

Führer

Answer 1

German title meaning leader

Question 2

Night of the long knives

Answer 2

30th June 1934 when hitler purged Röhm and the SA

Question 3

Oath of allegiance

Answer 3

A promise made by the German armed forces to be loyal to hitler

Question 4

Reichstag

Answer 4

German state of parliament

Question 5

SS

Answer 5

Protection squad
Originally hitlers bodyguards they became the most powerful troops in the third Reich And wore distinctive black uniforms

Question 6

Trade unions

Answer 6

Organisations set up to protect and improve the rights of workers

Question 7

Reichstag fire date

Answer 7

27 February 1933

Question 8

Events of reichstag fire

Answer 8

Reichstag fire burned down, a Dutch communist Marius van der lubbe was put on trial and found guilty of starting the fire
Hitler blames the communist party for the fire
Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass an emergency decree “the decree for the protection of the people and the state” giving the police power to detain people without trial

Question 9

Enabling act date

Answer 9

March 1933

Question 10

Enabling act events

Answer 10

Gave hitler power to make laws without the reichstags consent
Using these powers hitler:
Removed further opposition to the Nazi government including banning all trade unions the unions were merged into a German labour front
Banned all other political parties, by July 1933 germany was a one party state

Question 11

Reasons for the night of the long knives

Answer 11

SA were increasingly out of control at a time when hitler was trying to establish a dictatorship through legal methods
Röhm wanted a social revolution to bring about greater equality in society
Leading Nazis such as himmler were concerned about Röhms growing influence, himmler wanted to replace the SA with his own SS

Question 12

Date of the night of the long knives

Answer 12

30th June 1934

Question 13

Events of the night of the long knives

Answer 13

Hitler arranged a meeting with Röhm and 100 other SA leaders, they were arrested by the SS taken to Munich and shot
About 400 people were murdered in the purge

Question 14

Results of the night of long knives

Answer 14

Hitler got rid of would be opponents
The SA now had a minor role
After Hindenburg died in August 1934 the army leaders swore and oath of allegiance to hitler giving him unconditional obedience

Question 15

Hitler becomes führer

Answer 15

After hindenburhs death hitler declared himself führer combining the post of the chancellor and president. He called a referendum and more than 90% of the voters (38 million) agreed with his action

Question 16

Concentration camps

Answer 16

Prisons for political prisoners and enemies of the state

Question 17

Concordat

Answer 17

An agreement between the pope and a government concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church

Question 18

Gestappo

Answer 18

The Nazi regimes secret police

Question 19

Reich church

Answer 19

Official Protestant church of the Nazi regime

Question 20

SD

Answer 20

The intelligence agency of the Nazis

Question 21

SS function

Answer 21

Led by himmler the SS were responsible for the removal of all opposition and became the main means of intimidating Germans into obedience
By 1934 SS had more than 50,000 members growing to 250,000 by 1939

Question 22

Gestappo function

Answer 22

Set up in 1933 by Goering in 1936 the gestappo came under the control of himmler and the ss
It could arrest and imprison without trial those suspected of opposing the state
Only it had the power to send political opponents to concentration camps

Question 23

SD function

Answer 23

Set up in 1931 the SD was the intelligence agency of the Nazi party under the command of himmler and organised by Heydrich
It’s main aim was to find actual and potential enemies of the Nazi party and ensure that they were removed

Question 24

Concentration camps function

Answer 24

In 1933 the Nazis established concentration camps to detain political prisoners these were run by the SS and the SD
Prisoners were classified into different categories each demoted by wearing a different coloured triangle for example black triangles were for vagrants and red triangles were for political prisoners
By 1939 there were more than 150,000 people under arrest for political offences

Question 25

Nazis control of the legal system

Answer 25

All judges became members of the national socialist league for the maintenance of law this meant Nazi views were upheld in the court
In 1934 the people’s court was established to try cases of treasons the judges were loyal Nazis
In October 1933 the German lawyers front was established, lawyers had to swear they would follow the cause of the further
There were more than 10,000 members bu the end of the year

Question 26

Nazis policies towards the Catholic Church

Answer 26

Catholic’s owed their first allegiance to the pope not hitler they had divided loyalties
Hitler Saïd a person was either a Christian or a German but not both
There were catholic schools and youth organisations whose message to the Young’s was at odds with that of the Nazis
In 1933 hitler signed a concordat with the Catholic Church to agrée not to interfere with each other
However hitler imprisoned priests, abolished catholic schools and closed down catholic youth movements

Question 27

Nazis policies towards the Protestant church

Answer 27

In 1933 Protestant groups which supported the Nazis united to form the reich church its leader ludwig Müller became the first reich bishop in September 1933
Many Protestants opposed nazism which they believed conflicted with their Christian beliefs, they were led by pastor miemoller in December 1933 they set up the pastors emergency league for those who opposed hitler

Question 28

Aryan

Answer 28

Nazi term for someone of supposedly pure German stock

Question 29

Censorship definition

Answer 29

Controlling what is produced and suppressing anything considered against the state

Question 30

Third reich

Answer 30

Nazi name for Germany, means 3rd empire

Question 31

Censorship Nazis

Answer 31

No book could be published without goebbles permission
Newspapers that opposed Nazi views were closed down
Editors were told what could be printed
Radio was controlled

Question 32

Propaganda Nazis

Answer 32

Posters were used to put across Nazi message
Goebbles ordered mass production of cheap radios
By 1939 70% of German homes had a radio
It was important the nazi message was heard
Mass rallies and marches projected the image of power and terror, every year a party rally was held at Nuremberg
Success in sport was important to promote the Nazi regime

Question 33

Berlin olympics 1936

Answer 33

Major sporting showcase the olympics was designed to impress the outside world and was a public relations success
Hitlers plans go highlight the superiority of the aryan race were sabotaged by the success of the black athletes in the US Olympic team especially Jesse Owens who won 4 gold medals

Question 34

Nazi control of culture and the arts music

Answer 34

Hitler Hayes modern music
Jazz which was black music was seen as racially inferior and was banned
Instead the Nazis promoted traditional German folk music and the classical music of Brahms Beethoven and Richard Wagner

Question 35

Nazi control of culture and the arts films

Answer 35

The Nazis also controlled the cinema, all films were accompanied by a 45 minute official newsreel which glorified hitler and Germany

Question 36

Nazi control of culture and the arts art

Answer 36

Hitler Hayes modern art which he believed was backward, unpatriotic and Jewish
Such art was called degenerate and banned
Art highlighting Germany’s past greatness and the strength and power of the third reich was encouraged

Question 37

Nazi control of culture and the arts theatre

Answer 37

Theatre concentrated on German history and political drama cheap theatre tickets were available to encourage people to see plays which often has a Nazi political or racial theme

Question 38

Nazi control of culture and the arts architecture

Answer 38

Hitler encourages the monumental style for public buildings
These large stone buildings were often copied from Ancient Greece or Rome and showed the power of the third reich
Hitler admired the Greek and Roman style of building because he said the Jews had not contaminated it

Question 39

Nazi control of culture and the arts literature

Answer 39

Al books, plays and poems were carefully censored and controlled to put across the Nazi message
Encouraged by goebbles students in Berlin burned 20,000 books written by Jews, communists and anti Nazi university professors in a massive bonfire in Berlin May 1933

Question 40

Extent of support for the Nazi regime

Answer 40

Many Germans gained much from hitlers success after 1933 and consequently supported him:
There were economic successes which began to erase the depression
Germany’s international standing few seeming to remove the shame of the TOV. The Saar was returned in 1935 the army was built up after 1935 and in 1936 the Rhineland was remilitarised
Some Germans were happy to see the communists socialists and SA leaders removed

Question 41

Opposition from the churches

Answer 41

Many catholic priests opposed Nazi policies and were arrested at least 400 were sent to dachau concentration camp. In many respects this had the opposite effect to what the Nazis wanted, priests who were sent to concentration camps were seen as martyrs. Catholic Churches were packed every Sunday
Many Protestant pastors opposed hitler and the reich church they were led by pastor neimöller who set up the confessional church. Neimöller and many other pastors were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Nazi repression didn’t destroy Protestant opposition. Instead it created martyrs

Question 42

Confessional church

Answer 42

Protestant church set up by pastor neimöller in opposition to the reich church

Question 43

Edelweiss pirates

Answer 43

A loosely organised youth group who rebelled against Nazi ideas

Question 44

Hitler youth

Answer 44

Organisation set up for thé young to convert them to Nazi ideals

Question 45

Martyr

Answer 45

A person who is persecuted and or killed because of their religious or other beliefs

Question 46

Swing youth

Answer 46

Young people who loved swim music and challenged Nazi views about the young

Question 47

Opposition from the young edelweiss pirates

Answer 47

First emerging in 1934
Listened to forbidden swing music and daubed walls with anti Nazi graffiti
Could be recognised by their badges for example the edelweiss or skull and crossbones
They wore clothes which were considered outlandish by the Nazis checked shirts and dark short trousers and white socks
By 1939 they had a membership of 2000
Created no go areas for hitler youth in their cities

Question 48

Opposition from the young the swing youth

Answer 48

Tend to come from the middle classes
Loved swing music which was hated by the Nazis
Rebelled against order and discipline of Nazis and took part in activités which were frowned upon