Life in Nazi Germany Flashcards
1
Q
Propaganda
A
- all newspapers were censored with only Nazi favoured stories allowed
- Radio was controlled by government, cheap radios were manufactured only allowing government controlled stations
- Film involved heavy Nazi promotion
- Goebbels organised mass rallies
- 1936 Olympics used by the Nazis to suggest the superiority of the Aryan Race
2
Q
Terror : A police state
A
- In July 1033, Germany became a one party state
- Rules were ruthlessly enforced by the SS and Gestapo (a secret police who used terror tactics, had many informers, arrested on merely suspicion without trial)
- Political enemies were arrested without trials to go to concentration camps, also arrested anyone who did not fit in with Nazi society (jews, homosexuals, disabled etc.)
- 500,000 tramps and beggars sent to concentration camps by 1933
3
Q
Nazi control of society - Education
A
- teachers had to belong to the Germans Teachers League and follow Nazi curriculum
- School textbooks were rewritten
- taught about the superiority of the Aryan race
- encouraged youth groups (Hitler Youth, German Girls League) to be indoctrinated
4
Q
Nazi control of society - The Church
A
- in 1933 the Catholic Church in Germany signed a concordat with Hitler not to interfere with each others policies
- The Nazi closed a number of church organisations and set up the Reich Church
5
Q
Nazi control of society - The role of women
A
- Hitler stated the women’s role was Kinder, Kuche, Kirche (children, kitchen, church)
- Marriage loans given to women who gave up their jobs
- Restrictions in employements
- Not allowed to be a member in the Reichstag
- Rewards and propaganda for large families
- needed for work when men were in war
6
Q
Nazi control of society - Work
A
- German Labour Front replaced the trade unions, workers were not allowed to leave jobs without government permission, strikes were illegal
- Opposition was rare, late 1930s workers suffered long hours and lack of rights but decent pay
- From 1935 six month’s work for the Reich Labour service was made compulsory for all young males
7
Q
Nazi control of society - Leisure
A
- Strength through joy organisation provided workers with sports facilities, cheap holidays and entertainment
- ran a scheme for workers to save up to buy a ‘people’s car’, no one got the car before the car production turned into military vehicles in 1939
8
Q
Persecution of the Jews
A
In 1933, the Nazis organised a boycott of all Jewish businesses, doctors (shops were marked with the star of david)
- Jewish children were intimidated and Germans taught Jews were unclean and responsible for WW1
- In 1935, the Nuremberg laws stated: Jews were no longer German citizens, marriages between Jews and Aryans were forbidden
9
Q
Kristallnacht
A
- 7 November 1938, a polish jew (Herschel Grynszpan) shot a German diplomated, Ernst von Rath, in Paris
- Hitler ordered an attack on Jews and their property
- From 9-10 November thousands of Jewish businesses were attacked and 200 synagogues burnt down (kristallnacht, the knight of crystal/broken glass)
- violence against Jews increased, Himmler (head of SS) began to build more concentration camps
10
Q
The Final Solution
A
- policy of genocide
- new extermination camps were built, older were updated
- Between 1942 and 1945, 4.5 million Jews were gassed in death camps such as Auschwitz
- Nazis murdered over 6 million Jews
11
Q
Opposition of the Nazis
A
- Many people (Jews) left Germany including many famous scientists, musicians etc.
- Some church leaders, such as Galen, the Catholic Bishop of Munster and the Lutheran Pastor Niemoller, spoke out against Hitler, Niemoller was arrested in 1937 and spent the next eight years in a concentration camp
- The ‘swing’ movement made up of middle class teens protested against Nazis by listening to banned jazz and welcoming Jews
- The ‘Edelweiss Pirates’ were mainly working class teenagers who refused to join and mocked the Hitler youth, during the war they turned to active resistance (stealing arms, acts of sabotage etc.
- Some students formed the ‘White Rose Movement’ which distributed leaflets condemning Nazi policy with the leaders Hans and Sophie Scholl executed in 1945
12
Q
The July Bomb Plot
A
- After 1942 when it was clear they were going to lose, opposition with their army grew
- 20 July 1944, six weeks after the Allied armies landed in German occupied France on D-day, a group of army officers led by Colonel von Stauffenberg attempted to blow up Hitler in his Prussian headquaters
- 4 were killed but Hitler survived and the plotters were executed
13
Q
The recovery of the German economy
A
- In 1933 nearly 6 million were unemployed, Hitler promised economic prosperity
- Thousands of Germans were employed in public work schemes created by Nazis (roads, houses, schools etc. built)
- Businesses were paid subsidies to hire more workers
- More jobs were created in civil service
- Took over Jews jobs
14
Q
Rearmarmament
A
- production of arms and ammunition was significantly increased
- air force and navy increased despite TOV
- Iron, steel and coal production increased rapidly
- Compulsory military service introduced in March 1935 with the army growing from 100,000 in 1933 to 1.4 million in 1939
15
Q
Effects of rearmarmament
A
- unemployment fell from over 6 million in 1933 to 250,000 in 1939
- By 1938, Germany was the wealthiest country in Europe and per capita incomes of Germans equalled the British
- Nazis spent most of the country’s wealth on the armed force
- Many of the former unemployed had non-productive jobs e.g. army (did not contribute to economy)
- worsening relationship with neighbours caused share of the world trade to fall from 10% in 1929 to 8% in 1938
- economy was built on preparing for war
