Nazi Control Flashcards
What was Hitler now?
‘Führer’ - leader of Germany
Did everyone support Hitler and the Nazis?
In 1934, not everyone supported Hitler and the Nazis.
What did Hitler now have to do?
Create a one-party state in which everyone showed completer obedience to their leader.
How did Hitler achieve this?
Using four main methods:
Terror
Propaganda
Youth
Economic Success
What was method 1?
Terror:
Hitler’s main weapon abainst his opponents was the SS which after 1934 grew into a huge organisation.
Its main task was to terrorise German people into obedience which it did by arresting people and imprisoned them without trial.
Jews, communists and others who were brave enough to oppose the Nazis were taken to concentration camps.
In these isolated prisons people were tortured and forced to do hard labour. Deaths in them became very common.
Ordinary German people were most afraid of the force called the Gestapo - Hitler’s secret police. They tapped telephones and spied on people.
Anyone who criticised Hitler was in danger of arrest. The Gestapo had a network of informers across Germany. People lived in fear of their neighbours, the eyes and ears of the Gestapo were everywhere.
What was method 2?
Propaganda:
To force people into obedience he knew that he must bain control of their minds. In order to do this Hitler appointed Joseph Boebbels as Minister for propaganda. Goebbels introduced strict controls over what the German people read, heard and saw.
What were Goebbels strict controls?
No books were to be published without Goebbels’s permission.
Anti-Nazi newspapers were closed down.
Only films carrying the Nazi message were shown in the cinemas.
No one was allowed to listen to foreign radio stations.
The Nais displayed posters all over Germany showing how great they were and attacking their enemies.
Rallies and parades were organised to show the strength of the Nazi party.
What was method 3?
Youth:
Hitler knew that it was important for Germany’s young people to be loyal Nazis.
At school, history lessons concentrated on the rise of the Nazis and the evils of communism. In biology pupils learned how the Germanic people, known as Aryans, were superior to other races. Teachers who did not support the Nazi ideas were sacked.
From 1936, all young people had to belong to the Hitler Youth. On the surface this was like Scouts or Guides. Teenagers marched in parades and played in bands. They went to camps where they played sports, worked on farms and sang songs around the camp fire. Germany’s young people were made to feel that they were part of a great nation.
But underneath something more sinister was happening. Boys were being trained for obedient service and loyalty in the armed forces. Girls were being prepared for their role as perfect German mothers of perfect German children.
What was method 4?
Before 1933 most working class people in Germany did not support the Nazis. Hitler knew that he needed to control these people, especially the six million ordinary Germans who were unemployed. After 1934 he created a number of schemes to provide work. New roads and buildings were comstructed all over Germany. More and more people were given jobs in the armed forces. Many workers were grateful to Hitler for providing them with work.
Workers were not allowed to strike. However, Nazi Germany gave its workers many benefits. A scheme known as Strength through Joy was set up to organise the leisure time of the workers. They went on cut-price holidays and started to save up for one of the new Volkswagen Beetles which Hitler called the People’s car. To these people it seemed as if Germany had entered a time of peace and plenty - but we now know that war was just around the corner.
