Nazi Control and Dictatorship

Question 1

when did the Reichstag Fire occur?

Answer 1

27th February 1933

Question 2

what happened on 27th February 1933?

Answer 2

the Reichstag building was burnt down

Question 3

who was blamed for starting the fire?

Answer 3

van der Lubbe was framed for the fire

Question 4

what politics did van der Lubbe support?

Answer 4

he was a communist

Question 5

why was it so significant that van der Lubbe was communist?

Answer 5

Hitler framed him for the fire, removing the Communist threat from his aim

Question 6

what happened to Nazi votes after the fire?

Answer 6

votes increased, as in the election soon after, the Nazis won around 288 seats

Question 7

why did the votes for the Nazis increase after the Reichstag fire?

Answer 7

people saw the Communist party as an enemy, and therefore saw the Nazis as “heroes” and someone they could put their trust into

Question 8

when did the Night of the Long Knives occur?

Answer 8

30th June 1934

Question 9

what happened on 30th June 1934?

Answer 9

Hitler carried out the Night of the Long Knives

Question 10

on Hitler’s list of oppositions, who was his main target?

Answer 10

Ernst Rohm - he had tactical prowess and was extremely loyal. He was responsible for Hitler’s rise to power

Question 11

What did Hitler do on 11th April 1934?

Answer 11

he signed a deal with General Werner von Blomberg, which included 2 key terms

Question 12

what were the 2 key terms of Hitler’s deal with Werner von Blomberg?

Answer 12

-completely destroy the SA
-when the first term and Hinderberg’s death were carried out, he would completely back Hitler

Question 13

where did Hitler gather all of his oppositions?

Answer 13

Hanslbauer Hotel - around 200 SA members were gathered

Question 14

what then happened on 30th June 1934?

Answer 14

All of oppositions were gathered at the hotel and they were all executed

Question 15

when did Hitler address the nation about the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 15

13th July 1934

Question 16

what did Hitler downplay when addressing the nation about the NOTLK?

Answer 16

-only 61 were executed, 13 shot, and 3 suicides; when there were in fact there were 300-400 deaths

Question 17

in march 1933, what percentage of the vote did the nazis win?

Answer 17

they won 44% of the vote, equating to around 250 seats

Question 18

what role did Goebells play?

Answer 18

he would run and create effective propaganda for the nazis, to encourage and manipulate voters

Question 19

what role did Himmler play?

Answer 19

he was in charge of a terror system, keeping people in line

Question 20

what did the nazis do, to increase employment?

Answer 20

they introduced new policies

Question 21

what was one of Hitler’s key beliefs that made him popular?

Answer 21

he opposed the TOV, giving him the support of Germans who also agreed with his ideologies

Question 22

what were two groups of youth opposition?

Answer 22

The Edelweiss Pirates and multiple Swing Groups

Question 23

what did the Edelweiss Pirates do to oppose the regime?

Answer 23

they refused to conform to Nazi ideology and did things such as:
-grew longer hair
-girls mixed freely
-mocked the Nazis and attacked the Hitler Youth

Question 24

what did the Swing Groups adopt?

Answer 24

they adopted more American ideas such as clothes and music

Question 25

what would they do in secret?

Answer 25

Swing Groups would play illegal music, and organise dances

Question 26

what was Himmler's response to the Swing Groups?

Answer 26

he said that they should be: "beaten... then put to hard labour"

Question 27

when did the Edelweiss Pirates ramp up their behaviour?

Answer 27

In 1939, when the war started. Vandalism and attacks became more extreme towards the Nazi Party

Question 28

how many of the Edelweiss Pirates were executed, and where?

Answer 28

twelve of the Edelweiss Pirates were executed in Cologne, to set an example

Question 29

did the Swing Groups have a large effect on the Nazis?

Answer 29

No. as they were concerned with clothing and music, it didn't effect the Nazis negatively as it wasn't a political issue

Question 30

were both groups large?

Answer 30

No. they would always have a small following, and wasn't typical of the German youth

Question 31

how many children were involved in the Hitler Youth?

Answer 31

around 8 million, were in the Hitler Youth or similar organisations; compared to about 2,000 of the Edelweiss Pirates

Question 32

how did the Nazis exert pressure on Christians?

Answer 32

Through the Reich Church, an agreement made with The Pope to remove religious schools

Question 33

what was the PEL? (Pastors' Emergency League)

Answer 33

where some protestants, most famously Martin Neimoller, resisted the Reich Church and continued to allow Jews to become Christian and to preach the Old Testament

Question 34

what did the PEL set up?

Answer 34

The Confessing Church

Question 35

why was the Confessing Church set up?

Answer 35

it was a protestant church in opposition to the Reich Church

Question 36

how many pastors joined?

Answer 36

around 6,000 defied the Nazis in public or secretly

Question 37

how many pastors were sent to concentration camps?

Answer 37

800

Question 38

who else opposed the Nazis?

Answer 38

The Catholics

Question 39

how did they oppose the Nazis?

Answer 39

despite the agreement to not interfere in politics (The Concordat) some priests condemned the Nazis

Question 40

how many were imprisoned?

Answer 40

around 400

Question 41

how did trade unions oppose the Nazis?

Answer 41

they would resist through slow work and/or sabotage

Question 42

how did politics help to oppose the Nazis?

Answer 42

although there was a ban on political opposition, some SPD members still produced illegal newspapers

Question 43

how did the army oppose the Nazi regime?

Answer 43

although rearmament plans made Hitler popular, officers like like Ludwig Beck tried to overthrow and kill Hitler