Nazi Control and Opposition Flashcards
What were the 2 main methods that the Nazis used to ensure power?
Indoctrination and Terror
Who was the leader of the SS after 1929?
Heinrich Himmler
What was SS membership by 1934?
50,000
What was SS membership by 1939?
250,000
Who set up the Gestapo and when?
Hermann Goering- 1933
How many people had been arrested for political crimes by 1939?
An estimated 160000
When was the SD set up?
1931
What was the role of the SD?
Was the Nazis main intelligence body- identified potential threats and coordinated their elimination
What type of opponents were detained at concentration camps?
Political, ideological and racial opponents
What did judges have to become a part of?
The NSRB- National Socialist League for the maintenance of law- ensured Nazi views were endorsed in court
When was the German Lawyers’ front established?
October 1933
How many members did the German Lawyers’ Front have by the end of 1933?
10,000
What did judges have to wear on their robes from 1936 onwards?
The swastika and Nazi eagle
What court was set in in 1934?
A new ‘People’s court’, in which the judges were Nazi symphathisers
List 4 Nazi beliefs that contrasted Christian ones:
-Glorification of violence
-Saw the weak as inferior
-Racial superiority
-Hitler seen as a god-like being
Describe the distribution of religious people within Germany at the beginning of the Nazi regime:
~2/3 of the population were Protestant (mainly in the north) and a further ~1/3 in the south were Catholic
How did Hitler try and weaken the Church’s power over the country?
-Established a Ministry of Church Affairs in 1936
-Set up a German Faith Movement in an attempt to displace Christian values
How do we know that the German Faith Movement wasn’t a resounding success?
Only around 5% of the population joined it
List 3 reasons why Hitler viewed Catholicism as a threat:
-Catholics were loyal to the Pope first
-Catholic schools had differing ideals to Nazi ones
-Catholics supported the Centre Party
How did Hitler try to cooperate with the Catholics?
He signed a concordat with Pope Pius XI to keep politics and Church separate
List 4 ways that Hitler renounced the concordat:
-Priests were arrested
-Catholic schools abolished
-Catholic youth movements dissolved
-Monasteries closed
What percentage of families owned a radio by 1939?
around 70%
What was important about the People’s Radio’s technological level of advancement?
It lacked shortwave reception, so could not pick up foreign broadcasts
How did the Nazis control film production?
-Film plots had to be approved by Goebbels
-Stories contained embedded Nazi philosophies
Why were posters a useful propaganda tool?
They were eye-catching and helped outline a clear message
How many books were burned by students in Berlin in May 1933?
20,000
How did Nazis control books, plays and poems?
-Held book burnings in which anti-Nazi content was destroyed
-Writers encouraged to praise Nazis
What type of architecture did Hitler encourage for public buildings?
Monumental, grandiose buildings, similar to the architecture of the ancient Greeks and Romans as it reflected the power of the Third Reich
When was the Berlin Olympics?
1936
Why did the Nazis encourage sport?
To ensure that the nation was fit and healthy for fighting and raising children
How did the Nazis acquire good public relations in the Berlin Olympics?
-Stadium largest in the world- could hold 110,000
-Germany won the most medals (33, 26,30)
-Anti-semitic signs removed
How many had been sent to concentration camps in the years 1933-39?
1.3 million people
Approximately how many had left Germany by 1939?
300,000
How many generals did Hitler dismiss in 1938 and why?
16- some had criticised his foreign policy aims
Name 2 youth groups that opposed the Nazis:
The Edelweiss Pirates and the Swing Youth
How many Pirates were there by 1939?
2000
How did the Edelweiss Pirates oppose the Nazis?
Wore clothes that the Nazis disliked, listened to forbidden music and opposed the Hitler Youth
How did the Swing Youth oppose the Nazis?
Listened to ‘swing music’ and dressed unconventially
How did some Protestants oppose the Nazis?
Pastor Martin Niemoller set up the Pastors’ Emergency League in 1933 to oppose the Nazis
