Nazi: Control And Terror Flashcards
How did the nazis use censorship from 1933-45
Nazis believed in a strong, centralised government and an obedient people. Utilised violence against public and internal enemies. They used censorship and repression to create a situation where ordinary people were too scared to oppose the Nazis.
What was The Decree for the Protection of the People and the Stae
Signed on 28th Feb 1933, it allowed the Nazis to ban publications and suspend civil rights: thus the Nazis could search homes and workplaces and take people into ‘protective custody’ without the taking them to trial. This supposedly short-term emergency measure was never lifted.
How were radios censored
On 25th March 1933, Goebbels (minister of propaganda) told all controllers of German radio that radio stations served the government, so they had to express Nazi ideology and follow government instructions about what to broadcast. Eg. The BBC was not played on these new radios
How were Jews and political opposition cleansed from general staff
Staff were purged to get rid of Jews, half Jews and people married to Jews as well as people who has belonged to the KPD or SPD
How was press censored
On 4th October 1933, Hitler issued a decree that made the content of any paper the responsibility of the editor, and made it a crime for the editor to publish anything that might weaken the Third Reich. It established a Reich Association to compile a list of ‘accredited’ journalists. Many journalists (those with Jewish connections or who were ‘politically unsuitable) did not make the list.
By 1932, how many Nazi newspapers were there, and how had this changed by 1933
There were 59 newspapers, with over 780,000 readers. By 1933, they had 86 Nazi newspapers and over 3 millions readers.
What was set up in December of 1933 to manipulate Nazi image
A state-owned press agency was formed, all newspapers were expected to pick up their news stories from the agency, with guidelines on how to report the stories. It also issued lists of stories that were not to be reported.
These lists were incredibly detailed, ranging from:
- not reporting the arrests of certain people
- not publishing photos of Nazi leaders sitting at tables with bottles of alcohol.
How was repression used
-began with banning of all political parties, bar the Nazi party, thus making another parry a crime.
- nazis set up concentration camps to send political opponents
How many non-Jewish people were sent to camps between 1933-45 and for what.
Over 500,000 for political crimes. The first to open was in Prussia in 1933.
The Gestapo’s legal system
Set up in April 1933 by Hermann Goering, it inaugurated its own legal system and operated independently of the existing legal system.
Gestapo agents were in all parts of Germany and was to weed out enemies of the state, and people could be arrested by the Gestapo for anything from plotting to kill Hitler to telling jokes about the Nazis in a bar.
Unlike the SA and the SS, the Gestapo did not wear uniform and it encouraged people to think that any stranger they met might be a member to make people very careful about what they said.
The SS’s use
The SS (Schutzstaffel) began as Hitler’s bodyguard of 240 men. It was a political police and, after removing most of the SA in 1934, ran the concentration camp system. By 1936, many SS members were in charge of the Gestapo.
What was the peoples court and its structure
-Court set up in Berlin in 1934 specifically used to try people as traitors to the Third Reich. Had 2 judges, 5 other chosen Nazi members, the SS and armed forces.
-trials weren’t public and decisions couldn’t be appealed.
How many people had been through the people’s court by 1945
Around 10,000
