Nazi Germany Flashcards
Hitler did not put Germany back to work between 1933 and 1939 - opposition and women
• women were discouraged to work. Gov encouraged women to be housewives/mothers instead of paid employment. Loans were offered for women who stayed home (250 Reich marks taken off marriage loan for each child)
• Nazis subjected millions of people, e.g. Jews, to forced labour under brutal conditions. Often pointless and humiliating - without proper equipment and clothing
• just three months after Hitler became chancellor, all Jewish teachers and teachers with undesirable political beliefs (such as communists) were dismissed
Hitler put women back to work between 1933 and 1939
• number of women in employment increased between 1933 and 1939. In agriculture, 4.6 million women were employed in 1933, and this figure rose to 4.9 million by 1939
Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF)
• DAF set uo ‘Strength through joy’ programme which organised affordable leisure activities for workers. In 1938, 131000 workers went on cruises and 22 million took part in sports - indoctrinated whine participating in these activities
• workers were cheated by a car-saving scheme which never delivered a promised Volkswagen car
• all employers and workers had to join the DAF. DAF replaced trade unions, banned strikes, prevented pay negotiations and punished workers - Nazis reduced opposition
• DAF set minimum pay. Wages slowly rose until 1936, and quicker after that - this would have shown the Nazis successfully fulfilled the work and bread promise
• working week increase under the DAF from 60 to 72 hours - meant that Nazis increased production of Autobahn
• led by Dr Robert Ley - the DAF stopped employers sacking workers on the spot - reduced unemployment
Industrial workers
• industrial workers were a large and growing group, about 46% of the population - making weapons, number was rising due to the requirement of tanks and ammunition
• Nazis obsession with rearmament and preparation for war made industrial jobs plentiful - not a surprise because in Mein Kampf, Hitler wanted to ‘scrap the Treaty of Versailles’
• by 1936 - average wage was 35 marks per week, ten times more than dole money that the unemployed had received in 1932- encourage people not to be reliant on the state
• small craftsmen struggled to compete with big businesses even though the gov increased taxes on large stores. By 1939, number of artisans dropped by 100,000 people - didn’t put everyone back to work, because industrial jobs taking over
RAD (Reich Labour Service)
• compulsory labour service for men ages 18-25. By 1935, the RAD created 422,000 paid jobs - 3800 km of autobahns were built by the RAD (increased trade, helps invading other countries like annexing Austria, transport of tanks was easier to achieve)
• RAD - indoctrinates men with Nazi ideology and prepare for military service. Men’s freedoms were restricted, and they were often given a poor diet.
• compulsory service was only for 6 months, meaning unemployment numbers looked better than the reality.
• didn’t put Germany back to work - often involved exhausting manual labour and unpopular and unpopular activities. Work was paid low and harsh disciplines were put in place.
Nazi Myth - Germany was dominated by Jews who controlled the country
• in 1933, there were only 505,000 Jews out of a population of 67 million. Their influence was very limited. Only 0.75% of the population was Jewish
Nazi myth - Jews were Communists. They had led the revolution in Russia in 1917 and would lead a revolution in Germany
Although some leading Communists were Jews, German Jews belonged to the full spectrum of political parties.
Nazi myth - Jews were cowards and pacifists. Their refusal to fight for Germany helped to cause its defeat in 1918
Jews fought in the German army in the same way as other citizens. Some received the Iron Cross for bravery
Nazi myth - Jews owned the big businesses in Germany and profited from the economic problems of the 1920s and early 1930s
Some Jews did own big businesses, but they did not own all of them. Jews belonged to all classes of society from the workers to the upper class
Nazi myth - there was a long, continuous history of widespread anti-semitism in Germany
Although the roots of anti-semitism went back to the Middle Ages, by 1933 Jews were more fully integrated into German society. Marriages with non-Jews, for example, were quite common
Nazi myth - Jews were racially inferior
There is no scientific evidence to support this. There is a single ‘race’ of humans
Opposition to Nazi rule between 1933-1939 - the swing kids
• came together to listen to Jazz and dance
• swing was banned by the Nazis
• had long hair and wore special clothes (long, oversized and checked sports jackets)
• Himmler wrote to Heydrich and asked Gestapo to deal with them
• arrested and sent to concentration camps
Opposition to Nazi rule between 1933-1939 - Christian Youth Groups
• in 1933 there were 2.5 million members of youth organisations
• Christian groups were banned, met in secret and went on illegal pilgrimages
How did Young communists provide opposition?
• communist youth federation was banned in Germany
• met in secret
• disguised as unpolitical meetings, such as hikes into the countryside
• Leipzig - 1500 young people joined gangs
• some wrote anti-Nazi flyers
• 20 gangs - short leather trousers
Opposition 1933-1939 - Edelweiss pirates
• formed the Rhine Ruhr region around 1938
Opposition to Nazi Rule - 1933-1939
Jehovah’s Witnesses
• unwilling to comply to the Nazi state
• refused to salute/do compulsory military work
• wrote Anti-Nazi leaflets
• by 1939 - 6000 imprisoned in conc. camps due to special unit in the Gestapo
How did Cardinal Galen oppose the Nazis between 1933-1939?
• catholic bishop of Münster - initially welcomed Nazis
• 1934 - sermons began to criticise the Nazi regime over racial policy
• Gestapo sent to question but he was too high profile
How did Pope Pius XI oppose the Nazis between 1933-1939?
• by 1937 - Pope had enough
• wrote a letter called, ‘With Burning Anxiety’ which was smuggled into Germany and was read on Palm Sunday
• letter condemned Nazi belief and methods
• Gestapo raided every Catholic Church, seized all copies of the letter
• Nazis intensified action against the church
Opposition to Nazi rule 1933-1939 - Why was Martin Niemoller sent to Sachsenhausen?
• Protestant, refused to join the Reich church - founded confessional church
• 1934 - 6000 pastors joined, only 2000 were in the Reich
• preached against Nazi racial policy.
• over 800 pastors were arrested and sent to concentration camps
• Niemöller was sent to Sachsenhausen and then Dachau, but survived
How did Nazis try to control both churches during opposition between 1933-1939?
• In July 1933, made an agreement called the ‘Concordat’ with the Pope - Pope promised that German Catholics would stay out of politics if Nazis left them alone
• Protestants - new Reich church set up in which pastors had to swear an oath to Hitler
• Hitler interfered with both churches - 1936, all Church youth groups were stopped
• 1939 - nearly all church schools had been closed, arrests of priests who spoke out against the Nazis began to increase, led to more resistance
• some pastors criticised Nazi regime
How did communists oppose the Nazis between 1933-1939?
• aimed to provide visible resistance with meetings, propaganda and newsletters
• The Red Flag - produced 10,000 copies at least once a month (communist publication)
• meant communists were easily identified and arrested by the Gestapo
• Georg Esler was appalled at the conditions of German workers and fearful of war - he attempted to kill Hitler in 1939
• locked in Dachau for 5 years and arrested
How did the Social Democrats oppose the Nazis between 1933-1939?
• leaders of the Social Dems fled the country
• those in Germany formed small resistance groups
• largest had 250
• produced anti-Nazi leaflets and posters
• Gestapo arrested 1200 in the Rhine Ruhr region
How and why did Hitler rise to power? - Treaty of Versailles
• 1919
• 32 countries were involved
• 2 German delegates signed it
• LAMB
• land - boarders changed and German territory was reduced. Germany was not allowed an army in Rhineland
• Army - only six battleships, 100,000 men - not only soldiers
• Money - pay reparations (£6.6 billion and was only paid back recently)
• Blame - accept fault for WWI, because Germany were the first to help Austria
• signed in France at the Palace of Versailles
• idea was that it was a peace treaty
• Nazis want to scrap the treaty
• leads to poverty in 1923 - hyperinflation, Germany was devastated, Jews became scapegoats
• an extreme situation so people voted extremely
How and why did Hitler rise to power - propoganda
• right wing population looked for a scapegoat
• shock to Germany that they had lost the war because of positive propaganda
• editing posters
• Hitler was a powerful speaker
• victim of Mussolini’s propoganda
• changed design of swastika, made it white black and red
How and why did Hitler rise to power - the German Worker’s Party
• national/socialist ideology
• named National Socialist German workers party
• Hitler did not found the party
• racist/hated Jews
• events in Italy inspired Hitler
• Hitler started speaking at these meetings - gifted speaker
• brought in around 2000 viewers at meetings
• was named president in 1921
Hermann Goering
• from Bulvaria
• had a strong military reputation as a pilot
• controlled the police in Prussia, glamorous figure
• not easily drawn to radicalism, but became committed
• dangerous man
• 1933 - formed the Gestapo - secret police that would spy on the public
• said, ‘we don’t want their love, we want their fear’
• sinister
Heinrich Himmler
• anti-semitic
• lead Secret Service (known as the blackshirts)
• eccentric
• gravitated to the Nazi party
• wanted to fight in WWI but was too young
• 1933 - 200,000 members - used methods of surveillance and terror - so went on to run concentration camps, Krystall Nacht, book burnings
• struck terror
Joseph Goebbels
• ruthless
• most intelligent
• had a doctorate
• incredibly academic
• recognised the power of modern media
• odd ball
• used simple bold messages to make a point
• had deeply anti-Semitic ideas
• minister of propaganda and enlightenment
• sees the power of radio, film, posters etc
Munich Putsch (uprising)
• November 8th 1923
• tried to overthrow the government
• 600 stormtroopers present - attempted to stage a coup at the Munich Beer Hall because politicians were here
• Nov 9th - tries to take over ministry of defence - treason banned from speaking - fail in epic proportions
• stopped by police
• pleads guilty - gets 5 years but serves 9 months and write Mein Kampf in prison
• newspapers support Hitler
• Hitler learns he must get into power legally
Mein Kampf
• writes in prison
• between 1925-45, it sold 12 million copies - it was not immediately popular
• translates to ‘my struggle’
• promoted the key components of Nazism - aggressive foreign policy, racist worldview, anti-semitism, Lebensraum
• autobiographical manifesto
• 1927 - ban on Hitler’s speaking is relaxed
Ernst Rohm
Leader of SA - (brown shirts) - Hitler’s private army
• gets too powerful so he is assassinated
• 400,000 by 1933
• scare communists/voters on election
Rudolph Hess
• deputy leader of the Nazi party
• made sure all laws and party policy was in line with what the Nazis wanted
Willhem Frick
• long standing member (before Hitler)
• joined in 1933 (cabinet) when Hitler was chancellor
Elements of Nazi ideology
• lebensraum
• aryan supremacy
• nationalism (believed Germany was superior)
• anti-semitism
• scrap the Treaty of Versailles
• Brot und Arbeit (bread and work) - Nazis promised this, seen as saviours
• centralised government
• Third Reich - empire that would last for 1000 years
Centralised Government
• created ultimate form of centralised government
• regional areas couldn’t make political decisions
• Nazis decided all policies
• enabling act
Reichstag Fire
• 27th February 1933 at 9pm
• Hitler is chancellor - encouraging action against the communists
• Reichstag = German government building
• debating chamber was burnt down
• $1 million dollars of damage
• Marinus Van Der Lubbe - young communist - Communists were the biggest opposition party
• Hitler was having dinner with Geobbels at the time
Consequences of the Reichstag Fire - Marinus Van Der Lubbe
• Dutch communist Marinus Van Der Lubbe was caught at the scene
• behaved very strangely after his arrest
• after 11 months he was found guilty and having admitted his guilt was beheaded
• conspiracy theories that the SA had started one of the fires, plot to frame communists
Feb 28th 1933 - Reichstag fire decree
• Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to pass an Emergency Decree using Article 48 of the constitution (‘Protection of the People and State’)
• stopped freedom of expression and opposition to act against political opponents, no freedom of press
Enabling Act
• Nazi didn’t have the overall majority in the vote
• used state of emergency declared by President to stop the communists taking seats
• Reichstag members passed the Enabling Act and Germany ceased to be a democracy
• can bypass President, Hitler can pass any law he wants without consulting the Reichstag/his party if he says it’s an emergency
30th of January 1933
• Germany = a democracy
• Hitler becomes chancellor
• President Von Hindenburg is still No. 1
• charismatic as a public speaker
5th March 1933
• elections
• Nazis hoping to increase votes (were initially disappointed)
• prevent some politicians from entering - big parties/viewed as a threat, communists (4000 were arrested after the fire)
• SA surrounded the Reichstag
• get 288 out of 647 seats - decide to form a co elition with the Nationalists - they give 52 seats = 340 which means they have majority - can now pass the Enabling Act
• had 37%
Civil Service Act
• 7th April 1933
• any civil servant who was a political opponent or non-Aryan = fired, eg teachers, lawyer
• civil servants - work for government
• comes under the RFD
• bringing a population into line
• gleichschaltung
Boycott of Jewish Shops
• April 1933
• Nation-wide refusal to use Jewish shops
• use of SA - stand outside Jewish shops, patrolling
• didn’t pass a law
Dachau opens
• March 1933
• initially just for political opponents
• By October, SA had arrested 100,000 opponents
• gleichshaltung
Burning of books
• 10th May 1933
• gleichshaltung
• promoted by Geobbels - many cities had large bonfires
• burnt any ‘un-German’ books - stirs up antisemitism, promotes indoctrination, publicity stunt
Trade unions and political unions
• May-July 1933
• 21st June - Social Democrat ban - 3000 arrested
• Trade Union go against the Nazi party
• National Labour Day (May 1st) - arrested main leaders after meeting with Geobbels - raids buildings, DAF replaced unions, papers shut down, German Labour Front
• July 1933 - new parties banned
People’s Court set up
• April 1934
• set up for ‘political offenses’ (purposely vague)
• separate court outside of ordinary courts
• Nazi judge, no jury
• death penalty increases
Hindenburg dies
• 2nd August 1934
• Hitler merges roles of chancellor and president
• Hindenburg signed document - ‘Act concerning the Head of State’
‘Nazis achieved total power through violence’ - agree
• Boycott of Jewish shops
‘Nazis achieved total power through violence’ - disagree
• civil service act
• Hitler becomes chancellor
• Reichstag fire decree
• Dachau was only for political opponents
Night of long knives
• 30th June 1934
• Hitler was paranoid - afraid of assassination, concerned about opposition - afraid Hindenburg will strip him of his power (with Rohm’s influence)
• Hitler organises a meeting with the SA at the Hanslbauer hotel (outside Munich) - it was a trap and the SS were waiting
• to become fuhrer, Hitler would need to control the SA
• it was the assassination of Ernst Rohm - leader of the SA - biggest threat
• ER = tactical prowess, extreme loyalty, lots of power in the Nazi party
• Von Papen and Schleicher - arrested as a result of the N of LK (they were ex chancellors)
• Hitler and Geobbels were present, arrested prominent leaders of SA
• 85 people were murdered as a result - could have been more - some were arrested and sent to concentration camps
• early June 1934 - Hitler Heydrich and Goering create: Reich list of unwanted persons - Rohm deemed, ‘politically unreliable’
• Operation Hummingbird - SS was tasked with gathering evidence for this
• Hitler makes a deal with head of German Army to get rid of SA
• Hitler had loyalties to the German Army
• Rohm had openly discussed taking over the German Army - tells Hitler he wants SA to absorb the German Army
• Hitler called Rohm a, ‘ridiculous corporal’
• Hindenburg wrote a letter of thanks to Hitler for organising the event
Consequences of the Night of Long Knives
• SA diminishes and power is reduced
• August 1934 - SA had 2.9 million and in October 1935 there was 1.6 million
• loyalty of German Army was secured, which was important for Lebensraum
• culture of fear for political people (Hitler was willing to remove in his party)
• rise of SS and Heinrich Himmler was established
• Nazi regime gained a strange legal standing (85 people killed without facing court - illegal)
Himmler and the SS
• HH = born in Munich to a middle class family
• HH joined the Nazis in 1923
• Himmler absorbed more and more of the policing power over Germany
• after the Night of LK, H looked to the SS carry out purges to remove enemies
• SS had a reputation for blind obedience and total commitment
• became a member of the SS, group of 250 members whose job was to provide a bodyguard for Hitler
• wore black uniforms with the SS double lightning bolt logo
• 1929 - HH made leader of SS - transformed into an elite paramilitary force
• 1936 - chief of all German police and Reichsfuhrer
Police, judges, courts
• judges had to swear an oath to Hitler
• punishments become more severe (more death sentences)
• gave police better funding, centralised the organisation
• 1936 - police were put under the control of the SS
• Nazis moved into leadership positions
• orpo = ordinary police
• kripo = criminal police - important part of terror system, provided information
Concentration camps
• ultimate punishment (apart from execution)
• June 1933 - Theodor Eicke was appointed to bring order
• 70 set up in 1933 to imprison 45,000 communists
• aim is to concentrate threats to the state where they could be kept away from society
• mid 1930s - begin to use Jews and criminals
• some guards were jailed for torturing prisoners
• many were run by the SA, so disorganised and had such extreme conditions they were shut in the second half of 1933
• prisoners risen to 21,000 at the start of the war
• 69 deaths in Dachau in 1937 - seven times more as previous year
• 1937 - HH declared guards can’t be sent to jails and deaths in camps went up dramatically - used prisoners for labour
• floggings/beatings, less bread and water
• Death’s Head units - skulls on SS hats, code of conduct that was used in all camps
• most prisoners were freed - total number dropped to 7500
Intelligence gathering - SD and Gestapo
• role of SD was to identify actual/potential enemies of the Nazi party
• did not take action - only Gestapo
• most SD agents were young, well-located, not fanatics
• agents write extensive reports - allowed gov to tailor propoganda and monitor impact of changes
• relied on Block Leaders - men who were given job of getting to know 40-60 residents on morale and attitude of Germans
• spied on Jewish community, education, the arts, government, churches
• few hundred full time agents, thousands of volunteer informants
• early years focused on political opponents, but Jews and homosexuals were targeted after 1933
• Nazis monitored people through elaborate system
• Gestapo could open mail and tap telephones
• SD = main intelligence gathering agency - developed by Reinhard Heydrich and
become state Secret Service in 1938
• Gestapo spied on public to remove opposition - Göring was the original leader, Gestapo had the power to arrest and imprison, began as the Prussian state police and expanded into a nation-wide group
• they were deeply feared at most - 15,000 active officers to police a population of 66 million (only 1 in every 4,400)
How did the Nazis control Germany? - Berlin Olympics
• Berlin hosted the Olympics in 1936, which the Nazis used as an opportunity to showcase the success of the regime and to demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race
• flags and swastikas all over Berlin - 100,000 seat stadium
• anti semitism was hidden
• newspapers given more freedom
• Germany won the most medals (important to Hitler)
• Luz Long - long jumper - Aryan hero
• the victories of the African American athlete Jesse Owens for the USA infuriated the Nazi leadership
How did the Nazis control Germany through films?
• Nazi party gradually took over film production and distribution
• by 1939, 2/3rds of the state financed
• a state run professional school for politically reliable film makers was founded, and membership of an official professional organisation (Reich Film Chamber - Reichsfilmkammer) was made compulsory for all actors and film-makers
• Nazi leaders often used film stars, like Lil Dagover, to promote the popularity of the party in Germany (especially for the youth)
• foreign films limited by laws and taxes
• Goebbels limited political films to 10%
• before every film there was a Nazi propaganda newsreel
How did the Nazis control Germany through rallies?
• giant gatherings to celebrate strength
• speeches, choruses, marches, torch lit parades, mock battles
• Annual party at Nuremberg 1934 - whole week, 500 trains, 250,000 people, 30,000 swastika flags, 152 spotlights, cathedral of light
• filmed by Leni Riefenstahl, Triumph of the Will
• Semi religious atmosphere to promote cult of Führer
How did the Nazis control Germany through radio?
• radio was the best way of getting a message across to most
• 1934 Reich Radio Company controlled all stations (censorship)
• Wagner, folk music and Hitler speeches - promote ideology
• Jewish and American Jazz was discouraged
• Cheap radio sets - the People’s Recievers - 1.5 million made in 1933 - allowed for messages to be broadcasted into homes
• 1939 - 70% had one in their homes
• one week’s wages, and could pay in instalments
• limited range for receivers (avoid foreign influence) - BBC were banned
How did the Nazis control Germany with newspapers?
• existing opposition papers closed down - limiting opposition
• by 1939, 2/3rds of all newspapers and magazines were owned by Nazis (as a result of the Reichstag Fire Decree, they controlled the press)
• Der Sturmer (The stormer) was sensationalist and often used anti Semitic rants and cartoons - demonic cartoons
• content was controlled - editors and journalists could not write anything that would weaken the Reich
• Goebbels kept tight control of what could and could not be printed
Übermenschen
• superior humans - racial superiority
• stems from Darwinism
• aryan - Northern and Western Europe, Nordic aryans have the stereotypical blonde hair and blue eyes
• eugenics theory - taught in biology, how to identity racial stereotypes
• if you were Aryan you were pure German
• had to have a German bloodline for at least three generations
Untermenschen
• sub humans
• included slavs, from Eastern European countries like Poland
• Jews (most vicious hatred reserved for Jews)
• gypsies
• LGBTQ+
• people with disabilities
• people of colour
Nuremburg Laws
• 1935
• those with 1 or 2 Jewish grandparents were mischling (half-Jewish)
• anyone with 3 or 4 Jewish grandparents were Jewish even if they had no belief in the Faith
• stripped of citizenship - no passport, can’t marry someone non-Jewish
How did the persecution of Jewish people change between 1933 and 1939? - social policies
• April 1933 - Aryan and non-Aryan children are forbidden from playing together
• Jews are excluded from sport and gymnastics clubs
• July 1933 - choose are excluded from the German chess Federation
• August 1933 - Jews are excluded from choirs
• September 1933 - ‘Race studies’ become part of the school examination syllabus
• March 1935 - Jewish writers are not allowed to engage in any form of literary activity
• July 1935 - Young Jews are not allowed to go hiking in groups of more than twenty
• January 1936 - Jews must hand over all electrical equipment, bicycles, typewriters and records
• October 1936 - Jews who convert to Christianity are still to be treated as Jews
• January 1938 - Jews are banned from belonging to the German Red Cross
• March 1938 - Jews are banned from being allotment holders
• August 1938 - Male Jews must add ‘Israel’ and female Jews ‘Sara’ to their first names
• November 1938 (at the time of Kristallnacht) - all Jewish children are expelled from non-Jewish state schools, Jews are banned from cinemas, theatres, operas and concerts
• December 1938 - Jews are not allowed to take valuables with them
• March 1939 - Jews have to remove the ruins of synagogues destroyed by rioters. Reconstruction is not permitted.
September 1939 - Jews are no longer allowed to leave their homes after 8pm (or 9pm in the summer)
How did the persecution of Jewish people changed between 1933-1939 (politically)?
• March 1933 - Jewish lawyers are banned from conducting legal affairs in Berlin. Jewish judges are suspended from office.
• September 1935 - Jews are no longer ‘citizens’ they are just ‘subjects’ with no rights
• October 1938 - Jewish passports have to be stamped with a ‘j’ and passports belonging to Jews whose emigration is undesirable are to be confiscated
• November 1938 - All Jewish children are expelled from non-Jewish state schools
• December 1938 - Jewish driving licenses must be handed over
• Dec 1938 - Jews are not allowed to attend university and refused recognition as midwives
How did the persecution of Jewish people change between 1933-1939?
• September 1935 - marriages and extra marital intercourse between nationals of German stock and Jews are punishable by imprisonment
• April 1936 - Jewish veterinary surgeons are banned from practising. Only Aryans can work as journalists.
• April 1937 - Jews are forbidden to obtain a doctorate
• June 1937 - Post Office officials married to a Jewess are forced into retirement
• April 1938 - Jews must show how much they own to ensure that their wealth is being used in the interest of the German economy.
• July 1938 - Jewish doctors are not allowed to practise on non-Jewish patients. Jewish street names are changed.
• November 1938 (at the time of Kristallnacht) - Jews are banned from running businesses as craftsmen. Jews are banned from running retail or wholesale buisnesses.
• December 1938 - Jewish publishing houses and bookshops are closed down, Jewish women are refused recognition as midwives.
• January 1939 - Jews can no longer work as dentists, chemists, nurses or in other medical posts
• February 1939 - Jews have to hand over jewellery, gold, silver and pearls
The Mother’s Cross
• awarded to women who had large numbers of children
• bronze cross - mothers with four or five children
• silver cross - for mothers with six or seven children
• gold cross - for mothers with eight or more children
Women and employment
• number of women in employment increased between 1933 and 1939. Natural as other Nazi policies helped to create a booming economy in the mid to late 1930s when jobs were plentiful
• in agriculture - 4.6 million women were employed in 1933 - by 1939 this had increased to 4.9 million
• in industry the figure rose from 2.7 million to 3.3 million
• women’s participation in higher education was limited - female enrolment at universities was limited to 10%
• Nazis regretted this in the late 1939 - needed highly qualified women to take on work caused by rapid rearmament programme in preparation for war. Women were reluctant to take places at universities, having been discouraged from doing so since 1933
Marriage and motherhood
• Nazis encouraged this among aryans when the population of Germany and other European nations was falling
• saw as essential for producing a new generation of pure German Aryans who would serve for the Nazis ‘thousand year’ Reich
• Law for Encouragement of Marriage in June 1933 - gave newlyweds a loan of 1000 marks and allowed them to keep 250 marks for each child they had
• 1934 - 250000 loads were issued
• 1937 - requirement for women to give up work was removed in the hope of increasing the rate of marriage and births even further
• marriages did increase from 516000 in 1932 to 772000 in 1939
Role of women as housewives
• role in the kitchen was crucial
• once a month they should participate in ‘One Pot Sunday’ - making a stew for leftovers to reduce waste
• SA and block wardens checked that women were fulfilling this duty
• should be members of Nationalist Socialist Women’s League
• led by Gertrud Scholtz-Klink
• organisation had 2 million members by 1938
• offered meetings, a bi-weekly magazine and training in domestic duties such as cooking and cleaning
Attire for women
• women should dress in traditional German clothes and not show sexuality overtly
• women should not be thin but ‘physically robust’
• strong women were best for bearing children
• women should appear natural and not wear makeup. Cosmetics and dyes were seen as a French obsession
• these ideals did not take root everywhere -historian Richard J Evans explains that the cosmetics industry found new ways to profit - magazines were full of advice to German women on how to achieve a natural look by artificial means
• prominent women in Nazi high society scorned this attack - Magda Goebbels was often seen smoking in public
In 1933, what did Goebbels say about the role of women?
• ‘the mission of the woman is to be beautiful and bring children into the world… the female bird pretties herself for her mate and hatches eggs for him’
Childbirth in Nazi Germany
• births rose in the early 1930s but by 1939 the rate had declined again
• the average number of children per couple in 1932 had been 3.6 and by 1939 it had dropped to 3.3
• Divorces were made easier to obtain so women could remarry and have more children
• women should not smoke, particularly as smoking could lead to a higher chance of miscarriage
Impact of WWII on the German people (1939-1942) - women
• disagreement on role between Hitler and Albert Speer
• restrictions on women for education were lifted
• by 1939 - 760,000 women worked in war industries, risen to 1.5 million by 1941
• 1939 - women under 25 had to complete six months Labour service
• total number of women aged 15-65 was 30 million - not many women worked
• restrictions on women for education were lifted
Impact of WWII (1939-1942) on German people - bombings and evacuation
• cities faced air raids three or four nights a week
• RAF began a bombing campaign against industrial industries in 1940 in North and West Germany
• September 1940 - Nazis worried about safety of German children
Impact of WWII on the German people (1939 to 1942) - move to a war economy
• 1941 = 47% of goods produced by industries were military
• End of 1941 - Hitler’ war economy had not materialised due to a lack of central control and economy struggled to turn the increased investment into sufficient production
• Nazis were prepared for a limited war, but within three days both Britain and France had declared war on Germany
• to fight on that scale required a huge increase of weapons and ammunition, so in December 1939, Hitler announced that Germany would become a war economy
Impact of WWII on the German people (1939 - 1942) - Albert Speer
• February 1942 - Minister of Armaments and War production (took charge of economy)
• ally of H, so he had the power to do what he wanted
• introduced Central Planning Board - gave industries more freedom but was controlled by him - excluded military personnel who had caused inefficiency
• main policies:
- focus factories on producing a single product
- employ more women in factories
• use concentration camp prisoners as workers
• exclude skilled workers from compulsory military service
Impact of WWII on the German people (1939-1942) - shortages
• low quality food - complaining was dangerous - a woman from Berlin described the skimmed milk as ‘slop’, and had to repeat to authorities everyday for three months ‘de-creamed fresh milk’
• rationing introduced in 1940 - couldn’t rely on imports and agriculture was not strong enough due to absence of men
• German rationing system caused confusion
• ration cards according to age/occupation - Jews only had half an hour to shop before stores closed, and a lower allocation
Operation Valkyrie - Claus Von Stauffenberg
• from a distinguished aristocratic family
• became an officer
• 1938 - general staff officer to light division
• had controversial opinions
• condemned KrystallNacht
• saw the Holocaust by bullets
• was offered an important post
• led one of the assassination attempts
Why did Claus Von Stauffenberg oppose the Nazis?
• horrified by Einzatz-Gruppen - this was the last straw
• he believed in the greater authority of Catholicism
• 1939 - he didn’t oppose because he was loyal to Germany
• didn’t agree with the persecution of Jewish people
• 1941 - found out about the Holocaust and was disgusted
Operation Valkyrie - Henning Von Tresckow
• head of the army staff
• since the late 1930s - had been plotting to overthrow the Nazis
• saw an opportunity to instigate a plan and took part in a conspiracy
Operation Valkyrie
• Stauffenberg was the core of this plan
• plan was to overthrow and create a new government - drafted an outline
• reserve troops had to execute
• June 1944- Stauffenberg was in a good place to be the assassin
20th July 1944
• Stauffenberg arrived for a conference by plane
• first problem = conference couldn’t take place in a concrete bunker
• used a fuse, so needed a timer to detonate
• bomb had to be activated immediately - ran out of time, only one bomb was done
Events after the 20th July 1944
• made escape in turmoil
• they were allowed to leave after being stopped
• Paris - all major SS members were arrested
• conspirators were executed at 1am on the 21st July
• Claus was exhumed from his crime
• Hitler paid respects to those hurt/killed
Additional information about operation Valkyrie
• wanted to assassinate H, HH and Georring too
• if it was in the bunker, the blast would have killed everyone
• H delivered a speech on the radio saying he was alive
• needed 30 minute fuses
• only able to place one bomb
• Stauffenberg was on Hitler’s right, had wanted to be on the left
• Hitler could not trust Wermadt
Was total war a horror without end?
Social impacts
• July 1943 - Hamburg bombed by Allies; half the city destroyed, 40,000 killed, tens of thousands made homeless
November 1943 - Berlin bombed with 750 planes. 500,000 homeless, 100,000 injured
• July 20th 1944 - Assassination attempt social impacts - refugees fleeing the advancing Soviet army added to pressures on food and fuel supplies
• July 1944 - Goebbels becomes Reich Trustee for Total War, social policies were
Women: compulsory service age increased to 50
Resources: railways and postal services cut; theatres and music halls closed
Forced labour: 7.6 million foreign workers brought to Germany
• February 1945 - Dresden bombed by 727 British and 527 American planes
• February 18th, 1943: Goebbels announces ‘total war’ at the Sportpalast in Berlin
• impact: women (17-45) were mobilised for work, but only 1 million out of 3 million responded
• non-essential activities (e.g. professional sports, magazines, and businesses) were eliminated
• clothes rationing suspended as production focused on war efforts
Was total war a horror without end? Military impacts
- July 1943 - Hamburg bombed by Allies, half the city destroyed
- November 1943 - Berlin bombed with 750 planes
July bomb plot - Hitler’s popularity among die-hard supporters briefly increased - massive Gestapo crackdown: over 7000 arrests and 5000 executions of suspected dissidents
- October 1944: creation of the Volksstrum (People’s storm)
All males (16-60) forced into military service - a militia of the old and young
Minimal training (four days) and issued outdated weapons
Impact: ineffective defence force, increased despair amongst the population
February 1945 - Dresden bombed by 727 British and 527 American planes
April 1945 - Final days of Nazi Germany, Central Berlin remains the last stronghold, Germans fought until the bitter end, Germany surrenders on May 2, 1945
Was total war a horror without end? - leadership responses
February 18, 1943 - Geobbels announces ‘total war’ at the Sportpalast in Berlin
Impact: propoganda emphasised sacrifices for victory
20th July 1944 - July Bomb plot :
increasing fear of internal betrayal led to more surveillance and brutality against civilians and military personnel
July 1944: Geobbels becomes Reich Trustee for Total War
Policies:
Workforce: half a million workers ordered to join the military, reducing arms production
Propaganda: intensified to maintain morale and justify sacrifices
What was the impact of the Second World War on the German People? - Rationing
Rationing was deliberately kept to a minimum. Hitler knew cut-backs during World War One had led to political unrest, so he ordered restriction should be kept to a minimum
Autarky and rearmament meant consumer goods were already expensive and scarce before the war. The quality of products reduced.
Consumer goods brought from France, after it was defeated by Germany in June 1940, helped reduce shortages.
Extra rations were given to people considered important to the war effort, such as workers in heavy industries. There was also extra food for pregnant women and blood donors.
the Jews’ food entitlements were set below that of the Aryans
Food was rationed immediately in 1939, although Germans did not experience chronic shortages until 1944
In general, rationing was accepted with little opposition.
Despite long queues and poorer quality food
What was the impact of the Second World War on the German People? - Area bombing
Over the next three years, 61 German cities were attacked. Dresden and Hamburg suffered most. In Dresden alone, 70% of buildings were destroyed and 150,000 people were killed
In Germany, 3.6 million homes were destroyed, 7.5 million people were made homeless and 300,000 - 400,000 civilians were killed in the raids. 800,000 people were wounded
in 1942 the RAF switched to a policy of ‘area bombing’
50% of bombs fell on residential areas, and only 12% on factories
In the Spring of 1940, the RAF began a campaign bombing raids on industrial and military targets in Germany
What was the impact of the Second World War on the German people? refugees / evacuation
During the advance of the Soviet army through Eastern Germany in 1944 and 1945, much of the civilian population fled westwards to avoid the brutality of the Soviet soldiers
11 million ethnic Germans were either refugees or had been expelled from the countries surrounding Germany in the East
The intensive British ‘area’ bombing campaign from May 1942 onwards, targeted at the industrial Ruhr region, created thousands of refugees as whole cities were flattened or burnt down.
At the end of the war, eight million victims of forced labour and other displaced persons became refugees inside Germany.
September 1940, The Nazis introduced an evacuation programme called, Kinderlandverschickung (KLV)
KLV - of the 260,000 eligible children in Berlin, only 40,000 participated
Older children were placed in ‘camps’ which were run by the Hitler Youth. Conditions varied enormously
KLV - first applied to children living in Berlin and Hamburg due to bombing
KLV - All children below the age of 14 were eligible for a six month stay in a rural area
What was the impact of the Second World War on the German people? Employment
The Nazis also made extensive use of forced labour, transporting hundreds of thousands of civilians and prisoners of war from Eastern Europe to Germany to keep the war effort going
Women worked in armaments factories and as medics
There was compulsory agricultural labour service for unmarried women under 25. Hitler opposed the suggestion to conscript women into the army.
In 1943, women from 17-45 had to register for work. However, only 1 million out of 3 million of those eligible did so. Of these about 400,000 were employed because employers and the Nazis still preferred to use prisoners
13.7 million German men served in the army during the war, and this created a huge labour shortage on the home front
By 1943, 21% of the German workforce were foreigners
What did Nazi rule mean to the people of Europe, 1939-45?-features of occupation in the Netherlands
1940 - the Nazis invaded the Netherlands and the Dutch government surrendered
Dutch royal family and government fled to the UK
Initial occupation:
Dutch treated more leniently than Slavs
(seen as ethnically similar)
Civil servants kept jobs (schools left untouched)
Small resistance was largely ignored
1941 - Jewish men were rounded up, sparking strikes,
Germans killed nine strikers, arrested hundreds and executed 18
public sentiment now turned against the Nazis
Nazi Repression:
deportation of Dutch jews to extermination camps began, 76% were deported
1943: Nazis forced Dutch men (16-60) into labour, by 1944, one third of dutch men worked in Germany
300000 men hid to avoid forced labour
Anti-Nazi leaflets published, registry offices attacked
Nazis executed 2000 resistance members
1944-45: railway strikes caused food and fuel shortages
20000 Dutch people starved in the war’s final years
Common features of Netherland/Polish occupation between 1939 and 1945
Lebensraum - both examples of how the Nazis wanted to expand for living space
Poland - harshest punishment initially but by 1945 the Nazis show brutality in both
Anti-semitic
People challenged rule (resisted)
Features of Nazi occupation in Poland (1939-1945)
A siege that never ended
Poland only existed as a country since 1918
pre 1918- part of an area controlled by Germany
Nazi leaders believed it was their right to take it back
invaded September 1939 - aimed to remove Polish culture
by October 1939 - Poland ceased to exist
Nazis split country into regions/incorporated into German territories
1940 - Himmler drew up Eastern general plan to be tested on Poland (remove as many of the Polish/Slavic people as possible and replace with Germans)
500,000 Germans settled onto their lands
Native Poles were moved into the General Government
Ruled by Hans Frank (governed by terror)
May 1940 - Frank closed schools and universities
30,000 of the most talented people were arrested and murdered
1.9 million non-Jewish citizens were killed
Many were sent to do forced labour in Germany
Between 1939 and 1945, over 1.5 million were sent to work in Labour camps
1940 - Polish decrees established rules for Poles in Germany - had to have a P on their arm
1940 - Jews concentrated in Ghettos - Nazis murdered 3 million Jews by the end of the war
Formed one of the largest and complex resistance movements - Underground Army , killed German spies, buried weapons
Polish government operated in exile from London, creating a Secret State (Delegatura)
1944 - Warsaw uprising lasted over two months before being crushed (200,000 killed)
Why was rationing deliberately kept to a minimum in Nazi Germany?
To prevent political unrest like in WW1
By 1945, what had meat rations dropped to?
250 grams per week
Who received extra rations during the war?
workers in heavy industries and pregnant women
What percentage of RAF bombs fell on residential areas during area bombing?
50%
How many German homes were destroyed during Allied bomb raids?
3.6 million
What city experienced the most devastation during the Allied bombing campaigns?
Dresden
How many civillians were killed in Allied air raids in Germany?
300,000-400,000
What was the primary target of British bombing raids before switching to area bombing?
Military and industrial sites
How long was the typical stay in rural areas for children under the KLV programme?
one year
By the end of the war, how many ethnic germans were expelled from or fled from Eastern Europe?
11 million
What created large numbers of refugees during 1944-1945?
Soviet advances into Eastern Germany
What percentage of eligible berlin children participated in the KLV program?
40%
What proportion of German men served?
13.7 million
What was the compulsory labour service requirement for unmarried women under 25?
Agricultural labour
Why did Hitler oppose conscripting women into the army?
To maintain traditional gender roles
How many foreign workers were used as forced labour in Germany in the war?
7.6 million
Collaboration with the Nazis
Coco Chanel’s close relationship with the Nazis and use of antisemitic laws in occupied Paris
The Ustasa, in Croatia, were a political party inspired and encouraged by the Nazis to build concentration camps where they killed 25,000 Jews
In Latvia, the SS created the Latvian Security Police. They were volunteers who killed Jews and Communists - 26,000 jews were killed (half the Latvian population)
In Belgium, the DeValg movement was a nationalist group who wanted stronger ties with Nazi Germany. 50,000 members by 1943. They helped Nazis to recruit members in the Waffen-SS
Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian politician, seized power on 9 April 1940 in a Nazi backed coup d’etat. He was tried in Norway after the war and executed by firing squad on 24 October 1945
Some women in all occupied areas had relationships with the German soldiers stationed in their countries
Resistance of other countries
Andre Trocme and the villagers of Chambon-sur-Lignon hid and saved 5000 Jews after 1940
The Danish rejected Nazi antisemitic legislation and saved 99% of their Jewish population. 7220 Jews were evacuated to Sweden.
Listening to the BBC on the radio
Significant numbers of Poles helped rescue, feed and hide an estimated 45,000 Jews. Aided by the Polish Underground State
On the 29th June 1940, many Dutch people wore carnations in support of the birthday of their exiled Prince Bernhard
Dutch communists called for a strike when the Nazis rounded up 425 Jewish men in 1941. 9 killed and 100s arrested
The Jewish uprising in Warsaw in April and May 1943 was the biggest Jewish uprising of the war. It slowed down transports to Treblinka and kept German fighting units from other fronts
The French Resistance was a collection of groups that undertook guerrilla warfare against the Nazis. They rescued allied soldiers, published newspapers and provided intelligence for the Allies
4000 Channel Islanders were sentenced for breaking occupation laws. 570 of these were imprisoned
the military side of the French resistance formed the French Interior Force in June 1944. It helped the allies push the Nazis out of France in 1944 and 1945.
Poland had one of the largest and most complex resistance movements in Europe. In August it staged the Warsaw Uprising that led to 200,000 Polish deaths and the destruction of the city.
the Bielski brothers escaped the Jewish Ghetto and lived in the forests of Belorussia carrying out sabotage. Hundreds of men, women and children joined them and the group numbered 1236 at its height
Accommodation to the Nazis
the Danish people were allowed to keep their government in return for favourable relations with Germany
30% of Dutch mayors stepped down under occupation
During the occupation of Monaco, the police turned over 42 foreign Jewish refugees to the Nazis but protected Monaco’s own Jews
During the occupation of Greece, three Greek prime ministers chosen and controlled by the Nazis passed laws demanded by the occupiers. This included the creation of the 22,000 strong Security Battalion who persecuted Greek communists
Denmark - lots of accommodation
First solution, 1938-1939, Persecution and Emigration
1938 - annexation of Austria in March
As soon as the Nazis arrived in Austria, jews were persecuted
aryanisation - ubermechschen
there were 192,000 Jews in Austria, 167,000 in Vienna - ‘Vienna Model’ established - persecution and emigration
Central Office for Jewish Emigration - emigration activity encouraged, 110,000 Jews emigrated in 2 years
Invasion of Poland - 1 September 1939
in 1939 - Poland had 3.5 million Jewish people - by 1945 the Nazis had murdered 3 million
aim was to remove Polish culture and germanise the country
following the policy of Lebensraum
3rd September 1939 - France and Britain declared war on Germany
harsh punishment for the East
emigration could not be effective with a scale of 3.5 million
plan formed to move Jews to Madagascar, and the Soviet Union - 1940, realised they did not own enough land for this to be feasible
Ghettos 1939-1941
enclosed districts which isolated Jews by separating Jewish communities from the non-Jewish population
concentrated in ghettos ready for deportation
varied in size - hundreds in German occupied Poland
largest ghetto = Warsaw - opened Nov 1940, in 3 years 140,000 died from disease such as typhus and starvation
March 1941 - 445,000 Jews in Warsaw (1/3 of whole population) were concentrated in 2.4% of space
15 people shared an apartment
guarded by SS
limited resources - children would crawl under barbed wire to get food
Einsatzgruppen - June 1941
‘Holocaust by bullets’ - second solution
a shooting squad which included the SS, the Police and the auxiliary service of the local population
there were four units (A,B,C,D) and between 500-1000 in each
moved across Soviet Union and killed Jews - squads consisted of 3000
murdered over 1 million - 10% were communists, disabled people, gypsies
typically victims would dig their own graves in secluded areas
as German troops advance East, the Einsatzgruppen was there
Babi Yar - 33,701 killed in a day
mass murder of Jews began with the Invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 - Nazis it was life/death struggle against communists and Jews - purge the soviet occupied territories of all ‘hostile elements’ “
gas vans eventually used to to kill people on mass - less ‘taxing’ - (letters of complaint from soldiers) - Chelmno-gas vans used exhaust fumes to kill people on mass
Operation Reinhard - Autumn of 1941
1.9 million people murdered as a result
extermination of all Jews in the General Government was agreed
New extermination and death camps were set up for this sole purpose
Jews were tricked into thinking they were being resettled - cattle carts were used
1.9 million murdered as a result - America declare war
1942- each camp was kept in secrecy AND MANAGED BY 20-30 officers
Belzec - March
Sobibar - May
Treblinka - July
Mass extermination
It was industrial and systematic
Auschwitz-Birkenau is the largest concentration camp
four gas chambers and a crematorium at Auschwitz
at height - 12,000 killed everyday (approximately)
1.1 illion murdered at Auschwitz
75% of people wh arrived were sent straight to death camps
children sent straight to be killed
there were two lines as part of the selection process - lines were of men and women, right line was for forced labour
doctors and SS guards selected
doctors chose people to experiment on, for example the twin theory (eugenics)
Sonderkommando would sort people - told people to lie about their age
they were Jewish people who were selected to work for the Nazis
wore a striped unifrom
moved people off cattle carts, tattooed people, removed bodies from gas chambers
Dr Mengele (Angel of Death) - Doctor who worked at Auschwitz and conducted experiments on twins, Jews, Roma
gas chambers - 20 minutes
upwards of 100 people in a chamber
Zyklon B gas was used
designed to look like showers
stripped of clothing (to be collected)
Wansee Conference - January 1942
90 minutes
high ranking Nazi officers
January 20th 1942
gathered in Berlin suburb of Wansee
aim = to coordiante the implementation of ‘Final Solution of the Jewish question’ - transportation
