Nazi Germany & its People Flashcards
What were Hitlers visions for Germany? (4)
Racial purity - Aryan race
Military and economic strength
Lebensraum
Loyalty
What kind of state did the Nazis want?
Totalitarian
No rival parties and no political debate
What 3 things came under the Nazi Police State?
The SS
The Gestapo
Concentration camps
Who led the SS?
Heinrich Himmler
What was the role of the SS?
To destroy Nazi opposition
Who led the gestapo?
Reinhard Heydrich
What could the gestapo do?
Arrest citizens and send them to concentration camps without trial.
Which aspect of the Nazi police state did the people fear the most?
The gestapo
People often told on each other to avoid caught themselves
Who ran concentration camps?
SS death head units
Prisoners were forced to do hard labour
What was the most famous rally Goebbels organised? What did it do?
The Nuremberg rallies
Showed the Germans the Nazis power
How were books controlled? (2)
No books could be published without Goebbels permission.
Book burning in 1933 - books that included any ideas unacceptable to the Nazis
What did Goebbels do with the radio?
Made and controlled cheap radios available to all Germans.
Nazi ideas were repeated until believed by the German people
How did Goebbels control the music?
Banned Jazz - claimed it was black music and black were considered an ‘inferior race’
What was school like in Nazi Germany?
Taught about how the hardships of the 1920s were caused by Jews
What was home life like in Nazi Germany?
Hitler = 1st loyalty
Family = 2nd loyalty
Parents found it hard to adjust to this
Give 2 examples of young people opposing the Nazis
Swing Movement
Edelweiss Pirates
What did the Swing movement believe?
Resented the way the Nazis controlled people’s lives.
How did the Swing movement show their discontent?
Through their interest in banned music.
Hung out in nightclubs and bars. - Nazis later closed these bars and arrested some members.
How many groups of Edelweiss Pirates were there by 1939?
2,000
What did the Edelweiss pirates oppose the Nazis for?
Opposed the way the Nazis controlled their lives and their political ideas
How did the EdelweissPirates oppose the Nazis?
Made fun of Hitler youth groups and sometimes violently attacked them
How did the elderly feel in Nazi Germany?
They were better off:
- Generous pensions
- Security for their money
However pensions did become unstable towards the end of the war.
List 2 positives for women in Nazi Germany
Financial incentives were in place for married couples to have at least 4 children.
Awarded the ‘Gold cross’ for having 8 children and were given a seat at Nazi meetings.
Why did Hitler offer financial incentives to women?
What happened as a result?
Because he was alarmed by the falling birth rate.
= BR increased by 5% from 1933 to 1939.
Who reinforced the ideas of financial incentives for women in Nazi Germany?
German Maidens League
List 3 negatives for women in Nazi Germany
Opportunities were limited
Discrimination against women for jobs was encouraged
U-turn late 1930s- women were needed to work late as there was no more unemployed men.
What are the 2 ways in which the Nazis won the loyalty of industrial workers?
Strength through joy
Beauty of labour movement
What did the strength through joy program provide industrial workers with? (3)
Cheap cinema and theatre tickets
Sports events at cut prices
Holidays on cruises
What did the beauty of labour movement do for industrial workers in Nazi Germany? (2)
Improved working conditions in factories
Introduced washing facilities
How did the Nazis keep strict control of the industrial workers?
By making them join the general labour front which meant they couldn’t go on strike for better pay and working conditions.
Who ran the general labour front?
Dr Robert Ley
What type of businesses really benefited from Nazi rule? Why?
Big businesses
= no longer had to worry about troublesome trade unions and strikes
What there opposition to the Nazi regime?
Only some because constant propaganda kept the patriotic Germans in the positive frame of mind.
What did the Nazis use as an excuse to launch violent revenge on all Jews?
When a Jew killed a German diplomat in Paris in 1938.
Nazis attack = Kristallnatch
List 3 effects of kristallnatch
Almost 100 Jews were murdered
Hundreds of synagogues burned
20,000 Jews taken to concentration camps
Why did Bonhoeffer oppose the Nazis in 1933?
Because of the policies about race and euthanasia, also pointed out that Nazis were anti-Christian.
What methods of opposition did Bonhoeffer have?
Worked closely with other opponents and church contacts to help 14 Jews escape to Switzerland.
How did the Nazis deal with Bonhoeffer?
Held him in a concentration camp until he was executed in 1945.
