Nazi Opposition And Control Flashcards
Rank methods of opposition from mildest to strongest with examples
- Non-conformity (not saluting)
- Dissent (reading an illegal book)
- Protest (Making your opposition known)
- Opposition (preaching or joining an opposition group)
- Resistance (attempting to kill Nazis)
Youth opposition examples
White Rose Group (spread anti-Nazi leaflets and wanted the German Youth to rise up)
The Swing Youth (wanted to listen to US/UK music and stop Nazi control on their lives)
The Eselweiss Pirates (attacked Hitler Youth and mocked Germany, not too political. 12 ganged in 1944)
The Conservative Elites Opposition examples
The Kreisau Circle (mainly theoretical opposition and wanted an end to the regime)
The Freiburg Circle (strongly nationalistic, wanted to bring down Hitler but continue the war)
Army bomb plot 1944 (members of the army tried to kill Hitler but failed)
Church opposition examples
Protestants (wanted to defend the church from state interference)
Catholics (1937 stopped the banning of crucifixes in schools, 1941 temporarily suspended the euthanasia campaign)
Left wing opposition examples
SPD (banned, many leaders exiled in 1933. Rest went ‘underground’ all opposition stopped by the mid-1930’s due to Gestapo) KPD (after Reichstag fire most were killed or arrested, over 30,000 continued ‘underground resistance’. The ‘Red Flag’ spread anti-Nazi literature) Rote Kappelle (‘Red Orchestra’ wanted communism and carried out acts of violence)
Examples of Nazi strength to eliminate opposition
- Powerful secret police including a network of informers
- Nazi Policies were popular
- Imprisonment/use of torture
- Government control of the media
- One party state
Examples of weakness in opposition
- Lacked resources
- Resistance organisations didn’t cooperate and were divided
- No independent trade unions or organisations to rally opponents
By how much more did rural areas support the Nazi regime compared to urban areas and why was this?
Higher by 28%
Improved peasant conditions
Reich Entitled Farm Law meant they had security over ownership of land
Autarchy meant farmers didn’t have to compete with foreign groups
Reasons for Nazi support in the 1930’s
- Party acted fast on promises
- Looked smart and feel patriotic
- Feel powerful
- Fear of being denounced or targeted
- Could denounce anyone you didn’t like
- Better than the Weimar Constitution
- Liked the Nazi Polices and ideologies
- Thought of Hitler as a saviour
What was the problem with the people who chose no side?
Anyone who ‘stayed out’ of politics was essentially just helping the Nazis retain power
Why did the Nazis have a lot of continued support during the war?
- Patriotism meant some would join the war effort to great extents to defend German territory
- Propaganda by Goebbles gave ideas of Red Army brutality of rape and murder
- Nazis spread stories of hope and that Germany were winning the war in newspapers and films etc
- Morale was high, bombings meant Germans wanted to fight back
Who repressed the opposition?
Gestapo
SS
NSDAP
Informers
What percentage of Gestapo investigations were due to public denounciations?
80-90%
What were different forms of repression?
Arrest Beatings Imprisonment Concentration camps Executions Censorship Sterilisation
How many Gestapo agents were there in 1939 and what did they do?
40,000 Found political dissidents Recruited informers (150,000 by 1945) Arresting/interrogating suspects Gestapo agents couldn’t be prosecuted