Nazi Opposition Consent And Control Flashcards
Where did Nazis send political prisoners? And what did they do?
Nazis sent political prisoners to concentration camps. They acted as temporary prisons, made out of disused warehouses and enclosures. It utilised slave labour along with very scarce food. They also put people in conc camps on public work schemes. Between 1933 and 1945, over 500 000 non Jews were sent to these camps for political crimes. The first camp that was set up was Dachau, in March 1933
How did the Nazis control the population using the gestapo
The gestapo (April 1933) was the nazi secret police, it was originally the Prussian secret police. It was run by Herman goring and in June 1936 eventually becomes a branch of the SS, run by himmler. Gestapo agents were all over Germany and their job was to weed out enemies of the state, and the gestapo could arrest anything, from plotting to kill Hitler, to telling jokes about the Nazis in a bar. They tapped phones, intercepted mail, received reports from informers. The gestapo wore ordinary clothes, which means they could be among anyone, encouraging people to think what they say
What did the conservative elites do to oppose
There was resistance from the upper class of Germany. These individuals dominated the civil service and the officer corp. Due to access to weaponry of the army, active resistance began to develop from the German elites. Opposition from conservative elites emerged slowly. In 20 July 1944, Colonel Von Stauffenburg wanted to assassinate Hitler to end the nazi regime. He placed a bomb in a suitcase in hitlers headquarters. During the time it was set to go off, he found an excuse to leave the rooms, however the bomb was moved a few yards before it went off so Hitler only experienced minor injuries. Due to the confusion after the explosion, around 5000 supporters for the assassination were killed. Fromme arrested the chief plotters, despite being one himself to save himself but he still got killed along with other leaders such as Stauffenberg, beck, tresckow, Rommel… . From July 1921 - 44 there were 15 known attempts to assassinate Hitler. 7 after 1939 was from the elite conservatives and the army
Why were the conservative elites limited in their actions?
- They only recognised the need to resist the regime after key crucial points such as 1934 and 1938, by which it was too well established
- The military oath tied the army to Hitler
- Hitlers diplomatic success from 1938-42 blinded the elites. Even despite turn of the tide, most elites continued supporting Hitler
- Planning always had difficulties, for example the lacks of aim in a plan and the fact that there was a lot of suspicion and uncertainly in a police state
Why and how did the communists oppose
Despite having a membership of 300 000 and winning 17% of the vote in 1932, they were repressed fully from the start. Half of its members were interned during the first year of nazi rule. 1935, gestapo infiltrated the remains of the party, which had been trying to distribute anti nazi posters and minor acts of sabotage. There were many trials for the communists, but the underground communists were never fully broken up. Small communist cells still sprang up in major cities by Wilhelm knockel. The most famous cell was the Red Orchestra. This was a spy network that successfully penetrated the government and military through Schulz Boysen. It transmitted vital information back to Moscow from 1938-42 before being found out and tortured heavily.
Why were the communists limited?
Leading activists were drawn away after 1936 from Germany to fight for rebublicans against the fascists in the Spanish civil war in belief that was more a worthwhile gesture to resist fascism.
They took their orders from Moscow and yet in 1930, Stalin purged the whole communist movement
They were fatally compromised by the nazi soviet pact of 1939-41
When ussr and Germany went to war, the communist resistance groups remained isolated
Most communist groups were on the idea of self preservation, then take over when nazi rule comes to an end
How and why did youth groups oppose?
Some youths did not join the HY and developed a number of other youth groups that deliberately exhibited codes of behaviour at odds with the expected social values of Nazis. One popular example is swing youth. This was a craze/movement that middle class youngsters were obsessed with. They took up the music and imagery of Britain and the USA. 1940 they declared illegal and went underground but They were largely ignored because they didn’t directly go against Nazi policy.
The Edelweiss Pirates were people who had been alienated by the Hitler youth and its aims and set up its own hikes and movements that conflicted with the official ones. Several times they were involved in active resistance. E.g. in cologne 1944 when 12 were publicly hanged due to their attacks on military targets and the assassination of a gestapo officer.
How and why did the workers oppose nazi regime?
Vast majority of workers didn’t partake in active resistance encouraged by the communists however some did sabotage and go on strike. They held lightning strikes that only lasted a few hours. In 1936 for example, those working on autobahns held a lightning strike. Workers also sabotaged production by working slowly, farming equipment and calling in sick even when they weren’t. These actions could often get you arrested, but due to high demand of workers and the war, they were often overlooked. However if groups became too successful, then the gestapo would intervene and arrest its members. E.g. anti fascists workers group in 1944. Once Germany went to war, allies often worked with these worker resistance groups and there was more increase in violence like the blowing up of bridges
How any why did the church oppose?
Hitler wanted the loyalty of the German people to be directly towards him and he knew religion had major influence. Hitler set up a concordat with the pope, promising to leave the Catholic Church alone as long as they didn’t interfere with German politics. He then made a nazi influenced peoples church in the control of a reichs bishop. Church members were soothed by Nazi nationalism, conservatism and anti communism. By 1933 it had clearly become less Christian and more nazi. Having banners in churches and banning the Old Testament as it had Jews in it. Cause a reaction and the creation of the pastors emergency league that developed into the confessing church. It condemned the peoples church by being anti semitic and encouraging atheism. Many members were arrested and executedn
Who were the white rose group?
A group of students from the university of Munich. This group operated in secret: distributing anti nazi material which encouraged sabotage and exposed the nazi murder of Jews. They were then caught and executed
How did the Nazis respond to spontaneous protest
When large amounts of people publicly protested against a nazi action they took notice. When the Nazis imprisoned two bishops there was public outcry and they were later released. And similarly in 1938 Hitler was considering invading Czechoslovakia and ordered a military parade in Berlin. However there was no enthusiasm. It was one of the reasons why Hitler ended up working with chamberlain and Munich rather than going to war
How did the nazis control the population and opposition?
- Used violence against political opponents or people within the party (night of long knives)
- Used censorship and repression in such a way that ordinary people were to scared to oppose
- Decree for the protection of the people allows the banning of publications and also suspended civil rights - nazis could search homes and workplaces and could arrest without trial
How was the radio controlled in Nazi Germany
25th March 1933 - Goebbels told all of the controllers of German radio that the radio stations served the government and that they had to express nazi ideology and follow government instructions about what to broadcast. Additionally, any staff that were Jews, half Jews, or married to Jews, were purged. As well as those KPD or SPD.
Was the press censored under nazi rule?
Yes - but it was a lot harder. Germany had more daily newspapers than the USA. They were printed for national and regional scale, and even for cities and towns.
What law did Hitler introduce to restrict the press as to what it could publish?
4 oct 1933, Hitler issued a decree that made the content of any newspaper the responsibility of the editor and made it a crime for the editor to publish anything that may weaken the third reich at home, abroad or harm the German economy, culture or its people. It followed with a reich association, which compiled a list of accredited journalists. May journalists did not make the list.
