Nazi Opposition, control, consent

Question 1

aNTI-NAZI CAMPAIGNS

Answer 1

e.g, Early 1930s KPD, SPD and trade unions printed pamphlets and other anti-nazi literature

1933 SPD group Red Shock Troop: leaders arrested and sent to conc camps
–> due to Gestapo being easily able to locate any anti nazi publications, the groups focused on more word of mouth

Question 2

Sabotage to express opposition

Answer 2

Lightning strikes that only lasted a few hours
–> slow sabotage of production by working slowly, damaging machinery or calling sick

Question 3

Disobedience of youth: (Intellectual and Academic Opposition)

Answer 3

some youth deliberately did not join the Hitler youth but rather formed clubs to play ‘cool music’ such as swing

Edelweiss pirates: large working class movement who were actively anti-nazi
-> some painted anti nazi slogans on walls and some even worked with resistance groups

White Rose Group: students from University of Munich who operated in secret, distributing anti-nazi material, urging sabotage and exposing nazi murder of Jews
–> caught and executed

Question 4

Assassination attempts on Hitler (Military Opposition)

Answer 4

July 1921- July 1944 15 known attempts:
- 7 were done after 1939 by army members (many army members disapproved of more extreme Nazi beliefs and actions like undesirables and murder of Jews

Question 5

Who was Lieutenant Claus von Stauffenberg

Answer 5

part of the July plot 1944
- left a bomb in a briefcase in a conference
- Chief plotters were arrested and shot

Question 6

Hitler’s Peoples Church

Answer 6

Hitler set up a concordat with the p[ope in which he promised to leave catholic church alone if they did not interfere in german poltics
–> People’s Church: Nazi influenced with a Reichsbishop (members were soothed into nazi nationalism, conservatism and anti-communist stands

Question 7

Church opposition to Hitler

Answer 7

Confessing Church: The Confessing Church emerged as a religious opposition movement within Protestantism. It rejected Nazi interference in religious affairs and stood against the Nazi-controlled German Christians movement.

Catholic Church: While the Catholic Church sought to maintain its independence, some clergy members and Catholic groups voiced opposition to Nazi policies, particularly regarding racial persecution and euthanasia.

Question 8

How did Nazi’s use censorship?

Answer 8

March 25th 1933 Joeph Goebbels told all controllers of German radio that radio stations served the nazi govt & had to express nazi ideology

4th Oct 1933: decree that made content of any paper the responsibility of the editor and made it a crime to publish anything that may harm the Third Reich
- end of 1932, 59 nazi newspapers with over 780K readers
- end of 1933 86 nazi newspapers with over 3 million readers

Question 9

Nazi use of repression

Answer 9

all parties banned + FORMING A POLITICAL party was made a crime
- series of conc camps set up for political prisoners
1933-45 over 500k non-jewish people sent for political crimes

Question 10

Nazi and the gestapo?

Answer 10

secret police set up in 1933 April by Hermann Goering
- inaugurated its own legal system & operated independently
- aim was to weed out any enemies of the state (did not have uniform)
- 1942 30K gestapo soldiers
- they tapped into phones, intercepted mail and received much information from informants

Question 11

Percentage of reports from various sources regarding race crimes

Answer 11

57% from general population
15% interrogation
14% from other control organisations
0.5% observed by Gestapo agents

Most reports were voluntary, suggesting storng commitments to nazism

Question 12

Nazis and the Schutzstaffel?

Answer 12

SS began as Hitler’s bodyguards
- later became a political police and ran the concentration camp system after 1934
- by 1936 240K SS in charge of Gestapo with own econoic branches

Question 13

People’s courts?

Answer 13

set up in Berlin 1934: court especially to try accused or traitors of the 3rd reich
- 2 judges and 5 other members chosen
- not public and 10s of thousands of people were sentenced by 1945

Question 14

Nazi party officials and the organisation of Germany itself

Answer 14

Germany–> Gau –> Kreis –> Orstgruppe –> Zell –> Block

block leaders were known as ‘little Hitlers’ who encouraged participation in nazi events and associations

Question 15

Who were the Einsatzgruppen?

Answer 15

Einsatzgruppen were mobile killing squads deployed by Nazi Germany during World War II as part of their efforts to carry out mass killings of Jews, intellectuals, political opponents, and other targeted groups in the occupied territories of Eastern Europe. The term “Einsatzgruppen” translates to “task forces” or “deployment groups” in English.

the mass killings carried out by the Einsatzgruppen were a significant component of the Holocaust, the Nazi genocide that resulted in the deaths of six million Jews. The Einsatzgruppen’s actions were part of the broader Nazi policy of annihilating entire populations deemed undesirable or racially inferior

Question 16

How did Nazis win support using propaganda?

Answer 16

Simple idea with a single slogan or image repeated again and again
- e.g. image of a Jewish person (as ugly dark man with huge crooked nose) or SLOGANS like ‘Brot and Arbeit’
- Nazis used radio as a method of propaganda: 1939 over 70% owned a radio and by 1939 1/3 of all radios were ‘People’s receiver’

Question 17

Nazi’s manipulation of news and facts to gain support

Answer 17

e.g. Nazi propaganda said that jewish people were greedy dirty subhumans
- 1939: Nazis crowded all jewish people into ghettos where food water and electricity was only sporadically available
-selective imagery like this reinforced anti-semitism

Question 18

How did Nazis reward those who followed their policies?

Answer 18

Mothers were rewarded with medals for having babies
4 children cleared 1000 mark loan on marriage
1939: series of medals of honour for having more than 4 children

workers were rewarded with benefits from Strength through Joy programme

Question 19

What was the Strength through Joy programme

Question 20

Who else gave support to the Nazis?

Answer 20

those who wanted to reverse the treaty of Versailles

those who could direcly benefit with Nazi rule e.g. wealthy industrialists who had feared communism KPD gone after Reichstag fire)

those who shared the same prejudices e.g. hatred for Jews, Gypsies and gays

Question 21

What was the Führer myth?

Answer 21

The “Führer myth” refers to the cult of personality and the idealized image of Adolf Hitler
- It was a key element of Nazi propaganda and ideology, designed to consolidate Hitler’s power, inspire loyalty, and create a sense of unquestioning devotion among the German population.

• portrayed Hitler as a charismatic and infallible leader, endowed with extraordinary qualities and abilities.
• Hitler’s speeches were carefully staged to cultivate his image as a charismatic and visionary leader. He was often depicted in propaganda materials as a strong and determined figure, surrounded by adoring crowds.