Nazi Right-wing opposition

Question 1

why was there a lot of right-wing support for Hitler?

Answer 1

• fear of communism meant that extreme right-wing support increased and with the Nazis being the against communism their popularity grew
• at first the right-wing were pleased by the Nazis
• attacking the TofV

Question 2

what reassured the right-wing in 1934 to support Hitler?

Answer 2

the Night of the Long Knives and the killing of Ernst Rohm

Question 3

what was the last open defiance against the Nazis?

Answer 3

von Papen’s Marburg University speech

• he called for a return to normal govt
• went against Hitler and Nazi Party

Question 4

why did the Hossbach conference create opposition?

Answer 4

many generals were concerned that Hitler was going too fast in his aggressive plans for European domination and that if war broke out Germany would collapse

Question 5

which Generals were sceptical of Hitler’s foreign policy?

Answer 5

• Beck
• Blomberg
• Fritsch

Question 6

who replaced Blomberg and Fritsch?

Answer 6

Wilhelm Keitel and his OKW

Question 7

what happened in Beck’s attempted putsch in 1938?

Answer 7

he tried to warn the British of Hitler’s real plan for Czechoslovakia
he hoped that the British would then pull out of the Munich conference and then Hitler could be ousted

Question 8

why did Beck’s putsch in 1938 fail?

Answer 8

British PM Chamberlain was adopting a policy of appeasement and instead decided to ignore Beck

Question 9

why was there not a lot of public opposition to Hitler and the Nazis before the war?

Answer 9

the Nazis were doing well economically and socially
Hitler’s foreign policy was working:
- the reclamation of the Rheineland
- the Saar
- peace!

Question 10

what was the Beck-Gordeler group?

Answer 10

small group in German Army who wanted Hitler out of power

many were diplomats and army officers who wanted a more democratic Germany

Question 11

what was the Kreisau circle?

Answer 11

a civillian right wing group made up of aristocrats and civil servants from the foreign office

they developed plans for a post-war democratic Germany:
- wrote up the ‘Basic principles of the New Order’

Question 12

why was there opposition after Operation Barbarossa in 1941?

Answer 12

was the first unsuccessful military operation
it was a humiliating defeat to the Russians which brought a lot of criticism
many Generals did not see Hitler as the right leader

Question 13

what was Operation Flash?

Answer 13

in 1943
- attempt to bomb Hitler’s plane with a whiskey flask lined with explosives

Question 14

why did Operation Flash fail?

Answer 14

the bombs made it on the plane BUT they never worked

Question 15

what happened to Hitler at an art gallery?

Answer 15

there was a suicide bomber at an art gallery ready to kill Hitler however Hitler went a different direction and missed him

Question 16

who was Claus von Stauffenberg

Answer 16

a Colonel who was in regular contact with Hitler

he was involved in the Beck-Gordeler group

Question 17

what was the July bomb plot?

Answer 17

29 July 1944

initial plan was to kill Himmler, Goring and Hitler at the same time but that was never possible

instead the plan was to kill Hitler at Wolf’s Lair

Question 18

why did the July bomb plot fail?

Answer 18

• not enough time to plant both bombs
• there was a room change which meant the meeting took place in a wooden hut which did not do enough damage
• bomb was not in the right position

Question 19

what was Hitler’s response to the July bomb plot?

Answer 19

he goes on to purge the army

many conspirators were shot or sent to a concentration camp (around 5,000)

Question 20

who was Carl Gordeler?

Answer 20

a civil servant who was the Mayor of Leipzig

was a massive anti-Hitler advocate

Question 21

why did right-wing opposition fail to get rid of Hitler?

Answer 21

• Nazis very much established after 1938 (should have tried earlier)
• could not rely on support on military who had made their oath of allegiance to Hitler
• Hitler had blinded the elite from the growing defeats and the atrocities committed by the SS by his victories before the defeats
• the power of the ‘police state’ meant that they were not far away from being in SS hands and this meant that long term political aims never fruited