Opposition and control of Nazi Germany Flashcards
Who was Goebbels and what did he control?
Propaganda Intelligent, good speaker, small, fragile ( couldn't fight in WW1) 1928 -> in charge of propaganda 1938 -> Ordered KRISTALLNACHT 1943 -> In complete charge of war effort
Who was Himmler and what did he control?
Terror
Timid, frail, hard-working, cunning, did not fight in WW1
Joined Nazis in 1923, took part in Munich Putsch
1929 -> head of ss
1936 -> head of police and gestapo
1941 -> set up mass murder of jews
How did Hitler control Germany through Terror?
SS CONCENTRATION CAMPS GESTAPO POLICE LOCAL WARDENS
Who were the SS?
240,000 ‘perfect’ Aryan members of the service
they could arrest without trial
They were ruthless and fiercely loyal to Hitler
Who were the Gestapo?
The gestapo were a hidden force who arrested, sent to concentration camps, and tortured Germans
They could also tap telephones, open mail and receive informers / / inform on any and all anti nazi behaviour
How were the police force affected by Nazi rule?
Police bosses all Nazis, Nazi crimes were looked over, informed on anti nazis
Who were the Local wardens?
German towns were split into blocks with block wardens who would visit your home every week and check your activities were conforming with nazi beliefs (inform on you if they weren’t)
What were the concentration camps?
At first, Nazi opposers were sent to the camps for short periods of time to endure questioning and torture
Terms grew longer / permanent and Himmler began the death unit
They were usually in rural areas
How was propaganda used to keep control?
Nazis monitored and censored all:
- Books (burnt books by nazi opposers)
- Films
- Radios (made cheap(70% had radios in 1939) so everyone could hear pro nazi messages)
- Newspapers (pro nazi displayed on billboards)
Rallies were held to show unity, strength, and power of the party and the masses of people that were part of it
Why did Hitler leave the church alone at first?
Hitler couldn’t destroy church as 42 mil prod + 2 mil cath
- gained votes if he supported church
- had similar beliefs
- church has widespread power
What was the concordat?
June 1933, Hitler agreed with Catholic church to not interfere with eachother
How did Hitler interact with the church post 1935?
Local SA sent to beat or kill priests
Church attendence went from 85 to 5 % as people were scared of being hurt or sent to concentration camps -> by now they knew the extent of Hitlers power
How did Hitler deal with the protestants?
He created a new church called the REICH CHURCH in 1936, Nazi bishop and all non aryan ministers supended
They studied mein kampf
How did people protest the Reich church?
Martin Niemoller created the confessing church in 1934 with 6000 ministers.
As a result:
800 ministers sent to concentration camps
Niemöller was arrested in 1937 and sent to concentration camps until 1945
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in 1943
Who were the White Rose Group and what did they do?
The White rose group were a group of students in Munich university, including HANS and SOPHIE SCHOLL.
Distributed anti nazi + war leaflets
Hans & Sophie caught flinging leaflets by caretaker who informed Gestapo in 1943, sentenced to death by beheading
