Opposition, Control and Consent 1933-45

Question 1

Examples of Anti-Nazi political campaigns and the difficulty of doing this:

Answer 1

-KPD and SPD printed pamphlets e.g. 1933 SPD group red shock troop - newspaper that printed every 10 days and had around 3000 members
-The members were arrested and sent to camps.

-Difficult as it was very easy to trace back the publications to the authors and by 1938 this opposition had dropped to a minimum.

-After 1938 it was mostly word of mouth and passing public opinion information to allies e.g. Red Orchestra who were government group who passed info to USSR.

Question 2

Examples of methods of worker sabotage and the dangers of this:

Answer 2

-Lightning strikes that lasted a few hours e.g. Autobahns in 1936.
-Working slowly.
-Reporting sick.
-E.g. Anti-fascist workers group in 1944 were arrested for resistance.

-Could be arrested if reported, but these actions were mostly overlooked due to the lack of workers in Germany.

Question 3

Examples of low level opposition and varying government reaction:

Answer 3

Young people -didn’t join Hitler youth
-went to American jazz clubs

-These clubs were banned in 1940 and occasional arrests were made but they were mostly left alone.

-1 group, Edelweiss pirates (working class) painted anti-Nazi slogans and spread leaflets (they were executed if caught)

-Another, White Rose Group exposed horrors that the Nazis were inflicting, mostly students (all caught and executed)

-Another way people opposed was by helping the oppressed e.g. escape lines run by the Protestant Church

Question 4

Examples of high level opposition:

Answer 4

-Between 1921 and 1944 there were 15 known assassination attempts on Hitler (7 by the army).
e.g. the July plot of 1944 - attempt to remove Hitler and negotiate peace with allies (they were either executed or committed suicide when Hitler survived the bomb)

Question 5

Church Opposition:

Answer 5

-Hitler created a Reichsbishop in control of ‘peoples church.
-Lack of church opposition due to the strong nationalism and anti-communist beliefs amongst Nazis.

-Later on, the removal of the Old Testament from the bible sparked a reaction from PEL that condemned the state - some executed.

Question 6

Lack of government action against protests:

Answer 6

-When 2 bishops imprisoned in 1934 public protest had them released as they were cautious against catholic church in early years.

-When Hitler ordered invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938, the military parades were not enthusiastic which influenced Hitler to agree to the Munich Conference.

Question 7

Control: Censorship under the Nazi regime including wartime:

Answer 7

-All communications were under Nazi control.
-Radio staff were purged to ensure they were pro-Nazi.

Newspapers - harder to control due to the sheer amount of newspapers.
-1933 declaration that made it a crime to weaken the 3rd Reich through news.
-List of accredited journalists -Reich chamber of the Press.
-End of 1932 - 59 Nazi Newspapers with around 800k readers.

Wartime:
-More newspapers banned to cover the losses in Stalingrad –> most people put more weight into rumours anyway.
-No listening to western composers.

Question 8

Repression:

Answer 8

-banned all parties but the Nazis.
-concentration camps - 1933-45 - 500k non-Jews sent to camps for political crimes.

Wartime:
-Government officials were monitored.
-Workers punished for not turning up.
-Arrested for not being enthusiastic enough about the war / regime.

Question 9

Policing:

Answer 9

Gestapo - 1933 ran by Goering
-didn’t wear uniform so hard to recognise –> fear.

SS - Political police who were responsible for running concentration camps
-1936 –> 240k of them.

Question 10

Courts:

Answer 10

Peoples court from 1934 - judge people who were accused of weakening 3rd Reich

Nazi officials e.g. who controlled Gau were assumed to be constantly looking for political crimes on the lowest level e.g. listening to American music.

Question 11

Consent: Propaganda:

Answer 11

-Nazis consistently used clear messages e.g. 1 people 1 Reich 1 Fuhrer.
-Control over media e.g. reporting reaction to Hitler’s victory in 1932 on 1 group of Nazis gave the appearance the country was behind them.
-Peoples receiver - cheap radio for propaganda. By 1939 over 70 percent of the population had them.
-Nazis prioritised sport: 1936 Berlin Olympics: Nazis won 39 gold medals

Question 12

Propaganda on Jewish people:

Answer 12

Crowded Jews into Ghettos with poor conditions and then used these images to portray them in a negative light.

Question 13

Rewarding conformity:

Answer 13

-The Nazis rewarded conformity just as much as they punished opposition:
-Mothers received medals e.g. mothers remembered even years after how they felt valued by the Nazis.
-Marriage loan was reduced for each child born.
-Workers rewarded through Strength through joy programme.

Question 14

Genuine popularity of the Nazis:

Answer 14

-popular with people who shared their views e.g. anti-Semites (they would inform on people in their apartment building).
-Popular with industrialists and middle class as their savings now had value again after GD who also applied to ‘Germanise’ an area by moving their family there onto land they owned.
-Germans who despised Treaty of Versailles.
-People supported it due to the apparent economic achievements.

Question 15

Popularity from youth:

Answer 15

-many who group up during ww1 and through WR and were susceptible to the propaganda of Germany’s greatness in WW1.
-They saw the SPD as traitors.

Question 16

Working, middle class support and from rural peasants:

Answer 16

-Middle classes supported it due to new economic opportunities e.g. helping with 4 year plan and their savings had value again after failures of WR.
-Working class less likely to support but some was there e.g. lack of unemployment and Beauty of Labour scheme created support.
-RNS policies increased support from peasants and they were the most likely to support the regime - autarky meant they didn’t have to compete with imports.

Question 17

Support from women:

Answer 17

-Nazi socialist women’s league:1.5 million members in 1934: many conservative and middle class women supported Nazi ideas about women.

Question 18

Church support:

Answer 18

Protestant: much more supportive than Catholics - 2/3 of them wanted to join German-Christian sect which promoted Nazism, protestant youth groups joined with Hitler youth. (this was mostly due to Protestantism link to Nationalism from Prussia)

Catholics: Hitler aimed to gain their support by signing a concordat which initially worked but when the Nazis moved to much more violent methods their support fell apart e.g. Bishop Galen was a catholic that protested the Nazis (more individuals than the church itself opposed the Nazis)

Question 19

How many people were members of the NP in 1940:

Answer 19

5 million.

Question 20

Support during the war:

Answer 20

Initially support was high as Germany defeated Poland in 1939 and France in 1940 which created national unity.

However, later defeats in North Africa, Stalingrad and France in 1944 led to people feeling that defeat was imminent.
-Support still remained high during this period: Goebbels propaganda e.g. spreading rumours about a secret weapon to destroy the Russians, patriotism and allied bombings created morale.
-Rationing was also kept low which helped.

Question 21

Hitler Myth:

Answer 21

Propaganda that Hitler was a divine figure who was above politics and will always put his nation and people first.
-It focused on his ‘economic revival’.

Question 22

Where propaganda was most effective:

Answer 22

Middle class Protestants were more influenced by it due to their nationalist beliefs.
-The propaganda was unlikely to create any sense of loyalty where there wasn’t originally, but it may have increased support from already loyal Germans.