Opposition control and consent - Nazi Germany Flashcards
What did the Nazis do which minimised opposition?
- Banned all other political parties
- Many members of the KPD and SPD had left the country or were in concentration camps to hold political prisoners indefinitely without trial
What did the Red Shock Troop do?
1933, mainly working in Berlin, published the newspaper ‘Red Shook Troop’ around every 10 days and built up a membership of around 3,000.
In December, leaders were arrested and sent to concentration camps and group ended.
Why did the KPD and other groups do a lot of their work by word of mouth and not in organised groups by 1938?
It was easy to trace groups by their publications
What did the SPD outside the country do?
Gathered information about public opinion in Germany to pass on to the Allies.
What did the Red Orchestra do?
Passed on information to the USSR.
How did workers sabotage the Nazis?
- Lightning strikes that usually only lasted a few hours e.g. 1936 autobahn lightning strike.
- Production was also sabotaged by working slowly, damaging machinery or reporting in sick when they were not
How did the Nazi’s try to combat workers sabotage?
If groups became too successful, the Gestapo arrested members e.g. Anti-Fascist Workers’ Group were arrested in 1944.
What did the Swing Youth do?
Deliberately didn’t join the Hitler youth, instead went to clubs to listen to swing music. Dressed in clothes similar to fashions in the west and even set up their own bands.
1940 these clubs were declared illegal and they then went underground.
How did the Nazis react to the Swing Youth?
- Made occasional arrests
What did the Edelweiss pirates do?
A largely working-class movement were actively anti-Nazi.
Many wore their own uniform, a deliberate statement that they were not members of the Hitler youth. Ran their own activities e.g. hiking and camping. Others painted anti-Nazi slogans on walls or collected anti-Nazi leaflets dropped by allied planes and posted them. Some even worked with resistance groups.
How did the Nazis react to the Edelweiss Pirates?
Executed if caught.
What did the White Rose Group do?
Students from the University of Munich led by Hans and Sofie Scholl.
Operated in secret, distributing anti-Nazi material urging sabotage and exposing the Nazi murder of Jews, while urging non violent resistance.
What happened to the White Rose Group?
They were caught by the Gestapo and then executed.
How many attempts were there to assassinate Hitler between July 1921 and July 1944?
15 known attempts; 7 made after 1939 were by army members or by groups led by army members.
All plotters who were caught were executed immediately.
How did the Nazis use censorship in the radio?
- 25th March 1933, Goebbels told all controlled of German radio that radio stations served the government, so had to express Nazi ideology and follow instructions on what to broadcast.
- radio staff were purged to rid of Jews, half Jews and people married to Jews as well as people who had belonged to KPD and SPD
