Opposition to Nazism Flashcards
when was the july bomb plot?
20 July 1944
what was the army’s opposition to the nazis?
- very limited
- some disillusioned officers joined groups
- July Plot
what was the July Plot?
led Claus Von Stauffenburg, involving senior German military officials
what was the impact of the july plot?
- Stauffenberg was shot the same day
- 5,000 people were executed in the crackdown on opposition that followed
- great German general Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was implicated and forced to commit suicide as punishment for his involvement.
what was protestant’s opposition to the nazis?
- Neimoller Confessional church (‘we must obey god rather than man’)
- bonhoffer believed it was duty to help jews and was linked to assassination attempt
- didnt want to be nazified
- many protestant votes for nazis in 1932 and mar 1933
what was catholic’s opposition to nazis?
- 1937 Pope ‘with burning anxiety’ (criticised hitler as a ‘mad prophet with repulsive arrogance’)
- archbishop galen of munster (protested against persecution of the chruch and euthanasia of mentally disabled)
- 400 priests imprisoned in dachau
- moral opposition to nazism
what points could the catholics and nazis have agreed on?
- anti semitism
- contraception
- communism (which said religion was ‘the opium of the masses’)
what was the kreisau circle?
~25 people, mostly men and a few women (wives) from a variety of backgrounds (noble descent, protestant, catholic, professionals, socialists, conservatives) with strong links to army (some current/former army generals)
why did religious opposition to the nazis fail?
who led the kreisau circle?
Moltke
when was Moltke arrested?
January 1944
how did the kreisau circle oppose hitler?
- on moral and religious grounds
- didn’t promote violent rebellion
- held secret meetings to discuss reorganisation of gvt after end of 3rd reich
how did the kreisau circle end?
most members arrested after july plot
what was the red orchestra?
~400 people connected through personal contacts and spread across germany, france, holland, switzerland who worked closely with french communist party and were united regardless of beleifs or faith
what did the red orchestra do?
- turned germans against hitler
- secretly distributed anti-nazi leaflets
- brought news of regime’s crimes and nazi war plans to allies
- wrote letters to prominent figures (eg uni professors)
- collected photographs and documents to eventually bring perpetrators to justice, when nazis defated
who were the Edelweiss Pirates?
a largely localised loose network of working class gangs (some wore recognisable badges)
what did the edelweiss pirates do?
- held unauthorised meetings and engaged in street fights esp with hitler youth
- used symbols of outlawed german youth movement
- assisted deserters
- collected allied propaganda dropped from planes and put in letterboxes
- went on hiking and camping trips
- generally stayed apolitical and were neither pro-british, nor pro-american
- after allies took control of some parts of germany, they looted and assassinated gestapo members
what happened on the 25th October, 1944, about the Edelweiss Pirates?
Himmler clamped down and 13 ppl (6 of which were active members) were publicly hanged
when was the White Rose formed?
1943 by students of Munich university
what did the White Rose do?
- wrote and distributed anti-nazi leaflets
- led protest marches
- many supporters
- non-violent, intellectual resistance
- links to other youth groups - ie students in ulm
- wrote graffiti (‘down with hitler’ ‘freedom’)
who led the White Rose?
5 students and 1 professor (hans and sophie scholl)
who were the Meuten?
anti-nazi gangs based in leipzig which aimed to destroy nazi control and had links to SPD and KPD underground
- working class and used socialist and communist ideology
- more politically driven than edelweiss pirates
- attacked by nazis
how many members did the Meuten have?
over 1000
who were the Swing Kids and Jazz Youth?
a youth movement started hamburg 1939 who had some contacts with white rose and some were working class but mostly middle to upper class students
when did the Swing Kids and Jazz Youth begin?
1939, Hamburg
what did the Swing Kids and Jazz Youth do?
- challenged hitler youth and nazi view of youth by growing hair, wearing fashionable clothes, drinking
- secret dance halls
- anglophiles - also admired ‘american way of life’
- started as self-indulgent
- mainly (originally) apolitical
- preference for speaking english
how did the Nazis respond to the Swing Kids and Jazz Youth?
over 300 arrested and many sent to conc camps
