Opposition To The Nazi Regime Flashcards
When were people most likely to get away with resisting the Nazi regime?
During WW2, specifically 1944-45 as the Nazis were back-pedalling from the war
1933-34 up to NOTLK as Nazi regime hadn’t been well consolidated
How did NOTLK pull back a lot of resistance to the Nazi regime?
The terror state had been properly implemented by then and NOTLK showed the brutal consequences of reissuing threat regime, and also gave the Nazis the power of the army.
What change did the Nazis bring that halted many people from opposing the Nazis?
Life for the average German citizen was much better in comparison to the comparison years, why would people complain
Why did Hitler fear SPD resistance?
. Feared that train unions, who were linked to the SPD, would stage a general strike to stop Nazi takeover like in the Kapp putsch
- SPD had an opportunity to push back Nazi consolidation of power
How were the SPD not originality equipped to resist the nazis?
The SPD are focused on staying within the state’s legal framework, so they weren’t equipped to deal with a power that didn’t respect the law
What were some examples of SPD resistance against the nazis as they came to power?
. SPD activists bravely took SA violent blows when they were campaigning for March elections
. Bravely defied SA and SS intimidation around the time of the Enabling act
When did the SPD have to change their strategies in resisting the nazis?
Once Hitler got legal powers after the enabling act, they could crush the SPD
- by end of 1933, 1000s of SPD activists murdered or sent to ‘protective custody’, and SPD leadership fled into exile
How did the SPD change their resistance strategies after the Nazis got legal powers?
. Established small, secret cells of supporters in factories in exile from a base in Prague (SOPADE)
. Berlin red patrol (‘red orchestra’)
. Propaganda pamphlets smuggled across border from Czechoslovakia
The SPD had to resist while exiled and/or repressed
SPD weren’t in a position to actively challenge the Nazis, so had to make little goes at resisting while surviving so that they can be ready for the collapse of the regime
How was the extent of the secret illegal resistances by the SPD weakened?
Fear of arrest and the terror state, as well as fear of being exposed by the Gestapo
How did the Nazis cause divisions in the Protestant church?
Through their efforts to coordinate the Protestant church into the Volksgemeinschaft through the Reich church, divisions were created where the confessional church was developed in 1934 as a form of resistance to the Reich church
Why did the confessional church refuse to be coordinated into the Reich church?
. They wanted to protect the independence of the Protestant church
. Want to resist attempts to impose the Aryan paragraph on the church, which involved purging any pastor who converted from Judaism from the church
. Trying to defend Lutheran theology
The confessional church was led by pastors mainly from academic backgrounds, but the fact that the Protestant churches support for the Nazis was split by different backgrounds stopped resistance from being widespread and well coordinated
When did tensions between Nazis and Protestant church really grow, and how?
1934:
. Pastors spoke out against ‘nazified church’ from the pulpits
. Many churches refused to display swastikas
. 2 confessional church bishops arrested and there were mass demonstrations in their support
How did Nazis respond to the increased resistance from the Protestant church from 1934 and what does this say about the extent of the resistance of the Protestant church to the Nazis?
As Protestant church intensified resistance, Nazis intensified repression:
. Dissenting pastors had their salaries stopped
. Protestant pastors from teaching in schools
. By end of 1937, around more than 700 pastors imprisoned
The resistance of the Protestant church would never be able to match the repressive strength of the Nazis
Was the confessional church overall successful in resisting the Nazis?
Not really, although they caused the Nazis some annoyances, they were never fully successful as they never got widespread resistance from members of the Protestant church as most were loyal to Hitler (most likely out of fear but the evangelical church did tend to be more pro-Nazi)
Did the Protestant church or Catholic Church have more promise for resistance agains the Nazis?
The Catholic Church as they are more untied and have more traditions that are independent of the state than the Protestant church
- this theoretically means that the Catholic church could be able to organise something big, especially as they have the backing of the pope
Which section of society should have done more in resisting?
The Catholic church
When did the Catholic Church only really start resisting the Nazi regime?
After the concordat came under attack by the Nazis
What was the only main time when the Catholic church directly resisted the Nazi regime?
1937 with ‘With burning grief’ - condemned Nazi hatred upon the Catholic Church
- the document was smuggled into Germany, secretly printed and distributed by messengers and read out from almost all Catholic Church pulpit’s in March 1937
How did the nazis respond to resistance to the Nazis from the Catholic Church?
. Charges imposed against priests for ‘abuse of the pulpit’ became regular occurrences
- however, there was some resistance to this increase of resistance from the nazis as the arrest of a protest led to noisy demonstrations at his trial
As nazis increased resistance it seemed to work at quietening down the Catholic Church as they began to show ‘cautious restraint’ by 1937
Overall, how effective was the Catholic Church in resisting the Nazi regime?
Although many individual priest made very brave attempts to resist, the Catholic Church never moved beyond the idea of defending its independence, meaning it wasn’t willing to stage something big to get a wider opposition to the Nazis
- this meant the Catholic Church were overall ineffective in wounding the Nazis when they really had so much potential
What was the role of Clemens Von Galen (Archbishop of Münster) in resisting the Nazis?
Spoke out against the atheistic views of Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologist
- in 1935, he issued a pamphlet and an Easter message refuting Rosenberg’s views, particularly his concept of the ‘racial soul’
Was Galens resistance against Rosenberg successful?
Yes, 19000 Catholics turned up for the annual procession in July through Münster for their bishop, showing their support for his resistance
- Nazi party officials complained to Berlin that Galen was meddled in politics but he was too important to be arrested
This is an example of the fact that many Catholic church members had important positions so could get away with resistance without being arrested, should’ve done more
Was there much resistance from the youth at the start of Hitler’s coming to power?
No, the Hitler youth had been able to channel youthful energy and rebelliousness into officially approved activities
- this sense of freedom got support from the youth and made sure that the youth were successfully indoctrinated into the Nazis with no proper resistance
When did signs of disillusionment and resistance from the youth to the Nazis increase?
From 1936 when membership of the Hitler youth became compulsory and the growing regimentation of youth movements (they were becoming more strict and disciplined as Nazis prepared for war)
Why did resistance to the Nazis from the youth increase after the youth organisations became compulsory in 1936?
. Membership of HJ and BDM were very demanding on teenager’s free time as it wasn’t optional now
- compulsory gymnastics sessions, endless military drilling
. The strictness and discipline growing in these youth movements killed the youthful energy that was originally channeled through these youth groups
However, the Nazis were probably aware that they would face resistance as it was part of their policy of Gleichschaltung to keep the youth in line as they couldn’t have any independent activity
- this level of indoctrination makes it hard for the youth to properly resist as they don’t know much better than to follow the Nazis as they’ve been indoctrinated
What were some examples of resistance by the youth against the Nazis by late 1930s?
. Many young people opted out of youth organisations, often by not attending weekly parades
. Those who did attend the parades sometimes hummed the tunes that had been banned
But you might not even call this opposition and just teenage rebelliousness. I would argue that the youth were just annoyed at the increasingly military aspect of youth organisations and wanted to make their annoyance known, they were never going to organise some huge resistance as they’d been so indoctrinated
How did some young people form grouped resistance to the Nazi regime?
By forming cliques (gangs) to show their independence from the Nazi regime and disapproval of the Nazis
- some were just criminal gangs but others were openly political e.g the Meuten gangs, which flourished in old communist strongholds in Leipzig in the late 1930s (would have felt like a threat to the Nazis considering the former threat of communism that the Nazis feared)
Why did many members of the German elite have serious problems with Hitler and the Nazi party?
. Some aristocratic generals in the army and senior civil servants regarded Hitler as a threat to the old Germany (too much change)
- the fact that the generals in the army were annoyed was significant as, after Hindenburg’s death, the only real possibility of getting rid of the Nazi regime would be a military coup
Why were the conservative elites not really in any place to resistance the Nazis?
The Nazis had consolidated power through an alliance with the army, big businesses and conservative politicians, and the fact that conservative elites broadly shared Hitler’s aims for Germany but didn’t agree with his methods meant that resistance would only ever be partial
Why did the army and civil service never really form a large amount of resistance against the Nazis?
The civil service and army very much stuck to serving the state, no matter who was in charge, so going against this through opposing the Nazis would require a major intellectual shift from them
When did opposition to Hitler from the civil service and army really peak?
Autumn 1938 - there had been growing unease from the elites on the drift of nazi foreign policy, especially to do with war
- those that opposed agreed with Hitler’s aim of rebuilding Germany’s military strength (like the old germany) and expanding into the east but they felt that Hitler was leading Germany into a war unprepared
The fact that Hitler was trying to make military decisions when he was really a bad military commander would have caused concerns to, which we know was shown up through Hitler’s poor strategic decisions at Stalingrad when he tried to take over military command
When did the army and civil service let their doubts in Hitler’s plans for war known, showing some level of resistance from the elites?
November 1937 - Hitler set off his secret thoughts to senior army commanders and Nazis like Goering that he wanted an Anschluss with Austria and an invasion of Czechoslovakia within a year
- Blomberg (defence minister) and commander-in-chief of the army, general Fritsch, expressed their doubts
How had General Von Fritsch gotten the role of commander-in-chief of the German army?
. Welcomed the appointment of Hitler as chancellor in January 1933
. Was an anti-Semite and anti-democrat
. Helped to gain army support for Hitler’s succession after Hindenburg in 1934
Clearly many elites like Fritsch strongly aligned with the Nazis values and aims to the point that they were accepted into high positions in the regime, so it seems as though the elites wouldn’t have ever formed resistance at a revolutionary level, just more grumbling
How did Hitler respond to Blomberg and Fritsch’s doubts about his invasion of Czechoslovakia and Anschluss with Austria?
Hitler purged both from the army leadership and replaced them with more compliant generals
What was the absolute tipping point for the elites in opposing the Nazis?
In late September 1938, Hitler ordered the army to prepare plans for an invasion of Czechoslovakia. It seemed as though Britain and France would support Czechoslovakia and war would result if the invasion was launched
- the fact that the elites were sure Germany was unprepared for war meant they had to try and intervene and resist war from occurring
How did the elites react to the threat of war that Hitler posed with the invasion of Czechoslovakia?
Head of army General Staff General Beck and many senior army figures plotted to remove Hitler from power in a military coup
- plan was for a March on Berlin if war was declared
How did the elites plot to remove Hitler in a military coup fail and even make Hitler look better, decreasing resistance to the regime?
The plot relied on Britain and France supporting Czechoslovakia so the threat of war was a credible argument and the coup could be justified
- envoy sent to inform the British and French governments of the plans, but they weren’t willing to risk war
This meant Hitler got another bloodless victory and the conspiracy to overthrow him died out. This is a huge missed opportunity
Which left-wing group was better prepared to resist the Nazis, but were they even strong resistance?
The KPD as they had a strong background in revolutionary politics during the Weimar Republic
- however, they were far less strong than they could have been after the wave of repression upon communists in Germany after Hitler came to power, killing off most of their influence
- first party to be banned and Ernst Thälmann was arrested early on
- around 10% of KPD’s membership was killed by Nazis during 1933
How did the KPD try to resist the Nazis even after they were completely battered in influence by the Nazis?
. Established an underground network in some German industrial centres
. Revolutionary unions set up in Berlin and Hamburg to recruit members and publish newspapers
This all had to be done secretly, and all the networks were eventually broken up by the Gestapo
How did some secret communist activity in 1934-35 get around gestapo’s influence in exposing them?
. Factory cells successfully established and contact between members were confined to word of mouth to reduce discovery
- however, these communist cells just wanted to survive as they knew they couldn’t seriously challenge in secret and the fact that the KPD party ceased to exist.
How did trade union influence in resisting against the Nazis change before and after Nazis came to power?
. Before 1933, German working class were the largest and most unionised workforce in Europe, with the largest trade unions in Germany having close links with SPD and consistently opposing the nazi party.
. Once Hitler came to power, trade union resistance crumbled surprisingly quickly as trade unions became absorbed into the DAF and Nazi propaganda emphasised the importance of national unity as opposed to class-built society
How did workers try to resist even when the DAF controlled all workers?
. Taking strike action was so risky but they did sometimes occur:
- September 1935: 37 strikes reported in Rhineland-Westphalia, Silesia and Württemberg
- across whole of 1937, a total of 250 strikes were recorded
Why did some workers take the brave route to strike when the Nazis were in power as a form of resistance?
. Reactions to poor working conditions or low wages
. Mainly increased from 1935-36 when there was widespread discontent over food prices
How did the Nazis successfully respond to workers who resisted in the form of strikes?
. Of the 25k workers who participated in strike in 1935, 4000 spent short periods in prison (couldn’t spend too long as they needed to get back to work)
. 1936: 17 minute strike at Opel car factory resulted in 7 ringleaders being arrested by Gestapo and imprisoned (even short strikes were treated as a big threat to the regime)
What were some of the less ‘bold’ forms of resistance by workers against the Nazis that weren’t striking?
. Absenteeism as a reaction to pressure to work longer hours
. Deliberately damaging their machinery to make the productivity of the Nazi economy worse
How did the Nazis react to even the less bold methods of resistance by workers to the Nazis?
. 1938: new labour regulations introduced, laying down severe penalties for ‘slackers’ (those who were absent)
- in 1938, Gestapo arrested 114 workers at a munitions plant in Gleiwitz for absenteeism and slow working
. Nazis made ‘sabotage’ of machinery a criminal offence and there was an increasing number of prosecutions for it in 1938-39
Overall, why was opposition the Nazi regime ineffective?
. Fear of the terror state
. Often individual, spontaneous acts of resistance rather than group efforts, often due to divisions that meant lack of unity
. Propaganda
. Lack of direction
. Broad support of Nazis
. Swift actions of Nazis before anything escalated
