Opposition to the Nazis Flashcards
Why were Trade Unions not particularly able to oppose the Nazis?
- No real possibility of a general strike
- The economic climate disallowed for this
- 2nd May they were shut down and replaced by the DAF
When were SPD funds seized and when were they forced to disband?
- May 1933 funds seized
- June 1933 forced to disband
What were the Red Shock Troop?
- An SPD group producing the newspaper ‘Red shock troop’ every 10 days
- Built up a membership of around 3,000
When was the Red Shock Troop shut down?
December 1933
- Leaders arrested and send to concentration camps
- By 1938 the Gestapo would trace back their publications and arrest them
How did the SPD oppose from 1939 onwards?
- SOPADE reports
- Gathered public opinion in Germany to pass to the allies
What was the ‘new beginning’
- A lot of the left wing in the party felt they shouldn’t have split
- They thought they should be a more united SPD
- KPD supported in Jan 1939
Why was KPD opposition more significant towards the Nazis?
- Not strained by the policy of legality
- They were actively targeted by the Nazis
When was the KPD infiltrated by the Gestapo?
1933-35
- Lots taken prisoner and put in concentration camps (Resichstag fire)
What was the ‘Popular Front’
- During the Spanish civil war
- Communists should work w/ left wing against fascism
When did communist opposition die down and when did it increase?
- Died down after the Nazi-soviet pact 1939
- Saw an increase after Operation Barbarossa 1941
Who was Willhelm Knöckel and what did he do?
- Began forming small communist cells of opposition
- Set up 89 cells by 1941 in Berlin
What did the Uhrig group do?
Leafletted factories and put up posters urging workers to partake in sabotage
What did the Red Orchestra do?
Group of gov employees who passed information about German war effort to the USSR
Who was George Elser?
Communist who attempted to assassinate Hitler
Why was there limited opposition from the right wing?
- Initially a lot of them supported the Nazis
- They were afraid of communism
In which speech did Von Papen defy the regime?
- University of Marburg speech June 1934
- Open defiance in which he called for a return to normality
What was the ‘Hossbach Memorandum’ ?
1937
- Hitlers outlined the foreign policy of expansionism in Berlin
- This received pragmatic opposition from Generals
- Blomberg and Fritsch were worried about how Germany would carry this out
What happened to Blomberg and Fritsch after the ‘Hossbach Memorandum’
Removed 1938
- Fritsch was allegedly homosexual
- Blomberg wife was supposedly a prosititute
Who was General Ludwig Beck and what did he do?
- Attempted a Putsch in 1938
- This was not supported by Britain due to Neville Chamberlains policy of appeasement
- Munich agreement of 1938 showed Hitler could make demands
What was the Beck-Goerdeler Group?
- A small group in the army who wanted to see Hitler removed from power
- They were connected to mayor of Leipzig, Carl Goerdeller who wanted to go back to Kaiser times
What was the Kreisaw Circle Civilisation and what made it hard for them to oppose the Nazis?
- A group who wanted a democratic Germany post war
- Hitlers overwhelming foreign policy success made this difficult
What was ‘Operation Flash’?
1943
- An attempt to bomb Hitlers plane
- Put bombs in flasks
- Bombs did no go off
Outline the July Bomb Plot?
- Plotters used the term ‘Operation Valkyrie’ as a smokescreen for their invasion
- Klaus Von Stauffenberg often met with Hitler
- The initial plan was to kill Göring and Himmler too
- Failed to activate both bombs
- Hitler was defended by a table
- Hitler had changed the meeting venue last second
How did Catholic voters react to the Nazi before 1933?
- Majority of Catholic voters were hostile and stayed loyal to the Catholic Centre Party
What led to opposition from the Church?
- War of attrition at a local level and the position of both Churches in 1935
- Youth organisations were suppressed
- Catholic newspapers shut down
- Catholic schools closed down
- All contrary to the Concordat signed in July 1933
What was Pope Pius XI’s encyclical called?
March 1937
- Titled ‘With Burning Anxiety’
- Smuggled into Germany to be read on Palm Sunday
- Contained criticism of Nazi policies towards the Catholic Church
- Urged Hitler to abide by the concordat
What did Catholic bishop Clemens Graf von Galen do?
- Spoke out in 1941 against the systematic murder of mentally ill thought the T4 programme
- A lot of catholics did not accept the socially engineered master race that the Nazis wanted
How many catholics were kept in Dachau concentration camps?
- 400 Catholic Priests
- Shows the great deal of opposition and partaking in resistance activities from them
How were Protestant Churches affected?
- Maintained close relations with the state as Prussia was protestant
- April 1933 Nazis attempted to control through appointment of Reich Bishop Ludwig Müller
- One Church with Nazi elements, altering the gospels and Nazifying Christianity
How did the Confessional Church react to attempts of Nazifying Christianity?
- Broke away in 1934 in opposition to German Christians, 2,000 ministers broke away
- Led by Pastor Martin Niemöller
- Set up a protestant women’s Bureau which had 2.5 million members
- 1937 Niemöller was arrested and sent to prison
Name some examples of things Nazis did to Christianity?
- Removed the Old Testament because it was Jewish
- Lots of Nazi Nationalism. conservatism and an anti-communist stance
- Christian ethics were not accounted for and were looked down upon, they encouraged anti-semitism instead
Who were the Swing Youth?
- Liked American Jazz (dissent)
- Nazis condemned this as ‘negroid’ music
- These were middle class youth in towns, they also held illegal dances
- More dissent than political opposition
Who were the Eidelweis Pirates?
- More working class in West Germany
- Somewhat political, clear acts of sabotage
- Executed in 1944, Cologne
Who were the White Rose group?
- Hans and Sophie Sholl
- Distributed leaflets in universities of Nazi atrocities
- Advocated resistance and sabotage of the evil regime
- 6 members, including Hans and Sophie were executed
What were lightning strikes?
- Strikes that only lasted a few hours
- 1936 autobahn workers held a lightning strikw
- They also sabotaged machinery and called in sick
- Most of this was overlooked due to workers being in great demand
- E.g during war time not doing the Nazi salute was often overlooked
