POWER AND AUTHORITY: The Nazi Regime

Question 1

What were the threats to the Weimar?

Answer 1

Proportional representation: no majority could be formed.

Emergency Decree: president could dismiss Reichstag (Article 48).

Question 2

Collapse of the Weimar: Freikorps.

Answer 2

2000 Freikorps (ex-soldeirs) attacked Spartacists in Berlin.

Question 3

Collapse of the Weimar: impact of GD.

Answer 3

Germany relied on foreign loans to make reparations.

By ‘31 unemployment peaked at 20%; by ‘32 7 million.

Question 4

Collapse of the Weimar: occupation of Ruhr.

Answer 4

Caused passive resistance + strikes by German workers in the area.
To fix the problem more bank notes were printed which devalued German mark.

Question 5

Collapse of the Weimar: impacts of hyperinflation.

Answer 5

People stole; people traded goods for other goods; money in wheelbarrows.

Question 6

Collapse of the Weimar: impact of Gustav Stressemen.

Answer 6

Replaced the German mark with the Rentenmark.

Signed off Dawes and Young plan.

Question 7

What were the Dawes and Young Plans?

Answer 7

Young: reducing repayments + spreading them over longer time frame (60 years).
Dawes: US loans money to Germany who can use it to pay France and so on.

Question 8

Collapse of the Weimar: Kapp Putsch

Answer 8

Freikorps overthrew government and established a right-wing government led by Wolfgang Kapp.

Question 9

Collapse of the Weimar: political assassinations.

Answer 9

Between ‘19-’22 there were 376 political assassinations.

Question 10

What was the 25 point program?

Answer 10

A strong Germany: all German speaking people united.
Fuhrer: a single leader.
Social Darwinism: Aryan race was superior.
Autarky: Germany should be economically self-sufficient.
Lebensraum: need for ‘living space’.

Question 11

What was the Munich Putsch in 1923?

Answer 11

Hitler planned to march on the Beer Hall and overthrow Weimar.

Question 12

What were the long and short term impacts of the Munich Putsch?

Answer 12

Short term: Nazi Party banned and Hitler tried for high treason (5 years).
Long term success: out of prison in 1 year due to the leniency of the court + millions read ‘Mein Kampf’.

Question 13

How did Hitler exploit situations to consolidate his power?

Answer 13

Call for ‘33 elections - gained 44% of vote.

Enabling act: make laws without Reichstag.

Question 14

How did Hitler exploit the Reichstag Fire?

Answer 14

Fire blamed on communist - arrested 4000.

Drafted the emergency decree to restricted legal rights.

Question 15

How did Hitler use control and violence to eliminate opposition?

Answer 15

Law Against Formation of Parties + National Party (allied with Nazi’s) was banned.
CC’s set up immediately after ‘33 elections - harsh conditions as a reminder.
Book burning - uni’s raided and synagogues lost sacred texts.

Question 16

What was the Night of Long Knives?

Answer 16

Hitler concerned that SA was a threat to the army - Rohm wanted to take over army.
In ‘34 SA leaders tied up and shot.

Question 17

What was the impact of the Night of Long Knives?

Answer 17

Removes opposition within and shows ruthlessness and intimidation.

Question 18

How did the Concordat consolidate Nazi power?

Answer 18

The Church would not engage in any political activity or influence anti-Nazi support.

Question 19

How did Gleichschaltung consolidate Nazi power?

Answer 19

All media, police, education, courts etc came under the control of Nazi’s.

Question 20

What was the role of Hermann Goring?

Answer 20

Established the Gestapo and enlisted 50 000 SA men.

Encouraged Hitler to purge SA in KOLN.

Question 21

What was the role of Joseph Goebbels?

Answer 21

Minister of Propaganda and Public enlightenment.

Prevented Nazi criticism through the Reich Chamber of Culture.

Question 22

What was the role of Heinrich Himmler?

Answer 22

Head of the SS and formed the Gestapo.
Chief of German Police - hunted down opposition.
Head of Dachau CC.

Question 23

What was the role of Ernest Rohm?

Answer 23

Played leading role in Munich Putsch.

Head of SA however him and Hitler had differing ideas.

Question 24

What was the Reichstag Fire Decree?

Answer 24

Restrictions on freedom of speech, press + imprisonment without trial.

Question 25

How did the Nazi’s ensure the Enabling Act was passed?

Answer 25

Prevented 81 communists from taking their seats by detaining them in CC.

Question 26

How did the Reich Chamber of Culture control Germans?

Answer 26

Individuals had to apply for membership and had to pass racial assessments.

Question 27

Censorship of books.

Answer 27

In ‘33 Goebbels organised burning of 20 000 books in a bonfire outside Uni of Berlin.

Question 28

How was the news controlled?

Answer 28

By ‘33 Germany had 4000 daily newspapers in publication and all news agencies merged into German News Agency.

Question 29

How was the radio controlled by the Nazi’s?

Answer 29

16 million radios across Germany - made cheaper for everyday Germans.
Loudspeakers in streets - hear Hitler’s speeches.
Banned Jazz and Jewish composers.

Question 30

How was the film industry controlled by the Nazi’s?

Answer 30

Movies were mass media events - regular attendance.

They released 100 films/year (included love stories, comedy).

Question 31

What was the role of the SS?

Answer 31

The SS was a sub-division of the SA which were initially created as Hitler’s personal bodyguards.

Question 32

What was the role of the Gestapo?

Answer 32

Spied on opponents by reading mail, tapping telephones etc.

They relied on public denunciations - friends and family spied on each other.

Question 33

What was the Night of the Broken Glass?

Answer 33

Jewish homes and synagogues burned - firefighters only intervened if posed a threat to other buildings.
Police ordered to ordered to arrest Jews - 30 000.

Question 34

What was the aftermath of the Night of Broken Glass?

Answer 34

Pay an ‘atonement tax’ of 1 billion marks.

Government confiscated insurance payouts to Jews whose properties were destroyed.

Question 35

What were the Blockleiters?

Answer 35

Supervision of a neighbourhood - kept files on each household.

Question 36

What was the impact of the Nazi Regime on women in work?

Answer 36

Encouraged to leave the workforce and focus on motherhood.

Married women forced out of the medical and legal professions.

Question 37

What was the impact of the Nazi Regime on women in motherhood?

Answer 37

Nazi’s discouraged divorce unless the cause was ‘childlessness’.
Marriage Loan Scheme (worth 600 marks = 4 months’ wages) if women gave up work.
Mother’s Cross an award: Gold - 8 children, silver - 6, bronze - 4.

Question 38

What was the impact of the Nazi regime on religion?

Answer 38

Removal of crucifixes from classrooms.

In ‘34 the Confessing Church was established which criticised Nazi regime - those joined sent to CCs.

Question 39

What was RAD?

Answer 39

Used unemployed men to build motorways, hospitals and the Olympic Stadium.
Men spent 6 months in camps and received small pay to send back to families.

Question 40

How did the Four Year Plan impact workers?

Answer 40

It regulated what farmers could produce and created fake substitutes - e.g coal used to make rubber.

Question 41

What was the impact of the Nazi regime on cultural expression in art?

Answer 41

Styled after classical Greek and Roman - ‘uncontaminated’ by Jews.
Women and men in gender roles.
Muscular nudes of men - attribute strength of Aryan race.

Question 42

What was the impact of the Nazi regime on cultural expression in film?

Answer 42

All scripts to be submitted to Goebbels and film sets inspected.
Most movies were love stories or comedies to distract the German people from the war.

Question 43

What was the impact of the Nazi Regime on Hitler Youth?

Answer 43

Membership compulsory - in ‘39 82% of youth became members.
Engaged in military activities - war-games, map reading, camping, shooting.
League of German Maidens: focused on cooking, cleaning, motherhood.

Question 44

How was education impacted by the Nazi Regime?

Answer 44

History distorted - humiliation of ToV was emphasised.
Biology - taught difference between the races.
Maths - problems with figures about disabled people to see them as a burden.

Question 45

How were minorities impacted by the Nazi Regime?

Answer 45

Nuremburg laws defined who was Jewish.
Nazi’s killed 1/4 of Gypsies in Europe.
15 000 homosexuals sent to CC.
Disabled, elderly, homeless euthanised - 300 000.

Question 46

How did communist parties oppose the Nazi Regime?

Answer 46

Formed underground organisations.
Attempts to infiltrate the Labour Front to sabotage war production.
Links with America and Russia - passing information on regime through spy’s (Red Orchestra).

Question 47

How did youth groups oppose the Nazi Regime?

Answer 47

Pirates: slogans read ‘eternal war on the Hitler Youth’, disobeyed instructions by going on camping trips during the weekends.
Swing types: grew their hair long, smoked and listened to jazz.

Question 48

How did the Catholic Church oppose the Nazi Regime?

Answer 48

Reinstalled Crucifixes in schools next to portraits of Hitler.
Pope Pius condemned Hitler’s violation of the concordat.

Question 49

What were some types of passive resistance to the Nazi Regime?

Answer 49

Smoking became an act of defiance - anti-smoking campaign led to an increase.
Germans sheltering Jewish families - 40000 Jews survived.
Women of rosenstrasse - prepared to marry Jews in protest.