Resistance and Opposition Essay Flashcards
Introduction
Background Sentences
Once Hitler was able to consolidate his power in Germany as dictator with the passing of Hindenburg, Hitler was able to put himself and his party in a place of power with very little opportunity for other groups to gain power. Throughout the Nazis reign, there were many accounts of opposition however, many of these failed and only showed that Nazis superiority over the groups.
Introduction
Factors
The factors I will be discussing within this essay are the role of the left, the role of the churches, and the popularity & appeal of the Nazis.
Introduction
Historiography
Some historians such as Noakes and Pridham argued that the Nazis faced resistance to an extent through the influence of the Church on the German public. However, other politicians like Gellately argue that there was no resistance as many Germans saw the Nazis as a saviour from the country’s previous mistakes.
Introduction
Line of Argument
Overall, it can be argued that resistance was an exaggeration and that there was very little opposition to the Nazi party in 1933-39.
Role of the Left
What happened to political opposition?
What were the parties like?
Political opposition from the Communists and Social Democrat underground groups remained bitterly divided and completely unable to cooperate, as there was a lack of organisation, leadership and the ability to maintain secrecy within these groups in order for them to be successful.
Role of the Left
What happened after the Spartacist Revolt?
This can be further shown, after the events of the Spartacist Revolt, as there was no relationship or trust between the Communists and the Socialists, which meant there was no possibility of the two groups working together. These organisations lacked organisation and leadership after Hitler came into power, as he arrested lots of the party leaders to prevent his opposition from succeeding further.
Role of the Left
Analysis
This demonstrates how resistance was an exaggeration because although there may have been groups established, they held no significance towards the Nazis as they weren’t unified or strong enough to go against the powerhouse that was the Nazi party, and therefore couldn’t change the opinions of the public to oppose the Nazis.
Role of the Left
Analysis +
However, it can be said that there was some resistance as following the Reichstag Fire (more than 30,000) KPD members continued with underground resistance, which shows that resistance didn’t stop after many leaders were executed and instead worked on themselves underground without revealing themselves until it was necessary and the right time to show themselves as opposition.
Role of the Left
Evaluation
Despite the KPD members continuing their resistance underground, they were never able to regain the support that had before the Reichstag Fire and couldn’t stand up against the Nazis as formidable opposition as they lacked leadership and organisation to be able to face them.
Role of the Church
What was the Concordat?
The Concordat between the state and the Vatican (20 July 1933) ensured that the opposition from the Roman Catholic Church was neutered, as in the concordat both parties agreed to not get involved in each other’s decisions.
Role of the Church
Why were people afraid the stand up against the Nazis?
Many people were scared to stand up against the Nazis, in case they were subject to the Nazis severe punishments such as being arrested or assassinated like Pastor Niemoller who spoke up against the Nazis and was killed because of it.
Role of the Church
Analysis
This shows that there was very little resistance because the Nazis quickly realised that their only threat to complete control was from the Church so in order to minimise this they decided to target these groups and confine them into deals to which they couldn’t harm the Nazis tactics, as well as threaten members through the involvement of concentration camps and discussions of murder.
Role of the Church
Analysis +
However, it could be argued that there was resistance because 95% of Germans identified as Christain at this time, so the opposition could have been considerable as many people did not resonate with the Nazi ideology and would not change their faith to suit it, showing that the church had some effect on the public and creating effective opposition for the Nazi party.
Role of the Church
Historiography
Noakes and Pridham argued that the churches remained the only institutions with an alternative ideology to Nazism and retained some support from the people, which therefore meant that they were a major obstacle to the Nazis attempt of total control.
Role of the Church
Evaluation
The Christian faith and the church was the only true resistance that caused any threats to the Nazis as they had so many followers that they could rival the Nazi party if they weren’t supportive of their ideology. However, many members of the church did actually agree with the Nazi regime and weren’t opposers but supporters instead.
Popularity & Appeal
What did the Nazis have control over?
The Nazis now took complete control of the press, radio, cinema and all cultural output and were thereby able to prevent opposition views from being heard and to ensure the complete dominance of Nazi propaganda and to limit the press that the opposition/resistance could have.
Popularity & Appeal
Did people welcome Hitler’s promises?
Many people also welcomed Hitler’s promises to restore national prestige and his foreign policy success 1933-39 seemed to many, proof that Hitler was able to fulfil these promises.
Popularity & Appeal
Analysis
Nazi propaganda had an impact in persuading people to support the regime but, more importantly, as unemployment fell and living standards improved so more people felt better off and were minded to support rather than oppose the regime as they were actively working to better Germany and weren’t focussed on one-upping the competition.
Popularity & Appeal
Analysis +
However, other groups would utilise the Nazi propaganda and would change it to embarrass and create a unserious image of the group, for example the ‘Edelweiss Pirates’ sang insulting parodies of Hitler Youth anthems and sometimes beat up members as well as vandalised Nazi propaganda or buildings.
Popularity & Appeal
Historiography
Gellately argues that the regime found no difficulty in obtaining the collaboration of ordinary citizens as most people seemed prepared to live with the idea of a surveillance society, in return for crime-free streets, a return to prosperity, and what they regarded as good government, to which the Nazis could provide for them.
Popularity & Appeal
Evaluation
Nazi propaganda was effective in helping the Nazi remain in a positive light in the public, no matter how much other groups try to undermine their power and support through vandalism and creating their own propaganda to go directly against what the Nazis were representing and try to create a negative image of them, however these attempts were unsuccessful as the Nazis continued to gain support.
Conclusion
Line of Argument
Overall, it can be argued that resistance was an exaggeration and that there was very little opposition to the Nazi party in 1933-39.
Conclusion
Role of the Left
Although many groups continued their efforts underground, they no longer had the amount of support that could be a threat to the Nazis and their followers. This shows that despite their efforts, no other group had the organisation or support to be able to face the Nazis and create a mass amount of resistance to their regime.
Conclusion
Role of the Church
The only true threat to the Nazis power and influence was the Church as they were large in followers and it would be very hard to convince them to change their faith to follow the Nazis ideology. However, the Nazis were able to convince some as many members actually agreed with the Nazi regime. This shows that the only threat to their power was the idea of the Church and its followers, however the Nazi party had deals and influence which many followers of the Church were behind and agreed with.
