Support for Nazis Flashcards
What was certainly a reason for the lack of opposition?
Fear and Terror
Although the Nazis faced potentially strong challenges from the left wing, how did they get rid of this?
By becoming a single party state
In plebiscites throughout the 1930s there was mass approval for policies, but why is this biased?
Because on the flipside, there was a terror system underlying everything
Why is it difficult to get a good judgement on how popular the Nazis were throughout the 1930s and 40s? (ideal conclusion)
There is no independent assessment of popular opinion and our judgements have to be tentative and generalised
Noakes and Pridham said what regarding newspapers? What were editors subject to?(can be used in attribution for exams)
Newspapers are of limited value during 1933-40s because editors were subject to detailed instructions from the Propaganda Ministry on what to print and were severely discipline if they stepped out of line
What did Kershaw say about open expression of opinion?
“In 1933, when the curtains fall free on open expression of opinion”, you could only impressionistically reconstruct what you thought after 1933
How did the number of seats/% of votes increase from the November 1932 to the March 1933 elections?
Went from 196 seats in Nov 1932 to the Nazi’s peak of support in March 1933 with 288 seats with 43.9% of the votes
Despite their peak of support in March 1933, what is true?
They still failed to secure a majority, and were nowhere near achieving 2/3 majority that Hitler wanted
The Depression:
Who did this lead to support from?
Lead to support from middle class, working class and industrialists
The Depression:
Why did the depression lead to the support?
Because in 1933 unemployment reached 6 million and Nazis promised “bread and work”.
The Depression:
Many of the 4 million SA was made up of who?
Unemployed workers
The Depression:
Who were frightened of bankruptcy and working in factories and thus ended up supporting the Nazis?
Middle class tradesmen and shopkeepers were afraid of bankruptcy
Many middle class were afraid of losing their job and being forced to work on factories with lower class people
The Failure of Weimar:
Who became supporters of the Nazis because of the failure of the Weimar system?
Mostly upper and middle class
The Failure of Weimar: Many in the middle and upper class had never accepted the idea of the Weimar system because it did what?
It replaced the Kaiser and had been created by the working class SPD
The Failure of Weimar:
What was Weimar blamed for?
Defeat of WW1, Stab in the back, Hyperinflation
The Failure of Weimar
What did many people hate about WR?
Proportional representation which meant all Weimar governments were coalitions
Fear of Communism:
Who supported nazis due to this?
M/c, u/c + industrialists
Fear of Communism:
When did the communists gain 17% of the vote?
November 1932
Fear of Communism:
Why did the m/c, u/c and ind fear the communists?
They had tried to seize power in 1919 and Stalin’s Russia was just across the border, they were blamed for the Reichstag fire
Fear of Communism:
What was increasingly considered that Hitler was?
That Hitler was the only alternative to a communist takeover
Middle Class: In the 1920s middle-class voters supported which 2 parties?
Nationalist party or Stresemann’s nationalist ‘People’s party’
Middle Class:
When the depression started the Nationalist party + Stresemann’s nationalist ‘People’s party’ were considered to have failed to do what?
Protect middle class people’s interests
Middle Class: The working class and catholics had what?
Working class had the SPD Catholics had the Centre party
Middle Class: The working class had the SPD and catholics had the Centre party, so what did the middle class want?
A party to protect their interests - thus resorted to NDSAP
Propaganda:
Who was the Nazi propaganda genius which led to the support and what image did he project?
Goebbels, he projected the image of a young party moving forward with Hitler as Germany’s saviour
Propaganda:
When the Nazis came to power, what did they have at their disposal?
The Nazis had every media source in the country at their disposal
Propaganda:
Who did the Nazis employ to appeal to audience, and how?
They would employ popular speakers. The local branches of the party raised money to hire top speakers
Violence:
What did violence successfully do?
It intimidated opponents and prevented them from getting their message across
Violence:
What did the frequent street battles bring the Nazis?
Public attention, to create the impression that communists were chiefly responsible for the violence
Who was the typical Nazi supporter?
Middle class
Why were YOUNG people typical supporters?
They were attracted by the excitement, marches, speeches, uniforms and clear promises
Why was the typical Nazi supporter PROTESTANT?
Nazis established links with some protestant churches
Why was the typical Nazi supporter MALE?
The party believed women should leave work to be housewives and mothers
