The Nazi dictatorship 1933-39

Question 1

How did hitler consolidate his power over government and administrative?

Answer 1

Creation of the one party state
Control over the civil services
Control over local gov

Question 2

Describe the creation of the one party state

Answer 2

In nazis volksgemeinshaft there could be no other parties
The KPD banned after reichstag fire FEB
SPD voice their opposition against the regime and were outlawed June because they were a “party hostile to nation and state”
DNVP and Z dissolved themselves June and July
14th July law against the formation of new parties

Question 3

Describe the control over the civil services

Answer 3

Nazis regarded civil services as an obstacle to their exercises of dictorial power.
Local offices were forced to resign and replaced by nazi party officials

Question 4

Describe control over local gov (laws)

Answer 4

March- law for the coordination of the federal state dissolved state assemblies and replaced with Nazi
April- creation of new post of reich governor to oversee the gov of each state
Jan 34- law for the reconstruction of the reich, state assemblies abolished
Feb- reichsrat abolished (parliamentary assembly for state assemblies)

Question 5

Describe the control over gov

Answer 5

The Nazi party had its own structure at nation and local level.
They also instituted violent campaign to oust political opponents from important local positions
How’re the precise relationship between the party and the state at local and national level was never clearly defined

Question 6

When was the night of the long knives

Answer 6

June 1934

Question 7

Describe the events of the night of the long knives

Answer 7

It was a purge of the SA leaders

Question 8

How many SAs were there by 1934

Answer 8

3 million

Question 9

why did Hitler think it was necessary to conduct the night of long knives

Answer 9

By summer 1933 the importance of the SA declined and in aug 1933 lost their auxiliary police status.
Lacking an official outlet for their violence the SA began to feel resented, they became disillusioned and restless.
The ambitions of the SA was regarded as a serious threat by the army when they began stopping army convoys and confiscating weapon and supplies.

Question 10

By June why did the pressure on hitler to control the SA increase?

Answer 10

June 17 papen made a speech in which he criticised Nazi excess and called for an end to the terror. Hindenburg agreed with papen
Blomberg threatened to give the army power to deal with the SA, therefore hitler needed to take action

Question 11

What was hitler reaction to the night of the long knives

Answer 11

Hitler addressed the reichstag 13 July and took full responsibility for the assassination

Question 12

What was the impact of Hindenburg death and when was it

Answer 12

Aug 1934
The question of his succession became a matter of urgency for hitler, Hindenburgs political will requested the restoration of the monarchy
Hitler aimed to merge the offices of chancellor and present, thus making himself undisputed head
Once the SA were brought under control, Blomberg had no objections to hitler taking power
Hindenburg died and the announcement of the merging of president and chancellor was confirmed an hour later
The same day soldiers swore an oath of allegiance to hitler

Question 13

When was the plebiscite held and what was the results

Answer 13

19th aug
Was held to seal the approval of hitler
89.9% approves

Question 14

Describe the Nazis legal system

Answer 14

The Nazi didn’t introduce a new legal system, they introduced new laws and forced the existing legal system to adapt and bend to their will.
As a result; citizens were no longer treated as equal, judges were not permitted to act independently, individuals could be imprisoned and under trial without the police providing evidence

Question 15

Describe SD

Answer 15

Established in 1931 
Intelligence gathering offshoot of SS
They were set up to investigate claims that the party had been infiltrated by political enemies and then to identify who voted no in the ballots
It was led by Heydrich
By 1939 they had 50,000

Question 16

When we’re concentration camps set up and what were they

Answer 16

1933
Enemies of the state were sent there
Torture had rendered the majority of prisoners unable to continue resisting

Question 17

Describe the gestapo

Answer 17

Reputation for being ‘all knowing’, the reality was different
They were relatively small with only 20,000 officers by 1939
They created an atmosphere of fear in which people adjusted their behaviour

Question 18

Describe the SS

Answer 18

Involved in the identification and arrest of enemies
By 1936 they controlled the entire reich police system
Himmler intended the SS to be racially pure and obedient
They operated in a systematic way
Concentration guards were brutalised to remove any feelings of humanity they felt towards the prisoners

Question 19

Who was heydrich

Answer 19

Leader of the SD

Question 20

Who was himmler

Answer 20

Leader of the SS
1936 placed incontrol of SS SD and gestapo
1939 all party state police places under his control

Question 21

Describe the membership of the SS
1929
1933
1935
1939

Answer 21

1929 0
1933 50,000
1935 200,000
1939 240,000

Question 22

Who was president of the gestapo

Answer 22

Goering

Question 23

How did the police system of the reich cause rivalry and when was it resolved

Answer 23

Between 1933-36 there was competition between rohm, himmler and goering for control
The situation was partly resolved by night of the long knives and in 1936 when himmer was placed in control of the SS SD and gestapo
1939 with creation of the reich security department headquarters which placed all party state police under his control

Question 24

Describe the courts and justice system

Answer 24

The tradition of freedom for lawyers and judges posed a problem for Nazi because the intimidation from SS was illegal and many lawyers prosecuted against them

The league of national socialist lawyers April 1933 which made clear to judges that their career depended on following the regime

Special courts were set up 1933 and people’s court 1934 to run along side the existing court system. These were set up to deal with political crimes and had 3 Nazi judges alongside 2 professional judges. There were no juries and defendants had no right to appeal against their sentences

Question 25

What was the extent of opposition from workers

Answer 25

Taking strike action was very risky but I didn’t occur
Sept 1935 37 strikes were reported in the Rhineland.
1937 250 strikes we’re recorded, most were due to poor working conditions or low wages.
Of the 25,000 strikers only 4000 spent time in prison 1935
Anther ratio was to deliberately damage equipment

Question 26

Describe the opposition of the KPD

Answer 26

There were much better prepare for the Nazi takeover in undergrad activity.
10% of the KPD were killed 1933 however they still established underground network
Unions were set up in Berlin to recruit members and publish newspapers
All these networks were broken up by the gestapo
In 1934/35 secret activity wasn’t completely eradicated and factory cells were established
Similarly the KPD focused on survival

Question 27

Describe the opposition of SPD

Answer 27

They were unprepared for a Nazi takeover. SPD activists continued to campaign openly for the election campaign in 1933 and suffered SA violence
SPD deputies defied intimidation and voted against the enabling act, but once this was passed the regime began to crush SPD.
By the end of 1933 1000s of SPD had been murdered and the leaders fled
Gradually the SPD adapted to the new Germany and established small secret cells of supporters in factories
Propaganda leaflets were smuggled
The constant fear of the gestapo limited the illegal activity
Their priority was to survive and prepare for the collapse of the regime

Question 28

How many death sentences were passed 33-38

Answer 28

33 60
34 80
35 80
36 90
37 105
38 110
39 140

Question 29

Describe the opposition of the young

Answer 29

By mid-30s there were growing signs of disillusionment within the young
Hitler youth was made compulsory 1936
Membership of HJ and league of German girls made great demands on teenagers free time
Increasingly I’m late 1930s many teenagers opted out
Those who did attend sometimes hummed the tunes that had been banned

Question 30

Describe the opposition of the elites

Answer 30

Some upper-class generals regarded hitler as a threat to the old Germany. 
The elites broadly shared hitlers aims for Germany, even if they disapproved of his methods. 
In 1938 opposition within the army felt that hitler was leading an unprepared Germany into war 
Hitler planned to invade Czechoslovakia 1937, at a meeting blomberg and fritsch expressed their doubts within 3 months they were replaced

Question 31

describe opposition to churches

Answer 31

PROTESTANT- the efforts of the regime to coordinate the church into the volksgemeinshaft led to divisions within the Protestant congregation
Their refusal to accept being apart of the reich church was due to 3 reasons; they were trying to maintain independence, 2 they were resisting the attempt to impose aryan paragraph, 3 they were defending orthodox Lutheran theology which was based purely on the bible

Many churches refused to display swatika flags. The Nazi regime responded with increased repression
Dissenting pastors had their salaries stopped and many were arrested. By the end of 1937 over 700 pastors had been imprisoned

Question 32

The use propaganda, what was goebbels aims

Answer 32

“We want to work on people until they cease to resist us”
“ we want to rather work on people until they had become addicted to us”
Hitler- “the gov will embark upon a systematic campaign to restore the nations moral and material health. The whole education system, theatre, film, literature”

Question 33

What were the methods of propaganda

Answer 33

Film; all film contained political messages. Leadership was glorified and ‘blood and soil’ was a prominent theme, as was the reminding of Jews and communists
Spectacles; households were expected to have swastika flag
Radios; hitler believed that spoken words had much more impact. Loudspeakers were set up in towns so everyone could listen. Goebbels promoted the mass production and sale of cheap radios. As a result 70% of households contained radios by 1939

Question 34

What was the effectiveness of propaganda

Answer 34

The Nazi regime placed great empathise on the effort of indoctrination. The nazis Carrie our regular plebiscites to demonstrate the support of the people, but since they were in not way free elections therefore their is no supportive evidence
However from gestapo reports it is possible to conclude that there was scepticism towards the regime, this was mainly dependent on age, class, population and religion.
Nazi propaganda was more effective when aimed at the poor. Anti-somatosensory and resentment was shared throughout all classes

Question 35

What was the extent of totalitarianism

Answer 35

Throughout the policy or gleichschaltung the nazis set it to coordinate every aspect of individual and famil life under part control.
The regime was exercised control over th flow of info through propaganda and censorship and influenced the youth through education
The police system ensured that the population was under surveillance and unable punishment. There were some pockets of resistance but fear of punishment deterred any open defiance of the regimes authority

Question 36

What was the hitler myth

Answer 36

Nazi propaganda presented hitler as ‘the main of the people’.
He symbolised the unity of the Nazi party and the people
He was a political genius who had mastered the problems faced by Germans in 1933 and was responsible for Germany’s national awakening
He devoted himself to the people
He was hardworking, tough

Question 37

What was hitler like in reality

Answer 37

He was surrounded by officials who competed with eachother to gain his attention and implemented his wishes.
He was actually not involved in decision making
Far from hardworking, hitler stayed up late watching films and would usually not wake up until mid-day.
He disliked reading official documents and rarely got involved in detailed discussion on policy. His officials often had great difficulty getting him to make decisions

Question 38

What were the short term and long term aims of economic policies

Answer 38

Short term- the priority was economic recovery after the depression and the reduction in employment
Long term- create an economy ready for war, they would need to be self-sufficient in the production of food and vital raw materials (autarky)

Question 39

Who was schacht

Answer 39

During 1933-36 he was the key figure in Nazi economic policy. He implemented the new plan 1934 and took the first steps towards rearmament using the mefo bill

Question 40

What was the battle for work

Answer 40

Was a project to reduce employment. Large sums of money was spent on building roads and public buildings which helped reduce employment
Reich labour service introduced employment amount young men to do 6 months of labour in farming or construction
Later that year military conscription was reintroduced for young men

Question 41

Describe the new plan

Answer 41

1934
As the economy began to revive trade increased which led imports growing faster than exports. This led to a shortage of foreign goods.
Schacht place control on imports and initiated a series of trade agreements with foreign countries whereby Germany was supplied with imports paid in reichmarks
These supplying countries could then only be used to buy Germany goods

Question 42

Describe the mefo bill

Answer 42

In order to finance rearmament the nazis needed to borrow money whilst avoiding the dangers of inflation.
The mefo bill was a scheme devised to pay for military equipment, these bills could be exchanged for cash, thereby ensuring that private companies were confident they wouldn’t loos el their money. However companies were given the incentive to defer asking for the offer of 4% per annul interest if they kept it for 5 years.
This meant rearmament could be started in 1935 without needing to finance it.
Also rearmament could be kept secret as expenditure didn’t appear on accounts

Question 43

Describe the problems of rearmament and the creation of the war economy

Answer 43

It created shortage of food, rising prices and lower living conditions in 1935-36
This conflict of priorities referred to as “guns and butter” was resolved by the decision to strive for autarky
Expanding home production of food and raw materials reduced the dependence on imports and foreign policy

Question 44

Describe the four year plan and when was it

Answer 44

1936
Made by goering
The aim was to main Germany ready for war in 4 years. This plan was the first indication that Germany was preparing for the war.
The priorities of the plan was rearmament and autarky which was achieve by; managing the economy with controls on supplies, establishing new state-owned industrial plants and encouraging research and investment into production of substitute products

Question 45

Describe the results of economic autarky

Answer 45

The effort to increase production was presented as a battle in which everyone had to participate.
Propaganda persuaded people to buy only German goods.
The results of the 4 year plan didn’t match propaganda claims. German industry did not meet the target set by the regime
The German economy didn’t have resources to achieve all regime aims

Question 46

What were Nazi policies towards management of elites

Answer 46

Many of these policies were to benefit business so elites initially supported the regime
However Nazi policies began to develop and many business leaders didn’t welcome the greater state intervention with its controls in supply of labour and raw marketable and price control.

When the 4 year plan was launched there were many opportunists for business to make profits through involvement in the rearmament program
Chemical companies were sceptical about the plan and were reluctant to invest. The regimes response was to by pass them all together by establishing a very large state-owned steelwork

Question 47

What was the degree of economic recovery by 1939

Answer 47

Goebbels used all their resources to project an image of success of Nazi economic policies. Speeches by hitler repeatedly claimed that the battle for work had been won by 1936
Military parades would show off their new equipment to persuade people to buy only German goods. There was an element of truth in the claims but propaganda exaggerated the successes and covered up the failures

Question 48

Evaluate the reduction of employment

Answer 48

Official unemployment figures show a huge reduction in unemployment by 1934 and continued to fall.
There are several flaws to this claim, 1 economic recovery had occurred before the Nazi took power thanks to Bruning and his job creation scheme. 2 These figures were reduced by convincing women to leave jobs through marriage loans thereby allowing unemployed men to get jobs. 3 statistics also showed increase in employment, Germans who had occasional employment were denoted as permanently employed. Therefore invisible employment was as high as 1.5 million- which is far too many to claim the battle for work has been won

Question 49

Describe the living standards 1933-39

Answer 49

Propaganda empathised the duty of Germans to make sacrifices on behalf of the volksgemeinshaft by working harder and for longer and accepting a squeeze on wages
German consumers were able to buy enough food to feed their families but cldnt afford luxuries. The consumption of expensive food declined while the consumption of cheap food increased
There was the fore pressure on living standards and the gestapo reported occasional discontent

Question 50

What were the social policies schools

Answer 50

Law for the reestablishment of a professional civil service 1933 which dismissed Jewish teachers

Had to join the national socialist teachers league

1935 central directives were issued by the ministry of education covering what could be taught

1938 rules covered every school year and most subjects

Question 51

What were the social policies towards curriculum

Answer 51

Nazis aim to promote ‘racial health’ led to increased empathise in physical education.
Military style drills became a feature of PE lessons
In biology there was stress on race and heredity, evaluation and survival

Question 52

what were the social policies towards universities

Answer 52

• the nazi’s downgraded the importance of academic
• women were restricted to only 10%, jews were restricted to 1.5%
• law for re-establishment of a professional civil service which dismissed 1200 uni staff on the grounds of racial and political views
• students forced to do 2m in SA camps and had to join the german students league

Question 53

why wasnt there much opposition from uni students?

Answer 53

because in the WR unis were dominated by nationalists therefore the Nazis were able to tap into pre-existing nationalism and infuse it with Nazi ideology
students employment depended on support for the regime

Question 54

describe the hitler youth HJ

Answer 54

• all other political groups were banned
• 1936 law for the incoperation of the german youth -gave the HJ the same educational status as schools
• membership was made compulsory 1939
• taught the motto “live faithfully, fight bravely and die laughing”
• by late 1930’s the organisation become more rigid and signs that enthusiasm was beginning to drop. boys resented the harsh punishments

Question 55

describe the leauge of german girls

Answer 55

• the motto “be faithful, be pure, be german”
• they were prepared for their future roles as mother of the volksgemeinshaft
• membership compulsory 1939
• many girls found the experience liberating they were doing things their mothers couldnt do
• girls were instructed “only the best german soldier is suitable for you, for it is your responsibility to keep the blood line”

Question 56

describe the social policies towards women

Answer 56

• marriage loans for women who married aryan men, for each child born the debt repaid was decreased by a quarter
• ‘awarded for donating a baby to the Furher’ 4-5 bronze medal, 6-7 silver, 8 gold
• birth control was discourages and abortion restricted
• organisations- the german womens league coordinated womens group under nazi control, the reich mother service trained women for motherhood

Question 57

were the social polices successful towards women

Answer 57

the campaign to raise the birth rate was sucessful, to what extent this is due to policy is debatable, because the economic situation encourages parents to have babies
despite the nazis objections for women employment, the number of women in the work force increased by 1939

Question 58

what were the social policies towards workers

Answer 58

• banned existing trade unions and replaced by DAF
• kDf set up by Robert Ley, strength through joy, supervised after-work activities, holidays and leisure time. its aim was to submerg people into the volksgemeinshaft. it was one of the regimes most popular organisations
• sdA the beauty of labour, devoted to improving work place conditions
• promised a Volkswagan if they worked hard, however no one was actually awarded this

Question 59

how successful were policies towards workers

Answer 59

gestapo reports showed that worker reactions were mixed. workers didnt voice their opposition because they were afraid of unemployment

Question 60

what were the social policies towards the church

Answer 60

PROTESTANT– shared the same views on anti-semastism and anti-communism
-summer 1933 the nazi coordinated the church into a centralised reich church. pastors who had not decalred alligence were dismissed along with non-aryans

CATHOLICS- presented a greater obstacle to the regime

• they obeyed the Pope, not the Fuhrer
• in 1933 they were the least likely group to vote for hitler however when he came to power they were willing to compromise
• march 1933 the regime and church reached an agreement in which the church recognised the regime and wouldnt interfere