The Terror State Flashcards
1
Q
Give a summary of the police system
A
- Nazis create system of party-controlled police forces answereable to Hitler -> gradually controlled the entire police system.
-> proliferation and competition between various forces: - SS controlled by Himmler
-> SD, an intelligece offshoot of SS - SA controlled by Rohm
- Gestapo -> the secret police force in Prussia -> Goering as minister-president.
- 1933-36: rivalry between Himmler, Rohm and Goering over police control.
-> Himmler strengthened by Long Knives when Rohm was killed.
-> exploited conflict between Goering and minister of the interior, Wilhelm Frick
2
Q
What was the SS
A
- Hitler’s bodyguard -> after Long Knives -> their police role expanded and became the organisation for the identification and arrest of political prisoners.
- By 1936 -> controlled entire police system and con camps.
- Himmler aimed for SS to be disciplined, racially pure and obedient.
-> values: loyalty and honour. - SS much more systematic than SA who were undisciplined and out of control.
-> camp guards were brutalised to remove feelings for the way they feel towards prisoners.
3
Q
What was the SD
A
- internal security service for the Nazi party -> an offshoot of the SS.
-> intelligence gathering became its role after 1933. - Led by Reinhard Heydrich.
- Roles: monitor public opinion, identify those who voted no in plebiscites and report these to Hitler.
- worked independently of the Gestapo.
-> led to overlap and confusion between the 2 groups. - staffed not by pro police officers but by amateur committed Nazis.
4
Q
What was the Gestapo
A
- secret-state police -> reputation for being all-knowing.
-> actually only had 20,000 officers in 1934 to cover the whole country. - made up of pro police officers.
- depended on ‘informers’ -> Nazi activists were asked to spy on neighbours and workmates.
-> every block of flats/residential street had a ‘block leader’ who would report suspicious activity.
-> motivated by personal grudges rather than political commitment. - the volume of info was overwhelming -> resorted to arbitrary arrest and preventative custody.
- successful at instilling fear -> little political debates/challenges from ordinary citizens.
5
Q
Explain how the court and justice system changed
A
- various professional associations of judges and lawyers merged with the League of National Socialist Lawyers -> created the Front of German Law in April 1933.
-> made clear to judges and lawyers that their career prospects depended on them doing the regime’s bidding. - Special Courts and People’s Courts were set up to run alongside the existing system.
-> deal with political crimes -> 3 Nazi ‘judges’ and 2 pro judges. - these measures caused lawyers and judges to fall in line.
-> justice system has no power to interfere with Nazi terror. - 1934-39 -> 34,000 people were tried by the People’s Court -> most of whom were former communists/socialists.
-> many were given the death penalty.
6
Q
Explain the power geobbels had over cultural life
A
- had power to control who could and couldn’t be employed in the cultural field.
-> enormous power over cultural life. - those seen as racially impure or politically unreliable were kicked out of cultural industries.
7
Q
List the different methods of propaganda
A
- newspapers
- radio
- film
- parades and spectacles
- Hitler myth
8
Q
explain how newspapers were used as propaganda
A
- socialist and communist newspapers were closed using the powers of the Decree for the Protection of the people and the state.
- by end of 1933, Nazis acquired 27 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of 2.4 million a day.
- news agencies were all merged into a state-controlled organisation.
9
Q
explain how radio was used for propaganda
A
- Hitler and Goebbels believed the spoken word was more powerful than the written.
- 1933 -> Hitler made over 50 radio broadcasts -> loudspeakers were set up in town squares and factories so everyone can hear important speeches.
- Geobbels promoted mass production of cheap radio sets -> 70% of German households possessed one by 1939 -> highest proportion in the world.
- April 1934 -> all radio stations were brought under control of the Reich Radio Company -> controlled by the Propaganda Ministry.
10
Q
explain how film was used for propaganda
A
- Geobbels knew film could work on the subconscious, delivering subliminal messages and reinforcing prejudices.
- he was responsible for approving every film made after 1933.
-> foreign films were not completely banned but were checked for political and racial content. - all films contained political messages -> leadership was glorified -> ‘blood and soil’ (relationship of race and land) was a common theme.
-> demonising Jews and Communists.
11
Q
Explain how parades and spectacles were used for propaganda
A
- residents were expected to show support for national parades by hanging out swastika flags from their windows.
-> compliance monitored by Nazi ‘block leaders’ failure to conform was reported to authorities.
-> to be labelled politically unreliable can result in being fired or even worse. - parades + flag waving were visual ‘proof’ that people were firmly behind the regime.
- party rallies at Nuremberg were stage-managed to achieve maximum theatrical effect.
-> 1937 rally involved around 100,000 people.
12
Q
What was the Hitler myth
A
- Hitler presented as ‘man of the people’ -> symbolised unity. was presented as:
-> a political genius who mastered problems in 1933 -> responsible for Germany’s ‘national awakening’.
-> order was restored, the economy was revived and limits of the T of V were broken.
-> dynamic and forceful compared to weak politicians of the Weimar years.
-> simple life -> sacrificed personal hapiness to devote himself to the people
-> shown being alone and removed from the Nazi party.
13
Q
What was the reality of the Hitler myth
A
- was surrounded by officials who competed to gain attention.
-> ministers + officials interpret Hitler’s vision -> he was not involved in decision-making. - stayed up late watching films -> spent time walking in grounds of the mountain retreat and delivering a speech to subordinates.
-> disliked reading official documents and rarely got involved in discussions on policy.
14
Q
How did the SPD try to resist the Nazis
A
- Jan 1933, were unprepared for a Nazi takeover -> not equipped to organise resistance against a law-breaking regime.
- deputies defied SA/SS intimidation and voted against enabling act.
-> but by end of 1933, 1000s of activists were murdered or placed into ‘preventative custody’. - adapted -> Ernst Schumacher Organist small, secret cells of supporters in factories.
-> propoganda pamphlets were smuggled from Czechoslovakia.
-> constant fear of exposure and arrest by Gestapo -> limits the scope of their illegal activities. - priority was to survive rather than mount a serious challenge.
15
Q
How did the KPD try to resist the Nazis
A
- Devastated by repression -> 1st party to be banned.
- leader, Ernst Thalmann was arrested at an early stage.
- 10% of membership was killed by the Nazis during 1933.
- still -> revolution unions were set up in Berlin and Hamburg.
-> networks were broken up by Gestapo. - not completely eradicated -> factory cells were established -> contact between members was confined to word of mouth to reduce discovery.
- however priority shifted to survival -> was no threat.
