The Terror State Flashcards
In 1933 who was in charge of the police acting as the Interior Minister?
Wilhelm Frick
Who was appointed Minister-President of Prussia in April 1933?
Goering
(gave hin personal control of the largest police force in Germany)
By 1936 what happened to all the police powers (SS, SD and Gestapo)?
Placed unified under Himmler as
-Reichsfuhrer SS and
-chief of all German police
What did the SS stand for?
Schutzstaffel
What was the role of the SS?
-Post of Night of the Long Knives, police power increased and became the main political organsiation involved in the identification and arresting of political opponents
-Police system became the instrument of the Nazi party
-Key values of the SS included by strictly disciplined, racially pure, strict loyalty and act in adherence to the Nazi ideology
When was the SS orginially established?
1925
(Hitler’s body guards, approx 250 members)
What was a key difference between the SS and the old SA?
SS= systematic violence compared to random chaotic violence of SA
When did all the concentration camps become under SS control?
1934
What did the SD stand for?
Sicherheitsdienst
When was the SD established?
1931
(Internal security service of the Nazi party)
Who led the SD?
Reinhard Heydrich
by 1939 how many members did the SD have?
50,000
-signs on how sucessful and important the role was
What was the role of the SD?
-Intelligence gathering
-monitor public opinion
-worked indepedently from the Gestapo
- Officers were not police but rather Nazi’s
What was the SS memebrship by 1939?
240,000
How many officers did the Gestapo have in 1939?
20,000
What was the Gestapo?
- Secret state police
-professional police officers who saw their role as serving the state
Why was the Gestapo so signfican within the terror state?
-Able to instill an atmosphere of fear and suspicion and fear in the German population
-Resorted commonly arbitory arrests
In 1933-1934 how many prisoners were in concetration camps?
over 100,000
(80%= KPD, 10% = SPD)
Why were concentration camps built at Sachsenhausen and Buchenwald?
=Expansion of more systematic camp system designed to exercise absolute power over remaining unwelcomed elements of scoiety
-Designed to repress opposition and instil fear NOT systematic death
What was the issue for the Nazi’s with few of the legal professionals being members of the party?
-Though conservative elite, there was this tradition of freedom from political control
-Violence of SS and SA could cause an indepedent judicary to want to prosecute
= Nazi ideology allowed no tolerance for non-comformity
How was the Legal System adapted towards Gleichschaltung?
- April 1933, front of German Law (merger of of all legal associations with League of National Socialsit lawyers
=overwhelmingly legal professionals chose to conform - 1933 Creation of Special courts to deal with political crimes
-1934 people’s court created to deal with treason and attacks on government personnel (3 Nazi judges and the defence consuel was appointed by the court , no juries and no appeals agaisnt the sentene)
=LEGAL SYSTEM NOW NAZIFIED
When was the Front of German Law created?
April 1933
When was the Special Courts and People’s Courts created?
-1933
-1934
Between 1934 and 1939 how many people were tried by the People’s court?
approx 3,400
Why was there a lack of opposition and non-comformity?
-Strong baisis of support for the regieme, through the use of propognda and through Gleichschaltung, the police system was presented as an insturment to protect the majority agaisnt the corruption of the minority
-the term “people’s court” and “popular justice” portrayed the repression and persucation as something relfective of the people
-Very little active opposition was evidence for Hitler’s growing popularity and in reality a widespread acceptance of the regime occurred as most Germans gained the view that the Third Reich was preferable to the disorder of the Weimar Republic years
What were the 4 main groups where non-conformaity occurred?
-religious
-Political
-Youth
-Elites
How many Protestants were in Germany?
- Around 40 million Protestants in Germany out of a population of 60 million with around 18 thousand pasters
What protestant church was the largest church in Germany?
German Evangelical Church
What did the Naiz’s create to try and combine religion with nazisim?
“co-ordinated” Reich Church
When was the Confessional Church formed?
-1934 by Protestant pastors who refused to become Nazi party members
Who was one of the founding members of the Confessional Church?
Martin Niemaller
What did the Confessional Church oppose?
-Opposed to Nazi cotnrol over religious affairs, not any other policies
How many pastors expressed their support for the Confessional Church and how many were imprisoned?
Approx 3000 offered support and of which 700 were imprisoned by 1937
How many catholics were there in Germany?
20 million
What was the 1933 Concordat?
Between Pope Pius xi and Nazi’s = Agreement for Church to not interfer in politics and for Nazi’s to not interefer in the Catholic Church
But Nazi’s broke concordat with pruests udner survillence and censorship of Catholic newspapers
What was the name of the Archbishop who increasingly critised Nazi ideas?
Archbishop Clemens von Galen
What was issued by the Pope in 1937?
encyclical- “with burning concern” about Nazi pressure on Catholic church
Overall, what was the imapct of Protestant opposition to Nazi rule?
mainstream protestant Churches as a whole were silent, accepting coordination and the Confessional Church did not gain enugh support nor protest about any actual Nazi policies
Overall, what was the impact of Catholic opposition to Nazi rule?
Despite some individual opposition, Catholic resistence overall extermely limited.
What was the impact of the Political opposition to Nazi rule?
-Left Wing opposition was previously feared however the enabling act ensured this was ineffective by mid 1933
-Terror state targeted LW 1933-34 saw 1000’s murdered e. 10% of KPD killed
-SPD attempted to organise opposition from abroad (Sopade) =secret cells distributed propaganda leaflets, fed information on life in Nazi Germany to outside world
-Workers often some opposition with 250 strikes occurring in 1937, resulting in the new labour regulations being introduced, strict penalties for “slackers” and sabotage a criminal offence
Overall how much of an impact did political and workers opposition have on Nazi rule?
-Majority of working class expressed support for regime and positively enjoyed incentives offered to them via the Nazi social policies
-Extreme left wing parties focused on survival and SPD not in a position to be able to oppose, more focused on preparing in case the Nazi state collapsed
How much of an impact did Youth Opposition have on Nazi rule?
- By mid 1930s official youth groups were made compulsory, dominating the lives of young people = led to an increase in rebelliousness and non-conformity
e.g Edelweiss Pirates (mainly working class and rebelling against the uniformity of Hitler Youth, listened to jazz and blues)
e.g “Swing Kids” (middle class)
Overall, how much of a threat was Youth Opposition on Nazi rule?
Not a serious threat
Only a few thousand members
Hitler Youth membership = 8 million
However, nazi’s considered any assertion of independence as an offence to Volksgemeinschaft ideals, so strongly supressed the behaviour
How many strike occurred in 1937?
250
What was the Opposition from Elites on Nazi rule?
-A few elites disliked Hitler and not converted to Nazi beliefs
-But alliances made between the Nazis and the army, big businesses and conservative politicians in 1933 in order to end instability and empower Hitler
-So through Gleichschaltung and Night of Long Knives most elites were convinced not to oppose the regime
-However, some in army and civil service remained concerned about the speed of Hitler’s foreign policy aggression with Defence Minister Blomberg in 1937 publicly expressing doubts about Hitler’s foreign policy aims and plans
Who in 1937, publicly criticised Hitler’s foreign policy plan?
Defence Minister Blomberg
How did the Nazi party solve the problems from the opposition of the elites?
-Blomberg-Fritsch Affair
-1936 Himmler had asked Heydrich to prepare a file on Fritsch, which included allegations of homosexuality; Himmler used the file to discredit Fritsch who was forced to resign in early Feb
-(Jan 1938 Blomberg remarries= Goering then threatens to release documents showing his new wife had a criminal record for theft and prosecution) = Blomberg chose to resign his office at the end of Jan
What happened as a result of the purge of General Blomberg and Fritsch?
-Hitler took direct control of the army, created the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces under General Wilhelm Keitel , 16 other generals retired and 44 were transferred to different roles
-Foreign Minister was replaced by Joachim Von Ribbentrop (a high ranking SS officer and ambassador to GB since 1936)
Dud the purge of Blomberg and Fritsch crush the elite opposition?
Convinced some, however this bloodless purge of opponents did not convince all of army elites to support Hitler
e.g General Beck made plans for coup of war broke out in Czechoslovakia in Sep 1938
