Unit 2: Opposition Flashcards
- Facts about the SS
-Heinrich Himmler became the Chief of all Germany police in 1936
-He joined the SS with 250 members, who were bodyguards to Hitler
-1929 he became the leader and began changing it
-Members wore special black uniform and the number was kept small
-1933 = 52K members and members with Aryan qualities only
-After the night of long knives, they became a separate organization where they carried out purges and remove Hitler’s enemies.
Facts about the Gestapo
-The gestapo were the most infamous in the Nazi terror system
–The gestapo spied on the public to remove any opposition.
-Goring said its task was to investigate all political activities that were a threat to the state.
- 1936 = it was put under the Heydrich.
-At its height it had 15,000 police members (to 66 mil populace) yet were greatly feared
-It had the power to arrest any suspicious person (to oppose).
-Early years after 1933, they focused on political opponents but later Homosexuals, Jews and religion dissenters.
- Their terrifying ability to identify opponents gave them power:
-Tap telephones
-Informers
-Block leaders = men who got to know 40 to 60 residences in their local area.
- Other tipoffs came from the general public (26% of tipoffs)
-All denunciations were investigated; quite often came from grudges.
-The accused were brought for interrogation and its aim were to get them to confess.
Facts about the Judges and courts
-Judges had to swear loyalty to Hitler and sentences became more severe
-Number of offences punishable by death sentence went from 3 (1933) to 46 (1943) with 40,00 0 sent to their death
-Death sentences given to people by The people’s court where the lack of jury and predetermined guilty verdicts meant that it was now show trials
-
Facts about the SD (secret service)
Facts about Concentration camps
-The ultimate punishment was the conc camps by the terror system
-Conc camps aimed to concentrate ‘threats’ of society far away in harsh conditions
- 70+ in 1933 to imprison 40K communists, trade unionists and political opponents.
- Early ‘wild’ had such severe punishments that some guards were imprisoned for torture along with disorganization and such extreme conditions that they were closed in the 2nd half of 1933
- Most prisoners free the number dropped to 7.5K
- June 1933, Theodor Eiche was appointed to run Dachau and to bring order.
- His death units established a code of conduct:
- Lesser offences
-Diet of bread and water
-Harsher offences like flogging or beating in front of others
-1937 Himmler declared that guards couldn’t got to jail for their actions
-At Dachau, there were 169 deaths in 1937 which was 7x last year
Facts about the police
- Many reacted positively due to the extension in powers.
-Nazis centralized police organizations and provided better funding - 1936, they were put under the SS and encouraged to join their forces. The Orpo (ordinary police) and Kripo (Criminal police) continued to carry out their duties.
- They became an important part of the Nazi terror system providing intelligence of potential enemies and arresting them
How did Hitler control people through terror?
The main method of Nazi control was the machinery of terror which was a complex system of intimidation, policing and intelligence gathering.
It was to remove any element of direct opposition and leave the populace in a state where they felt compelled to follow them.
The first form of propaganda the Nazi’s used to control people?
-Nazis controlled the newspapers through the Reich Press Chamber in 2 ways.
1) They took control of existing papers and closed any opposition papers down. 1939 they owned 2 thirds of all German newspapers and magazines.
- They had their own newspaper Der Strumer (The stormer) which had antisemitic rants and cartoons like them depicting crucifying Jesus
2) Nazi controlled the content of newspapers. The editor’s law required all editors to make sure that nothing printed weakened the strength of the German Reich at home and abroad.
-All journalists were forced to join the Reich Association of the press and Goebbels issued statements about what could and couldn’t be printed.
The second form of propaganda the Nazi’s used to control people?
- 1930s was golden age of film
-Nazi’s closely controlled film through the Reich Film Chamber
-Complicated laws and taxes limited the impact of foreign films
-Money provided to home-grown German films. - By 1939, 2/3s of all films were financed.
- 1934, the RF law made it compulsory that all scripts had to be pre censored, stopping any films that criticized the Nazis
- Encouraged films that glorified Hitler or criticized Jews, but Goebbels limited this to 10% as overly political films would not be popular
- Many films would blend propaganda and Nazi themes into normal genres like romance or drama.
The third form of propaganda the Nazi’s used to control people?
The fourth form of propaganda the Nazi’s used to control people?
The fifth form of propaganda the Nazi’s used to control people?
Why did the Hitler see the Church as a threat?
Why were sunflowers a threat tot the Nazi party?
Why did the Gestapo take religious opposition so seriously despite it not being widespread or effective?
