control and opposition 1933-1939

• what was the Nazi's aim for Germany?

  to make it a totalitarian state (where the government controls all aspects of life)
• how did the enabling act (march 1933) help make Germany a police state?

  allowed the government to read people mail, listen on their phone calls, and search homes without notice.
• what is a police state?

  where a government uses a police force to restrict the activities of its citizens
• what was the impact of new laws introduced in April 1933?

  sacked civil servants who did not support the Nazi's
• when was the Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich founded?

  1934 - gave Nazi's total power over local governments
• what changes did the Nazi's make to legal systems?

  -judges didn't have to be fair -> expected to make rulings in line with Nazi Party policy

  -special law courts were set up; basic rights of those accused were suspended -> could not appeal or question evidence
• who were the SD?

  Nazi intelligence agency - gathered information about nazi's enemies
• who was the leader of the SS?

  Himmler - began as Nazi bodyguards but expanded massively -> members all loyal to Hitler
• who were the Gestapo?

  secret police - under control of Himmler - relied on reports from community about disloyalty to Nazi party, to make arrests - informed the SD
• what was Dachau?

  the first concentration camp created (1933) - housed political opponents to the Nazi's e.g. communists and social-democrats.
• did everyone support the Nazi's?

  no - many believed in their aims yet not their brutal methods yet went along with it in fear of attack from the SS and the Gestapo - used harsh interrogation methods and imprisonment without trial.
• what is propaganda?

  spreading information that influences how people think and behave - leaves out important facts to ensure information is in favour of/bias to those who created it
• who was in charge of Nazi Propaganda?

  Goebbles
• how did the Nazi's use propaganda for their advantage?

  -united German people, convincing them the Nazi's would make Germany strong again

  -used common hatred to their benefit -> anger after Treaty of Versailles in which they signed off land they captured - said they would fight for it back

  -'Hitler Myth' created -> Hitler depicted as a god and saviour of Germany -> 'cult of the Fuhrer'

  -encouraged traditional German values and culture, blaming communists and Jews for their problems
• what means of propaganda did the Nazi's use?

  Goebbles took over all media - artwork, music, theatre, literature - all work had to be approved and in line with Nazi beliefs to be published
• what was the most useful form of propaganda for the Nazi's?

  radio - seen as a 'weapon of the totalitarian state', it was cheap/could be controlled easily -> 70% of households had radios - Nazi voice spread

  posters - showed evil of Germany's enemies and the power of Hitler
• how did Nazi's use public displays as propaganda?

  -held rallies and public speeches from Hitler (one million people attended with flags to greet Hitler - seen as powerful)

  -1936 Berlin Olympics - showed off German wealth and success -> let non-Aryan's win medals as broadcasted to the world - faked their inclusion/equality within the country
• how did propaganda change culture/society?

  -nazi's promised an empire based on traditional values -> banned modern art, all music that was not produced by German composers, school books rewritten to show success of Nazi's and raise anti-Jewish feeling -> 'Strength through Joy' created - showed ordinary workers the Nazi's cared about their living conditions
• was propaganda successful?

  yes - many Germans lived in poverty following Great Depression (1931) - they were easy to persuade; Nazi's promise of help was popular
• why had like for the Weimar Government fallen through in favour of the Nazi's?

  the Weimar Government began using new and experimental ideas - seen as too liberal - people wanted Germany to return to traditional values, something the Nazi's promised.
• did the Nazi's remove all political opposition?

  even through the ban of other political parties and the creation of concentration camps to house political opponents, some still remained underground, however they were divided and weak - the parties of the Left (political opponents to the Nazi's) were often captured by the Gestapo and members were executed.
• did all members of church support the Nazi's?

  there was little opposition to the Nazi's from Christian churches, however, despite Hitler's attempts to unite the Protestant churches into one - the Reich Church - some did oppose:

  -Martin Niemoller (protestant pastor), founded Confessing Church in protest of Germany grouping all Protestant Churches into one pro-Nazi one. He used his sermons to protest ; spent years in concentration camp as result.
• how did the youth oppose the Nazi's?

  founded their own Youth Groups that were not controlled by the Nazi's like the Hitler Youth and League for German Maidens:

  -Edelweiss Pirates: spread anti-Nazi leaflets - members arrested/publicly hung.

  -Swing Kids: rebelled against Nazi control over culture - listened to American music (seen as nuisance not threat) - members arrested/concentration camp.

  -White Rose: spread anti-Nazi leaflets at Munich University - members executed.

  ordinary people spread rumours as low level way to rebel.