Life in Nazi Germany: 1933-1939

• Nazi Police State


  Nazis used the police (secret and regular) to control what the people did and said, it was control using fear and terror

  
• Gestapo


  • Nazi secret police, most feared Nazi organization
  • Looked for enemies of the Nazi Regime and would use any methods necessary; torture, phone tapping, informers, searching mail and raids on houses
  • No uniforms, meaning anyone could be a member
  • Could imprison you without trial, over 160,000 were arrested for 'political crimes' and thousands died in custody

  
• SS

  • Personal bodyguards of Adolf Hitler but became an intelligence, security and police force of 240,000 Aryans under Himmler
  • Nicknamed the 'Blackshirts' after their uniform
  • Had unlimited power to do what they want to rid of threats to Germany
  • Put in charge of all the police and security forces in Germany, they also ran the concentration camps in Germany
• Concentration Camps


  • First camp set up at Dachau in 1933 and run by the SS
  • By 1939 there were over 150,000 Germans in these concentration camps
  • At first camps were used for political enemies and opponents but they eventually became execution camps for Undesirables like homosexuals and Jews
  • Beatings and murder were common place in the Nazi efforts to 're-educate' the inmates
• Legal System

  • Nazis controlled the legal system – the Enabling Act meant that the Nazis could pass any law they wanted without any opposition
  • The 'People's Court' used Nazi judges who swore on oath of loyalty to Hitler, no juries, judges decided the fate of the accused often in secret trials
  • Over 44 crimes became punishable by death and between 1933-39, 534 were executed
• Local Control

  • Nazis used Block Wardens in towns who were the eyes and ears of the party
  • The Gestapo also used informers who would report anyone who told anti-Hitler jokes or attended illegal meetings
• SD (Security Force)


  • Force under Reinhard Heydrich to monitor Nazi opponents
  • Kept files on everyone suspected of opposing the Nazi party or Hitler

  
• The Nazis use of threat, fear and intimidation was their most powerful tool to control the German people

  
• Hitler was the head of the Third Reich and the country was set up to follow his will, from the leaders to the 32 regional Gauleiter
• As head of the government, Hitler had complete control over Germany from politics, to the legal system and police
• All this meant there was very little opposition to Nazi rule between 1933-39
• Propaganda


  Methods used by the Nazis to indoctrinate (brainwash) the Germans

  
• Radio

  • Reich Radio company controlled all stations and cheap Nazi radios were made so that over 70% of homes had one
  • Foreign radio was also banned
  • Hitler's speeches and history were common radio shows
  • Loudspeakers were put up in streets so all could listen
• Film

  • All films included a 45 minute newsreel of Nazi 'news'
  • Goebbels oversaw every film produced, 1300 films in total
  • The Eternal Jew and Triumph of the Will were two Nazi 'masterpieces' that showed German triumphs, attacked Jews and enemies like communists

  
• Newspapers

  • The Nazis controlled all newspapers, journalists were told what to write and the government gave out the information to include in the papers
  • Anti-Nazi papers were shutdown (1600 in 1935), negative news was censored
  • There was no free press, every newspaper was a Nazi one
• Culture


  • The Reich Chamber of Culture (under Goebbels) controlled Art, Theatre, Music, Architecture and Literature
  • All had to follow the Nazi message
  • All artists had to be members of the Chamber of Visual Arts, 42,000 joined as it was the only way to get your work produced
  • Music had to emphasise German culture, like Wagner, Beethoven and Bach
  • Literature focussed on German history and culture
  • Architecture had to emphasise Nazi power, so buildings were huge, copying Roman styles. Giant flags and statues of Hitler were erected
• Rallies/Speeches

  • The yearly Nuremberg rallies were huge spectacles to show Nazi power and national unity
  • At the 1934 rally, 200,000 attended to see thousands of banners, 20,000 Nazi flags, a 100 foot Nazi gold eagle and to hear Hitlers speech

  
• Events

  • The 1936 Olympics were used to showcase Aryan superiority (33 gold medals) and power with the stadium being the largest in the world

  
• Censorship


  • Millions of books were burnt, in 1933 20,000 Jewish and communist books were burnt in the centre of Berlin
  • The Nazis censored everything – all anti-Nazi ideas were banned
• Fuhrer Cult


  • The Nazis developed the 'Führer cult', which showed Hitler as both superman and man of the people
  • Hitler was presented as a brave WW1 veteran, a generous worker and fond of children
  • The aim was for Germans to idolise and follow their leader – like a god

  
• Propaganda focused a variety of Nazi ideology; the greatness of Germany, the Fuhrer cult, the Aryan Race, attacking Germany's enemies (Communists and Jews), increasing Nazi support

  
• • Writers, film makers and artists could only produce pro Nazi arts
  • Jazz music was banned as it came from black culture, so it was inferior
  • Telling an Anti-Nazi joke was a crime, leading to a fine or imprisonment
• Hitler believed that religion was a threat to the Nazis' control over people's minds as they would worship god over him but he knew that attacking the Church could cause serious opposition from a very religious German people who were 2/3 Protestant and 1/3 Catholic

  
• Concordat, July 1933


  • Hitler and the Pope sign an agreement to not interfere in each others business. This was a Nazi attempt to keep the 33 million German Catholics on side
• The Nazis did not manage to fully control the Church despite their efforts, the majority of Germans chose to keep quiet and still practiced their religion
• German Faith Movement, 1934


  • Nazis set up their own religion, replacing Christian teachings with pagan ones
• Reich Church, 1936


  • Nazis set up the Reich Church, bringing all protestant churches under Nazi control
  • Ludwig Muller is made the Reich Bishop
  • The bible is replaced by Mein Kampf, the Swastika replaced the cross and all Jewish teachings from the Old Testament were removed
• There was still open opposition by Protestants like Martin Niemoller who set up the PEL (Protestant Emergency League) to campaign against the Nazis. The PEL was banned and Niemoller sent to a concentration camp until 1945
• Edelweiss Pirates


  • Working class youths who used the symbol of the edelweiss flower for resistance
  • Resented the military style Hitler Youth and the lack of freedom for young people
  • Went on hikes and camping to avoid Nazi restrictions and would often taunt or attack Hitler Youth members
• Swing Youth

  • Mainly teenagers from wealthy families who admired American culture over Nazi culture
  • Listened to jazz and swing records illegally, danced the jitterbug, smoked and drunk alcohol in groups and parties of up to 6,000
• Living under fear/terror and propaganda/censorship effectively ended open opposition to Hitler and the Nazis, but between 1933-39 1.3 million Germans were sent to camps and opposition did exist from some groups; the young, churches, the army and secret political opposition

  
• By 1939, opposition from these groups was limited. They did little to oppose the Nazis despite some anti-Nazi graffiti and telling anti-Nazi jokes and there were too few of them, around 2,000 Edelweiss Pirates compared to 8 million Hitler Youth

  
• Whilst many Germans still continued to go church and some leaders voiced their opposition, most Germans were not foolish enough to openly challenge the Nazis
• The church focused on opposing interference on their traditions, rather than Nazi rule
• Niemoller was arrested after being spied on by the Gestapo, he spent the war in Dachau Concentration Camp until 1945
• Explain why there was so little resistance and opposition to Hitler and the Nazis in Germany in the years 1933-39

  1. Nazi Propaganda

  2. The Gestapo

  
• The influence of the Catholic Church on the population is so strong that the Nazi spirit cannot penetrate. The local population is ever under the strong influence of the priests. These people prefer to believe what the priests say from the pulpit than the words of the best Nazi speakers
• The school system became the main tool to indoctrinate Germany children where they had to go to school until they were 14
• Schools for girls and boys

  • Military skills for boys
  • Domestic skills (housework) for girls
• All textbooks were rewritten to fit the Nazi view of history and Mein Kampf became a core textbook