How Much Opposition Was There From The Public?

• The Nazis wanted to build:

  • a strong Germany - blamed problems for weak leadership, wanted strong leadership like the Kaiser, wanted strong Germans who were ready for war, able to restore Germany’s military pride
  • a racially pure Germany - believed in Aryan supremacy, blamed the Jews for many of Germany’s problems, wanted to remove Jews and other non-Aryans from any positions of leadership
  • people’s community (Volk) - wanted ppl to give hearts and minds to Hitler, people would see their contribution to Germany as more important than their own fulfilment
• They took over the council by bullying and intimidation (How the Nazis seized power in the town of Northheim)

  • stationed SA officers all around the meeting room and refused to let opposition councillors speak
  • they walked out in protest and were spat on by the SA and never met again
  • end of democracy
• They set up a search of all houses in Northheim (How the Nazis seized power in the town of Northheim)

  • supposedly looking for illegal guns and ammunition so they ransacked homes and arrested 22 people, seven taken to the local concentration camp
  • deeper impact was that ordinary Northheimers got the message that violence would apply to any person
• Ordered gleichschaltung (coordination) of all organisations (How the Nazis seized power in the town of Northeim)

  • argued that the Nazis were a majority in national govts so all local bodies should be too
  • 4 sport clubs combined into one Nazi-run club
  • Singing groups and choirs were combined and became Nazi-led
  • aim was that whenever ordinary people did anything, the Nazis would be there
• Organised boycotts of Jewish businesses (How the Nazis seized power in the town of Northheim)

  • newspaper campaign told Northeimers not to shop at Jewish-run businesses
  • SA stationed outside to turn people away
• Ended unemployment (How the Nazis seized power in the town of Northheim)

  • key reason they were elected
  • there used to be 500 registered unemployed but within 3 months of Nazi rule, there were none
  • most were put to work repairing roads and clearing the woods around the town
  • socialists were dismissed from jobs which were then given to Nazis
  • unemployed socialists were offered work but only if they agreed to give up politics
• Produced relentless propaganda (How the Nazis seized power in the town of Northheim)

  • included the ceremonial burning of Weimar flag
  • book burning to destroy unacceptable books
  • torchlight parade joined by 3000 peole
• Northeimers rushed to join Nazi party (How the Nazis seized power in the town of Northheim)

  • Northeimers saw how to get anywhere u need to join the party
  • many in the party weren’t Nazi fanatics - joined to keep safe or keep jobs
• Hitler intended to eliminate anything that stood in the way of achieving these aims

  • started immediately, took power in January 1933
  • speed and ruthlessness of this take-over took many Germans by suprise
  • political opposition was decapitated - leaders imprisoned or intimidated into silence
• Attempted coups d’état: - Hardly any

  • Throughout the first 10 years of Nazi rule, there were no attempted coups
  • It was only near the end of the war that plots against Hitler gathered support
• Underground Resistance and open opposition - Not a lot

  • Throughout the regime, working class groups and students from universities produced anti – government leaflets, such as the White Rose group
  • There were sabotage of factories, railways, and army depots, and some Germans acted as spies passing on industrial and military secrets to other countries
  • Within churches, leaders openly criticized the Nazi government, but many preferred underground oppositions to avoid facing Nazi Terror tactics
• Passive Resistance and non-cooperation - quite common

  • Many people refused to give the “Heil Hitler” salute while others refused to contribute to Nazi funds
  • Members of banned parties met in secret throughout the 1930’s with the risk of execution.
  • 1936 alone, the Gestapo broke 1000 reported meetings of underground Socialist Groups.
• Private Grumbling -Very Widespread

  • Germans greatly resented many aspects of the Nazi regime such as their terror tactics and their intrusion into private lives.
  • People began seeing the wardens with great suspicion and attended Nazi meetings because their jobs depended on it, making their support for the Nazi’s much of a pretence.
• Germans were afraid (Why was there no open opposition?)

  • The SS and Gestapo could destroy people’s lives if they crossed the line
  • The Nazi’s wanted to control people’s hearts and minds and so if their grumbles were kept private, there wouldn’t be much problem but if they became open opposition then the police state was there to deal with it.
• People did not know what was going on (Why was there no open opposition?)

  • Censorship and propaganda stopped people receiving reliable information and some of the extremes of Nazi policy were kept secret.
  • Those who did suspect had learnt not to ask questions for fear of their own lives
• Quibbles were minor (Why was there no open opposition?)

  • Even those who were dissatisfied with the Nazi’s often had very minor criticisms as they prioritised minor issues over larger policies
• “We did vote for them, after all!” (Why was there no open opposition?)

  • Because the Nazi’s had achieved electoral success, most Germans saw the Nazi’s as having the legal authority to do what they wanted.
• People were pleased with the Nazi’s (Why was there no open opposition?)

  • Many German people were genuinely pleased with what the Nazi’s were doing. Even if they did not agree with something the Nazi’s did they would tolerate it for the sake of the stability and prosperity they believed the Nazi’s were creating
• The Opposition was divided (Why was there no open opposition?)

  • Left wing groups such as the Communists and the Social Democrats became natural enemies of Nazism and were both banned in 1933
  • However, these groups did not trust each other and thus did not unite and coordinate resistance against the Nazi’s and each decided to resist in different ways
• The Nazi’s did drop unpopular policies (Why was there no open opposition?)

  • The Nazi’s did drop some moderate their extreme policies if they seemed to be alienating ordinary Germans.
  • After the 1938 Kristallnacht incident, widespread condemnation was produced amongst ordinary Germans that made all measures against Jews a secret rom 1940.
• What were the main goal of the Nazis regarding Germany's development?


  They wanted a strong Germany, a racially pure Germany and a people’s community (Volk)
• Describe the search conducted in all houses in Northeim by the Nazis and its impact on the residents


  They ransacked homes in Northeim in search of ammunition and weapons, leading to 22 arrests and 7 taken to concentration camps. This showed the residents that the Nazis would enforce their violence on anyone who didn’t follow their rules, even though they weren’t political opponents.
• Nazis had a lot of control via violence and propaganda
• Not all Germans were Nazis

  • kept fear to themselves - powerless, didn’t want to risk safety
  • persecution freed little opposition
• Socialists often met secretly (political opposition)

  • activities were small from loss of leaders and they were scattered geographically
• 1930s - sabotage of factories, railways and army stores (political opposition)
• Gestapo claimed to break up 1000 opposition meetings in 1936 (political opposition)
• Seized 1.6 million anti-Nai leaflets in 1936 (political opposition)
• Opposition active or powerless - not much evidence to suggest they were very effective (political opposition)
• No attempts to topple regime until WW2 (political opposition)
• People who tried to keep their own identity refused to accept and conform to Nazi ideals - more common because less likely to be found (social opposition)
• Widespread apathy towards parades and propaganda especially after 1936 (social opposition)
• Local party officials reported they increasingly had to bully people to attend rallies (social opposition)
• Used ‘radio wardens’ to force people to listen to Hitler’s speeches (social opposition)
• Gestapo reported complaining in bars, trains and other public plans (social opposition)
• Told jokes about Hitler and the Nazis (social opposition)
• Refused to contribute to party funds (social opposition)
• National church leaders publicly criticised Nazis e.g. Joseph Fath reported for hanging own flag instead of Nazi flag, Pastor Grueber risked life to help Jews (social opposition)
• Non-cooperation and private grumbling was quite common e.g. Gestapo reported that grumbling became national part-time (social opposition)
• Evidence came from Nazis and oppoenents hid their evidence (social opposition)