History other decks

• The Nazis had a tight grip on Germany, but some opposition remained
• Opposition to the Nazis

  • The Political Left
  • Some members of the Church
  • The Edelweiss Pirates
  • The Swing Kids
• The Political Left


  • Opposed Hitler, but was Divided and Weak
• Opposition from the Political Left

  1. Once in power, the Nazis had banned other political parties, including those on the political left, such as the Communist Party (KPD) and the Social Democratic Party SD

  2. Their members formed underground groups to try and organise industrial unrest (eg strikes)

  3. Their impact was limited because the different parties of the left were divided and didn't cooperate, and their networks were often infiltrated by the Gestapo (secret police, and party members could be executed
• Some members of the Church

  • Opposed the Nazis, even though they risked being sent to concentration camps
• Opposition from the Church

  1. Martin Niemöller was a Protestant pastor, a former U-boat captain and a one-time Nazi supporter. He objected to Nazi interference in the Church, and was one of the founders of the Confessing Church. He used a sermon in 1937 to protest against the persecution of Church members, and as a result spent several years in concentration camps

  2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Protestant theologian and pastor, opposed the Nazis from the beginning. He joined the resistance, helped Jews escape from Germany and planned an assassination of Hitler. He was caught and imprisoned, then executed just weeks before the fall of the Nazis

  3. Clemens August von Galen was the Catholic Bishop of Münster, who used his sermons to protest against Nazi racial policies and the 'euthanasia' of the disabled. His protests didn't stop the killing, but they did force the Nazis to keep them secret. Only the need to maintain the support of German Catholics stopped the Nazis from executing him
• The Edelweiss Pirates


  • Rebellious youths who rejected Nazi values and opposed the Hitler Youth organisation. They helped army deserters, forced labourers and escaped concentration camp prisoners. At first the Nazis mostly ignored them, but cracked down after they started distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. Many members were arrested, and several were publicly hanged
• The Swing Kids (or Swing Youth)


  • Groups of young people who rebelled against the tight control the Nazis had over culture, acting in ways considered 'degenerate' by the Nazi regime (eg. listening to American music and drinking alcohol). They were mostly considered a nuisance rather than a threat, but some members were arrested and even sent to concentration camps
• German opposition to the Nazis didn't really threaten their downfall, but it did mean the Gestapo was kept busy tracking down people who had distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, held secret meetings, committed acts of sabotage etc.
• Other Germans expressed their distraction with the Nazi regime in one ways-5 by grumbling about the government or making jokes. Not everyone considers this genuine opposition, but even this was probably tolerated because if you weren't with the Nazis, you were against them...
• The Nazis encouraged women to be homemakers and tried to provide jobs for men
• Expectations for women under the Nazis

  • Raise Large Families
  • Dress plainly and were discouraged from wearing make-up and smoking
  • Study subjects like cookery and choose 'proper' husbands
• The Nazis gave awards to women for producing large families for Germany and encouraged more women to marry by offering financial aid to married couples
• The Nazis started a huge programme of public works, which helped to reduce unemployment. They also brought in military conscription and encouraged German industry to manufacture more ships, planes, tanks and weapons for the military
• The Nazis banned trade unions so workers had to join the Nazis' Labour Front instead. Workers were not allowed to go on strike or campaign for better conditions, and wages were relatively low
• Many groups in society felt better off under the Nazis, including workers who felt important and believed they were an essential part of the Volksgemeinschaft (people's community), and middle-class small-business owners who were able to advance more in society than previously
• Even though many people felt better off, workers and small-business owners had lost rights in some ways - the cost of living rose by about 25% but wages didn't go up, and workers didn't have the right to strike or resign
• Youth Movements helped produce Committed Nazis. The Hitler Youth seemed exciting and gave boys opportunities for physical activities and leadership training
• The Hitler Youth


  1. Founded in 1926 to recruit boys aged fourteen and over

  2. Boys wore military-style uniforms and took part in physical exercises, sports competitions and camping trips

  3. High achieving boys might be trained as loyal Nazi leaders in special schools
• The League of German Maidens


  • The female branch of the Hitler Youth, aimed at girls aged between fourteen and eighteen. Girls were trained in domestic skills like sewing and cooking, and sometimes took part in physical activities like camping and hiking
• Nazification of Education


  1. Learning Nazi propaganda, with most teachers joining the Nazi Teachers' Association and being trained in Nazi methods

  2. Subjects were adapted to fit in with Nazi ideas, including teaching children to be against Jews

  3. Physical education became more important for boys to prepare them for joining the army, sometimes even playing games with live ammunition

  4. In universities, students burned anti-Nazi and Jewish books, and Jewish lecturers were sacked
• During the Second World War, members of the Hitler Youth contributed to the war effort, for example helping with air defence work, farm work and collecting donations for Nazi charities. Towards the end of the war, many Hitler Youth members ended up fighting alongside adults, known for being fierce and fanatical fighters
• Hitler wanted to 'cleanse' Germany of 'inferior' groups, including Romani people, people with mental or physical disabilities, and Jewish people
• Discrimination against Jews


  1. In 1933, the SA organised a national boycott of Jewish businesses, resulting in Nazi-led violence against Jews

  2. Over time, the number of jobs that Jews were banned from gradually increased

  3. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 removed many legal rights from Jews and encouraged Aryans to see them as inferior

  4. By 1938, all Jewish children had been banned from attending German schools and Jews were no longer allowed in many public places
• Kristallnacht in 1938 was a turning point in the Nazi persecution of Jews - it was the first major act of anti-Jewish violence, with thousands of Jewish shops smashed and almost every synagogue in Germany burnt down
• After Kristallnacht, conditions for German Jews got even worse, creating a climate of cruelty and fear
• The Nazis aimed to make Germany a totalitarian state where the government controlled all aspects of life
• The Nazis' creation of a Police State


  1. The Enabling Act of 1933 allowed the government to read people's mail, listen in on their phone calls, and search their homes without notice

  2. The Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich (1934) gave the Nazis total power over local governments

  3. There were laws to sack civil servants who didn't support the Nazis and accept their rules

  4. Changes were made to the justice system, with judges being replaced by Nazi officials
• Kristallnacht


  A turning point in the Nazi persecution of Jews - the first major act of anti-Jewish violence in Nazi Germany
• Timeline showing how conditions in Germany became gradually worse for Jews between 1933 and 1939

  Important turning points
• The Nazis


  • Aimed to make Germany a totalitarian state where the government controls all aspects
  • Wanted complete control over the machinery of government and people's lives
• Police State


  Germany became a police state under the Nazis
• How the Nazis established a police state

  1. Hitler's Enabling Act of 1933 allowed the government to read people's mail, listen in on phone calls, and search homes without notice

  2. Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich (1934) gave the Nazis total power over local government

  3. Laws to sack civil servants who didn't support the Nazis

  4. Changes to the justice system - judges expected to make rulings in line with Nazi Party policy

  5. Sicherheitsdienst (SD) - Nazi intelligence service aimed to bring every German under continual supervision
• Special courts


  Set up in 1933 where the basic rights of accused were suspended - they couldn't appeal or question evidence
• People's Court


  Established in 1934 in Berlin to hold trials for important political crimes - defendants were nearly always found guilty
• SS (Schutzstaffel)


  • Expanded massively under Himmler in the 1930s, members were totally loyal to Hitler and feared for their cruelty
  • Gestapo - secret police whose methods included harsh interrogations and imprisonment without trial
• Local wardens


  Employed to make sure Germans were loyal to the Nazis, members of the public encouraged to report disloyalty
• Concentration camps


  Created across Germany and its territories to hold political prisoners and anybody else considered dangerous to the Nazis, some later turned into death camps
• Most Germans were prepared to go along with the new regime, either out of fear or because they believed in the Nazis' goals even if they didn't approve of the brutal methods
• Propaganda


  Aims to control how people think by spreading information that influences their thoughts and behaviour, often leaving out important facts