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71 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is the main difference of measuring the popularity of the Nazi regime? |
There was never any real way through which the German people could express their feelings toward the Nazi government. |
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Why did many typically anti-Nazi groups go along with early Gleichschaltung? |
They saw the Nazis as a means of halting the rise of the KPD. |
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What was the public reaction to the early concentration of political enemies to the Party under the Reichstag Fire Decree? |
Most people saw it as a necessary crackdown on a number of threats to the people and supported it. - Especially true in the wake of the Reichstag fire. |
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In what ways was Gleichschaltung a two way process? |
- The Nazis would encourage the coordination. - However a great many people would willingly reform themselves and Nazify themselves and their institutions. |
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What were examples of popular compliance with Gleichschaltung? |
- 1.6m people joined the Party between Jan-May '33 - Flood of civil servants joined immediately after the April Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service - Replacement of business groups with the Reich Corporation of German Industry - Women's groups replaced by Nazi Women's Front - All associations replaced by Nazi counterparts to eliminate the possibility of dissent or rivalry |
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The support of which group was key to the nature of Hitler's legal revolution? |
The judiciary - No protest against all lawyers being coordinated into the Nazi Lawyers Association - Erwin Bumke, Reichsgericht President, abandoned anti-SS views and supported Nazis - Reichstag Fire Decree supported as legal - Lawyers hoped to extend Nazi policies to show support |
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Why was the process of Gleichschaltung of the people so easy? |
Some people feared the Nazis but others wanted to be identified with the new regime - Many intellectuals like Gerhart Hauptmann supported the regime despite the persecution they experienced from April '33 |
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What was an example of rival groups trying to impress the regime? |
Burning of forbidden books on the 10th May - Initiated not by the Nazi German Student Federation (NSDStB) but the German Students' Association (DS) in an attempt to show themselves as more radical than their rivals. |
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How was the Nazi propaganda machine created? |
- March 1933: establishment of Reich Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, led by Goebbels; controlled the media by the end of 33 - June: German publishing association VDZV purged and Eher Verlag (Nazi publisher) head Max Amann appointed as chairman - Editors Law of October 1933 called for radically pure journalism (Jewish and leftist journalists sacked and independent journalism restricted) |
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What are examples of Nazi dominance by the end of 1933? |
- Political opposition crush - Dominant ideological force - November 1933: 'election' to the Reichstag saw 92% vote in favour of the Nazi list (the only Party available) and 95% in approval of leaving the LofN |
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What impediments on Hitler's power remained at the end of 1933? |
- Churches remained independent - Business leaders still needed to be courted, especially as the Depression continued - President Hindenburg remained in office; still controlled the Reichswehr |
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What was the army's attitude to the new Nazi regime? |
- Generals supported anti-TofV, pro-military stance but many saw Hitler as an upstart - Believed that the Nazis' popularity could be harnessed to legitimise an authoritative govt - Doubters were assuaged by Blomberg in cabinet, legality of revolution and reverence of generals and army (e.g. at Day of Potsdam) |
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What were the differing opinions within the NSDAP on the nature of a national socialist revolution? |
- For Hitler, it meant destruction of the system to build a new society and culture based on race; Hitler was radical but pragmatic and wanted to hold onto power - For Röhm, it meant a second revolution; establishment of the Twenty Five Points without any compromise or collaboration; SA mainly angered that the middle class were in the same place |
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Example of Hitler-Röhm tensions coming to a head. |
June 1933: Röhm writing an article declaring that the struggle for revolution would continue with or without the establishment - July: Hitler called for an end to the Revolution. - Röhm appointed to cabinet at the end of 1933 |
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What were the flashpoints of tension between the SS and the wider party? |
- Internal SA police independent of Gestapo - Röhm wanted the SA to become the military (rejected by Hitler in February 1934) - Came into competition with the SD; represented a threat to SS power as a whole - Röhm angered Deputy Leader Rudolf Hess and the SA in Prussia annoyed Göring as Gov - All persuaded Hitler to end SA military exercises in May 1934 |
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What was the overall attitude of the conservative elite toward the Nazi regime? |
They mostly worked with it during its rise and consolidation out of a desire to establish an authoritative and antidemocratic state. - Some resistance did come from a courageous few. |
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Significant example of early conservative resistance. |
The Marburg Speech by Vice-Chancellor von Papen in June 1934 - Written by speechwriter Edgar Jung, who was conspiring with others to replace Hindenburg with a conservative - Speech praised the regime but did warn against a second revolution - Seen by some as a rallying call to the army to act; Hitler saw it as treachery |
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How were the internal party tensions with the SA alleviated? |
The June 1934 Night of the Long Knives - Arrest of Röhm and other SA leaders - Non-SA rivals like Schleicher and Gregor Strasser also killed - ~200 people murdered - Justified the following week by the Law Concerning Measured for the Defence of the State; legalised any action to defend the state - SA completely purged and diminished in the end |
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What was the Army's reaction to the Night of the Long Knives? |
- Some were disgusted by the actions, like Abwehr officer Hans Oster, and were turned against the regime. - Aiding Hitler in the purge of the Party had removed the challenger of the SA but also brought the Army closer to the Hitler regime. |
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What 1934 event marked a true victory for Hitler's establishment as dictator? |
The Death of President Hindenburg, August '34 - Hitler declared himself Führer and Reich Chancellor - Blomberg forced the entire Army to take an oath to the Führer; seen as an attempt to bring Hitler under the Army's control, actually saw them come under Hitler's |
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How was the public reaction shown to the creation of the office of Führer? |
A plebiscite was held to ask the German people if they supported the creation of the office. 90% voted in favour. - Showed support for the regime even after the Night of the Long Knives |
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How had the power of the SS been accumulated before the Knight of the Long Knives? |
- April '33: Göring incorporated Prussian political police into the Gestapo; Himmler made head of Bavarian police too - Nov '34: Gestapo established as national secret police - April '34: Himmler appointed as Inspector of the Gestapo; power over state police thus given to the SS |
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How was the police power of the SS expanded after the Knight of the Long Knives? |
- The SS and the Gestapo were made the police arm of the Party, tasked with suppressing opposition - June '34: Heydrich's SD given much more power as the service to ensure state security; came into conflict with Interior Minister Frick - June '36: Himmler appointed head of German police, controlling the SS, Sipo and Ordpo - single massive terror organisation - 1939: all security and police formally organised into the Reich Security Head Office |
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What was the nature of the terror state organised by the SS? |
From 1934, a massive network of concentration camps was set up to imprison opponents of the regime and exploit their labour. - The SS took complete control of the camp network after the NotLK (SS-Totenkopfverbände) and began imprisoning 'asocials' - Example of use of camp labour: German Quarrying Company (est 1938) |
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Statistic for charges of high treason and prison population. |
In 1935, 5k people were convicted of high treason. The prison population rose by 53k and 23k inmates were considered political prisoners. |
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Statistics for how many people were held in the concentration camps under the SS. |
From 1936-9 (after Himmler became Chief of Police); the number of concentration camp inmates rose from 7.5k to 21k. These were mainly asocials. - 9k of the 13k Buchenwald inmates were asocials. |
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What was the mood in response to the terror state? |
As the SS's terror organisation grew, people did feel threatened and thus compelled to follow the regime. |
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What challenges does Professor Robert Gellately make to the role of the Gestapo in Nazi society? |
- Too small; only 32k officers; 1935 - only 42 officers in all of Hamburg - Gestapo informer network was also small - only 50 informers in all of Saarbrücken in 1939 - Much larger role for denunciation by neighbours eg 88% of Saarbrücken cases of 'slander against the Regime' came from denunciations, only 8% from Gestapo |
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What was the state of legal challenges to the police? |
- Some protesters and brave lawyers challenged the police early in the regime - By 1935, it was declared that all police action ordered by the leadership had to be legal. |
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What is Resistenz? |
- Term coined by Martin Broszat to describe indifference and passive resistance to the Nazi regime eg listening to jazz or wearing make-up - Not active opposition but also not the willingness to denounce discussed by Gellately - Represented a limit to the impact of the regime and the influence of Nazi ideology |
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What is 'loyal reluctance'? |
- Term used by Klaus-Micheal Mallmann and Gerhard Paul as a response to Resistenz - Meant to mean that indifference and non-conformity were not signs of disloyalty to the Nazi regime but rather indifference to politics and anger at economic issues - e.g. SD reports in 1939 that peasantry were upset by low food prices and labour shortages |
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What was the general response of the working class to the Nazi regime? |
- Some were hostile but unable to oppose - Others initially were pragmatic but became disillusioned as wages stagnated and hours got longer; accidents, illness and absenteeism double, 1936-9 - Left divided on how to respond - Communists thought it was just capitalism; did nothing till too late |
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What forms of communist opposition did exist? |
- 1.25m communist leaflets seized in 1934 alone - Not very good at infiltrating the DAF; opposition small scale - Communist newspaper, the Rote Fahne, distributed until 1935 - Strikes in 1936 in Rüsselheim and Berlin - 1936 report showed insubordination, sabotage and go-slows |
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What was the state of socialist opposition? |
- SPD fled but set up SoPaDe to maintain links - Some group solidarity in companies like AG Weser - 1936 SPD report said that no collective bargaining = no solidarity - 1938 SPD report: people scared to speak; lots of minor grumbling and getting on with - Some skilled workers, especially those not big on unions, started to support the regime |
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What was the core of the Nazi's propaganda system? How did it manifest itself and what was its effect? |
The cult of the Führer or Hitler Myth (Ian Kershaw) - Hitler depicted as being responsible for improvement in the German economy and the successes of the regime - Not mentioned much in propaganda to preserve his mystique - People tended to blame the system or extremists for problems, not Hitler |
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Examples of powerful propaganda films. |
Hitler employed producer Leni Riefenstahl to make prominent films for the regime. Some of her work included: - Triumph of the Will (1935) about the Nuremberg Rally - Olympia (1938) celebrating the Olympics |
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Examples of Nazi domination of media and effective propaganda. |
- State press agency DNB (est Dec '33) monitored all news and held state press conferences - Völkischer Beobachter sold 2m copies per edition; other newspapers like Der Stürmer or Goebbels's Der Angriff also popular - Political stability improved for the 1936 Olympics and present the regime and peaceful, tolerant and civilised. |
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What was an example of a technological means of broadcasting propaganda? |
Radio - People's Receiver costed 35 marks (just over a weekly wage); 7 million in 1935; 70% of households had one by 1939 - Communal listening enforced in factories, schools etc; loudspeakers erected in public - Censored information, sentimental propaganda and light programmes broadcast |
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How did the Nazis attempt to manipulate popular routine? |
Replacing existing religious and social symbols with Nazi ones - Celebration of holy days replaced with things like Anniversary of the Munich Putsch - Became seen as the new routine rather than propaganda - Supplemented by managed events like the Nuremberg Rally of 1934 |
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What were the NSDAP's immediate measures to help tackle unemployment on coming to power? |
- Law to Reduce Unemployment (June 1933): continued Papen and Schleicher's work schemes with big projects like autobahns - 5bn Reichsmarks invested by the state between 1932-5 on job creation - Labour intensive schemes put thousands back to work (Battle for Work) |
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How did the Nazis strive to alleviate the economic problems of the German peasantry? |
- Sept '33: Reich Food Estate took over control of agricultural planning - Battle for Production launched in '34 and '35; drive to increase grain production; failed due to no new machinery and poor harvest - Conscription reintroduced in 1935 - Expansion of training and work experience for school leavers |
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How were some of Germany's capital issues combated? |
- Appointment of Hjalmar Schacht as Reichsbank President in '33, then Economics Minister in '34 - Schacht's 1934 New Plan increased regulation on trade and currency transfer - 1934 trade deals with S. America and SE Europe, with trade in Reichsmarks - Schacht's Mefo Bill govt bonds tried to stimulate demand in the economy |
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How successful was Schacht's economic policy? |
- Unemployment fell dramatically: 26% in 1933 vs 7% in 1936 (was helped by global economic recovery) - Great boost for the regime, improvement was popular |
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What happened to Schacht's career as Minister of Economics? |
Came into conflict with the more radical elements of the regime. - cautioned against anti-Semitic policy due to economic damage; got 1933 boycott limited to a day; not involved in Nuremberg Laws - Lost out to Göring, Plenipotentiary for 4 Yr Plan from 1936, resigned in 1937 after sidelining |
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How were the liberties of workers curbed? |
- Establishment of the DAF in May 1933 destroyed the union system - Radical pro-Nazi organisations (NSBOs) set up in factories to spread Nazi ideology |
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How were workers compensated for the curtailment of their liberties and wage freezes? |
State paternalism - DAF leader Robert Ley established Schönheit der Arbeit in 1933 to encourage good working conditions - Key also establish Kraft durch Freude to reward good workers - Winterhelp collections and charity - Days of National Solidarity where Party leaders would go out to collect money - Cheap housing and goods like the People's Receiver and People's Car (Volkswagen) showed trying to reach all classes |
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Statistics for Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) |
- Rewards included holidays, evening classes, recitals and sporting competitions - By 1938, 180k workers had been on KdF cruises, and 10m (1/3 of workers) had a state financed holiday |
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What factors made the regime popular with the Army, specially junior officers? |
- Restoration of law and order, destruction of communism and falling unemployment - Rearmament programme declared by Hitler in 1935 (expansion of army to 500k) - '35 Saar Plebiscite and '36 Rhineland Rearmament undermined the TofV and made Hitler look good at diplomacy |
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What were the tensions between Hitler and the Army? How were these alleviated? |
- More conservative generals worried about becoming junior partners in the state, especially with the rise of the more militarised SS - Hitler realised that he could not succeed without them; announced in a meeting in 1935 that 'my loyalty to the Wehrmacht is unshakeable' (Wehrmacht = new name) |
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How was tension over Hitler's foreign policy shown? |
November 1937 Hossbach Conference - Hitler announced that he didn't just want to reverse TofV but rather expand eastward for Lebensraum - Scepticism came from Army C-in-C Werner von Fritsch and his superior War Minister Werner von Blomberg (C-in-C didn't answer to Hitler) - Many didn't feel Germany ready for war with Britain or France |
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How far did Hitler control the Army? |
While largely in control, the head of the Wehrmacht reported to War Minister von Blomberg, which created opportunities for some people who were less enthusiastic about the regime to make some decisions (eg Chief of Staff General Beck) |
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How did Hitler take full control of the military? |
The Blomberg-Fritsch Affair, 1938 - Gestapo got tipped off that Werner Blomberg's new wife had been a prostitute; Hitler sacked him - Hitler was reminded by Himmler of General Fritsch's previous involvement with a rent boy; ordered him to a military trial |
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What restructuring took place after the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair? |
- Hitler did not appoint a new War Minister to replace Blomberg, becoming Supreme Commander himself - After Fritsch's removal, a purge of the top echelons of the Army was carried out, with 12 generals being sacked - Last cabinet meeting held in February 1938, with Hitler free to wage war alone |
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What was the first major step forward in Hitler's post 1937 foreign policy? What were the reactions to it? |
The Anschluss with Austria in March 1938 - Supported by 99% of the vote in plebiscites held in both Germany and Austria - Led to further pressure for union with the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia - Generals Ludwig Beck and Franz Halder began plotting a coup. |
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How did General Beck's 1938 conspiracy develop? |
The plot began to dissolve over issues regarding the official oath that plotters had made to Hitler. - Came to a halt after Munich Conference between Hitler, Chamberlain and Daladier led to the peaceful transfer of the Sudetenland, ending the Czech crisis - Beck resigned his command in August however kept in touch with conservative resistance |
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What was the state of conservative opposition by late peace time? |
Very limited to quiet rumblings and mayors resigning (Carl Goerdeler, 1937) Conservatives had become very invested in the fortunes of the Nazi regime. |
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What was the overall stance of the church toward the regime? |
Mostly welcomed the regime and its conservatism in contrast with the Weimar Republic and its liberalism. - Some moral issues with anti-Semitic policy, but many thought that Jewish people had become too powerful - Saw it better to go along with it |
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How was the Protestant faith coordinated by the regime? |
- Hitler's religious advisor, Ludwig Müller, was 'elected' National Bishop in May 1933 - 28 Protestant churches coordinated into a single Reich Church in July '33 - 700k youth church group members coordinated into the Hitler youth in December |
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What was the response of dissident Protestants to the formation of the Reich Church? |
The formation of a rival Confessional Church - Bitterly divided between moderates who wanted to stay loyal to Nazism and radical members like Dietrich Bonhöffer - Generally opposed attacks on its independence more than it opposed Nazism |
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How were Christian opponents handled by the regime? |
- 1935: Ministry of Church Affairs set up - 700 priests arrested in Prussia in 1935 for protesting the inclusion of Paganism in the school curriculum - General forms of opposition were individual protests against de-Christianisation or Kristallnacht; institutions were silent |
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What was the initial position of the Catholic Church on the regime? |
- Relieved by assurances from von Papen of their independence - DZP gave the NSDAP the majority they needed to pass the Enabling Act - Concordat assured the Church's independence in return for neutrality - Held more ideological control over parishioners than protestants |
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What were issues for the Catholic Church as the regime went on? |
Restrictions on independence like murder of Catholic Minister Erich Klausener in 1934, ban on crucifixes in schools in 1935 and more paganism - Papal encyclical 'With Burning Concern' published in '37 after Catholic youth groups banned in 1936 - Opposition still individual - Anschluss and Sudetenland boosted Catholic population |
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How did the regime deal with young people? |
Wanted to appeal to their energy and anti-establishmentarian spirit - Balder von Shirach was Reichsjugendführer - Boys were soldiers; served in German Young People from 10-14 and the Hitler Youth from 14-16 (compulsory from 1939) - Girls were loyal mothers; League of Young Girls at 10, League of German Girls at 14; compulsory from '36 |
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How did the Nazis coordinate education? |
- Bernard Rust appointed Education Minister in 1933; charged with Nazification of schooling - All Jewish and dissident teachers sacked - 97% of all teachers coordinated into the National Socialist Teachers' Alliance by '37 - The Alliance (NSLB) indoctrinated teachers; 2/3 on courses by 1939 |
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What were the elite schools set up by the regime? |
- Adolf Hitler Schools - for the leaders of the future - Napolas - graduates expected to join the Waffen-SS - Ordensburgen - other elite students |
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What were the forms of the opposition built up among young people? What was their nature? |
- Working class dissidents formed pirate groups like the Edelweiss Pirates - Middle class kids joined Swing groups that celebrated American culture. - Most young people stayed loyal, only small minority that took part in this Resistenz |
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What was the Nazi attitude toward women? |
Believed that women should serve in domestic roles as subservient to the family. - Slogan 'Kinder, Küche, Kirche' |
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How were women's groups coordinated by the Nazis? |
- Women's Front/Frauenbund established by Ley in May 1933 - All women's groups in the country had to expel Jewish members and join the Frauenbund - Most did so, happy to support the traditional role of women |
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How were established women removed from their position? |
- All 19k female civil servants fired in 1933, along with 15% of female teachers - The 3% of lawyers who were female declined in sentence - From 1936, couldn't serve as judges or jurists |
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How did the reality of the coordination of women not really reflect the rhetoric? |
- Didn't want to upset the Frauenbund so Frick temporarily reversed the sacking of teachers in 1934 - Economic situations caused their own changes; 5% of doctors female in 1930 vs 7% in 1939 - Only 5.6m women in work in 1936; but rearmament caused a labour shortage so Nazis called women back; 7.4m by Jul '39 |
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What was the extent of the Nazis indoctrination? |
- Many already supported the Nazis, other coerced in through threats (loyal reluctance) - Propaganda was very effective in stirring up fears and prejudices - Limits on ideology; religion still led to moral questions over the regime and few Germans wanted war |
