Germany: The Nazi Party

1
Germany The Nazi Party
National Socialist German Workers Party NSDAP
The 25 Points - These were the core beliefs of
the Nazi party which Hitler wrote. It was a
political manifesto which set out what the Nazis
would do.
2. There should be a strong tough central
government led by 1 man the Nazis believed this
because under the Kaiser, Germany was strong and
successful. The Weimar republic was not dealing
with the hyperinflation crisis well, so the
thought of returning to a system like the Kiser
appealed to many.
1. The government must provide jobs for everyone
and everyone must work the Nazis believed in
this because they felt that everybody should
contribute to the economic growth of Germany. It
would appeal to all of the people who were
unemployed at the time due to hyperinflation. It
would badly effect those who chose not to work.
3. The Treaty of Versailles should be destroyed
Nazis believed that Versailles was too harsh.
They did not accept defeat in WW1 and felt that
they were betrayed by the November criminals.
This would appeal to members of the Army, but
threatened the current government, because they
were the people who signed the treaty.
The Sturm-Abteilung were the Nazi partys private
army. They were mostly ex-Freikorps and their
role was to protect Nazi speakers, but in reality
they made violence themselves by attacking rival
left wing groups.
Hitler was the Nazi partys undisputed leader. He
had a dominating presence, and craved power. He
would not be tied down by policy he wanted to
gain power then use it as necessary at that time.
He was an incredibly persuasive public speaker
and told people what they wanted to hear.
2
The Munich Putsch
A governmental coup staged by the Nazis to
overthrow the Weimar republic.

• 8th November 1923
• Kahr, the leader of Bavaria was addressing 3000
  businessmen at a beer hall in Munich
• Hitler and Goering arrived with 600 storm
  troopers
• General Ludendorff was a great German war hero
  who said he supported Hitler
• Around Munich, the storm troopers took control of
  government buildings

• 9th November 1923
• Von Kahr escaped during the night and told the
  army of Hitlers plans for revolution
• Hitler and his 2,000 supporters began their march
  through Munich streets, but were met by armed
  police
• Hitler was wounded and 16 Nazis were killed
• Hitler and Ludendorff were taken to prison

• The Trial February 1924
• Hitler used the trial as a stage on which to
  speak about his beliefs.
• The trial lasted 24 days and he was a media
  sensation.

• Landsberg Prison
• Hitler was made very comfortable in jail, and was
  allowed unlimited visitors
• He wrote his book, Mein Kampf, and completely
  reorganised the Nazi party

Long term success, Short term failure
Badly Organised Showed how powerless Nazis
were Hitler was tricked by Ludendorff and Von
Kahr Hitler imprisoned
Forced Nazis into public eye Made Hitler famous
and gave him a chance to speak publically Got
support of army
3
Changes to the Nazis
After the Munich Putsch, Hitler reorganised the
party, and decided that the only way to win votes
was by legal means. On the 27th February 1925 in
the Munich Beer Hall,. Hitler officially
re-launched the Party.
The Swastika was in red black and white,
representing eternity in the colours of the
German flag under the Kaiser.
Winning over the Middle Classes Promised strong
leadership that Weimar had failed to deliver.
4
Why was hitler offered the job of Chancellor in
1933?
There are reasons why Hitler was chosen because
of what the Nazis had done, as well as other
events which helped his on his way to chancellor.
Other Events The Depression After Stresemann
built Germany on American loans, when Wall Street
crashed in 1929, American loans were recalled,
and the German economy collapsed. Businesses
could not sell their goods, and so had to sack
workers. Unemployment soared, and the Nazi
promise of solving unemployment gathered much
support. Over half of all 16-30 year olds in
1933 were unemployed and 40 of factory workers
were unemployed by 1932. This gave Nazis more
support. In 1933, when unemployment had reached
4,804,000, the Nazis had 43.9 of the vote in the
Reichstag, 288 seats. Fear of Communism Nazi
party was anti-communist , which appealed to
wealthy businessmen and industrialists who feared
that a communist government would take over their
businesses. Weak opposition In the Reichstag,
the Nazis must have a majority vote to pass a
law. All that the other parties had to do was
agree in order to stop the Nazis passing a law,
but they would not do this, so the Nazis were
able to. Political Deal
Nazi Actions Propaganda Nazi propaganda appealed
to the prejudice that already existed amongst
German people. Hitler used the Jews as a
scapegoat for the loss of WW1, and because many
people wanted someone else to blame, this
increased his support. The Nazis understood what
the depression had done to people, and their
propaganda played on this. Promises Hitler
promised to defeat communism, solve unemployment
and get Germany to be as strong as it was with
the Kaiser. Many people were struggling in the
depression, and these promises of strong
leadership were exactly what they wanted to hear.
He also promised to turn back the treaty of
Versailles, which appealed to all Nationalists
and the believers of the Stab in the Back theory.
There was a different promise for every sector of
society for farmers, better prices, for the
rich, economic stability, and for the poor they
promised jobs. Organisation Many Nazis had
fought in WW1, meaning that they were highly
organised and valued teamwork. They had skilled
leaders at every level. Leadership Hitler was
glorified into a superman, and the idea of having
a strong leader again like the Kaiser appealed to
almost all Germans. Hitler would fly around
Germany giving speeches to raise his profile, and
also used radio to spread the message of the
Nazis.
5
The Political Deal
Nazis are successful in July 1932, winning 37 of
vote Hitler demanded to be chancellor, but
President von Hindenburg refused, instead making
Franz von Papen, the head of the Catholic Centre
Party chancellor. Papen did not have support of
Reichstag and so in December 1933, General von
Schleicher persuaded Hindenburg to remove Papen,
becoming chancellor himself. Schleicher also
failed to get support of Reichstag. Papen wanted
revenge, and so made a deal with Hitler Hitler
would be chancellor and Papen would be vice
chancellor. Papen thought he could control
Hitler, and Hindenburg agreed, and made Hitler
chancellor in January 1933.
The Reichstag Fire

• 27th February 1933, the Reichstag was set alight.
  
• Young Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was
  found at the scene with matches in his pocket.
• He was arrested, held and interrogated by Nazi
  officers, confessed to the crime and was later
  tried and executed.

6
The Reichstag Fire - an alternative explanation
The Nazi party may have organised the fire
themselves. Catching a known communist red handed
would give Hitler the perfect opportunity to
restrict civil liberties and ban other parties,
for fear of a communist revolution.
The law and the fire created an atmosphere of
absolute panic in Germany they felt they ere
under attack from an invisible enemy. The Nazis
promised to restore order and they polled 44 in
the March 1933 elections. Some Historians blame
the Weimar constitution for this, because if
Article 48 had not have existed, the law would
have had to go through the Reichstag and would
not have been passed.

• What were the results of the Reichstag fire???
• Nazis immediately announced that communists were
  trying to take control of Germany.
• They persuaded Hindenburg to use Article 48 of
  the Weimar constitution to introduce The law for
  the protection of the people and the state. It
  allowed Nazis to arrest any political opponents
  without reason.
• 4000 German communists were arrested and put into
  concentration camps having committed no crime.

7
Hitler needed to get over two thirds of the vote
in order to pass the enabling act. He did this
by.
The Enabling Act

1. In March election, Nazis poll 222 of 647 seats
2. Hitler persuades Nationalists to support him,
   getting 340 out of the 647 seats
3. Emergency powers used to make communism illegal,
   reduces number of seats, Hitlers percentage of
   the Reichstag increases.
4. Almost all of centre party supported Hitler, and
   the enabling Act was passed 444 votes to 94.

The Weimar Constitution had effectively voted
themselves out of existence Hitler could rule
without the Reichstag.
8
After Hitler became chancellor in January 1933,
and had the enabling act passed on 23rd March, he
still had many difficult decisions to make. One
of these was to choose between his loyal SA and
the national army of Germany.
The Night of the Long Knives
Support the SA Rohm was an old friend of
Hitler SA had helped him in the Munich Putsch
1923, and in fights against communists Committed
Nazis Over 2,500,00 much larger than the army
Abandon SA Beginning to get out of hand
interfering with running the country and law
courts Disapproved of some Nazi leaders Hitler
would have to go along with their demands if he
used them to control the army Hitler did not
agree with their working class aims and anti
capitalist policies

• Support Army
• Well trained and disciplined
• Only organisation which had the power to remove
  Hitler
• Support of big businesses and conservatives
• Efficient army was needed to reclaim land lost at
  Versailles
• Dont support the army
• Small 100,00 men
• Loyalty unknown
• Some Generals disliked Hitler and Nazis

On 29th and 30th June 1934, the SS (German Army)
were ordered by Hitler to arrest and kill members
and leaders of the SA 400 men were killed.
Hitler thought that Rohm, leader of the SA, was
planning a coup, and he was shot. The SS was then
led by Heinrich Himmler, and it became a hugely
powerful influence in Germany.
This David Low cartoon from 3 July 1934 shows
Hitler (with a smoking gun) and Goering (shown as
Thor, the God of War) glowering at - not the
traditional Nazi salute - but terrified SA men
with their hands up. Some SA men already lie dead
on the ground. The caption reads 'They salute
with both hands now'.    Low was fiercely
anti-Nazi, and portrays Hitler as a brazen
murderer keeping his men in check by naked fear.
Goebbels is shown as Hitler's poodle.
9
What kind of Germany did the Nazis want?

• The peoples community a German population
  unified by mind, body and spirit.
• People would stop thinking of themselves as
  individuals but instead would think of themselves
  as part of a greater German community.
• Rights that an individual has, such as freedom of
  thought would be considered less important than
  loyalty to the German nation.

Aims...

• The Volk all unified in one German nation.
  Achieved by
• removing all other party loyalties. Organisations
  like church, political parties or even swimming
  clubs and choirs would be abolished or taken over
  by Nazis.
• Family and friendship would be less important
  that the Volk. People would be expected and
  encouraged to inform Nazis of anybody who was not
  sufficiently loyal to the German Volk.
• Free speech abolished there was no room for
  opposition to the Nazis.

Volksgemeinschaft

• 2. A strong Germany. Achieved by
• Strong leadership
• Destroying the humiliating treaty of Versailles
• Making Germany a great military power with strong
  armed forces
• Restoring economy from depression by making
  industry powerful
• WAR is necessary for all 4 to come together.

• 3. A racially pure Germany . Hitler believed
  that Aryans were superior to other races, and
  that Germanys problems were caused by Germany
  being run by non-racially pure Germans. Achieved
  by
• Getting rid of minorities such as Jews by
  removing them from positions of power
• Pure German women would be expected to produce as
  many racially pure children as possible. They
  could not marry men of other races.

10
How did the Nazis run Germany?
A DICTATORSHIP No democracy it was the weakness
of the democratic Weimar republic that had caused
disaster for Germany. Germany needed a dictator
who knew what was best for the country, and made
decisions for everyone else. Everyone would obey
these as they were in the peoples interests.
A ONE PARTY STATE Nazis would be the only
political party. Every state, every committee,
every organisation, every club would be led by
Nazi members.
ECONOMIC SUCCESS All Germans would be employed
and would have food. They would help people to
save money to buy their own cars, have holidays
and entertainment for loyal Germans.
A POLICE STATE If there was opposition, the SS
and the police would have absolute power to
arrest, punish and execute enemies of the state
who did not follow instructions, and Hitler, or
who did not submit to the demands for total
loyalty.
A PROPAGANDA STATE Nazis believed that if they
controlled what people saw, heard and read, they
could win hearts and minds. Goebbels had already
shown that Nazi election campaigns of the 1930s
were successful and these were based around
propaganda.
11
Propaganda
Anything which sets out to make people think in a
certain way about something a deliberately one
sided version of events.
Nazi Germanys master of propaganda was Josef
Goebbels , named the Minister for Propaganda and
Enlightenment. The entire German media was
controlled by him. The propaganda set out to make
the new German government appear glorious and
successful. It was designed to - Make Germany
look more united under Nazi leadership - Show
racial purity was important in building a strong
Germany
Cinema special films carrying Nazi message were
made for the young, and news reels and
documentaries with a Nazi slant were played
before and after films.
Newspapers only allowed to print stories which
were pro-Nazi and were given strict instructions
form the party on what to write. Newspapers which
did not support the Nazis were closed 1,500
closed by 1934.
Books anything written by Jews or authors
opposed to the Nazi party were banned. In1933
students were encouraged to burn huge piles of
banned books from libraries.
Radio Gobbles took control of all local radio
stations and used them to send out Nazi messages.
Cheap radio sets were produced so that every
German could afford one, named the peoples
receivers. No foreign stations could be picked
up, so the only view of the world was the Nazi
one. Loudspeaker pillars were set up all over
Germany in streets and public squares so people
could hear it wherever they went.
Music had to be German composers like Wagner,
Beethoven and Mozart. German folk music and
marching music were encouraged. Jazz, black
American, and Jewish music were banned.
Nuremberg Rallies
They brought colour, excitement and national
pride to peoples lives, but also achieved two
very important things
1. Gave the impression that Nazism was POPULAR
2. Gave the impression of ORDER
People felt that everyone else was a Nazi,
convincing others of the Nazi message. The
rallies were an example of MOB PSYCHOLOGY, when
people are simply swept along by a feeling of
belonging to act in ways that they would not
usually.


Nazis promised Germans an end to instability of
the 1920s and early 1930s. The rallies made it
look like the Nazis had delivered order to
German.


12
The 1936 Berlin Olympics. Hitler used this as a
propaganda exercise to show how organised and
successful the Nazis were in restoring Nazis to
greatness. Huge amounts of money were spent on
state of the art facilities to prove how much
Germany had recovered under the Nazis.
Propaganda cont.
Hitler also wanted to prove that the Aryan race
were superior to all others. To his delight,
Germany finished top of the medals table (thanks
to show jumping and shooting). However, Jesse
Owens the black American athlete broke 11 world
records and won 4 gold medals. Hitler refused to
shake his hand, and Owens said, Its not like I
went there to shake his hand anyway.
Hitler was successful in making Germany look
powerful, as all visitors were in awe at the
impressive buildings and organisation. However,
the idea of Aryan superiority was questioned
after the success of Jesse Owens.
Schools in Nazi Germany

• Educational Aims
• Winning the hearts and minds of German children
  in order to create a thousand year Reich
• Indoctrinating young people with Nazi ideas so
  that they would comply, and the Nazis would rule
  forever.

Teachers were forced to join the German Teachers
League, and any teachers who refused were
dismissed. They were instructed and trained to
put the Nazi message across in all lessons

• Children are ideal targets for indoctrination
  because
• All children had to go to school, and so it was a
  perfect place4 for the indoctrination to take
  place.
• Children believed all that they were told by
  adults, especially teachers.

Girls were taught domestic science, child care
and cookery in preparation for their roles as
wives and mothers.
Boys were taught history, race science, eugenics
(the science of breeding) and lots of sport. This
was to prepare them for being soldiers. The Nazi
message was incorporated into history, teaching
about the failures of the weak democratic Weimar
republic, and how Hitler saved Germany.
13
The Hitler Youth
The Nazis believed that in the past, German
society was perfect, leading to traditionalist
ideas. Gender roles very important girls were
wives and mothers, boys were brave soldiers.
By 1933, the Hitler Youth had taken over scouts
and church youth groups. After 1935, membership
was compulsory.
Boys and girls were kept separate in the Hitler
youth, and girls became a part of the League of
German maidens. They were split in preparation
for their different roles in society. Girls were
encouraged to wear traditional clothes and
hairstyles.
German boys read Der Sturmer, indoctrinating them
with the Volksgemeinschaft message and
encouraging them to adopt Nazi ideology chariot
racing to encourage aggression, physical
strength, teamwork and a competitive nature
carrying dead comrades at festivals re-enacting
Medieval burial ceremonies in order to encourage
traditionalist attitudes and preparation for
their becoming soldiers.
14
Women in Nazi Germany
KINDER children expand the German empire by
having racially pure children. KIRCHE church a
powerful tool to convey the Nazis message that
women have a duty to God to do these
things. KUCHE kitchen being a housewife,
cooking and cleaning and looking after the
husband.
Women were so important to the Nazis because they
needed children. In 1900, 2 million German babies
were born in 1930 this had fallen to 1 million.
If Germany wanted to be a great power, the Aryan
women needed to have children to expand the
racially pure empire.

• Successful?
• 800,000 new brides given special loans because
  they promised not to take up jobs
• 1936 there were 30 more births than in 1933
• Duty year must be served when women were 18 as
  their service was required in armament factories
  in preparation for war.
• Employment of women increased, but wages only two
  thirds that of a mans.

• The Nazis encouraged women to comply by
• The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage in 1933
  couples given 1000 marks in 1933, and were
  allowed to keep 250 marks for every child.
• The Honour Cross for the German mother- gold for
  8 children, silver for 6 children, bronze for 4
  children
• Lebensborn programme allowed selected unmarried
  women to donate a baby to the fuehrer by
  becoming pregnant to racially pure SS men.
• Sacking women in government controlled jobs 15
  of teachers, all doctors and civil servants were
  sacked.

15
Church in Nazi Germany
Hitlers opinion God is dead, and we have
killed him. Hitler was inconsistent about
religion sometimes he used Christian language,
sometimes he spoke disparagingly about
Christianity. Hitler was heavily influenced by
German philosopher Nietzsche, who argued that
Christianity only existed to make men weak. The
qualities most highly regarded by Christianity,
charity, mercy and selflessness, were slave
like. Hitler was interested in making people
stronger and didnt want these qualities in his
new German nation.
Hitler could destroy the church or use it
In 1933 nearly all Germans were Christians. The protestant church had more members than the Nazi party, so the church had a greater influence People who worshipped God would not easily worship Hitler, which the Nazis wanted Church meetings could be used to spread anti-Nazi ideas. Many Christians had voted for Hitler. Protestant pastors were amongst the most well liked Nazi election speakers. Nazi idea of Volksgemeinschaft appealed to traditionalists in the church Church was a local power base for Nazis. If they could build on it, they could grow in strength.
The Nazi approach to Church When the Nazis first
came to power, they thought that they were
powerful enough to directly challenge the
church Nazis agreed a CONCORDAT with the catholic
church Nazis would stay out of religion if the
church stayed out of politics How it changed As
Nazis became more established, their decisions
became braver. In 1938, Catholic priests were
banned from teaching lessons. In 1939, all
church schools were closed. However, a vast
majority of Germans still described themselves as
Christians. The Reichskirche was never very
popular, and was only attended out of duty.
16
Opposition from Christians

• Paul Schneider
• Pastor in a small town
• Criticised Nazis, especially Goebbels
• In 1934 he was arrested and warned not to make
  speeches hostile towards the Nazis
• He ignored these warnings, and in 1937 he was
  sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp
• He smuggled out letters warning that the church
  should not compromise with the Nazis.
• He refused to take his cap off when Nazi flags
  were hoisted and was put on the rack and whipped.
  He was tortured and strung up by the arms for
  hours at a time
• He still refused to sign a promise not to preach.
  He prayed aloud and was kept in the camp for 2
  years.
• In 1938 he was sent to a concentration camp, and
  although Hitler ordered his death before the war
  ended, he survived.

• Cardinal Galen
• Galen publicly attacked Nazi policies as early as
  1924
• In 1941 he revealed that Nazis were secretly
  killing mentally and physically handicapped
  people.
• Galen lead a campaign to ensure that Hitler
  called a halt to this euthanasia programme.
• The Nazi party did not want to make him a martyr,
  so no action was taken against him.
• Three catholic priests were executed for
  distributing copies of Galens sermons to
  soldiers. Some Nazis urged Goebbels to hang
  Galen, but he felt that this would only turn
  people against the Nazi party.

Jehovahs Witnesses Germanys 30,000 Jehovahs
Witnesses believed that they should live by their
religion and not by the government. Most of them
ended up in concentration camps, and one third of
them died.
17
Opposition to the Nazis - Youth

• The White Rose
• Lead by Munich students
• Distributed leaflets attacking the Nazi slaughter
  of the Jews and Poles
• Urged Germans to sabotage the war effort
• In 1943, most leaders were captured and executed.

• The Edelweiss Pirates
• Working class girls and boys Wore an edelweiss
  flower as a symbol of their opposition
• At weekends, they would go on hikes, camp, sing,
  meet other groups and hope to beat up Hitler
  Youth patrols.
• Roving dudes and Navajos regarded themselves
  as Edelweiss Pirates
• In Cologne, the Navajos sheltered army deserters
  and escapees from concentration camps, attacked
  Nazi officials and military targets.
• A group of the Cologne Navajos killed the head of
  the Gestapo in their region, were caught and
  executed in November 1944.

• The Swing Youth
• Middle class youths who liked to listen to black
  jazz and band music
• During the war, swing youth existed in most big
  cities, and members met in night clubs and cafes.
  
• They wore English style clothes, girls wore
  makeup and Jews were accepted.
• Their common greeting was Heil Benny after
  the band leader Benny Goodman
• Nazis were outraged at such behaviour, and as a
  punishment, one boy, Hasso Schutzendorff, in
  October 1942, was put into a concentration camp.
  His hair was cut off, he was beaten with an iron
  bar and forced to push trolleys full of Earth
  uphill for 2 weeks.

• Soldiers
• Nazi youth policy through the 30s was aimed at
  preparing young Germans for war, but, when war
  came, all of the best leaders from the Hitler
  Youth went away, leaving the organisation in the
  hands of teenagers
• Members therefore got fed up with being policed
  and given orders by people barely older than
  themselves.
• The Hitler Youth became less attractive, and
  young people turned away from it. Those who
  opposed it formed the other opposition groups.

18
Did the War increase Nazi opposition?

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Early Opposition
• Was a Christian, and from early 1930s, he
  preached and published his views against the
  Nazis.
• In 1935, he campaigned against the Nuremberg
  Laws, but he failed to get even the supposed
  anti-Nazi confessional church to oppose with him.
  
• In 1937, Gestapo closed his training college and
  banned him from teaching.
• He joins the Abwehr
• He joined the underground resistance with brother
  Klaus and brother-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi. They
  secretly gathered evidence of Nazi crimes
• In 1935, he joined the Abwehr, the German Army
  counter-intelligence service, within which a
  small group was working to overthrow Hitler. He
  helped to devise Operation 7, the aim of which
  was to help a small number of Jews escape from
  Germany. This was successful, and the Jews
  escaped to Switzerland
• Bonhoeffer became more involved in a plot to
  assassinate Hitler. He made contact with the
  British government to ask if they would negotiate
  a peace deal with conspirators if they could
  overthrow Hitler. The British wanted
  unconditional surrender, and were not convinced
  that the group could succeed, and so no deal was
  made.
• He is arrested
• In October 1942, his name was revealed during the
  interrogation of a man arrested for currency
  smuggling
• He was kept in solitary confinement in silence,
  fed on dry bread, denied clean clothes, blankets
  and soap.
• Concentration Camp
• In 1944, he was transferred to . He still
  preached the word of God in the camp. On the 8th
  April 1945 he was put on trial in Flossenberg
  concentration camp. The trial lasted 30 minutes,
  and he was hung at dawn the next day.

19
Did the War increase Nazi opposition?

• The Army leaders tried to kill Hitler
• A1943, the war was going disastrously wrong for
  Hitler
• A group worked closely with Bonhoeffer to topple
  Hitler
• In 1944, opposition led by General Ludwig Beck
  and Civilian Conservative politician Dr Carl
  Goerdeler backed plans from Count Von
  Stauffenberg to assassinate Hitler

The July 1944 Bomb Plot
Why did Count Von Stauffenberg want to kill
Hitler? In the 1930s he had been a Nazi
supporter, and had welcomed the party because
they were the only group who could destroy the
communists He fought in France, Russia and North
Africa. In 1942, he was seriously wounded, and
lost his left eye, tight arm and two fingers from
his left hand. The suffering of the army in
Russia and the brutality of the SS pushed him to
plot to kill Hitler.

• The events of July 20th, 1944
• Count Stauffenberg attended the staff conference
  in Hitlers Wolfs Lair, beginning at 12.30pm.
• He broke a capsule of acid which would eat
  through the wire detonator thus activating a
  firing pin.
• He entered the map room, and put the bomb, hidden
  in a briefcase, against the leg of the table
  where Hitler would be looking at the maps.
• Stauffenberg made an excuse to leave the room,
  saying that he must take a telephone report from
  Berlin.
• At 12.42, the bomb exploded, and SS guards
  believed an air raid to be taking place.
  Stauffenberg bluffed his way out of the Wolfs
  Lair and by 13.15 was on his way to Berlin on a
  plane.
• The briefcase was moved to the other side of the
  table, so Hitler survived, with singed clothing,
  damage to his ear drums, and a cut to his hand.
• At 16.00, Hitler was giving a talk to Mussolini
  about the explosion. At 18.45, there was a radio
  broadcast saying that there had been an attempt
  on Hitlers life, but that it had failed and
  Hitler was still alive.
• The Coup d'état which was planned to follow the
  assassination was badly planned, and was
  disastrous. The conspirators ordered Major Otto
  Remer to go to arrest Goebbels, the only senior
  Nazi officer in Berlin at the time. However,
  Remer was a dedicated Nazi, and after being
  promoted by Hitler to colonel, he was given the
  task of finding all of the conspirators.
• The conspirators were rounded up, faced court
  Martial and were executed by firing squad.

20
Opposition to the Nazis and why didnt it grow?
Private Grumbling
Talking to friends and family about complaints,
eg. Complaining about unemployment in a private
conversation.
Publically declaring opposition by refusing to
cooperate with Nazis eg. Pastor Gruber, who
helped Jews to emigrate, and leader of the Army,
General von Fritch, who argued against Hitlers
plans for war.
Passive Resistance
Underground resistance and open opposition
People campaign against government, or
deliberately disrupt policies. Eg. The
Beautification Society in Northeim buying a hut
in the forest rather than giving the Nazis their
money.
Nazis could not be voted out, and so the only
other way of change was by killing and replacing
Hitler. None succeeded, the 1944 bomb plot was
one attempt.
Attempted Coup d'etat
Opposition didn't grow because...
Germans were afraid The SS and the Gestapo
could destroy peoples lives if they did not
comply. Nazis wanted hearts and minds, but as
long as they obeyed and kept complaints private,
they were tolerated. This ruling through fear
ensured everyone kept grumbles quiet.
Opposition was divided the communists and social
democrats did not trust each other, and so would
not cooperate in resistance against the Nazis.
The SDs met in small groups, and communists did
nothing as they thought that Nazis would fall by
themselves. The public were so preoccupied with
their own views about how Germany should be run,
complaints were only discussed as a matter of
course.
People were unaware Censorship and propaganda
meant that people could not receive reliable
information. Some Nazi policies could be kept
secret in this way. This meant that revolution
because of outrage at policy was less likely, as
German people had only Nazi perspective on
events.
People were pleased The reversal of the Treaty
of Versailles pleased many people, so for the
sake of stability, people would tolerate
something that they did not agree with. Nazis
had kept some promises, and the economic
stability that they brought was a far greater
concern than most things for the German public in
general.
Quibbles were minor In the German town of
Northeim, there were complaints about the four
sports clubs being merged into one, rather than
about the persecution of the Jews. People were
seemingly not concerned about the genocide, so
Nazis didnt have to worry about the growth of
opposition.
Unpopular policies were dropped In 1940 their
policy of euthanasia was dropped after the people
of Germany discovered that disabled people were
being murdered. Dropping unpopular policies meant
that most people were kept happy, so there was
less chance of opposition.
We did vote for them after all Most people
saw the Nazis as having the legal right to do
whatever they wanted because they had been voted
in. Most people therefore just accepted the Nazi
policy, and didnt create opposition.
There was no organised opposition Hitler had
destroyed all other parties and eradicated all
opposition groups, making Germany a one party
state, so no further action was needed to limit
opposition.
21
Nazi Economy

• The aims of the Nazi economy were
• To reduce unemployment, in 1933 it was 6 million
• To build up the German armaments industry and
  rearm and enlarge the German army, navy and air
  force
• To make Germany economically self sufficient so
  it could not be blockaded in times of war.

• Problems faced
• Difficult to export goods as trade had collapsed
  in the Great depression
• Germany was short of some essential raw materials
• Germany could not afford to pay for many imports.

• Economy under Dr Hjalmar Schacht, 1934-1937 THE
  NEW PLAN
• Imports were limited, how much and what materials
  were imported were carefully controlled
• Trade agreements were made with countries.
  Hungary exchanged butter, vegetable oil, fodder
  and raw materials in return for industrial
  products. This supplied the raw materials Germany
  needed
• Government spending channelled into a wide range
  of industries
• Unemployment reduced by

• Ways of reducing unemployment
• DAF (Deutche Arbeitsfront) - this put all people
  to work, building schools, hospitals stadiums and
  autobahns.
• RAD (Reich Labour Service) for all 18-25 year old
  men. They had to do 6 months of compulsory
  service. Work was hard physical labour like
  digging ditches and planting forests.
• Conscription and rearmament from 1935 this
  created thousands of factory jobs to produce
  weapons and ammunition. Military service also
  reduced numbers of unemployed.
• Jews were dismissed and Germans took their jobs
• Sending people to concentration camps (they were
  not included in unemployment statistics)

The New Plan was successful the economic crisis
was solved between 1934-36. Hitler was able to
rearm, and from 1933, the world economy was
recovering anyway. Germany had become more
dependent on imported raw materials though, not
helping self sufficiency.
Hitler wanted to be preparing for war in 1935,
and therefore wanted to rearm more quickly.
Schacht told Hitler that Germany could not afford
to do this, and resigned in 1937.
22
Economy under Goering
Hermann Goering took over the economy. His sole
aim was preparation for war, and that meant
making Germany completely self sufficient. Hitler
did not want a situation like the British naval
blockade in WW1, and so wanted an AUTARKY. This
would mean that Germany had enough oil, steel,
rubber and food necessary to function. To achieve
Autarky

• Agriculture
• Farmers had voted for the Nazis, and so Hitler
  wanted to make sure that they were rewarded
• Taxes for farmers were cut
• Amount of land farmed was reduced to cut
  overproduction of food, and food prices rose,
  increasing farmer profits.
• This meant that food had to be imported more
  often, not helping to achieve autarky.

1. Increased production of raw materials needed for
   rearmament like coal, iron ore, oil, metal and
   explosives.
2. Big businesses were persuaded to produce
   synthetic raw materials, like artificial rubber
   and textiles. The chemical company I G Farben
   tried to extract oil from coal.
3. Reduce imports
4. Tighten controls on wages and prices
5. Use forced labour if necessary
6. Build new industrial plants, like the Herman
   Goering Works, a huge mining and metal works.

Did it work? No. The government poured billions
of Reich marks into the 4 year plan, but by 1939,
Germany still depended on foreign imports for one
third of raw materials.
Effects on people in Society
Sector of Society Advantages Disadvantages
Farmers Debts written off, increased food pricesbigger profit Government controlled all hens must lay 65 eggs per year. Shortage of workers as people left for towns.
Unskilled workers They had been the hardest hit in the depression they were now able to feed families. Housing was organised Forced to work where thy were out, wages lower than dole, would not receive unemployment benefit if they refused.
Small businesses Department stores banned, Jewish stores closed. Less stores less competition, craftsmen could control trade. Number of self-employed craftsmen fell from 1,650,000 to 1,500,000
Big businesses Massive rearmaments and destruction of trade unions gave more work. Salaries rose by 70 between 1934-38. Government took control of prices, wages, profits and imports, ordered what must be produced.
23
Did people benefit from Nazi rule?
As far as those things that can be measured are
concerned, life improved. But it was those things
that cannot be measured that got worse.
The life of most Germans genuinely improved under
Nazi rule, and so the Nazis were popular. The
people who were in the Volksgemeinschaft saw a
real improvement in life for those who werent,
life got immeasurably worse.

• Positives German pride restored, particularly
  after Germany started to turn back the treaty of
  Versailles
• Country was out of the depression, and people
  were more optimistic and self confident
• More people had jobs, and so had a better
  standard of living than during the depression.
  People had houses, food, holidays etc.

• Negatives no freedom to choose employment
• No freedom of religion
• Education system was ruined by Nazification
• Control of leisure time activities
• Arrest and murder of political opponents,
  homosexuals and racially undesirables.

Effects on the Jewish population
Anti Semitism had been common across Europe for
centuries. In 1933, Jews made up less than 1 of
the population of Germany, but a high percentage
of affluent careers 16 of lawyers, 17 of
bankers and 10,000 doctors.
Date Event
April 1933 Official 1 day boycott of Jewish shops, lawyers bankers
1934 Anti Semitic propaganda increased
May 1935 Jews forbidden to join army
September 1935 Nuremberg Laws for the protection of German blood and honour. Banned marriages between Jews and Aryans.
1936 Lull in anti-Jewish campaigns because of Olympics
September 1937 Hitler makes outspoken attack on Jews. Aryanisation of businesses increased
April 1938 Jews forced to register property, making it easier to confiscate
June-July 1938 Jewish doctors, dentists and lawyers banned from having German clients
October 1938 Red letter J stamped on Jewish passports
9-10 Nov 1938 Kristallnacht Nazis destroyed synagogues, homes and shops of Jews.
24
The Holocaust

• Anti-Semitism was not invented by the Nazis, it
  had existed for centuries. Jews were victims of
  discrimination for 3 reasons
• Jews as Christ Killers the Bible describes how
  Jewish leaders plotted with the Romans to kill
  Jesus. When Pontius Pilate offered the people the
  chance to free Jesus, Jewish leaders paid the
  crowd to shout for Barabbas.
• Jews as Murderers During the middle ages, Jews
  were accused of kidnapping children and
  sacrificing them to use their blood in prayer.
  Even though these stories were completely untrue,
  the idea of Blood Libel was widely believed.
• Jews as money lenders In the 16th century,
  Christians were forbidden by the church to be
  money lenders. Since they were barred from many
  professions, many Jews became money lenders, and
  were accused of charging excessive rates on
  loans.

How did Nazis change anti-Semitism?
Before the Nazis, anti-Semitism was a hatred of
the Jewish religion. Jews who converted to
Christianity and who were baptised were accepted
a s Christians. Hitlers anti-Semitism was
racial. He believed a person was Jewish by blood.
Hitler had used Darwins theory of evolution to
develop his ideas. He argued that Aryans and
white Europeans were superior to Jews and blacks,
and by applying this to Darwins theory of
natural selection, he became a Social
Darwinist it was natural for superior races,
Aryans, to dominate inferior races, like Jews.
25
Hitlers restrictions on the Jews The
Nuremberg Laws

• September 1935
• The Reich Citizenship Law deprived Jews of
  German citizenship. Nazi made Jews not citizens
  because in some way, this made the horrific
  discrimination and treatment of the Jews more
  justifiable and acceptable. Everything in the
  eyes of the law was now legitimate they were not
  German citizens and so should not enjoy the
  freedoms.
• The Law for the protection of German Blood and
  Honour - outlawed marriages and sexual relations
  between Jews and Germans.

• Laws which restricted a normal childhood for
  Jewish children
• April 1933 Aryan and Jewish Children not allowed
  to play with each other
• November 1938 Jewish children no longer allowed
  to attend state schools

• Laws which made it impossible for Jews to earn
  money
• April 1933 Jewish teachers banned from teaching
  in state schools
• April 1936 Jewish vets not allowed to practice
• January 1939 Jewish nurses, chemists and
  dentists forbidden to work as such.

October 1938 Jewish passports stamped with a
letter J.

• Laws which had serious effects on peoples lives
• September 1935 Marriages between Jews and Aryans
  were declared invalid
• March 1936 Jews not allowed to rebuild their
  synagogues
• December 1938 Jews had to hand in their driving
  licenses to police.
• September 1939 Jews had to stay in their homes
  after 8pm in winter and 9pm in summer.

• Laws which were seen by Jews as minor nuisances
• March 1938 Jews forbidden to hold allotments
• November 1938 Jews not allowed to buy magazines
  or newspapers
• September 1939 Jews had to hand in their radio
  sets.

26
Kristallnacht

• On 6th November 1938, a young German Jewish
  student, Hirsch Grynspan, who was studying in
  Paris, received news that his parents had been
  beaten up by Hitlers Storm troopers.
• He went to the German embassy and shot a high
  ranking German official, Ernst vom Rath. Three
  days later, he died in hospital.
• Over the 2 nights of the 9th and 10th November
  1938, Jewish synagogues and shops were burned and
  looted.
• Altogether 117 synagogues were destroyed 7500
  shops were looted 91 Jews were killed. 20,000
  Jews were sent to concentration camps ND THE
  Jewish community had to pay a fine of 1 billion
  marks for the murder of Vom Rath.

The German government tried to present this event
as the people of Germany venting anger at the
murder of a German official. However, as the
letter below makes clear, this was not the case.
Kristallnacht was an example of a Pogrom. In
Europe, these were state organised attacks
against Jewish settlements. Kristallnacht was an
example of the Nazi partys systematic approach
to dealing with the Jewish problem.
Letter from SS Grupenfuhrer Heydrich to all state
police on 10th November 1938, after the shooting
of Vom Rath.
Following the attempt on the life of Secretary of
the Legation vom Rath in Paris, demonstrations
against the Jews are to be expected in all parts
of the Reich in the course of the coming night,
November 9/10, 1938. The instructions below are
to be applied in dealing with these events a)
Only such measures are to be taken as do not
endanger German lives or property (i.e.,
synagogues are to be burned down only where there
is no danger of fire in neighbouring
buildings). b) Places of business and apartments
belonging to Jews may be destroyed but not
looted. The police is instructed to supervise the
observance of this order and to arrest
looters. c) In commercial streets particular care
is to be taken that non-Jewish businesses are
completely protected against damage. d) Foreign
citizens even if they are Jews are not to be
molested. 2. On the assumption that the
guidelines are observed, the demonstrations are
not to be prevented by the Police.
There are rules (no looting, only German Jews)
you cannot have rules for a spontaneous attack.
This shows that Kristallnacht was not a natural
uprising it was a government organised Pogrom.
27
The Genesis of the Final Solution
From 1933 Jews discriminated against by lots of
anti-Semitic laws, combined with anti-Semitic
propaganda.
After invasion of Poland, Polish Jews put into
ghettoes, followed in 1941 by German Jews.
From September 1935, Nuremburg Laws denied Jews
of their citizenship
Kristallnacht 9th 10th November 1938
The Final Solution extermination camps like
Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor set up. Millions
of Jews exterminated.
Different methods of execution tried carbon
monoxide, shooting gas proved to be most
effective
Ghettoes
Nazi built ghettoes in the countries that they
invaded Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary and
Lithuania. The ghettoes just held the

Jews whilst Hitler decided what to do
next he had no real plan. There were awful
conditions in the ghettoes no light, no heat,
and food was almost impossible to buy. Hundreds
of thousands died from malnutrition. If you tried
to leave you would be shot by SS guards
patrolling the wall. Nazis sometimes used people
in the ghettoes for labour Chaim Rumkowski in
the Lodz ghetto agreed to give Jews as workers,
and these people would have been taken to a camp
and worked to death.
The SS Einsatzgruppen
The SS were originally Hitlers personal body
guards, and after the SA were destroyed at the
Night of the Long Knives, the SS became more
powerful. They were fiercely loyal to Hitler and
had unlimited powers of search and arrest,
terrorising ordinary Germans into obedience. It
was the job of the SS to destroy any form of Nazi
opposition. The Gestapo was a branch of the SS
which formed to secret police. They would use
informants to gather information on opponents to
the Nazi regime. The SS were given control of
the racial policy because it was hard and
upsetting the SS had been chosen as unemotional
people who were loyal in all circumstances.
The Einsatzgruppen were created by Heinrich
Himmler. They were special task forces within the
SS, under the control of Reinhard Heydrich. They
became mobile killing units which liquidated all
enemies of the Reich in newly occupied territory.
The Einsatzgruppen murdered 1.4 million Jews
between 1941 and the end of the war in 1945
28
The Wansee Conference

• 20th January 1942
• Reinhard Heydrich chaired a meeting in Wannsee,
  just outside of Berlin
• A list was drawn up of the 11 million Jews in
  Europe, and from now on, the extermination of
  Jews became a systematically organised operation.
  
• Himmler was concerned that shooting women and
  children was having an effect on the SS officers,
  and it was decided that bullets were inefficient
  . It was here that the idea of death camps was
  created.

Experiments in Death
The Nazis had started to kill disabled people in
the 1930s using overdoses as a method of
euthanasia. At Chelmno, the Nazis
experimented with gas vans pipes from the
exhaust were put into the back of the vans, where
30 Jews would be killed in 30 minutes. The carbon
monoxide killing was slow, but Himmler was
impressed with the bloodless efficiency and
decided that Zyklon-B gas would be used as the
method of killing at death camps.
Death Camps
Death Marches by 1944, it was clear that the
Nazis had lost, and the Russian armies were
advancing Westward. In September 1944, Jews were
moved out of the Polish camps to camps further
West. In November 9144, Himmler ordered that the
gassings stopped and all evidence of death camps
be destroyed. As the Russians advanced, the
decision was taken to abandon the camps, and walk
the Jews on death marches. They were dumped in
concentration camps in Germany which were now
overcrowded. When Russian forces liberated
Auschwitz in 1945, they found 2800 people who
were too sick to join the death march.

• Concentration camps had been used by the Nazis
  before the war for political opponents, but these
  were prison camps.
• These then developed into labour camps, such as
  Auschwitz-Monowitz, where people would be used as
  slave labour.
• After Wannsee, it was decided to set up death
  camps at Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka and
  Auschwitz-Birkeneau. Birkeneau was half a mile
  away from Auschwitz one, and was where the
  gassings took place.
• When Jews arrived at Auschwitz, Jews were taken
  off the cattle trains and put onto a platform
  known as the Judenramp. Doctors selected the
  fittest 10 for work, and the other 90 would be
  taken directly to the gas chambers and killed
  within 2 hours of arrival.