nazi germany

What were the two main Christian groups in 1930s Germany?

Catholics (1/3) and Protestants (2/3)

What happened to the Protestant Church under Nazi rule?

It split into two groups:

• German Christians (loyal to Hitler)

• Confessing Church (opposed Nazism)

Who led the German Christians & supported Nazi ideas?

Bishop Ludwig Müller

Who were two leaders of the Confessing Church?

Martin Niemöller & Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Reich Church

Official Nazi Protestant Church to bring all Protestant churches in Germany under state control

Who led the Reich Church?

Bishop Ludwig Müller

What was the problem with the Reich Church?

Many Gs felt their true loyalties were to their original Churches instead of the state-approved ones

What was the Concordat?

Agreement b/w H & the Catholic Church

• Church stayed out of politics

• H not to interfere w/ the Church or its schools

Did Hitler keep the Concordat?

No, he eventually broke it and began interfering with Church activities

• Hitler Youth

What was the German Faith Movement?

A pagan alt to Churches encouraged by H

• Focusing on sun worship, ‘blood and soil’ & loyalty to H

How popular was the German Faith Movement?

No very - only 0.3% of pop

Who was Bishop Galen and how did he resist the Nazis?

A Catholic bishop who publicly criticised Nazi policies, especially the killing of disabled ppl

What was the Nazi response to Galen’s protests?

They stopped the killings temporarily and avoided punishing him due to his popularity

What happened to Martin Niemöller?

He was sent to a concentration camp from 1938 to 1945 for resisting the Nazis

What happened to Dietrich Bonhoeffer?

He preached against the Nazis until the Gestapo stopped him in 1937

Herrenvolk

Master race, Aryans

Untermenschen

Lesser races: Jews, Gypsies, disabled

Who were the 'Mischling'?

People of mixed race

How did the Nazis persecute gay people?

• Shut down gay organisations

• Banned books by gay authors

• Arrested around 100,000 gay men

• 50,000 sent to prison

• 5,000–10,000 sent to concentration camps

• Forced to wear pink triangles

Why did the Nazis target gay and lesbian people?

• Seen as a threat to Nazi ideas of family life

• Did not fit the ideal of reproducing to grow the Aryan race

• Exploited existing public prejudice

What was the Nazi 'euthanasia programme'?

• Began in 1939

• Targeted babies, children, and adults with disabilities

• At least 5,000 children killed

• 72,000 adults gassed between 1939–41

• Methods included injection and starvation

What happened when the public learned about the killings?

• A public outcry in 1941

• Nazis officially stopped the programme

• Secret killings continued after

How did the Nazis treat the Roma people?

• Viewed as racially inferior

• Targeted for extermination

• 5 out of 6 Roma in Germany killed

Who were considered ‘asocials' by the Nazis?

• Alcoholics

• Beggars

• Prostitutes

• Homeless people

• Habitual criminals

What did the Nazis do to ‘asocials’?

• Rounded up off the streets

• Sent to concentration camps

What is antisemitism?

Hatred towards Jews

Why did Hitler hate Jews?

• Blamed them for Germany’s WWI defeat

• Resented their success in business

• Believed they threatened Aryan racial purity

• Saw them as “parasites” and “enemies of the state”

What was the ‘Final Solution’?

• Nazi plan to exterminate all Jews in Europe

• Led to the Holocaust and mass murder in extermination camps

What were the 1935 Nuremberg Laws?

Introduced two major laws:

• Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour:

  • Banned marriage & sexual relations b/w Jews & Aryans

• Reich Citizenship Law:

  • Only Aryans = full citizens

  • Classified people into:

    • Aryans

    • Mischling

    • Non-Aryans

What early actions did the Nazis take against Jewish people in 1933?

• Banned Jews from Civil Service, teaching, and broadcasting

• SA and SS organized boycotts of Jewish shops (marked with Star of David)

• Anti-Jewish propaganda spread through schools and media

• Jewish children were humiliated and later segregated in schools

• Daily discrimination: refused jobs, denied service in shops

When did Kristallnacht occur?

November 1938

What prompted Kristallnacht?

A young Jew killed a G diplomat in Paris and Nazis used this as an excuse to launch violent revenge on Jews

What occurred on Kristallnacht?

• SS troops in plain clothes sent to Jewish businesses

• Smashed Jewish shops

• 91 Jews killed

• 20 000 taken to concentration camps

How did the Nazis advertise Kristallnacht as?

A spontaneous reaction of ordinary Gs against Jews

Who had to pay for the consequences of Kristallnacht?

1 billion marks of damaged property payed by Jews (rented from G owners)

Nazi policies after Kristallnacht?

• Jews banned from G schools

• 1938 Jewish businesses confiscated

• Jews forced to add new first names to their identification papers (Israel and Sarah) to make it easier to identify them

• Stamped red J on passports

Who was in charge of Nazi propaganda?

Goebbles

What was Goebbels' main goal w/ propaganda?

To make ppl loyal to H & believe he was the saviour of G

What helped Goebbels enforce propaganda and silence opposition?

The SS & Gestapo helped by shutting down newspapers, arresting people…

What were the Nuremberg Rallies?

Huge rallies organised by Goebbels that took place each summer

• Marches

• Torch-lit processions

• Bands

• H’s speeches

Why were the rallies important for Nazi propaganda?

• Create sense of community

• Order out of chaos

• Show Nazi control & power

How did the Nazis control books?

No books published w/out Goebbels’ permission

What event symbolised Nazi control over ideas in books?

1933 Book burning

What was the bestseller in Nazi Germany?

Mein Kampf

What kind of art was allowed in Nazi Germany?

Only Nazi-approved art showing

• heroic Aryans

• soldiers

• ideal families

What happened to Jewish or anti-Nazi journalists?

They were fired and their newspapers shut down

Why did newspaper sales go down (10%) under by Nazi rule?

The content became dull and heavily controlled

What message did all Nazi films have to include?

A pro-Nazi message

What was shown before movies in cinemas?

Newsreels showing Hitler’s greatness and Nazi achievements

How did some Germans react to propaganda in films?

They arrived late to avoid watching the newsreels

Were foreign films in Nazi G allowed?

No

Why was radio important for Nazi propaganda?

It reached millions and repeated Nazi messages constantly

How did Goebbels make sure people heard Nazi messages via radio?

Cheap radios were made for homes & loudspeakers were placed in public

What was the punishment for listening to foreign radio stations like the BBC?

Death

What type of music did the Nazis ban? Why?

Jazz, bc it was considered "Black music" and they saw Black people as inferior

How were posters used in Nazi Germany?

To promote H’s success & attack Nazi enemies

Nazi aims

1. Strong G - military & leadership wise

2. Racially pure G

3. A Volk (People’s Community) - ppl give their hearts & minds to Hitler

How did the Nazis seize power in the town of Northeim?

1. Took over council by bullying & intimidation using SA to get rid of democracy

2. Set up search of all houses

3. Gleichschaltung (co-ordination) of all organisations

4. Boycotts of Jewish Biz

5. Ended unemployment - work repairing roads and clearing the woods

6. Propaganda

7. Northeimers joined NP too keep safe & keep job

Who was in charge of the Gestapo?

Heydrich

What was the Gestapo?

The secret state police

What was the Gestapo in charge of?

1. Arrest citizens & sent them to concentration camps (w/out trial or explanation)

2. Believed to have a network of informers listening on ppl’s conversations

What’s a misconception of the time about the Gestapo

Gs thought it was much more powerful than it actually was so they informed on each other bc the Gestapo would find out anyway

Who was in charge of the SS?

Himmler

What was the SS in charge of?

• Highly trained Aryans, totally loyal to H

• Crushing opp & carrying out Nazi racial policies

What 3 subdivisions is the SS divided into?

1. SD

2. Death’s Head units

3. Waffen-SS

SD

• SS internal security service

• Investigate potential disloyalty w/in armed forces or politically sensitive cases

Death’s Head units

Responsible for concentration camps & the transportation & murder of Jews

Waffen-SS

Tank units that helped the main army

Concentration Camps

• Makeshift prisons in disused factories

• Nazi opponents sent to CC

• Prisoners forced to do hard labour

• Og aim: ‘correct’ opponents of the regime

Who were given the top jobs in local police forces under the Nazis?

High ranking SS members

What was the police’s role during the Nazi regimen?

• Carry out political snooping

• Ignored nazi crimes

How did the Nazis control the courts &legal system?

• Nazis appointed all judges & got rid of the ones they didn’t approve of

  • Nazi opponents rarely faced a fair trial