Nazi Germany Stuff

Paul von Hindenburg

German military officer and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934.

Heinrich Himmler

German Nazi politician, police administrator, and military commander who became the second most powerful man in the Third Reich.

Hermann Göring

a leader of the Nazi Party and one of the primary architects of the Nazi police state in Germany.

Joseph Goebbels

German politician and philologist who was the Gauleiter of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 until his suicide in 1945

Ernst Röhm

A close friend and early ally of Adolf Hitler, Röhm was the co

Erwin Rommel

German field marshal who became the most popular general at home and gained the open respect of his enemies with his spectacular victories as commander of the Afrika Korps in World War II.

Martin Niemoller

German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He opposed the Nazi regime during the late 1930s, and was sent to a concentration camp for his affiliation with the Confessing Church and his opposition to state involvement in Church.

(Clemens August Graf) von Galen

German count, Bishop of Münster, and cardinal of the Catholic Church

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church

White Rose group

a non-violent, intellectual resistance group in Nazi Germany which was led by five students and one LMU Munich professor

The Edelweiss Pirates

a loosely organized group of youths opposed to the status quo of Nazi Germany

Claus von Stauffenberg

a German army officer who is best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair.

Confessional Church

a movement within German Protestantism in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all of the Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German Evangelical Church

Pope Pius XI

he urged German bishops to resist Nazi attempts to destroy Catholicism in Germany

Reparations

payments demanded of Germany by the conditions of the Versailles Treaty.

Weimar Republic

a historical period of the German state from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history, officially named the German Reich

Spartacus Rising

(1919) a radical left-wing movement which aimed to remove the aristocrats and establish a Soviet-style communist system in Germany

Twenty-Five Points

(1920) This program aimed to segregate Jews from "Aryan" society and strip Jews of their political, legal, and civil rights

Kapp Putsch

(1920) an abortive coup d'état against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920

Beer Hall Putsch

(1923) a failed coup d'état led by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler and other Kampfbund leaders. Inspired by Benito Mussolini's March on Rome, Hitler's goal was to use Munich as a base for a march against Germany's national government in Berlin.

Mein Kampf

a 1925 autobiographical and political manifesto by Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party. The book outlines many of Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology, and his future plans for Germany and the world.

Hyper-Inflation Crisis

(1923) experienced during the First World War due to the way in which the German government funded its war effort through borrowing, with debts of 156 billion marks by 1918

Dawes Plan

(1924) Germany's annual reparation payments would be reduced, increasing over time as its economy improved

Sturmabteilung (SA)

the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Schutzstaffel (SS)

a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German

Fuhrerprinzip

the basis of executive authority in the government of Nazi Germany. It placed Adolf Hitler's word above all written law, and meant that government policies, decisions, and officials all served to realize his will.

Article 48

allowed the German president to declare a state of emergency in times of national danger and effectively to rule as a dictator for short periods.

Hitler becomes Chancellor

(1933) on 30 January 1933, Hitler gains significant power, though was not yet an absolute dictator.

Reichstag Fire

(1933) an arson attack on the home of the German parliament in Berlin four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.

Enabling Act

(1933) allowed the Reich government to issue laws without the consent of Germany’s parliament, laying the foundation for the complete Nazification of German society.

Night of Long Knives

(1934) a purge that took place in Nazi Germany. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Göring and Himmler, ordered a series of extrajudicial executions intended to consolidate his power

Army swears oath to Hitler after Hindenburg's death

(1934) pledged loyalty to Adolf Hitler the person, rather than loyalty to the Weimar Constitution of the country

Gleichschaltung (co-ordination)

the process of Nazification by which Hitler established a system of totalitarian control over all aspects of German society

Trade Union Ban

(1933) the SA and police occupied the offices of German Trade Unions. German workers were forced to join a German Labour Front which controlled deductions for taxation and the ‘Strength through Joy’ programme.

All political parties banned (except Nazi Party)

(1933) a measure enacted by the government of Nazi Germany on 14 July 1933 that established the Nazi Party (NSDAP) as the de jure only political party in Germany.

Gestapo

the political police of Nazi Germany, ruthlessly eliminated opposition to the Nazis within Germany and its occupied territories and rounded up Jews throughout Europe for deportation to extermination camps.

Concentration Camps

most prisoners were members of the Communist Party of Germany, but as time went on different groups were arrested, including "habitual criminals", "asocials", and Jews

Death Camps

used in Central Europe, primarily in German-occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million people—mainly Jews—in the Holocaust.

Autarky

economic self-sufficiency, imposing restrictions on foreign currency, which caused a shortage of rubber and fuel for civilian use by 1939 and resulted in "drastic restrictions on the use of motor vehicles"

Wehrwirtschaft

war economy, demanded the subordination of the nation's business to military and strategic requirements even in times of peace so that in case of war it may supply the nation with the “iron ration" necessary to continue and win the war despite blockades and international sanctions.

Four year Plan

(1936-1939) a series of economic measures initiated by Hitlerto prepare for economic self sufficiency. sought to reduce unemployment, undertake public works projects, increase automobile production

Construction of the Autobahn

one highway connecting Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Base, Planners completed 3,800 kilometers (with an initial goal of 7,000) of the Autobahn by 1941, when the Nazis suspended all plans due to dwindling resources.

Aryan Race

a pseudoscientific historical race concept that emerged in the late-19th century to describe people who descend from the Proto-Indo-Europeans as a racial grouping

Creation of German Labour Front

(1933) national labour organization of the Nazi Party, which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during the process of Gleichschaltung or Nazification.

Volksgemeinschaft

“National Community” or “People’s Community” not strictly defined. Adopted by monarchists, conservatives, liberals, socialists, and avowed racist organizations. Each political party and its supporters gave the term a different meaning and goal.

Kinder, Kirche und Küche

used under the German Empire to describe a woman's role and priorities in society

Wannsee Conference

a meeting of senior government officials of Nazi and SS leaders to ensure the co-operation of administrative leaders in the eradication of the Jews of German-occupied Europe who would be deported to occupied Poland and murdered

Marriage Loans

offered to newlywed couples in the form of vouchers for household goods, initially on the condition that the woman would stop working. Interest rates on the loans continued to be lower if the father was the only one working.

Nuremberg Laws

(1935) Comprising of the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour prohibited Jewish-German relationships and jewish employment and The Reich Citizenship Law which restricted citizenship to “authentic” Germans

Kristallnacht

“Night of Broken Glass” a nationwide anti-Jewish riot orchestrated by Nazi leaders. Posed as an unplanned outburst of popular anger against Jews

Reichskirche/ Reich Church

an antisemitic and racist pressure group and movement. a successor to the German Protestant Church Confederation from 1933 until 1945

Reichskonkordat

(1933) a treaty negotiated between the Vatican and the emergent Nazi Germany and guarantees the rights of the Catholic Church in Germany

Hitler Youth

the sole official boys' youth organisation in Germany and was partially a paramilitary organisation. It was composed of the Hitler Youth proper (14 to 18 years) and the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth (10 to 13 years)

Blitzkrieg

an intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory.

Locarno Treaties

1925, the five western European nations pledged to guarantee the inviolability of German borders as defined in the Treaty of Versailles. They also promised to observe the demilitarized German Rhineland and to peacefully resolve differences

Kellogg-Briand Pact

a 1928 international agreement on peace in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve disputes or conflicts of whatever nature

Stresa Pact

1935, France, Italy, and the UK against Germany, declared that the independence of Austria "would continue to inspire their common policy" and to resist any future attempt by the Germans to change the Treaty of Versailles.

Anti-Comintern Pact

(1936) an anti-communist pact concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on 25 November 1936 and directed against the Communist International (Comintern).

Intervention in Spanish Civil War

1936-1939, commenced with the outbreak of war in July 1936, with Adolf Hitler immediately sending in air and armored units to assist General Francisco Franco and his Nationalist forces.

Rome Berlin Axis

1936, the military coalition which initiated World War II and had Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan, fight against the Allies, grew out of successive diplomatic efforts and expansionist interests

Anschluss

(1938) The idea that a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Greater Germany", arose after the 1871 unification of Germany excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire.

Sudeten Crisis

(1938) provoked by the Pan-Germanist demands of Nazi Germany that the Sudetenland be annexed to them, which happened after the later Munich Agreement.

Invasion of Czechoslovakia

(1939) began with the German annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938, continued with the creation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and by the end of 1944 extended to all parts of the country.

Munich Conference

The agreement provided for the German annexation of part of the First Czechoslovak Republic called the Sudetenland, where three million people, mainly ethnic Germans, lived

Pact of Steel

1939, had an open declaration of continuing trust and co-operation between Germany and Italy and encouraged a union of policies concerning the military and the economy

Nazi-Soviet Pact

(1939) a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, with a secret protocol establishing Soviet and German spheres of influence across Eastern Europe

Invasion of Poland

(1939) joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet Union, which marked the beginning of World War II

Tripartite Pact

1940, a defensive military alliance, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin

Battle of Britain

(1940-1941), a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe

Operation Barbarossa

(1941-1943) the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies

Lebensraum

the territory that a state or nation believes is needed for its natural development, especially associated with Nazi Germany.