Weimar and Nazi Germany Topic 3- Nazi Control and Dictatorship

why was hitler’s power limited despite being chancellor

his cabinet had 12 members but only 2 nazis, only 1/3 of the reichstag were nazis

when was the reichstag fire

27th february 1933

the reichstag fire

the reichstag building was destroyed by a large fire and a dutch communist was arrested and executed for it

how did hitler use the reichstag fire to his advantage

he claimed there was a communist conspiracy against the government and arrested thousands of communists

decree for the protection of the people and the state

gave hitler powers to imprison political opponents and ban communist newspapers

what did the election of march 1933 do for the nazis

the new fear of communists meant the nazis gained 288 seats in the reichstag

when was the enabling act

24th march 1933

the enabling act

allowed the reich cabinet to pass new laws without the reichstag, overruling the weimar constitution

what effect did the enabling act have on the local government

it was closed down in march 1933 and replaced with nazi majorities

what effect did the enabling act have on trade unions

they were replaced with the German Labour Front and union officials were arrested

what effect did the enabling act have on other political parties

in may 1933 the SPD and KPD offices and funds were taken by the nazis and were banned in july

when was the night of the long knives

30th june 1934

the night of the Long Knives

hitler invited rohm and 1000 SA leaders to a meeting where they were arrested, taken to munich and shot

who else was killed in the night of long knives

von schleicher

significance of the night of long knives

it removed the threat of the SA and any internal opposition

when did hindenburg die

august 1934

what happened after hindenburg’s death

hitler merged chancellor and president to become Fuhrer

army oath of allegiance

the day hindenburg died the army was forced to swear a pledge of allegiance to hitler instead of germany

who was the SS led by

Heinrich Himmler

when was the SS set up

1925

SS jobs

controlled police forces, ran concentration camps and acted outside the law

Gestapo

secret state police

who set up the gestapo

goering in 1933

who ran the gestapo

heydrich

gestapo jobs

spied, prosecuted people for speaking against the nazis, sent people to concentration camps

SD

security service

who led the SD

heydrich

SD jobs

spied on nazi opponents at home and abroad

what was the first concentration camp

dachau in 1933

what did all judges have to be a part of

the national socialist league for the maintenance of the law

what did all judges have to favour in their verdicts?

the nazi party

what happened after hitler abolished trial by jury

only judges could decide if people were guilty or innocent

inmates of concentration camps

political prisoners, prostitutes, homosexuals, minority groups

how were inmates in concentration camps treated

very badly and were forced to do hard labour

hitler believed he was all powerful, christians…

viewed god as the ultimate authority

nazis believed aryans were superior, christians…

believed everyone was equal in the eyes of god

nazis believed in war, discipline and violence, christians…

believed in peace

nazis believed in dominance of the strong over the weak, christians…

believed the strong should look after the weak

why was hitler worried about the catholic church not supporting him

catholics were loyal to the pope, supported the catholic centre party and sent their children to catholic schools

when was the concordat signed

1933

1933 concordat

the church could keep control of its schools as long as it stayed out of politics

why did concordat not last

hitler resented that their allegiance was not to him

what was the result of the failure of concordat

an uneasy peace between nazis and the catholic church

how were catholic priests treated

they were harassed, mistreated and imprisoned

how were catholic churchgoers treated?

they were met by organised nazi marches as they left church

what happened to catholic churches and youth organisations

they were gradually closed down

what tactics did the nazis try and use on protestant churches

gleichshaltung tactics- getting all protestant churches together into one reich church in 1936

who led the reich church

bishop ludwig muller

what commonly featured in reich churches

swastikas and nazi policies

how often did the nuremberg rallies take place

every summer

features of the nuremberg rallies

bands, marches, hitler’s speeches, souvenirs

significance of the nuremberg rallies

gave german people a sense of belonging, and showed them the power of the state

why were the nuremberg rallies so organised

to emphasise that the nazis were bringing stability to germany after a chaotic period

why was sport important to the nazis

it fitted in with nazi beliefs of health, strength and racial purity

what was the significance of sports clubs in germany

they were places where political ideas were introduced and spread

bad things about the 1936 berlin olympics

jesse owens won 4 gold medals defying all the nazis teachings, and many visitors were overwhelmed by the army, police and SS troops

good things about the 1936 olympics

germany came top of the medal table and visitors were impressed by the scale of the stadium and the organisation

how did goebbels control literature

no books could be published without his permission, in 1933 he organised a mass book burning of unacceptable books

how did goebbels control radios

they were made cheap, loudspeakers were placed in public places repeating nazi ideas

how did goebbels control art

only nazi approved painters could show their work, and it had to be paintings of heroic aryans

how did goebbels control films

all films were made to carry a pro nazi message and foreign films entering germany were all censored

how did goebbels control architecture

hitler liked speer, hated modern weimar buildings and wanted to build huge monumential buildings

how did goebbels control posters

germany was plastered with pro nazi posters, and anti other group posters

how did goebbels control newspapers

anti nazi ideas were not allowed to be printed, therefore they were boring and circulation fell by 10%

support for the nazis

unemployment was reduced, businesses prospered, communism was crushed

why is it unclear whether germans supported the nazis, or whether there was a lack of opposition

most germans tended to keep quiet and conformed to the rules

the hitler myth

many germans disliked the nazis but did not blame hitler for what the nazis did

active political opposition to the nazis

socialists and communists sent reports to their leaders in exile, over 1000 opposition meetings were shut down in 1936

social opposition to the nazis

refusing to salute to hitler, telling jokes about the nazis or refusing to contribute to party funds

what did niemoller set up in 1933

the pastor’s emergency league to resist the reich church

what did niemoller and bonhoeffer set up in 1934

the confessional church

what was the confessional church

a rival church to the reich church made up of 6000- 3x the reich church membership

what happened to niemoller

he was arrested in 1937 and remained in a concentration camp until released in 1945

what happened to bonhoeffer

he fled germany in 1934 but returned to train pastors for the confessional church, and was executed in 1945

what was the swing youth movement

they resisted through enjoying banned music, england, america and jews

who were involved in the swing youth movement

young people from better off families

how did the nazis react to the swing youth movement

they would break up gatherings, but clamped down on them in 1941

who were part of the edelweiss pirates

working class teenagers in different towns

what did the edelweiss pirates enjoy doing

hiking and camping away from nazis, singing songs against the nazis and attacking the hitler youth

what were the edelweiss pirates influenced by

communism

how did the nazis respond to the edelweiss pirates

they did not react at first, but when the war started and the pirates got more violent 13 pirate leaders were executed in 1944