Nature, extent, and treatment of opposition Nazi Germany

List opposition to Nazi rule

• Communist Party (KPD)

• Social Democrats (SPD)

• Army leadership

• The church

• Youth

Describe nature, extent, and treatment of the SPD and KPD as opposition

Nature

Organised opposition was limited and ruthlessly suppressed

Extent

The Communist Party (KPD) and Social Democrats (SPD), together held 37% of the vote in 1932

Treatment

• banned in 1933

  • KPD abolished after Reichstag Fire (27 February 1933)

  • SPD abolished in June 1933

• thousands of leaders were arrested and sent to early concentration camps like Dachau (opened March 1933).

Describe nature, extent, and treatment of the army as opposition

Nature

Conservative resistance existed but was fragmented.

Extent

• The Army leadership opposed Röhm’s ambitions

• aligned with Hitler after the Night of the Long Knives in 1934

• Later dissenters like the Kreisau Circle and individuals such as Claus von Stauffenberg plotted against Hitler, but only after 1939–44.

Treatment

• the Night of the Long Knives (30 June 1934)

• Show army that he supported them rather than Rohm’s SA

Describe extent, and treatment of the church as opposition

Extent

• Religious opposition came from some Catholic and Protestant leaders

• In 1937, Pope Pius XI issued Mit brennender Sorge, condemning Nazi ideology

• However, most churches accommodated the regime.

Treatment

• pastors like Martin Niemöller were imprisoned in concentration camps.

Describe nature, extent, and treatment of youth opposition

Extent

• Swing Youth

  • middle-class youths rejecting Nazi culture

• Edelweiss Pirates

  • working-class groups resisting conscription and Hitler Youth regimentation

Treatment

• By 1944, some Pirates were publicly executed in Cologne.

Describe general nature of opposition

Overall, opposition was fragmented, lacked coordination, and faced overwhelming repression from the Gestapo and SS, limiting its impact.