nazi germany 1933-39

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13 Terms

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Reichstag Fire

  • Hitler increased Nazi support

    • Dutch communist van der Lubbe was found with matches on 27th February 1933 and blamed for starting the fire and so beheaded

    • Hitler claimed it was proof of a Communist Revolution so arrested 4000 communist leaders

    • People liked his swift action and the NSDAP won 288 seats in the March 1933 elections

  • The Decree for the Protection of People and State (Reichstag Fire Act) was passed

    • Hitler passed it on 28th February, taking advantage of the fire to consolidate his power

    • The police had the power to search homes, arrest without trial, ban opposition meetings and it ended freedom of speech and of the press – it limited freedoms

    • KPD/SPD members were arrested and so the Nazis were at an advantage in the elections

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Enabling Act

  • Ended democracy in Weimar

    • On 23rd March 1933, it suspended the Constitution so Hitler made laws without the Reichstag

    • The Reichstag only met 12 times during Hitler’s rule & it shut down local Parliaments

    • The KPD were banned from voting and other parties were intimidated – 444 voted for it

  • Gave Hitler greater control and he was left unopposed

    • Hitler banned trade unions on 2nd May to avoid strikes and arrested opposition leaders

    • He declared Germany a 1-party state in July 1933 – no opposition, he controlled the laws

    • He appointed Nazi state governors to make laws in each state for him, so he had local and national powers

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Night of the Long Knives

  • Hitler regained popularity from the Army, Hindenburg, and voters

    • The SA were thuggish, drunk, untrained, and unpopular – the Army didn’t want the SA to join

    • By arresting 200 SA officers on 30th June 1934, Hitler showed he could make tough decisions

    • The Army were thankful they wouldn’t be sullied by the SA and Hindenburg/middle-class voters were glad Hitler had removed the thugs

  • Hitler regained more control over the SA

    • Ernst Röhm disliked Hitler’s affiliations with businessmen and Hitler thought he was going to try and usurp him as leader; he claimed Röhm was plotting against Germany

    • Hitler executed Röhm and weakened the SA so was at less risk of being overthrown

    • He completely controlled the SA and removed un-Nazi behaviour (e.g. homosexuality)

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Führer Decree

  • It secured Hitler’s power

    • Hindenburg died on 2nd August 1934 and was the only person who could sack the Chancellor

    • Hitler combined Chancellor and President into Führer and so was completely in charge

    • He couldn’t be sacked and had eradicated the Weimar Constitution 

  • Hitler ensured loyalty

    • Soldiers in the army swore oaths to Hitler – they would obey him completely

    • A plebiscite gave a 90% agreement with the decree – the public mainly had confidence in him

    • Despite the SA intimidating voters, some still voted against the Decree showing some members of the public were discontented and disliked Hitler

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Police state


  • The Nazis gained power over the citizens

    • The law became fascist: Germans could be imprisoned without trial and opponents were killed

    • Himmler’s SS arrested political prisoners and ran concentration camps – and tortured many

    • Himmler supported racial purity: SS members had to be racially pure and heterosexual

  • Citizens were terrified of the Nazis

    • Over 200 000 people were put in camps and rumours of these caused fear

    • Even friends/neighbours couldn’t be trusted as many reported friends to the Gestapo

    • Every block of flats had a leader who would report suspicious behaviour: human trust was lost

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Censorship


  • Allowed the Nazis to censor opposing viewpoints

    • Goebbels led Germany in censorship by stopping foreign views reaching German citizens, e.g. stopping foreign news broadcasts being picked up on radios, such as BBC News

    • Book burnings happened at universities so communist/Jewish books were destroyed – the Gestapo searched bookshops for anti-Nazi books

    • Newspapers couldn’t print anti-Nazi news and the Nazis controlled what people consumed

  • Citizens were encouraged to follow Aryan ideals

    • Jazz music was banned as it was seen as black music and unsuitable for Aryans to consume

    • Art was encouraged to show Nazi ideals and modern art was banned for weakening Nazism

    • German athletes were selected to reflect Aryan strength and to show the Aryans as superior

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Propaganda

  • Made citizens think that Hitler was infallible

    • The Ministry of Propaganda gave positive Nazi stories to newspapers – Hitler was great etc.

    • Goebbels’ posters were simple and effective at portraying Nazi values and Hitler’s amazingness

    • There were regular Nazi parades and rallies (e.g. Hitler Youth) to stir up nationalism and loyalty

  • Citizens were influenced without knowing it

    • 70% of Germans in 1939 had a (cheap) radio & Goebbels commissioned plays with Nazi values

    • Films and art included pro-Nazi messages – e.g. Aryan ideals and strong family values

    • Famous German music (e.g. Bach/Beethoven), folk songs, and marching music was played to increase nationalism

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Policies towards education/ the young

  • Children learnt about Hitler and became Nazi fanatics

    • In school, children studied the Nazis (e.g. their history and racial superiority in ‘Race studies’)

    • Hitler Youth made children loyal to the regime and they reported undevoted parents – there were 8 million members by 1939

    • From a young age, they were indoctrinated on racial purity and so grew up good Nazis

  • Children were encouraged to be good soldiers/mothers

    • There were more PE lessons, helping boys become strong soldiers and girls good mothers

    • Girls were taught domestic science (e.g. housework and care for babies) to be ideal wives

    • Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1936 and they performed military drills for soldier training

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Policies towards women

  • Women were encouraged to be good mothers and wives

    • In 1933, the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage gave loans to help young couples marry

    • The Mother’s Cross was awarded for having children (8+ for a gold), encouraging procreation

    • Domestic science encouraged girls to be good mothers and the Lebensborn programmes got single women to bear children for SS men

  • Ideals for women became more traditional

    • Women had more jobs in the 1920s (10% of the Reichstag was female) but this declined

    • Rather than dressing up (make-up, hair dye), women were encouraged to not wear make-up

    • Conservative values of women not smoking/drinking in public were introduced and they were unable to buy contraception

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Policies towards the Churches

  • By working closely, they added legitimacy to Hitler

    • Hitler signed the Concordat with the Pope in 1933, allowing Catholics to worship freely as long as the bishops swore loyalty to the Nazi regime and Christian/Nazi values fused

    • This made it seem like Hitler respected Christian traditions so there was little opposition

    • He made a Protestant (Müller) the Reichbishop in 1933; flags were displayed in Churches

  • Churches lost their influence to the Nazis

    • In 1937, Hitler cut funding for Catholics, seizing property and spying on Church organisations

    • Some Protestants revolted against him (e.g. the Confessional Church) – Hitler executed them

    • Hitler wanted to be the most respected person, not God, so (with propaganda) he displaced the Church and by 1939, only 5% of Germans said they believed in God

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Racial policies

  • Undesirables were purged and were seen as inferior

    • In 1933, a Sterilisation Law was passed and 700 000 (e.g. with mental illnesses) were sterilised

    • The Nuremburg Laws of September 1935 meant Jews couldn’t be German citizens/vote

    • Nazis believed that Jews/gypsies were trying to corrupt Aryans: intermarriage was banned and many were put in concentration camps. Jews had to have identity cards (second class citizens)

  • The public were encouraged to hate undesirables

    • Propaganda promoted the picture of Jews as corrupt/communist/capitalist (e.g. Der Stürmer)

    • The Nazis encouraged boycotts of Jewish shops on 1st April 1933 but SA were seen as thugs

    • Kristallnacht happened on 9-10th November 1938: the SS/SA destroyed synagogues, shops, and homes, killing 100 Jews; Jewish children were banned from school

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Policies towards unemployment

  • Unemployment figures were reduced

    • Unemployment fell from 4.8 million in 1933 to 0.5 million in 1938 (policies worked)

    • Jobs were created by women/Jews leaving – but Nazi propaganda made it seem great

    • Trade unions were replaced by the Labour Front (limiting strike action) – no dispute on pay/conditions and the Labour Service forced the unemployed into doing jobs

  • Germany was getting ready for war

    • Hitler wanted Germany to be self-sufficient and ready for war (defying Versailles)

    • The Army grew from 100 000 in 1933 to 900 000 by 1939: boosting demand for equipment

    • Plastic production increased by 460%, creating more jobs and making Germany self-sufficient

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Unemployment regimes

  • The Labour Front was set up in 1933 after trade unions were banned, ensuring workers served Nazi interests. They set unemployment rights, hours, pay etc.

  • Strength Through Joy was part of the Labour Front to get workers to work harder (for less pay): they offered rewards like cheap theatre/museum tickets to hard workers

  • The Labour Service was set up in 1933 and forced unemployed workers to do government work for little pay/food. 

  • From 1935, all young men served for 6 months in it (a form of military training) – they built public buildings and motorways (7000 miles of motorway by 1939)