How Effectively Did the Nazis Control Germany, 1933-45

U WILL PASS THIS

Who were the SS?

• Formed in 1925 as Hitler’s personal bodyguards.

• Led by Heinrich Himmler from 1929.

• Elite group: members had to be racially “pure” and loyal.

• Wore black uniforms and controlled police forces like the Gestapo.

• Played a key role in the Night of the Long Knives (1934).

Who were the SD?

• Created in 1931 by Himmler, led by Heydrich.

• Gathered intelligence on enemies of the Nazis: political opponents, minorities, government officials, even some Nazis.

• Compiled SA lists for the Night of the Long Knives.

• From 1934, it was the main Nazi intelligence agency, continuing its work during WWII.

Who were the Geostapo?

• Created by Goering, led by Heydrich from 1934.

• Wore plain clothes; spied on, arrested, and tortured opponents.

• Sent people to concentration camps and spread fear.

• Relied heavily on public denunciations; few agents (e.g., 40–50 per city).

• By 1939, ~160,000 arrests for political crimes.

What were concentration camps used for?

They were used to jail political opponents or anyone who opposed Nazi rule

The most known Camp?

Auschwitz

Joseph Goebbels

• Loyal Nazi Party member who helped win 1932 elections.

• Minister of Propaganda, controlling all areas of German life to promote Nazi ideas.

how did the nazis spred media through propaganda?

Newspapers

Radios

Rallies

how did the nazis spread culture and arts?

Art

Architure

Music

Lit

cinema

The Aryan Race and Eugenics

• Aryans = superior; promoted reproduction among them (racial hygiene).

• Eugenics = “desirable” Germans reproduce; “undesirables” prevented.

• Persecuted groups: Jews, Slavs, Roma, disabled, homosexuals, “asocials”.

• Nazis wanted Aryan Germany and blamed others for Germany’s problems.

Anti-Semitism and the Persecution of Jewish People

The Nuremberg Laws, 1935

• Population: 437,000 (<1% of Germany).

• 1933: Boycotts of businesses, sacking of Jewish teachers & civil servants, book burnings, bans on land inheritance & journalism.

• Propaganda & schools: Taught Jews were “unworthy of life.”

• 1934–35: Banned from parks, pools, and the army.

The Events of ‘Kristallnacht’ (NOV 1938)

• Trigger: Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Jew, shot German diplomat Ernst vom Rath.

• Goebbels used it to incite nationwide attacks on Jews.

• SA, Hitler Youth, and gangs destroyed:

  • 191 synagogues, 814 shops, 171 homes, 100 killed.

• Jews forced to pay 1 billion marks for damages.

• ~20,000 Jews sent to concentration camps.

Was Nazi Germany a Totalitarian State?

Yeah