Why was Germany not in a good state 1932-33? (4 things)
Just lost WW1, Treaty of Versailles restrictions, Great Depression, weak Weimar government
What did the Nazis promise to all?
Brot und Arbeit (bread and work), Lebensraum (living space)
Name three Nazi ideologies
Build Nationalism, destroy Marxism, strengthen central government, subdue the Jews, Aryan supremacy, improve education
Date of Reichstag fire
27 February 1933
Who set the Reichstag on fire?
Marinus Van der Lubbe (communist)
What did the Reichstag Fire Decree state?
Restricted civil liberties, increased power of central government, established harsh punishments, 400 communists arrested.
How did the Nazis gain a majority after only winning 288 of 647 seats in March 1933.
Coalition with the Nationalists to gain another 52 seats.
How did the Nazis encourage people to vote?
Terror and propoganda
When was the Enabling Act passed? What did it allow Hitler to do?
14 March 1933, pass any law without consent of the Reichstag (removed democracy)
What were the four important early aspects of Gleichschaltung? (bringing the people into line)
Civil Service Act, Encouragement of Anti-Semitism, Burning of 'un-German' books, Targeting of Nazi opponents (concentration camps opened)
How did the Nazis remove political opposition?
Arrested trade union leaders and members put under DAF, Act to Ban New Parties passed
What legislations gave the Nazis control over local government and the justice system?
Act for the Reconstruction of the State, creation of the People's Courts (quick with harsh sentences)
What two individuals were in the Night of the Long Knives? (Why?)
Ernst Röhm (disagreement with Hitler about army), Franz Von Paper (wanted Hitler's power)
Consequences of the Night of the Long Knives
Increase in power of the SS, decrease in power of the SA, loyalty of army secured
When did President Hindenburg die?
August 1934 (Hitler became Führer)
Who was incharge of the SS? What were the SS?
Heinrich Himmler, elite paramilitary force controlling machinery of terror, concentration camps and police.
How many members did the SS have in 1933?
52,000
Whom was the SD led by? What did the SD do?
Reinhard Heydrich, identified enemies by spying on German life
Who were the Gestapo?
Nazi secret police who targeted political opponents, but after 1936, targeted Jews, homosexuals and religious opponents. (helped by Informers)
In 1933, there were only 3 offences leading to death, but how many were there by 1943?
46 offences
How many concentration camps were set up in 1933?
Over 70
How many people were sent to camps by 1939?
21,000
Who led the Nazi propoganda?
Joseph Goebbels
What medias did Goebbels use for propoganda?
Posters, Newspapers (Der Stürmer), Radio (People's Receiver), Film, Rallies, Olympics (1936 Berlin)
How did the Left oppose Nazi rule 1933-39?
Social Democrats produced leaflets, Communists had meetings, propoganda and newsletters (both hunted down by Gestapo). Georg Elser tried to bomb Hitler.
How did the Church oppose Nazi rule 1933-39?
Martin Niemöller started the Confessional Church to challenge Reich church, Cardinal Galen criticised racial policies in sermons (left alone because of power)
How did the Youth oppose Nazi rule 1933-39?
Swing Kids listened to jazz and had long hair and baggy trousers. Edelweiss Pirates produced leaflets, beat up Hitler Youth and went on camps.
What percentage of the population were unemployed in 1933? and 1940?
30% to <5%
What replaced Trade Unions to improve the lives of workers?
Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF) / German Labour Front
Four aspects of the DAF
Strength through Joy (cheap holidays), Beauty through Labour (improved conditions), Reich Labour Service (to remove unemployment by building motorways), Volkswagen Scheme
What did the Nazis want women to be like?
Strong, not smoke, not wear make up, work in the kitchen, join the National Socialist Women's League (had 2 million members by 1938)
What policies encouraged women to have children?
Generous loans to Aryan couples if the woman gave up work, the loan was reduced by 25% for each child produced. The Honour cross of the German Mother. Only 10% of students could be female.
How were teachers controlled by the Nazis?
Teachers had to follow Nazi orders to remain, by 1936, 97% of teachers were members of the Teachers League
What schools did the Nazis set up? Were they successful?
Napola (military), Adolf Hitler Schools (leadership), unsuccessful.
When was the Hitler Youth set up? When was it made compulsory?
Late 1920s, (compulsory in) 1936
What myths did the Nazis spread about the Jews?
Anti-Semitism had a widespread history, Jews were racially inferior, WW1 defeat was the fault of the Jews, Jews benefitted from the economic crisis.
Persecution of the Jews 1933-39
Social exclusion signs, publications (Der Stürmer) Physical persecution (Michael Siegel forced to walk barefoot)
Persecution of the Jews through law, 1933-39
1933 excluded from legal professions, 1935 Nuremburg Laws, 1938 'J' on passport, 1938 Jewish children banned from non-Jewish schools.
When was Kristallnacht?
9 November 1938
How many synagogues were destroyed on Kristallnacht? How many Jews were murdered? How many Jews sent to camps?
267 (synagogues destroyed), 91 (Jews murdered), 30,000 (Jews arrested)
When did Hitler announce the War Economy?
End of 1939
What percentage of goods are military related by 1941?
47%
Who was appointed as Minister of Armaments and War Production in 1939?
Albert Speer (he got factories to focus on a single product and used concentration camp prisoners as workers.)
Did women work during the War Years?
Speer wanted women to work, but Hitler didn't, so women were not conscripted. However, the number of women increased from 760,000 in 1939 to 1.5 million in 1941 (relatively small in 30 million population of women)
When did RAF bombing begin?
Spring 1940
Who plotted to kill Hitler? When?
Claus von Stauffenberg, July 1944 (operation Valkyrie)
Wartime opposition to the Nazis: Public criticism
Cardinal Galen (preached against Nazi ideas, but held at house arrest until 1945), Dietrich Bonhoeffer (helped Jews escape)
What group wrote Anti-Nazi leaflets in Munich University?
The White Rose Group (between 6000 and 9000 distributed; Hans and Sophie Scholl were executed)
Who distributed over 200 anti-Nazi postcards?
Otto and Elise Hampel (executed in 1943)
Examples of Passive resistance in the war years 1939-45
Saying 'good morning' not Heil Hitler, listening to the BBC, Hiding Jews, telling Anti-Nazi jokes
What battle was the first time the Nazis lost?
The Battle of Stalingrad
What changed after Goebbels 'Total War' speech in 1943?
Woman called to work, anything non-war related was ended, more shortages, more propoganda, more air raids
What changed after Goebbels made a Reich Trustee for Total War?
Half a million workers were made soldiers, more forced labour, compulsory service age rises to 50 for women, the Volkssturm was created
What was the Volkssturm?
All men 16 to 60 not already in military service were forced to join. They just had 4 days training and no uniform. (shows desperation)
When did the British and Americans enter Germany for the first time?
1945 (Nazi soldiers were fought back to Berlin)
How did things collapse in Germany 1945?
Severe shortages, starvation, bombing intensified, Hitler and Goebbels commit suicide
What did the Germans do when they occupied Poland in October 1939?
Split it into areas, removed Polish Slavs and replaced them with 'ethnic Germans', the SS executed Polish civilians, Ghettoization
What was the largest area of Poland? Who was the governor?
General Government, Hans Frank (destroyed Polish culture)
How many non-Jewish Poles had been killed by 1945?
1.9 million
In 1939 there were 3.5 million Jews in Poland; how many did the Nazis murder by 1945?
Over 3 million
How did the Poles resist?
Most complex resistance movement, set up Delegatura in 1939 (secret state within Poland)
How did the Nazis make the Dutch surrender in 1940?
They destroyed Rotterdam by bombing
How were the Dutch treated better than the Poles?
They were seen as Aryan so: no mass murder, no land taken, civil servants could still work, culture not changed
In 1943, what percentage of Dutch Jews were deported to extermination camps?
76%
How many Dutch workers were sent to do forced labour in Germany?
Over 500,000
How did the Dutch resist Nazi occupation?
Illegal printing presses produced anti-Nazi leaflets, helping Jews escape (20,000 resistance members were arrested)
How did the Nazis remove the 192,000 Jews in Austria 1938-39?
They humiliated them, so they wanted to emigrate.
How did the Nazis concentrate the 3.5 million Polish Jews?
Ghettoization
How many Jews were held in the Warsaw Ghetto? What fraction of the population in what percentage of the city?
445,000 Jews, 1/3 of city's population in 2.4% of the city
What were the Einsatzgruppen?
Mobile killing units which shot Jews and Communists
How many Jews were murdered at Auschwitz?
1.1 million
How many Jews were murdered in the Holocaust?
6 million
How many Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, Communists and homosexuals had the Nazis murdered by the end of 1945?
11 million
Give two examples of collaboration with the Nazis 1939-45
Coco Chanel (romance with Nazi officer), De Vlag group in Belgium (had 50,000 members, helped recruit the SS)
Where was their a lot of accomodation in Europe 1939-45?
Denmark (the Danes were seen as Aryan)
Give three examples of resistance to the Nazis 1939-45
André Trocmé (helped to hide over 5000 Jews) The French (Published newspapers and spied for the British) The Poles (helped to save 450,000 Jews)