Untitled Flashcards Set

HITLER’S CONSOLIDATION OF POWER

·         Although Hitler was Chancellor he could have been removed by President Hindenburg at any time. Hitler took a series of steps to remove opposition and make his position secure.

·         FEB 1933: Called a new election for MAR. Aim was to get a majority by using power to pressure voters

·         27 FEB 1933: Reichstag fire week before election. Used as an excuse to arrest communists.

·         28 FEB 1933: Hitler convinces Hindenburg to pass Protection law increasing Hitler’s power and stopped leading Communists from being part of election. Banned their newspapers. 4,000 arrested.

·         MAR 1933: Nazis remained biggest party but still no majority

·         23 MAR 1933: Centre party joins with Nazis and passes Enabling Act – Hitler can pass laws without Reichstag

·         7 APR 1933: Nazis made head of local government, councils and police. Secret police (Gestapo) formed

·         1^st concentration camp set up for political prisoners (Dachau)

·         2 MAY 1933: Hitler banned all Trade Unions.

·         14 JULY 1933: Other existing and new parties banned

·         JUNE 1934: Night of Long Knives. Hitler arranged murder of some opponents from within the Nazi party chiefly the leader of the SA – Ernst Rohm. SA were also seen as a threat to the army. SS became more important. Murder was seen to be part of the Nazi way of control by whole nation

·         2 AUG 1934:  Hindenburg dies. Hitler took over as President while remaining Chancellor. The army oath was changed to include personal loyalty to Hitler. Hitler decided to be called Der Fuhrer – the leader.

CONTROL IN NAZI GERMANY

·         After 1933 Germany was a police/ terror state. There were lots of different parts to control people and make sure they did not overthrow Hitler.

·         Heinrich Himmler: Head of the SS: In charge of security. And oversaw the following areas:

·         Police and Law courts: Ordinary police continued their work but ignored crimes committed by Nazis. Leadership in Police filled by Nazis. Judges controlled by Nazis. Number of death penalty crimes increased.

·         Gestapo: Plain clothes and secret police. Spied on population. Network of informers. Feared.

·         The SS: 3 sections. SD – security. Waffen SS – army unit. Death’s Head Units – oversaw concentration camps and then Death Camps.

·         Concentration camps: Set up from beginning in 1933. Political prisoners, Jews, Gypsies. Sent for varying different lengths of times. Also ran the Death Camps once set up in Poland from 1942.

PROPAGANDA AND CENSORSHIP

·         Propaganda – one sided information.

·         Censorship – Limiting information.

·         Both were very important parts of how Nazis operated and controlled people’s thoughts.

·         NEWSPAPERS: Stories controlled. Papers shut down.

·         FILMS: All had to serve Nazi message.

·         BOOKS, THEATRE, AND MUSIC: To praise Hitler.

·         ON THE RADIO: Cheap radios produced so that all could listen

·         IN PUBLIC: Rallies and parades held. Loud speakers in public to relay speeches.

·         RALLIES: Huge public rallies – most famous of which were held in Nuremburg.

ART AND CULTURE

·         Reflected Nazi ideals and used to ‘prove’ superiority of Ayrans over degenerate culture. A Chamber of Culture was set up to support this.

·         CINEMA: Had to be approved by Joseph Goebbels and give positive Nazi message. Positive news reels shown before main film.

·         MUSIC: ‘Ayran’ German composers such as Wagner promoted. Jewish composers and jazz music banned.

·         THEATRE: During the Weimar years the Nazis had set up the Militant League for German Culture to campaign for against modern plays. When in power closed down some theatres.

·         LITERATURE: Some books by Jewish and ‘Un German’ authors publically burned.

·         ART: 1936 public exhibition and burning of ‘degenerate’ art. Paintings had to show Nazi ideals.

·         DESIGN: Closed down important Bauhaus group in 1933. Nazis preferred huge stone building based on ancient Greek or Roman designs.

·         SPORT AND LEISURE: Health and physical fitness was very important to Nazis. 1936 Olympics used as propaganda. Leni Riefenstahl film.

NAZIS AND YOUNG PEOPLE

·         The young were particularly attracted to Nazi propaganda.

·         HITLER YOUTH: Different groups for boys and girls.

·         Boys – learnt how to be soldiers: marched, camped

·         Girls – Learnt how to be mothers: cooked and sewed

·         Founded in 1922. 1933 = other groups banned. 7.5 million members. 1939 = compulsory 8.8 million.

·         EDUCATION: Teachers made to join League of German Teachers and agree to Nazi subjects. All subjects served to teach / brainwash children. Eugenics (study of breeding) and racial studies introduced.

·         Universities: Professors chosen. Courses changed. Students made to train for army. Nazis did not value university education so number of people decline.

ECONOMIC CHANGE UNDER THE NAZIS

·         Unemployment was brought down by several ways. The government created jobs through Public Work Schemes building autobahns (motorways) and hospitals, a national labour service (RAD) and conscription (from 1935) in to the army. Rearmament also created jobs in factories. Additionally, the Nazis also stopped counting unemployed Jews who they fired and mothers to make the figures look better.

·         Once in work the Nazis would try and control workers and reward high production.

·         The DAF – The German Labour Front took place of Trade Unions.  Striking was made illegal and workers needed permission to leave jobs. Cost of buying things went up but workers not often paid more. They had 2 ways of encouraging work:

·         Beauty of Labour: Better facilities at work

·         Strength Through Joy: Reward scheme    HJALMAR SCHACT: Minister of Economics, AUG 1934 – NOV 1937: Arranged for import of raw materials, boosted weapon production, oversaw falling unemployment. Change was too slow for Hitler.

·         HERMANN GOERING:  From 1936 oversaw 4 year plans which saw many targets met (steel, explosive production) but others (oil) not met.

SELF SUFFICIENCY / AUTARKY

·         Germany was trying to become a great nation again and so was trying to become self-sufficient. This would mean that Germany could survive a war.

·         German scientists created the following: Petrol from coal, clothes from wood, make-up from flour, coffee from acorns.