Summary
Within
a one-party state, Hitler used terror to keep power,
underpinned by propaganda and indoctrination of the
young. There were special measures to keep the
workers happy. Hitler
signed a Concordat with the Pope, which stopped Catholics
opposing him, and he persecuted the Jews (which many Germans
approved of).
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Links
Simple
overview
Dr
Dennis's model answers - very clear and useful exemplar answers, aimed
at OCR students
- Scott Allsop's
podcast on Nazi Control of Germany
Was Hitler a 'weak dictator'? - difficult article
Strong
dictatorship or polycratic chaos? - very difficult
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1
One-Party
State
The
Enabling Act (23 March 1933) made Hitler was the all-powerful Fuhrer of
Germany. The Law against the Formation of Parties (14 July 1933)
declared the
Nazi Party the only political party in
Germany. It was an offence to belong to another
Party. All other parties were banned, and their leaders were
put in prison.
Nazi Party members, however, got the best jobs, better houses and special
privileges. Many businessmen joined the Nazi Party purely to
get orders.
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"Ein
Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer!" - one people, one empire,
one leader. |
2
Terror
The Nazis took over local government and the
police. On 26 April 1933, Hitler set up the Gestapo (the secret
police) and the SS, and encouraged Germans to report opponents and
'grumblers'. Tens of thousands of Jews, Communists, gypsies, homosexuals, alcoholics and
prostitutes were arrested and sent to concentration camps for 'crimes' as
small as writing anti-Nazi graffiti, possessing a banned book, or saying
that business was bad.
On the Night of the Long Knives (13 June 1934) Hitler used his legal power
to assassinate all his opponents within the Nazi Party,
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Simple
site
Gestapo
and SS
- Spartacus sites
Historylearning
site - excellent
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3
Propaganda
The German people were subjected to continual
propaganda, under the control of Josef Goebbels. It was the cult of
personality - everything was organised to make Germans permanently
grateful to Adolf Hitler. Germans
were made to feel part of a great and successful movement - in this
respect the 1936 Olympic Games were a propaganda coup.
The Nazis used the most up-to-date technology to get their message
across. The twenty key elements of Nazi propaganda you need to
remember/understand were:
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bands
-
book-burnings
-
censorship
-
cinema
-
flying displays
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Hitler's peeches
-
jazz was banned
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Josef Goebbels
-
loudspeakers
-
marches
-
meetings
-
Mein Kampf
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newsreels
-
newspapers
-
olympic games
-
parades
-
peoples radio
-
posters
-
processions
-
television
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Even
stamps encouraged Germans to idolise Adolf Hitler.
Historylearning
site - excellent
BBC site - harder
Nazi Art
- a very difficult site with, however, lots of links |
4
Youth
Hitler boasted: 'When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to
your side', I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already'.
The Nazis replaced anti-Nazi teachers and
University professors, and school lessons included hidden indoctrination -
requiring children to calculate how much mentally disabled people cost the
state, or to criticize the racial features of Jewish people.
German boys were required to attend the Hitler
Youth, which mixed exciting
activities, war-games and Nazi indoctrination. German girls
went to the BDM and learned how to be good mothers, and to love Hitler.
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Historylearning
Spartacus
site
Wikipedia
The Poisonous Mushroom
Education for Death - wartime (1943) Disney anti-Nazi
propaganda on growing up as a Nazi.
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5
Workforce
Hitler
banned all Trade Unions on 2 May 1933. Their offices were closed, their money
confiscated, and their leaders put in prison. In their place,
Hitler put the German Labour Front which reduced workers' pay and took away
the right to strike.
The National Labour Service sent men on public works programmes.
To keep the workers happy, the Nazis set up the Strength through Joy
movement, which offered good workers picnics, free trips to the cinema and
(for the very few) free holidays.
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6
Religion
Hitler signed a Concordat with the Pope, agreeing to
leave the Roman Catholic Church alone if it stayed out of politics - so
most Catholics were happy to accept the Nazi regime.
Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses - if they opposed
the Nazis - were sent to concentration camps.
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Historylearning
site
Jehovah's
Witnesses - excellent
German
methodists |
7
Racism
The Nazi regime was from the start based on anti-semitism.
The Racial Purity Law (15 September 1935) took away German citizenship
from the Jews, and forbade sex between Germans and Jews.
Other
key dates include
Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938) and the Wansee Conference
(January 1942).
Many Germans approved of this racism.
Using negative images and stereotypes -
such as this illustration from
The Poisonous Mushroom
- Nazi propaganda pilloried Jews as dirty, deceitful, dangerous people of
whom Germany should be free. |
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