Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
The Nazi Regime L30-39 - Coggle Diagram
The Nazi Regime L30-39
L30 How did Hitler keep control in Nazi Germany?
aims
build a strong Germany
need a forceful+decisive leader
immediately after becoming chancellor, Hitler met with army leaders to share plans to rearm Germany+beat France in a war - if necessary
lay aside humiliation of Treaty of Versailles
make German industries as powerful as before ww1
build a strong community
all other claims on people's loyalties to be removed
organisations e.g. churches, political parties, recreation groups - swim clubs, choirs dissolved as they could divert people's attention away from serving the Volk
family loyalties to take second place
Fuhrer wanted to win hearts+minds of German people
no room for free speech - everyday conversations controlled to ensure no anti nazi views spread
build a racial Germany
get rid of racial minorities e.g. Jews - removing them from positions of power, taking them out of country, isolating them from pure Aryans
German women prevented from marrying men of other races
women prevented from working - it was their national duty to have kids+look after families/household
Hitler's Henchmen from August 1934
Heinrich Himmler
Josef Goebbles - propaganda
Herman Goering
Rudolph Hess
SS
Hitler's private bodyguard led by Heinrich Himmler, created 1925
ran concentration camps +responsible for many deaths
within 4 years Himmler made it an elite force of 50,000 tall, blond, blue eyed Aryan 'supermen' - ideal Nazi man
elite force who killed political opposition+terrorised public w/ powers of arresting w/o trial, searching houses, confiscating property
SS controlled the Gestapo + normal police, many SS men had high positions of power
Gestapo
originally Prussian secret police run by Goering
post June 1936 it became secret police under command of Himmler
tapped telephones, intercepted mail, spied on people
anything could be reported to Gestapo by an informer
could strike anywhere, anytime against normal Germans
most feared by opponents of Nazism
Concentration camps
initially temporary prisons set up by SA and SS in disused factories/warehouses/hastily erected barbed wire enclosures in the countryside
some specialised in particular kinds of prisoners e.g. trade unionists/young people
Opponents of the regime taken to camps for questioning, torture, hard labour+ ‘re-education’ in early days of the Nazi regime
if someone's family member was killed at a camp their family received a note saying they'd died from pneumonia/other illness, or that they were shot trying to escape
by 1950 they had built up a massive business using prisoners as slave labour, extracting raw materials+manufacturing weapons
later became scenes of mass genocide, initially not as many deaths
Legal system
Nazi’s took control of existing legal system including police
Judges took oath of loyalty to Hitler
Amount of crimes punishable by death increased dramatically (e.g. listening to foreign radio stations/publishing anti-government leaflets)
No one would oppose arrests/legal decisions - people in power were loyal to Hitler
L31 Nazi Control+Propaganda
newspapers
Non-Nazi newspapers and magazines were closed down.
Editors were told what they could/couldn’t print - German people only read what Nazis wanted them to know
If an editor refused to follow the Nazis’ orders they would be arrested + sent to a concentration camp
Official orders from the Minister of Propaganda 1935: “photos showing members of the Reich Government in front of rows of bottles whilst dining must not be published. This gives the ridiculous impression that members of the Government are living it up”
radio
all radio stations placed under Nazi control
cheap mass produced radios sold to ensure all Germans had them - these radios could only access German Nazi stations, not foreign radio stations
sets installed in cafes+factories
loudspeakers placed in streets
Hitler+Goebbels regularly made broadcasts and when they did people were expected to stop their daily life and listen wherever they were
cinema
more than 100 films were being made each year+ audiences were topping 250 million in 1933
Goebbels ordered all film scripts/plots should be shown to him before going into productions
Germans were bored by overly political films so Goebbels made love stories+thrillers have pro-Nazi slants
e.g. Hitlerjunge Quex (1933)
tells story of a boy who broke away from communist family to join Hitler youth, only to be murdered by communists
all films accompanied by 45min newsreel of Nazi propaganda, no entry once this started - you had to watch it
rallies+posters
mass rally held at Nuremburg every year to advertise power of Nazis
large parades on other special occasions, thousands of people attended surrounded by swastikas whilst they listened to Nazi speakers
posters cleverly propagated Nazi message - targeted youth in particular
censorship of the arts
books
controlled+censored by state to put across Nazi message
Goebbels encouraged students in Berlin to burn 20,000 books written by Jews, communists+anti Nazis authors in a massive bonfire in 1933
many writers were persuaded/forced to write pro Hitler/Nazi books
architecture
Hitler favoured 2 styles
'monumental style' - strong, bold, Ancient Greece like public buildings, columns, steps - encouraged strong Germany, state more important than individual, showed Nazi power
'country style' - family homes, youth hostels, traditional using wood - encouraged homemaker roles, family
art
Hitler liked art showing heroic German figures, not modern art+sculpture
Hitler hated weimar Germany art - said it was degenerate, unpatriotic, Jewish
Hitler wanted art to reject weak and ugly and glorify strong, healthy heroes - aryans
1937- Nazis opened house of German Art to show officially approved art
1937- Nazis put on exhibition of 'degenerate' art which was banned by Reich Chamber of Culture. This was very popular, generating 5x as many visitors as the approved German Art Exhibition
1933-39 many artists/authors left Germany altogether
censorship by law
many laws introduced which took away the right of "Freedom of speech"
there was "A law against malicious gossip" - introduced in 1934, forbade the telling of anti-Nazi jokes+stories
could be fined, sent to concentration camp if found guilty of these crimes
Gestapo had secret informers that would tell on you if they heard you "spreading anti Hitler lies"
Berlin Olympics
planned to come to Berlin in 1936 before Nazis came to power
some Nazis wanted to cancel Olympics, Goebbels argues it was a good opportunity
with media of 49 countries Nazis could showcase their ideals - show the world that Germany was modern, well organised+ civilised society+ Aryans were racially superior
while other countries sent amateurs who had to take time of work+lose pay to attend, Germans were full time athletes who were carefully trained for the Games - as much as athletes are today
Hitler's persecution of Jews was well known by now, there were attempts to boycott the games so in answer to foreign criticism German team contained one token Jewish athlete
L32 How did Hitler deal with religion?
religious opposition
Paul Schneider
Pastor in a small town
criticised the Nazis, especially in Goebbels. 1934 - he was arrested+ warned not to make hostile speeches towards the Nazis.
1937 - he was sent to Buchenwald where he continued to smuggle out letters encouraging the Church to resist the Nazis.
He was tortured+ whipped but still refused to stop preaching, he regularly prayed aloud in the camp+ openly accused the Nazis of murder
Josef Fath
In many rural areas the local priests clashed with Nazi school teachers and leaders of the Hitler Youth as they were trying to lure young people away from the Church.
One village was looked after by this young Catholic priest
Cardinal Galen
Catholic who began to attack Nazi policies as early as 1934.
In 1941 he revealed that Nazis were killing mentally and physically handicapped people.
He led a campaign which made Hitler call a halt to his euthanasia programme.
The Nazis didn’t want to make a martyr out of Galen so they didn’t kill him but three Catholic priests were executed for distributing copies of Galen’s sermons to soldiers.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Germany’s 30,000 Jehovah’s witnesses believed that they should live according to their religious beliefs, not by what the government says.
Many of them ended up in concentration camps and one third of them died.
Martin Niemoller
actions he took
Set up the PEL (Pastors emergency league) in 1933, with other members of the Church that opposed Nazi values being imposed in German churches.
The confessional church was organised in 1934 to oppose “German Christian” leadership. They retained traditional views and continually critisised Nazi interference in churches.
Niemhöller becomes a “symbol” in religious Nazi opposition.
He believed that racial prosecutions went against biblical teachings and that Jews were “highly gifted people”.
how successful
Niemhöller’s phone was tapped by the gestapo and the PEL was under close surveillance - other church leaders had begun pledging their loyalty to the Nazis.
Despite many state warnings, Niemhöller felt an obligation to oppose the dictatorship in “God’s word” - was arrested many times between 1934 -1937.
In 1937, Niemhöller was arrested by Gestapo officials for “treasonable statements” - he spent 8 months in prison and then was transferred to a concentration camp.
He remained in solitary confinement in the camps - potentially so he could not preach anti-Nazi values?
After seven years, he gained freedom from the Allies
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
actions he took
became involved in confession church - a movement that fought against nazification of German evangelical church
1933- group called German Christians began to promote nazification of German Protestantism through creation of pro nazi church - reich church
joined nazi confessional church
trained young clergy illegally
how successful
gestapo banned him from Berlin in Jan 1938+ issued an order forbidding him from public speaking in sept 1940
arrested him in 1943+executed him in Flossenburg concentration camp in April 1945
why did he see it as a threat?
sees himself as semi-divine, cannot be upstaged by God. Meinkampf=hitler's bible
people could be more devoted to religion than state
if you are loyal to religion your belief in Hitler's ideas will be second - cannot be controlled
religion has core beliefs, rules+values that do not comply w/ Nazi rules
Hitler cannot have loyal followers if they are religious
all other independent organisations had already been destroyed
uses of religion for Hitler
many protestant members voted for him, their pastors were among the most popular
churches are natural power base for nazis - could use them to become stronger
common ground on issues e.g. family life. churches supported emphasis on military
what did he do?
September 1933: Nazi controlled Protestant churches called "German Christians" emerged - their leader Ludwig Muller became first bishop of the Reich in 1933. However this angered other protestant ministers who felt conflict between Nazi ideas+core christian beliefs
July 1933: came to agreement w/ pope in Rome. Concordat ensured religious freedoms of worship+education for German catholics - in return they would be out of politics. However Hitler had no intention of keeping his promises
1934: catholics saw true face of Nazi religious policy. priests arrested+harassed, schools interfered with, youth clubs banned. Pastor Martin Niemoller funded "confessional church", to counter pro Nazi protestant movements+criticise Nazi Regime
1935: Nazis attempts to control churches partially successful. Ministry of Churches established under Hans Kerre. Church schools abolished+Nazis aim at promoting Hitler Youth rather than church youth clubs. Press campaigns tarnish church's reputation. Priests+ministers arrested.
July 1937: Niemuller sent to a concentration camp along w/ other priests + ministers. 1937 Pope Pius XI lets his disillusionment known with his famous statement "with burning anxiety"
1940: Fuelled by hatred of Christianity, several high ranking Nazis e.g. Martin Bormann and Reinhand Heydrich, and the confidence of early success in war, priest persecution increased after 1940. Monastries closed. Church property attacked+activities further restricted
August 1941: Cardinal archbishop Galen bravely criticised Nazis for their abuse of human rights+euthenasia programme
1945: Niemoller freed by allies from concentration camp
L33 Opposition to Nazi Regime
White Rose Group
actions they took
distributed anti Nazi and Anti war leaflets - got caught whilst doing so
Active between June 1942 and Feb 1943
Engaged in graffiti campaigns in Munich
Had a leaflet called “Passive resistance to national socialism” - it said only option is passive resistance and told people to sabotage in armament plants and wars industries, at all gatherings and rallies and organisations of NSDP
Another leaflet called “To the fellow fighters in the resistance” Feb 1934 - after German defeat in Stalingrad. Said that SS was trying to regiment them in the years they should be having fun. German youth had to rise
Before WW2 ended a final leaflet was produced and was smuggled out of Germany and handed to the allies who printed millions of copies and dropped them all over the country
how successful
Hans and Sophie Scholl were arrested by the Gestapo for carrying the White Rose leaflets - Feb 18th 1943 - not effective as they took full blame and didn’t reveal anyone else - Nazis refused to believe this + after further interrogation they gained all the names
Sophie, Hans, Christoph Probst were first to be brought to the People’s court on Feb 27 1943 for political offences against Nazi state - these were just show trials designed to humiliate them and stop others from doing the same. They were found guilty and sentenced to death by beheading - the execution took place the same day
More trials but not all who were brought in were executed - however one given 6 months in prison
Edelweiss Pirates
actions they took
they would listen to foreign radio stations and songs that had been banned 🎶
their group was open to both boys and girls (unlike Hitler Youth)👫👫👫
distributed leaflets dropped by the Allies
did anti-Nazi graffiti
assisted deserters from the Wehrmacht
disrupted Wehrmacht supplies and raided supply dumps
assisted allied servicemen who were evading capture
how successful?
punishments included:
shaving their heads to get rid of their bohemian (🏝🏝) look 😍😍
weekend imprisonment
Himmler heard of their more serious rebellions and said ‘absotootely not! ❌❌❌👹😡🤬’. he decided to give them more severe punishments
2 to 3 years in a concentration camp
execution of youth group leaders
THIS DID NOT STOP THEM‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️✌️🤟🤙🦶therebel youth continued to meet where they to have devious meeting - this went against the Nazis because they were actively hanging out with each other and not with the Hitler Youth group
Kreisau Circle
actions they took
They believed they needed a plan for Germany’s future.
They wrote the “Basic Principles for the New Order” in 1943 which outlined their ideas on how Germany was supposed to be like.
They discussed their ideas with foreign countries and the armed forces, industrialists and the church.
They discussed how to better Germany, but as they came from different backgrounds, they often disagreed on what they wanted Germany to be like, but they all agreed that change was needed. It was rare for more than 3 or 4 members to meet at one time.
One of their leaders, von Moltke, and some other members were involved in the bomb plot in July 1944.
how successful?
They were successful because the group formed in 1933, and came to an end in 1944, so they made it through most of the war.
They were unnoticed for quite a long time, considering most of their members were high profile. They were not suspected and managed to keep their group secret.
However, they tried to contact other countries, but were mostly ignored. They did not do any significant damage to the Nazi party, and did not manage to overthrow them and take over.
Von Moltke was arrested in January 1944 and due to his involvement in the bomb plot many other members were arrested in July 1944 (including Yorck von Wartenburg) even though they were not really involved in the plot. Von Moltke was found guilty of treason and executed in January 1945 and Von Wartenburg was executed in January 1944
L34 Was education an effective tool for Hitler?
Nazi curriculum
PE
15% of school time
some sports e.g. boxing became compulsory for boys
pupils had to pass an exam - unsatisfactory performance could lead to expelling
history
concentrated on rise of nazi party
injustices of treaty of Versailles
evils of communism+jews
biology
explained Nazi ideas on race+population control
pupils taught how to measure skulls, classify racial types
pupils told Aryans were superior and not to marry inferior races
German
taught pupils about German heroes, hitler youth, ww1
told them to be conscious of their national identity
geography
land acquisition
need more living space for germans
RS
less important
by 1937 pupils could drop it
teachers
teachers dissatisfied with Weimar Germany from 1929-33 as they saw unemployment+wage cuts
nazis offered better pay+working conditions
NSLB created- Nationalist Socialist teachers league - 6000 members by Jan 1933. Grew to be 320,000 by 1937 - 97% of teachers were part of this league. People joined as they wanted to be promotes+have better lifestyle, their pay never improved though
How effective was Nazi education
targeting people when they are young, brains are easier to manipulate - but not effective as its a long term aim. the nazis ended their rule in 1945
German education focused on specific messages
separate education between Jews+Aryans leading to separate society - segregation
school is compulsory - perfect method for indoctrination
emphasised societal roles - girls taught how to be good mothers/wives, boys taught how to be good providers - bespoke education
Nazis can create propaganda resources- textbooks etc
Hitler youth
pupils fall in love w Nazi ideals - pupils have fun which only Hitler youth provides
aims
turn youth into loyal nazis
keep them fit and healthy
indoctrination
prepare each sex for their roles
develop the future elite leaders of the third reich
Baldur von Schirach - leader of Hitler youth appointed on 17th July 1933
other youth movements from other political parties closed down in 1933 - churches soon followed
girls+boys recruited from ages 10-18
boys joined German Young people at 10 and Hitler youth at 14
girls joined League of Young Girls at age 10 and League of German girls at 14
an organisation for 18-21 year old girls was started in 1938 but was considered less important than boys as after 18 boys went on to military service in the army
Hitler youth movements developed from youth section of SA
boys to excel at military activities, girls at motherhood
girls+boys expected to take part in physical training
many outdoor events in youth groups - camping, hiking, sports
some enjoyed military aspects of youth movements: uniform, marching, discipline. Others liked cultural activities/military parades
comradeship+competition within the groups
Laws
Hitler youth law 1 dec 1936 made it difficult for people to avoid joining hitler youth groups
HJ (Hitler youth) wad given equal status to home/school
you didn't have to be a regular/enthusiastic member
second Hitler youth law passed on 25 march 1939 - membership of hitler youth+'duty of youth service' to Germany compulsory
members of Hitler youth swore an oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer
kids of hitler youth kept a watch on their parents, teachers - became normal for young people to challenge authority
L35 How successful were Nazi Policies towards women?
what did Nazis promote for women
instead of going to uni, women encouraged to join German Women's Enterprise Organisation. It organised 'Mother's Schools' to train women in household skills+ had 6million members
loans were made available to help young couples marry+have children, maternity benefits increased
Nazis wanted mothers who didn't go to work - 15% of all female teachers, doctors, civil servants sacked
'kinder, Kirche, kuche" - 'children, church, cooking' - slogan for role of women
Law for Encouragement of Marriage was produced
women expected to cook a one dish meal once a month on a Sunday - the SA could come and check if this was done
women should dress using home produced substitutes for imported wool etc
1938- changed divorce law - divorce was now possible if husband+wife couldn't have children - even when husband made wife infertile by infection he could divorce her
They abolished marriage loans+introduced a compulsory 'duty year' for all women entering the labour market - no pay for this - in 1939 more women got jobs but not as many as in weimar Germany depression
Nazis set up Lebensborn programme where specially chosen unmarried women could 'donate a baby to the Fuhrer' by becoming pregnant by 'racially pure' SS men
why did they promote certain things for women
birth rate declined in 1933 where it was under 1million - this worried Nazis
as the men joined the army they also wanted women workers - they contradicted their previous sentiment of no working women.
restore traditional role of women
what was life like for women?
conflicting pressures of home+work - stressful for some in 1930s
pressure to have kids so great that a woman kidnapped a baby so she could be seen as providing a child for Germany
some who were hit hardest by depression were much better off by 1935
despite Nazi propaganda, women's employment increased. Employers preferred women workers as they were cheaper - women wages only ⅔ of mans
Hitler received many letters from women, some asked him to father their children, some cried out his name while giving birth
L36 To what extent did Nazi economic policies improve the lives of German people?
why did Hitler change the economic policy from when he came to power?
during depression unemployment reached 30% - Hitler launched huge public spending schemes to give work to the unemployed
in order to rearm Germany he needed to change the policy to aid the rearmament +get people to work in the industry
The New Plan
Dr Hjalmar Schacht was made president of the Reichsbank in March 1955+in 1934 he was minister of the economy. He was a loyal supporter of Hitler+financial expert-trusted by business people in Germany+by foreign leaders+bankers
imports were limited
trade agreements made between German+other countries e.g. Hungary exchanged butter, vegetable oil, fodder, raw materials for industrial products in 1934
Gov spending was channeled into a wide range of industries - but the gov didn't try to control them
unemployment reduced by: rebuilding German cities+building new autobahns, compulsory Labour service, conscription to army 1935, dismissing Jews from jobs and giving them to unemployed people
1934-36 it solved economics crisis+enabled Hitler to rearm forces, world economy was getting better from 1933 onwards
New plan was successful, but by 1935 Hitler wanted to prepare Germany for war+rearm much faster, Schacht told Hitler they can't afford to rearm so fast. Schacht was replaced by Goering +later placed in a concentration camp
The Four Year Plan
made by Goering- head of German airforce, Luftwaffe, president of Reichstag, ww1 fighter pilot, supporter of Hitler. NOT expert in Econ/business
aim - prepare for war within 4 years, make Germany self sufficient in materials essential for war, e.g. oil, rubber, steel. set targets for production of these materials - this policy was 'Autarky"
ww1 British naval blockade had starved Germany of food+materials they needed - never again
how it worked
increase production of raw materials needed for rearmament, coal, iron ore, oil, metal, explosives
persuade big businesses to produce key synthetic raw materials - rubber, fuel, textiles
reduce imports further
tighten controls on prices+wages
use forced labour if needed
build new industrial plants e.g. Hermann Goering Works - huge mining +metal works
God poured billions of reichmarks into the plan
by 1939 Germany still depended on foreign imports for ⅓ of its raw materials
arms>agriculture - 'Arms not butter' - goering's slogan. in 1939 butter was still rationed in Germany
in order to be self sufficient Germany had to conquer neighbouring countries to get food + raw materials they needed
small businesses
Nazis had supporters among small businessmen (shopkeepers, self employed craftsmen) - they promised them much
many small shops found it difficult to survive - competition from large department stores
Nazis passed laws to ban new department stores, stop existing ones from goring +enable craftsmen to control their trade
competing jewish businesses closed down
between 1936-39 number of self-employed skilled craftsmen fell from 1.65million to 1.5million but the value of their trade nearly doubled between 1933 and 1937
farmers
nazis told farmers they were one of the most important groups in Germany
some farm debts were written off and all farmers benefitted from an increase in food prices
farmers resented the Govs meddling
farmers suffered from a shortage of labour as workers left to go to better paid jobs in towns
big businesses
large firms benefited from mass rearmament programmes+destruction of trade uniones
value of German industry rose +big profits were made
avg salary of managers rose by nearly 70% between 1934-38
industrialists had to pay for these benefits
gov took control of prices, wages, profits and imports and decided who should receive scarce raw materials , they made industry produce what they wanted
unskilled workers
hit hardest by depression
formed bulk of 6 million unemployed
immediately put to work on gov programmes - no option
if they did not accept the work they were given they would receive no unemployment benefit
wages on gov work schemes were sometimes lower than the rate of unemployment benefit
for other's the gov scheme was a lifeline
local councils provided cheap flats
working class
most hadn't supported Nazis before 1933 - voted for socialists instead
workers had to join DAF 9 headed by Robert ley) - put them to work in building new autobahns, hospitals, schools, public buildings
employers+employees belonged to DAF - settled disputes between them
Beauty of labour - org in DAF. Persuaded employers to improve working conditions, slogans e.g. "Hot meals in the factory", made to win over workers
strength through joy - org in DAF. organised leisure time of workers- popular, e.g. concerts, operas, theatres, sports, cruises etc
Reich labour service - org. all men 18-25 had to do 6 months manual labour - poor pay. used to indoctrinate young adults
L37 Persecution of Minorities
why
thought Aryans were the 'master race' - superior
they feared 'inferiors' - weakened society
who?
homosexuals
threat to Germany's 'disciplined masculinity', non aryan
paragraph 175 of German Criminal Code - sex between men aged 21 and over was punishable by a prison sentence. paragraph 175a dealt w/ those under 21 years old. specific evidence required to show sex took place- therefore not many found guilty. June 1935 paragraph 175 changed so it said 'any unnatural sex act' - 'unnatural being determined by nazi courts - rise in number of men arrested
homosexuals sent to concentration camps in June 1935
1936- homosexuals sent to state run mental institutions to be 'cured of their illness'
Roma gypsies
'carrier of alien blood', had 'criminal tendencies', classified as having many deficiencies - no regular jobs/homes, subjected to many of the same racial laws as jews
dr Robert ritter ran tests to find roma
Jews
became 'untermenschen' - sub humans post 1933 jan
by 1934 all jewish shops marked w/ Star of David or said 'Juden' on window - SA+ppl could target+boycott these shops more easily. SA men deterred people from entering
1935- Jews lost their right to be German citizens (Nuremberg law). marriage between Jews+non Jews was forbidden, jews that could pay a fine were allowed to leave the country
campaign against Jews stopped for a short while during the Berlin Olympics - but once overseas press were gone it began again
anti semitic activity reached pre-war peak in 1938 w/ Krystalnacht
April 1938- Jews had to register their property making it easier to confiscate
June-july 1938 jewish doctors, dentists, lawyers forbidden from treating aryans
15th nov 1938 - jewish pupils only allowed to attend jewish schools - segregation
nov 9-10 1938- nazi 'diplomat' shot dead by a Jew in Paris- Hitler ordered 7 day campaign of terror against Jews in Germany to be organised by Himmler+SS. Started on Nov 10th - 10,000 jewish owned shops destroyed+ contents stolen, homes+synagogues set on fire - fire brigade didn't stop this, jewish community forced to pay 1 billion mark fine to pay for eventual clearup+forced to scrub streets clean. about 7500 jewish businesses looted, killed at least 91 jews, concentration camps expanded to accommodate more jews.
by December 1938 Jews banned from most public places in Germany
Poland+ the ghettos
after defeating Poland in 1939 Nazis started 'germanising' western Poland
transported polish people from their homes+replaced them w/ German settlers
almost 1 in 5 poles died in the fighting+asd a result of racial policies in 1939-45
polish jews were rounded up+transported to the major cities+herded into sealed areas - the ghettos
able-bodied jews used for slave labour. the young, old, sick were just left to die from hunger+disease
mass murder
1941- Germany invaded USSR - Nazis in control of 3 million Russian Jews in addition to Jews of other countries they invaded
German forces had orders to round up+shoot communist party activists + their Jewish supporters., Shooting carried out by special SS units called Einsatzgruppen
autumn 1941-mass shootings taking place all over occupied Eastern Europe
in Germany all jews forced to wear Star of David on their clothing to mark them out
final solution i.e. the mass murder
debated whether it was ever a plan of Hitler's to do all this. little evidence
genocide would not have been possible w/.o
civil service bureaucracy - collected + stored info about Jews
police forces in Germany+occupied lands-many victims taken by them rather than gestapo/SS
SS- many killings etc
the Wehrmacht (German armed forces)
industry-companies such as Volkswagen+Mercedes had their own slave labour camps
German people - widespread support for anti semitism
resistance
many jews managed to escape before killing started, others managed to live undercover in Germany + occupied territories
Gad Beck led Jewish resistance to Nazis in Berlin, he was captured in 1945 but rescued by a detachment of troops from the Jewish regiment of the red army on the day of his execution
there were 28 known groups of jewish fighters+may have been more
many Jews fought in the resistance movements in the Nazi occupied lands
1945- Jews in Warsaw ghetto rose up against Nazis+held out against them for 4 weeks
5 concentration camps saw armed uprisings+Greek Jews managed to blow up the gas ovens at Auschwitz
Most germans + other non jews helped Jews by hiding/smuggling them out of German territory
Industrialist Oskar Schindler protected+saved many by getting them on to his 'list of workers'
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg worked w/ other resisters to provide Jewish w/ swedish+US passports to get them out of Nazi reach in Hungary. He mysteriously disappeared in 1945
high profile resisters were rare- most successful resisters were successful as they had extremely low profiles+were discoverable neither by Nazis then nor by historians today
L39 Did people benefit from Nazi rule?
workers
under Nazis Industrial workers enjoyed regular work+controlled shop prices. pay was also controlled, no trade unions to bargain for better conditions/higher wages
average industrial worker's pay stayed the same from 1929-38
average working week went from 43 hours in 1933, to 47 hours in 1939
workers in armament industries improved their pay but those producing consumer goods earned less
DAF
6th may 1933- nazis replaced unions w/ DAF (German labour front) led by Robert Ley
membership was virtually compulsory for workers
in practise DAF was different from a union- at times took side of employers, at times took side of workers
DAF always looking to boost productivity for rearmament
DAF stressed loyalty to Nazi regime
DAF schemes: 'beauty of labour', 'strength through joy'
getting Germany back to work
reducing unemployment- one of Hitler's highest priorities
Law to Reduce Unemployment passed on 1 June 1933+ gave money to finance building projects throughout Germany+insisted work was done manually wherever possible
27 June 1933- law passed to build network of autobahns
1934 - push to rearm Germany began in earnest employers who were encouraged to take on more workers - unemployment fell dramatically
Reich labour law of June 26 1935 made labour service compulsory
sept 1935 Hitler made all young men between 18-25 do 6 months Arbietdienst- chance for Nazis to indoctrinate young people, keep them fit+ further reduce unemployment. many young people found the discipline of the service tough and the type of work dull+unpleasant