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KT2 - Opposition, Control and Consent - Coggle Diagram
KT2 - Opposition, Control and Consent
Opposition to Government 1918-89
Impact of Versailles, Political Extremism and Crisis 1918-33
The Weimar government emerged after a violent upheaval. Threatened with violent overthrow, the new government was forced to leave Berlin in 1919 and in 1920. The Spartacists attempted to overthrow the government in 1919. Left-wing opposition came from communist groups. In January 1919, the government dismissed the popular police chief in Berlin causing conflict with the workers' councils
Individual German states were taken over by communists (Bavaria in March 1919 and Saxony and Thuringia in 1921)
On the right, the DNVP opposed the government at first but later aimed to produce a more settled political environment. There were other extreme right-wing groups that aimed to restore the empire and overturn the Treaty of Versailles
Wolfgang Kapp and the Freikorps leaders took over Berlin in March 1920. Most of the army did nothing. The trade unions called a general strike. The Kapp government collapsed. Kapp died in prison, awaiting trial; the other leaders were given short prison sentences
In November 1922, the SA of the Nazi Party took over a meeting of important officials in a beer cellar in Munich. Hitler declared that the government of Bavaria, and the national government, were deposed. The putsch ended after a short battle with the police. Hitler received a short prison sentence
Opposition and Dissent in Nazi Germany 1933-45
In the early 1930s, the KPD, SPD and trade unions printed anti-Nazi pamphlets. By 1938, to reduce detection, they did much of their work by word of mouth. The SPD worked from outside the country.
Workers sabotaged the Nazis by holding lightning strikes, working slowly or damaging machinery. Workers were in great demand, so such actions were often overlooked.
From 1939, groups used violent resistance such as blowing up bridges or railway lines. The Nazis did pay attention to when large groups protested against a particular Nazi action, releasing two bishops who were arrested in 1934.
Some middle class young people did not join the Hitler Youth. Instead, they went to nightclubs and wore Western fashions. The largely working-class Edelweiss Pirates painted anti-Nazi slogans on walls and worked with resistance groups. If caught, they were executed. The student White Rose Group operated in secret, distributing anti-Nazi material. They were executed.
There were around 15 known attempts to assassinate Hitler, including by army members after 1939. The most serious plot was the July Plot of 1944. Around 200 people, were arrested and shot (or committed suicide).
Hitler made a Concordat with the pope. He developed a Nazi-influenced, Protestant ‘People’s Church’. This caused a reaction and the development of the Confessing Church in 1934. Many of its members were arrested.
Political Dissent and Active Challenge 1949-89
The Basic Law of 1949 stated that there should be free speech, freedom of the press and no censorship. There was little political dissent in the 1950s, as the FRG was dealing with bigger issues. The SPD was the main form of political opposition. A clause allowed the removal of anti-democratic political parties; the right-wing Socialist Reich party was banned in 1952
By the 1960s, there was a wave of youth protest. Young people objected to the ‘year zero’ principle, using the slogan ‘What did you do in the war, Daddy’ to taunt the older generation. There were protests against the FRG’s military and involvement in NATO.
There were many groups in the 1960s who comprised left-wing intellectuals. The APO had a strong university membership, and saw student protest as more important than argument.
The SDS had broken away from the SPD in 1961, and was involved in radical protest about ex-Nazis in government and the Vietnam War. Its leader Rudi Dutschke is held responsible for this becoming more violent. There were riots when he was shot by a right-wing fanatic. There were also protests about the Emergency Law.
Terrorist groups emerged in the 1970s. The most famous was the Red Army Faction (RAF) or Baader-Meinhof Gang. When imprisoned, its members went on hunger strikes, resulting in bombings in support of them. Terrorist activity slowed in the 1980s
Popular Support and Political Persuasion 1918-89
The nature of support for democracy in the FRG, 1949-89
The level of support for democracy in the FRG can be seen in the turnout figures for elections, for they show whether people wanted to participate in the democratic process. The figures show a high level of turnout. The only time it was less than 84 percent was in 1949, when voting happened for the first time and some people were still stuck in old attitudes (turnout was higher than in Britain).
By the 1960s surveys showed that the majority of Germans felt that the FRG represented the best time in German history and that most people believed that democracy was the best kind of government.
Reactions to de-Nazification
resigned acceptance (surveys found that the German people accepted the Nuremberg trials)
indignation (the Allies were not blameless)
avoidance (of detection)
cynicism (prosecution was patchy),
desire to move on (the concept of ‘year zero’, supported by right-wing politicians, such as Adenauer)
young people’s attitudes to de-Nazification changed by the 1960s, and were critical about ex-Nazis being in the government.
In 1945, the Allies quickly set about de-Nazifying Germany. War crime trials began in Nuremberg. Around 250,000 were tried, but the process varied in the different zones. The Western zones also aimed to re-educate the young, banning Nazi textbooks and removing some Nazi teachers.
Other measures of support included demonstrations against the Emergency Law that would alter the Basic Law and protests against the shift to Ostpolitik if it meant establishing relations with the USSR, because of the repressive nature of that country.
Support for the Nazi regime and the use of propaganda 1933-45
The ‘Führer myth’ is the term given to the concept of Hitler as a god-like figure who could do no wrong, which was created by the Nazis to ensure support for his leadership
Hitler believed that people could be won over to almost anything if it was presented as a simple, repetitive idea, such as a Jewish person as an ugly dark man with a huge hooked nose. Reports were circulated about the popularity of Hitler, such as one that stated that Hitler’s appointment had been cheered by a mass of people
The cheapest and most widely available radio that the Nazis made sure was available was the People’s Receiver. Over 70 percent of the population owned a radio in 1939
Propaganda made people think that Nazi policies were working or that Nazi prejudices were right. From 1939, pictures of Jewish people in cramped ghettos were used to reinforce anti-Semitic propaganda
The Nazis rewarded conformity. Mothers were given medals for having babies. The marriage loan of 1,000 marks was reduced by 250 marks for each child. Workers were also rewarded with free trips through the Strength Through Joy (KDF) programme
The Nazis were popular with people who shared their prejudices (hating Jews, gays, Gypsies, communists and other ‘undesirables’).
Some people benefitted from Nazi rule: wealthy industrialists, the middle classes, and people who applied to ‘Germanise’ an area (they were given land).
Support also came from those Germans who saw the Nazis as reversing the losses associated with the Treaty of Versailles.
During the war, it was harder to retain support when Allied bombing devastated the cities during the war and living conditions also deteriorated.
The nature of support for the Weimar constitution 1918-32
One sign of support was the fact that a significant number of people turned out to vote at every election, suggesting they were in favour of the democratic process. 83% of all people registered to vote did so in 1919 (this figure never dropped below 75% through this period).
A number of political parties supported the Weimar constitution, including the SPD, Centre Party, DDP and the DVP (though these parties could not work together to help the government to function properly). These parties consistently gained more votes than anti-Constitution parties (KPD, USPD, Nazis):
80.5% in 1919 (compared to 17.9%)
57.5% in 1920 (compared to 35.1%)
43.9% in 1930 (compared to 31.4%)
35.2% in November 1932 (compared to 58.3%)
In the main, it was middle-class business people, Catholics and the professional classes who favoured the constitution.
Sometimes people welcomed the Weimar Constitution when they were presented with something they liked less
For example, in 1923 the people of Saxony welcomed the Reichsexekution and the removal of the communist government, which had not been elected but had imposed itself on the region.
The Weimar Constitution might have had more support than the actual government had, since critics at the time often criticised what the government was or was not doing, rather than the Constitution itself.
Controlling the People 1918-89
Attempts to Control Extremism 1918-32
In 1918, the government was not in a strong position. In November, Ebert signed the Ebert-Groener Pact with the army and the Stinnes-Legien Agreement with the leader of the labour unions. For their support, Ebert offered legislation on hours of work and on union representation.
However, the government often had to turn to the Freikorps to restore order if the army refused. When both refused (for example, the Kapp Putsch), the government was in a very difficult position.
The different regions of Germany did all eventually adopt the Weimar constitution, although Thuringia did not hold elections until June 1920, and in Bavaria and Saxony communists had set up governments of their own.
The Weimar government used the army and the Freikorps to restore order in these places using Reichsexekution – a takeover by federal government and the army until the Weimar system of government could be put back in place
The Reichswehr and judiciary tended to react to threats from the left quickly, and often brutally, by the army. Those brought to court were sentenced harshly.
But, the army sometimes did not act against right-wing groups at all (Kapp Putsch), and the judiciary were less harsh on right-wingers who came to trial (Munich Putsch). This made the government’s left-wing opponents angry, and the right-wing opponents more confident.
Censorship and Repression 1933-45
The Decree for the Protection of the People and the State in February 1933 gave the Nazis the right to ban publications & suspend civil rights
The Nazis used censorship to control the population. Goebbels, the minister of propaganda, gave radio stations government instructions on what to broadcast from March 1933, and purged radio staff of Jews and communists.
In October 1933 Hitler issued a decree banning newspapers from publishing anything that might weaken the Third Reich. The amount of Nazi newspapers increased from 59 and 780,000 readers in 1932 to 86 and 3 million readers in 1933.
Nazi repression began with banning all other political parties. Concentration camps were set up to hold political prisoners. Over 500,000 non-Jews were imprisoned between 1933 and 1945. The first camp opened in 1933 at Oranienburg in Poland
The Gestapo, the secret police, was set up in April 1933 by Hermann Goering to weed out enemies of the state. They did not wear uniform so people had to be careful about what they said. The SS ran the concentration camps. 240,000 SS were in charge of the Gestapo by 1936
The People’s Court was set up in Berlin in 1934 to try ‘traitors’. Two judges were chosen from the Nazi Party, the SS and the armed forces. The trials were not public. Tens of thousands of people had passed through the Court by 1945.
Nazi officials, from those who ran the Gau (a region) to the Bloc Wardens who ran individual apartments blocks, were required to watch for the smallest infringement of Nazi rules.
The constitutional and legal response to political extremism 1949-89
There was a level of sympathy for terrorist groups among the public, with one in five having sympathy for the Baader-Meinhof Gang (in a poll in 1970).
This put the government in a difficult position as it wanted to uphold democracy and free speech. Like the Weimar government, it came down more heavily on left-wing extremists.
The government bodies which attempted to control extremism in the 1970s included the BfV (from 1950) and the BND (from 1956). But they were hampered by the civil liberties granted under the Basic Law (they could not open mail, search homes or monitor phone calls)
The Emergency Law amendment to the Basic Law was finally passed in 1968 (it had failed in 1960, 1962 and 1965), which reduced the number of open protests. But, it unintentionally drove some groups underground, and they turned to violent opposition (terrorism)
The BEFA was a system introduced giving the BND centralised access to all police information. By the end of the 1970s, there was much less terrorist activity. GSG-9 was set up in 1972 as a special operations unit to act against terrorists, operating worldwide, taking part in some arrests of Baader-Meinhof members.
From 1949, members of the KPD and parties with aims similar to those of the Nazis were barred from government jobs. Adenauer eventually passed Article 131 in May 1951 to allow for the employment of ex-Nazis in the civil service. The Anti-Radical Decree of January 1972 allowed for political vetting of everyone applying for a state job.