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Germany 5.3 - The Growth of Opposition To Hitler - Coggle Diagram
Germany 5.3 - The Growth of Opposition To Hitler
Background
During the 1930s the Nazis had a severe control over any opposition to Nazi rule.
However there was still some opposition, most was the normal day to day grumblings, however some such as the communist resistance movement worked underground.
The long term opposition of the Nazis were the German Communist party. After the invasion of the Soviet Union they increased their work and built underground cells across Germnany. However the Gestapo infiltrated them and they were never a big threat.
The Church was seen to speak out against the Nazi regime and although Hitler was hesitant to take measures against priests and pastors several were still executed.
Many powerful and influential members of German society opposed Nazism and met as a group however the Gestapo quickly broke it up.
As WW2 had a greater impact on German people's lives they grew more opposed to the Nazi rule.
Many Germans lost the will to resist being taken over however they didn't directly have an uprising against the government.
Opposition was most obvious in young people who wanted to dress and act as they pleased and form their own views.
The Swing Youth
Members were usually middle-class Germans who wanted to listen to American and British 'swing' music.
They liked jazz which the Nazis were heavily against due to its links to black Americans.
Swing Youth groups started in many major towns and cities and the Nazis worked to stomp them out.
Some leading members were arrested and served short sentences in concentration camps.
The Edelweiss Pirates
The movement started in Rhineland in 1937.
Members hated the Hitler Youth and would bully or beat them up.
They refused conscription and training for military services.
Members were usually working class and found small ways to oppose Nazism through clothing, culture and criticism.
They were suspected of producing anti-war and anti-Nazi graffiti.
They were never truly a threat to the Nazis.
But as the war progressed their activities became more serious.
They gave shelter to army deserters and escaped prisoners from concentration camps.
They stole food and supplies from stores or freight trains.
They derailed train cars full of ammunition and supplied resistance groups with explosives.
In 1944 a member was executed for planning to blow up a Gestapo building in Cologne.
The Rose Group
The group was founded by Hans and Sophie Scholl.
Most members were students at Munich University and they criticized the treatment of Jews and Slavs and campaigned to stop the war.
In 1942-43 the group published six leaflets criticisng the Nazis.
In one leaflet they wrote about how Hitler was dooming them and at the end of the war all Germans would be seen as barbarians like the Nazis were.
They painted anti-Nazi messages on buildings in Munich but were eventually caught and guillotined.
The July Bomb Plot
Hitler was supported by most the German army, however some disagreed with the brutal methods he used and the anti-Semitic policies.
When Germany started losing the war these people decided to act and try kill Hitler.
The group was led by General Ludwig Beck, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and the anti- Nazi politician Dr Carl Goerdeler, who would be chancellor once Hitler was killed.
On July 20th 1944, Stauffenberg took a bomb in a briefcase into a meeting and Hitler's military HQ in East Prussia. He then excused himself but after he left someone moved the briefcase and four people died but not Hitler.
Von Stauffenberg and Beck tried to seize control of Berlin but with Hitler alive they failed.
Beck was granted suicide although he only managed to hurt himself and had to be shot. Von Stauffenber was also shot and Goerdeler was hanged.
7,000 people were arrested and almost 6,000 were executed for involvement, some of which were hung with piano wire.
Extent of Opposition to the Nazis
There is limited knowledge on the threat the Nazis actually faced due to propaganda.
Although there was resistance from known groups it is not known how much support for opposition was amongst the general population.
The growth in support for the Nazi Party is evident in the early years through its success in elections.
However support declined throughout the war as people were living through hardship.
Despite the attempts on Hitler's life it was not a real threat on Nazi rule.
Opposition was seen more in the 'little things' and minor acts of rebellion, as when anything big was attempted people were often caught and hanged.
The End of the Third Reich
By 1945 Germany was close to defeat and Allied forces were advancing from the west with the Soviet Union advancing from the east.
Bombing increased on German cities and it is believed more soldiers died in the last 4 months than the whole of 1942 and 1943.
Huge numbers of refugees fled the cities to avoid bombing and the Red army whilst million of civilians died from hunger, disease and cold.
on 28th April Hitler married his girlfriend and shot himself two days later. Eva (his wife) took her own life with cyanide. Hitler gave control of Germany to Admiral Doenitz who surrendered to the Allies on the 7th May 1945.
The Third Reich had come to an end.