Nazi Germany Narrative Essay
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What is a totalitarian state?
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A state that controls all aspects of life including politics, society, the economy and religion
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What was the first thing Hitler did after coming to power?
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He called a general election for March 1933
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What changes were made to the police after Hitler came to power?
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Over 400,000 members of the SA were recruited and they could now use legal terror
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What happened 2 weeks before the General election of 1933?
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A Dutch Communist, van der Lubbe set fire to the Reichstag
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How many seats did the Nazis win in the 1933 election?
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288
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With the help of what party were the Nazi's able to establish a parliamentary majority?
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The Nationalist Party
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What did the Enabling Act allow Hitler to do?
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It allowed him to rule by decree for a period of 4 years
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How did Hitler destroy the power of groups opposed to the Nazis?
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He outlawed communism and seized their property, he abolished trade unions, state assemblies and all parties except the Nazis
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What were Hitler's actions towards the press after he came to power?
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It came under the control of the German News Bureau and papers were instructed on the views they would take on issues at daily meetings. Jewish editors were fired and anti-Nazi publications were shut down
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How did Hitler eliminate opposition from within his own party?
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He used the SS to kill 400 members of the SA in the Night of the Long Knives
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Who was the leader of the SA prior to the Night of the Long Knives?
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Ernest Röhm
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What were Röhm's plans for the SA?
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He wanted to merge it with the German army to create a peoples army that he would lead
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How did Hitler take advantage of the death of President Hindenberg?
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He combined the offices of president and chancellor
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What was Hitler's title?
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Der Führer
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What was the office of Joseph Goebbels?
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The Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda
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How was the Ministry of Propaganda divided?
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Into different chambers for each type of media so that all media types could be used to influence public opinion
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What was the Nazi administration's attitude to books?
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The controlled the publication of all books and Goebbels organised book burnings of literature containing anti-Nazi ideas
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How did the Nazi administration make use of radio?
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Germans were encouraged to buy a People's Radio which could only pick up Nazi radio stations and loudspeakers were placed on streets and in bars for those who did not have access to radios. Short-wave radio was also used to broadcast to areas outside of Germany
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What were newsreels used for?
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To boast about the achievements of Hitler and the greatness of Germany
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Who was Germany's most famous film maker?
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Leni Riefenstahl
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What influential Nazi propaganda films did Riefenstahl make?
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Triumph of the Will and Olympia
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What were the functions of rallies and parades in Nazi Germany?
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To create a sense of order, strength and togetherness
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What was an enormous propaganda exercise for Germany in 1936?
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The Berlin Olympics, a new 100,000 seater stadium was built
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What in, Hitler's opinion, was the most important part of fascism?
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Absolute trust in a wise and able leader
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How did Goebbels promote the worship of Hitler?
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Carefully staged photographs, portraits, posters and meetings
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What did the Nazis believe was the purpose of education?
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To create more Nazis, all school subjects were used to get across Nazi racialist ideas
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How were boys and girls educated differently?
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Boys were geared towards military service and girls were pushed towards work in the home
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What were children to do on Hitler's birthday?
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They put flowers beside his picture
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What organisations did boys and girls join outside of school?
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Boys joined Hitler Youth and girls joined the League of German Maidens
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What young people opposed the Nazi regime?
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Swingers who listened to English or American music
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What were the names of some of the youth organisations that opposed Hitler?
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The Navajos and the Edelweiss Pirates
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How was youth opposition punished?
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In a few cases, public hangings
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What was the main job of the SS?
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To destroy opposition to Hitler and carry out Nazi racialist policies
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Who was the leader of the SS?
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Heinrich Himmler
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Which of Hitler's organisations was most feared by ordinary Germans?
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The Gestapo
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Who led the Gestapo?
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Reinhard Heydrich
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What powers did the Gestapo have?
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Wide powers of arrest and the power to use torture to gain confessions and information
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Why was a fair trial impossible in Nazi Germany?
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All justice had to serve the Nazi state
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In 1939 how many people were in prison for political offenses?
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1600
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What were conditions like in concentration camps before WWII?
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Prisoners had to carry out hard labour and were subject to beatings but they were not yet extermination camps
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Who was held in concentration camps?
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Jews, communists, intellectuals, trade unionists, tramps and homosexuals
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What economic challenges did Hitler face when he first came to power?
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To reduce unemployment and to develop self-sufficiency
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How did Hitler reduce unemployment?
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Money was spent on public works such as the autobahn, conscription was introduced and the rearming of Germany led to the growth of heavy industry
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How had unemployment decreased from 1932 by 1939?
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It had gone from 6 million to 200,000
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Who was Germany more successful than in reducing unemployment?
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America (8 million unemployed in '39) and Britain (10% unemployment in '39)
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Why was Germany's policy to achieve self-sufficiency in food unsuccessful?
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There was a decline in grain and potatoes and some food still had to be imported
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Why was Germany's policy to achieve self-sufficiency in raw materials unsuccessful?
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Though many products were now recycled and synthetic wool was being developed, Germany still had to import oil, copper and rubber
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How did Hitler plan to overcome the failings of his plans for self-sufficiency?
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By conquering land in eastern Europe and gaining lebensraum
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How did workers benefit from Hitler's policies?
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There were increased jobs and wages but also working hours
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What was the function of the Beauty through Joy organisation?
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To improve working conditions
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What was the function of the Strength through Joy organisation?
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To improve leisure time by arranging cheaper holidays, coach tours, concerts and sports facilities as well as encouraging the development of the Volkswagon
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Who gained the most from Germany's economic growth?
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Big business because production came into the hands of fewer capitalists
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In 1937 how much of German industry was in the hands of cartels?
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70%
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How was the population of Germany divided religiously?
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2/3s Protestant and 1/3 Catholic
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Why did Hitler hate christianity?
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Because they defended the weak and lowly and owed allegiance to an outside power, the pope
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Why could Hitler not openly attack christianity?
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Because most Germans were either Catholic or Protestant and he did not want to make martyrs of the priests
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What did Hitler promise with regard to the church in his first speech as chancellor?
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That he would respect the churches and help to maintain family values
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What did Hitler sign in July 1933?
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A Concordat with the Catholic church promising to respect the rights of the church provided the priests stayed out of politics
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What did Hitler start doing mere months after signing the Concordat with the Catholic church?
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Openly controlling Catholic organisations and carrying out anti-Catholic attacks
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In what ways did the Nazi's attack Catholics?
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Lay leaders were killed on the Night of the Long Knives, pressure was put on Catholic youth organisations to join Hitler Youth, they wanted to replace Catholic schools with non-religious schools and the put priests on trial for sexual immorality and currency smuggling
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How did the Nazi's defend their attacks on Catholics?
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They said they were against churchmen involved in politics, not the church itself
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How did the pope respond to the treatment of Catholics in Nazi Germany?
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He wrote the encyclical \"With Burning Anxiety\" which criticised the Nazi's actions and urged Catholics to resist but this led to further attacks
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Who did the Catholics blame for the attacks on them?
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They blamed Nazi officials, not Hitler
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What did Bishop Galen speak out against strongly?
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Hitler's policy of Euthanasia during WWII
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How many regional Protestant churches were there in Germany?
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28
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What was Hitler's plan for the regional Protestant churches?
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To unite them all into one Reichskirche
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Who was the Reich Bishop?
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Ludwig Müller
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What were the requirements for the Protestant clergy in Nazi Germany?
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They had to be loyal Nazi's and support the superiority of the Aryan race and anti-Semitism
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What did pastors wear in Nazi Germany?
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SA or SS uniforms
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What was found in Protestant churches in Nazi Germany?
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Swastikas and copies of Mein Kampf on the altar
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What church was opposed to Nazified christianity?
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The Confessing church
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Who were the leaders of the Confessing Church?
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Pastor Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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What is anti-Semitism?
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Hatred of the Jews and a very important aspect of Hitler's ideology
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What did Hitler believe about the German people?
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He believed they were the master race (Herrenvolk) of Aryan descent and they were portrayed as blond, blue-eyed and strong
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What did Hitler want to protect?
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He wanted to protect the purity of the Aryan race from the \"untermenschen\", the Jews and Slavs
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What did Hitler blame the Jews for?
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He blamed them for Germany's loss of WWI, the Great Depression and communism (because Marx was Jewish)
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How did Nazi propaganda portray the Jews?
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They were portrayed as rich even though a quarter of Berlin's Jews lived in poverty, they also told wild stories saying the pregnant Jewish women used the blood of slaughtered children
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How did the persecution of the Jews begin?
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They were excluded from positions of influence, banned from the civil service, universities and newspapers. There was also a boycott of Jewish shops and services ordered. There were also random attacks on Jewish people and their property
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Why did Hitler move against the Jews slowly at first?
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Because he was afraid of upsetting world opinion and he needed foreign loans
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What did the Nuremberg Laws forbid?
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Jews were forbidden to enter parks, swimming pools, restaurant and public buildings. They could not marry or have intercourse with other Germans and they were deprived of their German citizenship
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What impact did the Berlin Olympics have on the lives of German Jews?
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It improved their quality of life because the coverage forced Hitler to conceal some of the anti-Jewish actions
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What triggered Kristallnacht?
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The shooting of a minor German official in Paris by a Jew
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What happened of Kristallnacht?
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The SA carried out widespread attacks on Jews, Jewish shops and synagogues. Over 100 Jews were killed
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Who paid for Kristallnacht?
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Hitler made the Jewish community pay the bill for the damages that were done on Kristallnacht
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What proportion of Germans Jews had emigrated by 1939?
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Half
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What was the Final Solution?
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The attempted extermination of the Jewish race
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Name 3 concentration camps?
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Auschwitz, Treblinka and Chelmo
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What happened to people when they arrived at a concentration camp?
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They were separated into those fit for work and those who were unfit. Those who were unfit were gassed in large chamber using Zyklon-B and their bodies were burned or buried in mass graves. The others were used as slave labour or subjects of experiments
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What happened to those who were responsible for the Holocaust after WWII?
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They were tried at Nuremberg and claimed they were 'only obeying orders'
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How did Hitler centralise the government?
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He brought the civil service, police, legal and teaching profession under Nazi control
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What was the Labour Front?
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The Nazi replacement for trade unions
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What had been banned by July 1933?
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All political parties that weren't the Nazis
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What happened from August 1934 onwards?
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The German army had to take an oath of loyalty to Hitler
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What was Gleichschaltung?
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Hitler's policy by which he sought to bring all aspects of daily life under Nazi control
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What was the main function of the SS and SA?
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They tracked down, tortured, murdered or imprisoned all those deemed to be enemies of the Nazi state
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What is propaganda?
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Information that is often exaggerated or false which is given out in order to press home a particular political message
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What did the Reich Press Law of 1934 state?
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All newspaper editors must possess German citizenship, be of Aryan descent and not be married to a Jew
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What happened to the Berliner Tageblatt?
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It was shut down and replaced with the Nazi newspaper \"Das Reich\"
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Why was the film \"The Prizefighter and the Lady\" banned?
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It starred Jewish boxer Max Baer who when the laws in Germany came in forcing Jews to wear the star of David, wore one on his boxing shorts in solidarity
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Who was Lord Haw-Haw?
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A famous radio presenter of black propaganda of Irish descent, better known as William Joyce, he was hung after the war
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What did the Germans do briefly in Ireland?
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Broadcasted Nazi ideas in Irish during the war!
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What did Leni Riefenstahl refuse to do?
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Take moral responsibility for her role in the Nazi propaganda machine
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How long did Hitler believe the 3rd Reich would last for?
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1000 years
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What youth organisations did children between 10 and 14 join?
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The Jungvolk and Jungmadel
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How many members did Hitler Youth have in 1934?
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3.5 million
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What happened in Nazi biology lessons?
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The importance of racial purity was stressed
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Why was sport one of the key subjects in the Nazi education system?
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It was considered a crucial step in turning Germany into a master race
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What percentage of teachers were Nazis in 1936?
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32%
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What happened to religious instruction in Nazi schools?
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It was gradually phased out
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What was introduced to keep Jews out of third level education?
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A quota system
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What were the NAPOLOA?
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Special schools that were established too produce well-educated future party members
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Who was the task of rebuilding the German economy given to?
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Dr Schacht, the president of the Reichsbank
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What was given to assist industry?
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Money and income tax concessions for those who replaced outdated machinery
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What reduced unemployment from 1935 onwards?
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An extensive public works programme, re-armament factories and conscription
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What was Hitler's 4 year plan?
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A plan to make Germany self-sufficient (autarky) by making less efficient substitutes for rubber, petrol and wool
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What is anti-Semitism?
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A hatred and discrimination against the Jews
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How much of the population did the Jews account for when Hitler came to power?
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Less than 1% and yet Hitler blamed them for all of Germany's problems during the inter-war years
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What occurred in April 1933?
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An official boycott of Jewish shops
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How could you be punished if you broke the Nuremberg Laws?
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By death
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What did Jews have to wear in public?
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The Star of David so that they would be recognisable
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What could happen to Jewish businesses from 1937 onwards?
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They could be confiscated without legal justification
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What could Jews no longer do from 1937 onwards?
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The couldn't enter public parks, attend cultural events or keep pets
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How many Jews were imprisoned following Kristallnacht?
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20,000
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What was instituted for Jews in 1939?
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They had a curfew that forbade them to leave their homes after dark
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What were Jews no longer able to do from 1939 onwards?
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Use public transport, own a bike or a radio
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What did the Nazis encourage the Jews to do up until the outbreak of WWII?
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Emigrate!
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How many Jews lived in Germany in 1933?
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Half a million
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How many Jews had left Germany by 1939?
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360,000
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Why were some Jews unable to leave Germany?
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Lack of money and inability to pay the tax levied on emigrants
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What happened to Jews in Nazi occupied Eastern Europe from 1940 onwards?
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They were forced to live in ghettoes and anyone who attempted to leave them could be shot on the spot
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How many people died in the Warsaw Ghetto?
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96,000
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Who was in charge of rounding up Jews for the Holocaust?
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Adolf Eichmann
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Where was the final solution decided on?
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At a conference in the Berlin suburb of Wansee chaired by Reinhard Heydrich
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How did the Nazis attempt to hide their crimes against the Jews?
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They and the inmates abandoned the camps as the Red Army approached and went on death marches
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What was the overall result of the Holocaust?
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The creation of the state of Israel and the Arab/Israeli conflict
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What did Pope Pius XI accuse Hitler of doing?
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Sowing the seeds of suspicion, discord, hatred and of fundamental hostility to Christ and his Church
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What was Pope Pius XII's approach to relations with Germany?
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Much less confrontational than his predecessor
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Why did Hitler not arrest Bishop Galen?
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His protests were met with such public support that Goebbels advised Hitler that it would be a bad idea
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What was the church accused of after WWII?
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They were accused of not taking a strong enough position against the fascist regimes
