Transcript Nazis in Power

Nazis in Power
Part 2: Terror and Force
Totalitarian
State
Enabling Act - Background
• Introduced by Hitler on
24th March 1933.
• Gave Hitler the power
to rule Germany on his
own for four years, but
ruled as Fuhrer for 12
years.
• Hitler was now able to
begin the destruction of
the Democratic ideals
established by the
Weimar Republic.
Totalitarian State =
Government control of EVERYTHING
• Every aspect of life – e.g. employment,
education, youth and leisure – was
controlled and regulated by the State.
• It was said that the only time when a
totalitarian state is not in control of an
individual is when that person is asleep
We will look at:
1. Trade Unions
2. Political parties
3. Censorship
4. Gestapo, SS and Camps
5. Nazification
1. Trade Unions
• 2nd May 1933 – all trade unions
dissolved.
• Workers’ and employers’ groups were
absorbed into the Nazi Labour Front –
easily controlled by government
1. Trade Unions - Analysis
• Workers no longer had any rights in
Germany, allowing the government far
more control of the workforce
• This removed any opposition from TU
groups, allowing the Nazis to maintain
power
2. Political Parties
• 14th July 1933 – Hitler banned all
political parties apart from the National
Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party.
• This signified creation of a one party
state so no free elections, free protest
or political meetings allowed
2. Political Parties - Analysis
• With no more elections or political
parties, people had no real alternative
to the Nazi government
• Without freedom of speech, the right
to meet in groups etc it was very hard
for any effective opposition to be
organised, allowing the Nazis to
maintain power
3. Censorship
• Newspapers critical of the
Nazis were closed down.
• Nazis supplied Germans with
cheap radios so everyone could
hear the Fuhrer.
• Nazi propaganda shown in
cinemas
• Speakers were put up on
street corners so no one could
avoid Nazi propaganda.
• State radio messages from
the Fuhrer were compulsory
work stopped to listen to them
3. Censorship - Analysis
• Due to censorship people
heard only good things about
the Nazi government so many
believed the Nazi propaganda
messages
• It was almost impossible for
negative information about the
Nazis to make its way into the
public domain
• Many people were brainwashed
by radio broadcasts,
newspapers etc and this
allowed the Nazis to maintain
power
4. SS, Gestapo & Camps
• Originally formed as a personal bodyguard for the
Fuhrer, the SS became the most important police
agency in the Reich.
• The leader of the SS was Heinrich Himmler.
• Main function was to track down and eliminate all
opponents of the Reich, used torture and terror, had
its own courts.
• Had its own secret police to spy on Germans called
the Gestapo.
• Had a wide range of informants, most Germans afraid
to be openly critical of Hitler.
• Particularly effective in persecuting the Jews and
Communists.
• They ensured that few people dared to oppose the
Nazi government
Re-education Camps
• Became the symbol of terror of the Third
Reich.
• The first camps were established in 1933 at
Dachau and Belsen, with the intention of
reforming opponents of the regime so that they
could be rehabilitated into the new Reich.
• At first, the camps housed mainly criminals and
Communists.
• Later filled with political, religious and social
groups who displeased Hitler: Socialists,
Democrats, Jehovah’s Witnesses, clergy,
academics, homosexuals, gypsies, trade union
officials etc.
4. SS, Gestapo & Camps Analysis
• German people were petrified of the Gestapo and SS and
therefore didn’t dare to criticise the Fuhrer or the Nazi
government
• Many people went a step further and tried to win favour
of the government by ‘informing’ on friends, neighbours
and colleagues
• This effectively meant the Government completely
controlled what was said/ done in Germany
• People’s fear of camps was so great that most felt it was
easier to keep quiet rather than risk being ‘re-educated’
therefore they did not speak out against the Nazis,
allowing them to stay in power
5. Nazification
• Opponents of the Nazi regime sacked
from jobs (police, courts, civil service)
• Teachers who would not support the
Nazis sacked – teachers had to sign up
to National Socialist Teachers’ League
• Teachers were expected to teach only
Nazi views and new topics such as
eugenics (race studies)
• Meant that all government run
institutions were now pro-Nazi and
posed no threat
5. Nazification - Analysis
• All opponents of the Nazi regime were
sacked from jobs, arrested or sent to
camps meaning that organisations like
the courts were now pro-Nazi
• Teachers now had to teach the Nazi
curriculum and therefore young people
only heard positive messages about the
government
• Many people kept quiet rather than risk
losing their job, and their cooperation
allowed the Nazis to maintain their
power
Nazis in Power Essay Plan
we will now add today’s information on to the plan for this essay
Terror/ Force
TOTALITARIANISM
KU: Nazis established a totalitarian government that
was hard to resist (banned political parties, TUs,
censored press, radio, cinema)
Gestapo/SS took over police – used informers,
arrested ‘undesirables’ – Nazi judges always found
them guilty, camps such as Belsen used
A: No way to legally protest in Germany – no
elections,meetings, strikes etc – people had no voice
KU: Nazification: non-Nazis sacked from police,
courts, civil service – teachers had to join Nazi
League of Teachers
KU: Nazis controlled news/ radio – TRUE PICTURE of
terror was hidden