GCSE HISTORY
REVISION
NAZI GERMANY
1933 – 39
THE ESTABALISHMENT OF THE DICTATORSHIP
LIFE IN NAZI GERMANY
SECTION A: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DICTATORSHIP 1933 – 1934.
Hitler was appointed Chancellor in January 1933.
However he was still in a very weak position. This was for several reasons:
-Only three out of eleven members of the government were Nazis (a coalition government)
-The NSDAP had less than half the seats in the Reichstag. In fact the NSDAP had only 196 seats out of a possible total of 572 seats whereas the SPD and the KPD had a combined total of 221 seats)
-Hindenburg could sack him at any time.
-He faced opposition from within the NSDAP.
And yet by March 1933 Hitler had established himself as a Dictator – democracy had collapsed.
And by August 1934 he had removed any possible threats to his position as Fuhrer of Germany. He had created a totalitarian state and gained absolute power.
HOW WAS HITLER ABLE TO ESTABLISH A DICTATORSHIP?
1. By gaining control of the Reichstag and ending democracy
Hitler wanted to be able to pass laws to increase his own powers. However in January 1933 he didn’t have an overall majority. He therefore immediately called for a general election for 5 March. He then set about persuading the German electorate to vote for the NSDAP.
1. The use of terror and fear.
Violence and terror were used to intimidate the opposition. There were about 70 deaths in the weeks leading up to voting day.
2nd Feb 1933: Hermann Goring drafted 400 000 SA and SS men into the police force so that Nazi power could be used legally.
2. The use of propaganda
Once again the NSDAP received large amounts of money from leading industrialists to help with the propaganda campaign. Goebbels used posters, radio broadcasts, newspaper articles, mass meetings and parades to make sure the message of Nazism was everywhere.
1st Feb 1933: Hitler announced a new motorway construction programme.
3. The importance of the Reichstag Fire
One week before the election on 27th February 1933 the Reichstag was set on fire. It is not known who started the fire but the Nazis arrested Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch Communist.
This was a wonderful opportunity for Hitler and Goebbels to exploit. They claimed that the Communists were about to stage a takeover.
Hitler asked President Hindenburg for extra powers to deal with the plot.
Hindenburg was convinced that Germany was in danger and issued the ‘Law for the Protection of the People and State’. This emergency law suspended basic civil rights.
It allowed for imprisonment without trial – this allowed the Nazis to imprison large numbers of their political opponents – approx 4000 Communists were arrested.
It also ended press freedom. This allowed the Nazis to ban Communist and Socialist newspapers.
The Nazis were therefore able to destroy the Communist election campaign.
However despite all the propaganda and violence the NSDAP did not gain a majority.
Hitler was forced to form an alliance with the National Party.
Even then he still did not control the two-thirds of seats that were needed in order to be able to change the constitution.
4. The importance of the Enabling Act
The Enabling Act was passed on 24th March.
It gave him and his government full powers for the next four years.
Why did the Reichstag allow its powers to be destroyed?
-Communists not allowed to vote
-SA intimidated members
-Catholic Party agreed to support it as promised they would be allowed to run church without interference from the State
-Many members happy to see the destruction of democracy – they wanted a strong leader.
The Enabling Act had very important consequences.
The Weimar Constitution was over.
Democracy had ended.
Hitler now had the power to pass laws to take total control of Germany. He was now Dictator.
2. The policy of Gleichschaltung: the policy of bringing German society into line with Nazi philosophy.
March 1933: the first concentration camp set up at Dachau – used for re-education of political opponents
May 1933: Trade Unions banned. It was replaced with the National Labour Front which decided wages. Strikes were made illegal. Any one who complained would be sent to a camp.
April 1933: The Gestapo set up – the secret police. It could arrest and imprison those suspected of opposing the state.
July 1933: The Law Against the Formation of Parties. This made the NSDAP the only legal political party in Germany.
Jan 1934: The Parliaments of the 18 Lander (districts of Germany) destroyed. This took away the power of the landers.
By the end of 1934 Hitler had also taken control of the legal system:
All judges had to be members of the NSDAP
October 1933: the German Lawyers Front was established.
1934: the People’s Court was established to try cases of treason. All the judges were loyal Nazis
3. By destroying all opposition from within the NSDAP
The importance of the Night of the Long Knives: Operation Hummingbird
On the night of 30th June 1934 Rohm and other members of the SA were seized and executed by SS firing squads. About 400 people were murdered.
Why did Hitler order the death of Rohm?
- Rohm was a threat to Hitler. Hitler heard that Rohm was planning to seize power. Rohm did not like Hitler’s close relations with the industrialists and army leaders. He wanted changes to help the workers and had strong socialist views, eg he wanted more government interference in the running of the country in order to help the workers and he wanted to move away from Germany’s class structure and bring greater equality.
- To secure the loyalty of the army. The army felt threatened by Rohm and the SA. Rohm wanted to incorporate the army into the SA. The army did not like the socialist nature of the SA. Hitler knew he needed the support of the army for when Hindenburg died and when he planned to combine the posts of Chancellor and President.
- To secure the support of the SS and the Gestapo. Neither Himmler nor Goering liked Rohm of the SA.
- As an absolute warning that he would not tolerate any opponents. It is often seen as a turning point – when there could be absolutely no doubt of Hitler’s power in Gemany.
4. The death of Hindenburg
On the death of Hindenburg Hitler was able to abolish the position of President and take all powers for himself as Fuhrer – leader of the German state. All officers of the army were called on to take a personal oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer. This was of crucial importance in securing the dictatorship.
By the end of 1934 Hitler controlled the legal system, the army and the Reichstag.
The Nazi police and security organisations meant it was not impossible for anyone to escape the power and grip of the Nazis/
Finally it is also worth mentioning that one of the reasons why Hitler was able to destroy democracy so easily was because the process had already begun by President Hindenburg before Hitler was even made Chancellor.In fact most historians date the ending of democracy in Germany from March 1930. This is when the government broke up after being unable to decide what to do about the Wall Street Crash. From this time Hindenburg ruled by emergency decree – as allowed by Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. This meant that he could make laws without asking the Reichstag.
Make sure you can answer the following questions:
- Was the use of propaganda the most important reason why Hitler was able to set up a dictatorship between 1933 and 1934? 16
- Why did the Hitler order the Night of the Long Knives? 8
- What were the consequences of the Reichstag Fire? 8
- Describe the key features of the Enabling Act. 6
- Explain how Germany changed between January 1933 and August 1934 8
SECTION B: LIFE IN NAZI GERMANY
Make sure you can answer the following questions:
- How did life change for children in Nazi Germany? 8
- How did life change for women in Nazi Germany? 8
- How did life change for the workers in Nazi Germany? 8
- Describe how Hitler took control of the church. 6
- Why did Hitler dislike the Jews? 8
- Explain the effects of Kristallnacht. 8
- Describe how Hitler used terror and fear to control Germany 8
- Was the use of terror the main reason why Hitler faced little opposition between 1933 and 1939? 16
CHILDREN IN NAZI GERMANY
What were Hitler’s plans for children?
Hitler knew that the future of the Third Reich depended on the youth.
‘Whoever has the youth has the future’
He knew he would have to indoctrinate the children to fully support him and Nazi ideology. Children would have to accept without questioning their role in the creation and maintenance of the Third Reich.
For the boys this meant preparing them for their roles as soldiers.
For the girls this meant preparing them for their roles as wives and mothers.
Hitler also knew that it would be much easier to indoctrinate the children than their parents. The children would grow up not knowing anything else.
In 1933 he said: ‘When an opponent declares “I will not come over to your side”, I calmly say “Your child belongs to us already”.
Children were indoctrinated at school and in the Hitler Youth.
THE SCHOOLS
Everyone in Germany had to go to school until the age of 14. After that schooling was optional. Boys and girls went to separate schools.
All aspects of school life were taken over by the Nazis and used to indoctrinate the children.
The teachers
All teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler and join the Nazi Teachers’ League.
The classrooms
The classrooms were decorated with swastika flags, photographs of Hitler and racist material.
The lessons
Every lesson began with the pupils greeting their teacher with the Nazi salute and chorusing Heil Hitler.
The curriculum was changed to prepare students for their future role.
Hitler wanted fit and healthy men and women so 15% of time was devoted to physical education. Sport was the means to create a fit and disciplined army and fit and healthy women. For boys boxing became compulsory. There was also a lot of time spent on team games.
Girls took needlework and homecrafts.
New subjects such as race studies were introduced to put across Nazi ideas on race and population control. Children were taught how to measure skulls and classify racial types. They were also taught that Aryans were superior and should not marry inferior races such as Jews.
History: the means of indoctrinating Germans about their past. German nationalism could be emphasised as could the story of the Nazi revolution and Hitler’s part in it. German mythology and the achievements of the Aryan race were also emphasised.
Biology: the means to deliver Nazi racial theory.
German: the study of German language and literature was intended to create a ‘consciousness’ of being German. Children read books such as the Battle of Tannenberg which glorified Germany’s role in WWI.
Geography: explained and justified the need for Lebensraum
Maths: Even this subject could be used to pass on NSDAP ideology.Equations could be used to work out how much money could be saved by closing down mental homes or how long it would take a bullet to travel.
There were also special schools created :
Napolas: National Political Training Institutes. These were the military academies for boys 10 –18. They would then go directly into the armed forces, usually the Waffen-SS.
The Adolf Hitler Schools. These were the finishing schools for the future governors of Germany.
The Ordensburgen or OrderCastles. It was a distinct honour to attend one of these schools and graduates went straight into the higher ranks of the armed forces or NSDAP.
THE HITLER YOUTH: the Hilter Jugend
These organisations played a vital role in the indoctrination of the children.
Boys attended the Little Fellows from 6 to 10, the German Young People from 10 to 14 and the Hitler Youth from 14 to 18 when they would normally end up in the army.
Girls attended the League of Young Girls from 10 to 14 and then the League of German Girls up to the age of 18.
Both organisations emphasised sport and team work but the girls also received education in motherhood and preparation for marriage.
From 1936 membership was compulsory. All other youth organisations were banned.
By 1939 there were 7 million members.
Explain the effects of the indoctrination on the children.
There is no doubt that the indoctrination worked. The regime did mesmerise a generation of young people. This is for several reasons:
Many children reacted favourably to the strength and dynamism of Nazism.
Many enjoyed the power that it gave them.
Some also saw it as a means to rebel against the older generation.
The reign of terror and the use of propaganda meant that the children grew up in a society knowing nothing else than Nazism and Adolf Hitler.
Hitler created a generation who were willing to fight and die for him. It is of no surprise that when Hitler made his last appearance in April 1945 it was to the youth of Berlin. Nor is it of no surprise that it was the youth, some as young as 5, who fought most fanatically for him in the last days of the war.
However by 1939 there was some rebellion and resistance by the youth as they grew increasingly fed-up with the regimentation and petty restrictions of life in Nazi Germany.
The Edelweiss Pirates were set up in 1934. They listened to forbidden music, grew their hair, wore their own choice of clothes, beat up members of the Hitler Youth, and wrote anti-Nazi graffiti on walls. The Navajos were a similar organisation.
Later on during the war the White Rose group was set up by students.
WOMEN IN NAZI GERMANY
When Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 there were several areas that concerned him about the position of women in Germany.
1. There had been a big decrease in the number of babies born in Germany. In 1900 there had been over 2 million babies born. In 1933 this figure dropped to less than one million.
2. There had been a big increase in female employment.
3.The immorality of women. Hitler was very concerned about the changing appearance of women – wearing make-up, smoking and cutting their hair. All of this was seen as part of the overall decline of moral standards during the WeimarRepublic.
Hitler believed that the role of women was to stay at home and have children – lots of children, in fact as many children as possible! His aim was to increase the number of children born to racially pure Germans.
In 1934 he said ‘….her world is her husband, her family, her children and her house’.
However it is also important to point out that this did not mean the Nazis saw women as inferior or second class to men. Women’s roles were equally important to those of men, just different.
How did the Nazis try and raise the birth rate in Germany?
1.Legal changes
Abortion was made illegal in 1933.
It was made illegal to advertise or distribute contraceptives.
Divorce was made easier amongst childless couples.
Many jobs in the professions were closed to women.
2.Propaganda constantly reminded women of their duty.
Posters portrayed the ideal Aryan women surrounded by her large Aryan family – often shown as a Madonna figure. All propaganda glorified motherhood and the large family.
Women were encouraged to go back to traditional views on women – they were not to wear make-up, smoke or wear trousers. They should wear their hair in a bun or plaits.
Slimming and excessive sport was regarded as unhealthy and a possible hindrance to child birth.
The Nazi slogan of Kinder, Kuche, Kirche – Children, Church, Kitchen - was used to remind women that a woman’s place was in the home looking after her children and her husband.
Fertile mothers were awarded the Honour Cross on 12 August – Mother’s Day which had been changed by Hitler to be on the same day as his mother – bronze for four, silver for six, gold for eight, 11 the mother got to meet Hitler. The coining of the phrase ‘I have donated a child to the Fuhrer’
On 10 May 1933 all women’s organisations were told that they must integrate into the Women’s Front. Gertrud Scholtz-Klink was placed in overall charge. Under her leadership over 1.5 million women attended maternity school and half a million studied home economics between 1933 and 1938.
3.Financial incentives:
-1933: marriage loans of 1000RM (about two months salary of an average worker). The loan was only given if the woman gave up work. For each child born the amount to be repaid was reduced by 25%.