Download GERMANY IN TRANSITION, c1929-1947 Part Two : Changing life

GERMANY IN TRANSITION, c1929-1947 Part Two :
Changing life for the German people, 1933-1939
Changing Life for the German
people 1933-39 Key words
KEY WORD
MEANING
Economic
To do with finances and money, especially regarding the country’s money.
Social
To do with people’s lives & how they spend their leisure time etc.
Political
To do with the running of the country & who is in charge & the decisions they
make.
Autarky
Self-sufficient, not having to rely on anyone else or any other country.
Four Year Plan 193640
A plan designed to speed up rearmament & prepare Germany for war.
Rearmament
Building up a country’s armed forces & weapons.
DAF
German Labour Front – an organisation which controlled German workers, their
pay, hours of work etc.
RAD
National Labour Service – an organisation to put unemployed people into jobs.
Autobahn
A German motorway.
Raw materials
The natural substances that you need to make things.
3 K’s
Kinder, Kirche, Kuche (Children, Church, Kitchen). The 3 things the Nazis
expected women to concentrate.
Master Race
A country full of pure German-blooded people.
National Reich Church
A national Nazi church set up & run by the Nazis.
Indoctrinate
To get people to believe in a set of ideas.
Compulsory
Something that you have to do.
Hitler Youth
An organisation run by the Nazis to control young people & their leisure time.
KDF
Strength Through Joy – an organisation set up to control the leisure time of
workers.
Volkswagen
The People’s Car.
Propaganda
Material used to persuade & influence people.
Enlightenment
An ideal state, where there is no suffering & everyone is happy.
People’s Court
A court set up in 1934 specifically to put enemies of Germany on trial.
Boycott
When you refuse to go to an event or shop in a certain place or buy a certain
item.
Jew/Juden
A person who follows the Jewish religion.
Anti-Semitism
Discrimination and persecution against Jews carried out by individuals and the
state.
Persecution
The cruel or unfair treatment of a group of people because of their race, colour
or religion.
Aryans
The ‘master’ German race, blonde hair & blue eyes.
Prejudice
An unreasonable and unfair dislike of a particular person.
Kristallnacht
The Night of Broken Glass, November 1938.
Nuremburg Laws
Laws that made life very difficult for the Jews.
Germany 1933- Hitler has become Chancellor
 By January 1933, unemployment had reached 6,000,000.
 No one would loan Germany money
 The Weimar Government couldn’t do anything to help the unemployed.
 Hitler was elected on a promise to give the German people ‘Bread & Jobs.’
What measures did the Nazi’s take to reduce unemployment?
1. The National Labour Service Corps (RAD): This was a scheme to provide young men
with manual labour jobs. From 1935 it was compulsory for all men aged 18-35 to serve in
the RAD for six months, men received very low pay and lived in camps.
2. Job Creation Scheme: Hitler spent millions on job creation schemes. The Nazi’s
subsidised private firms especially in the construction industry they also started a
massive road building programme as well as schools and hospitals.
3. Rearmament: Conscription was reintroduced which took thousands of young men into
military service and heavy industry expanded to meet the needs of rearmament. Billions
was spent producing tanks, aircraft and ships.
4. Invisible unemployment: The Nazi’s used others means to reduce unemployment. (1) Jews
were dismissed from their jobs. (2)Unmarried men under 25 were pushed into National
Labour Schemes. (3) Women were dismissed from their jobs or gave up work to get
married. (4) Opponents of the Nazi regime were held in concentration camps.
What did the Nazi’s do to control the workforce?
German Labour Front – DAF
1. This replaced the Trade Unions and had complete control over the discipline of the
workers, regulated hours of work and rates of pay.
2. Under the new system, working hours increased and wages were frozen.
3. It was impossible to complain about the working conditions.
4. In theory the DAF membership was voluntary, but any worker in any area of Germany
would have found it hard to get a job without being a member.
What was the Strength through Joy Movement [KdF]?
KDF – Strength Through Joy, an organisation set up to control the leisure time of workers.
 The Kdf tried to improve the leisure time of German workers by sponsoring a wide range
of leisure and cultural trips. These included concerts, theatre visits, museum tours,
sporting events, weekend trips, holidays and cruises.
 All were provided at low cost, giving ordinary workers access to activities normally
reserved for the better off.
 Beauty of work was department of the Kdf that tried to improve working conditions. It
organized the building of canteens, swimming pools and sports facilities.
What was the role of women in Nazi Germany?
Nazi Ideals: The Nazi’s had a very traditional view of the role of women which was very
different from women’s position in society in the 1920’s. The Nazis’ ideal woman:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Did not wear make-up
Was blonde, heavy hipped and athletic
Wore flat shoes and a full skirt
Did not smoke
Did not go out to work
Did all the household duties, especially cooking and bringing up the children
Took no interest in politics
What were the Three Ks?
Kinder – Children, Kuche
– Kitchen, Kirche - Church
Marriage and the family
 The Nazi’s were very worried about the decline in birth rate. Therefore a massive
propaganda campaign was launched to promote motherhood and large families.
 ‘Law for the Encouragement of Marriage’. The law said that the government would give
all newly married couples a loan of 1000 marks (about nine months wages). When the
first child was born, the couple could keep a quarter of themoney. On the birth of the
second child, they could keep the second quarter. They could keep the third quarter
on the birth of the third child, and the entire amount on the birth of a fourth.
 On Hitler’s birthday medals were awarded to women with large families.
 In 1938 the Nazis changed the law on divorce. A divorce was possible if a husnband or
wife could not have children.
 The Nazi’s also set up the ‘Life springs’ programme whereby specially chosen
unmarried women could ‘donate a baby’ to the Fuhrer by becoming pregnant by racially
pure SS men.
 Women were forced to leave their jobs and school girls were discouraged from going
to higher education.
 However, from 1937 the Nazis were to reverse these policies as German was
rearming and men were joining the army more and more women were requires to
go out to work.
What was the Hitler Youth Movement?
 Hitler placed such importance on the young people because they were the future of his
Nazi policies. He wanted to make children believe in the superiority of the Aryan, the
‘master race’.
 He wanted young men to value the ideas of discipline, sacrifice and
obedience.
 The most important was Hitler himself - the Führer. All young Germans were taught to
see him as a father figure who should be given unquestioned loyalty from his people.
 Outside school, young people had to belong to youth organisations which taught them
loyalty to Hitler and trained them in military skills. There were five organisations for
youngsters to join. Together they made up the Hitler Youth Movement
How did education change?
 In schools, textbooks were rewritten to paint a good picture of the Nazis. The teaching
of school subjects changed to indoctrinate pupils.
 History was distorted to celebrate great German victories and all disasters were blamed
on the Communists and the Jews.
 Every subject concentrated on putting across Nazi ideas. For example Biology lessons
were devoted to studying the differences between races, explaining the greatness of the
Aryan race. An example maths problem can be seen on the right.
 Teachers had to belong to the German Teachers League and were made to put across
Nazi ideas in their lessons. To make sure they knew exactly what to do, teachers had to
go on compulsory training during school holidays.
How did Hitler keep control of Germany?
The Terror State
Secret police called the
Gestapo would spy on
and arrest enemies of
the state.
SS were responsible
for running the
concentration camps.
Everyone was scared of
being arrested by the
Gestapo and being put in
a concentration camp.
Propaganda
Mass Rallies, Posters
and Propaganda films.
Keeping
Control of
Germany
The Nazis controlled
and censored the radio
& newspapers.
Popularity
School children were
indoctrinated with Nazi
ideas at school.
Ripping up the
Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler Youth & the
Young Maidens.
Creating Jobs
How did the Nazi’s control central and regional government?
The cabinet
This was kept on by Hitler but lost influence.
By 1938 all non Nazis had been removed and it
only met once.
The Reichstag
The Enabling Bill transferred power of making
laws from the Reichstag to the Chancellor.
Only seven more laws were passed there.
The Civil Service
Many civil servants were happy to transfer
power to the Third Reich as they did not like
the Weimar Republic. All civil servants had to
be members of the Nazi party
The Fuhrer
In the Nazi state all power came from Hitler.
He had supreme authority in the Nazi state.
Many laws were made by him and he had the
final say in all key decisions.
How were propaganda and censorship used?
Key words:
Propaganda material to persuade and influence
Censorship to prevent people from seeing/reading something
Indoctrinate - to get people to believe in a set of ideas
Radio – All radio stations were placed under Nazi control. Cheap mass-produced radios were
sold. Sets were installed in cafes and factories and loudspeakers were placed on the streets.
Cinema – Goebbels realised the power of cinema. Love stories and thrillers were given Nazi
slants. All film performances were accompanied by a 45 minute newsreel which glorified Hitler
and Germany.
Newspapers – Non-Nazi newspapers and magazines were closed down. Editors were told what
they could print which meant that the German people only read what the Nazis wanted them to
know.
Rallies – An annual mass rally was held at Nurenburg to advertise the power of the Nazi state
and spectacular parades were held on other special occasions.
Books – All books were carefully censored and controlled to put across the Nazi message.
How did the Nazi’s control the arts?
Music – jazz was banned as it was ‘black music’ and seen as inferior. German folk music and
classical german music was preferred.
Theatre – The theatre was to concentrate on German history and political drama. Cheap
theatre tickets were made available to encourage people to see plays with a pro-Nazi theme.
Architecture – Hitler encouraged large buildings made from stone to show how powerful the
Third Reich was.
Art – Hitler hated modern art which he believed was unpatriotic and Jewish. He encouraged
art which highlighted Germany’s past greatness and the strength and power of the Third Reich.
What was Nazi racial policy?
Central to Nazi policy was the creation of a pure German state. This meant treating all
non-German groups, especially the Jews, as second class citizens.
1. Master race - The Nazis believed that the Germans were a pure race of Aryan
descent. They were all shown in art as blond, blue-eyed, tall, lean and athletic – a people
fit to master the world.
2. Subhumans – Jews and Slavs were the subhumans. Nazi propaganda portrayed Jews as
evil moneylenders. Hitler regarded the Jews as an evil force and was convinced of their
involvement in a world conspiracy to destroy civilisation.
3. Making the master race. Hitler believed that Germany’s future was dependent on
the creation of a pure Aryan racial state. This would be achieved by: (1) selective
breeding. (2) Destroying the Jews. Selective breeding meant preventing anyone who did
not conform to the Aryan type from having children. The SS were part of the drive for
selective breeding and they were only allowed to marry women of Aryan blood.
Why and how did the Nazi’s persecute the Jews?
Why were they persecuted?
1. Jewish people have been persecuted throughout history this is because they stood as
different in regions across Europe. They had a different religion and customs. Some
Jews became money lenders and became quite wealthy. This increased resentment and
suspicion from people who owed them money or were jealous of their success.
2. Hitler had spent several years in Vienna where there was a long tradition of antiSemitism ( Prejudice against Jews) Hitler resented the Jews in Vienna that had wealth.
He used the Jews as scapegoats for all of Germany’s problems. He blamed them for
Germany’s defeat in the First World War. Hyperinflation in 1923 and the depression of
1929.
3. Hitler was determined to create a pure racial state. This did not include the 100,000
Jews living in Germany. He wanted to eliminate the Jews from German society.
How were they persecuted?
Anti-Semitism in schools – Young people were encouraged to hate Jews, with school lessons and
textbooks putting across anti-Semitic views. School textbooks and teaching materials were
controlled by the government Ministry of Education. Laws were passed to restrict the
education of Jewish people. In November 1938 Jewish children were expelled from German
schools.
What were the measures taken against the Jews?
1933 – (1) The SA organised a boycott of Jewish shops and businesses. They painted ‘Jude’
(Jew) on windows and tried to persuade the public not to enter. (2) A new law excluded Jews
from government jobs.
1934 – (1) Local councils banned Jews from public spaces such as parks and swimming pools.
1935 – (1) Jews were no longer allowed in the army. (2) Restaurants were closed to Jews all over
Germany. (3) Jews were no longer allowed to be German citizens.
1936 – Professional activities of Jews were banned or restricted – this included vets, dentists,
accountants.
1937 – More and more Jewish businesses were taken over.
1938 – (1) Jews had to register possessions, making it easier to confiscate them. (2) Jews had
to carry identity cards. (3) Jewish men had to add ‘Israel’ to their first names, Jewish women,
the name ‘Sarah’ to further humiliate them. (4) Jews had to have the red letter ’J’ stamped on
their passports.
What was Kristallnacht (9th November 1938)?
On 8th November 1938 a young Polish Jew, Herschel Grynszpan, walked into the German
Embassy in Paris and shot the first official he met. He was protesting against the treatment of
his parents in Germany who had been deported to Poland.
 Goebbels used this as an opportunity to organise anti-Jewish demonstrations, which
involved attacks on Jewish property, shops, homes and synagogues across Germany.
 So many Windows were smashed in the campaign that it became known as Kristallnacht
meaning ‘Crystal Night’ or ‘the night of the broken glass’. About 100 Jews were killed
and 20,000 sent to concentration camps.
 Many Germans were disgusted with what happened and so the Nazis portrayed it as a
spontaneous act by the German people.
How did the persecution continue in 1939?
 The SS had the responsibility of eliminating Jews from Germany by forced emigration.
 Jews were required to surrender precious metals and jewellery.
 Jews were evicted from their homes and forced to designated Jewish accommodation
or ghettos.
 Jews were forced to hand in their radio sets so they could not listen to foreign news.
How did the Nazis change relations with the Catholic and Protestant
Churches?
Nazi ideals were opposed to the beliefs and values of the Christian Church.
Nazism
Christianity
Glorified strength and violence
Despised the weak
Believed in racial superiority
Saw Hitler as god-like figure
Teaches love and forgiveness
Helps the weak
Respect for all people
Belief in God
Hitler did not immediately persecute Christianity because Germany was a Christian country.
Almost two-thirds of the population was Protestant. Many saw Nazism as a protection against
the atheism (not believing in God) of communism.
The Catholic Church
 Catholics put the Pope first and not Hitler, this meant they had divided loyalties.
 Catholic schools and youth organisations had different messages from the Nazi ideas.
Hitler made an agreement with the Pope that the Church would not be involved in politics as long
as Hitler did not interfere with the Church. Hitler went back on this agreement:




Priests were harassed and arrested.
If a priest criticised the Nazis they would be sent to a concentration camp.
Catholic youth movements were closed down.
Monasteries were closed down.
The National Reich Church
 Some Protestants admired Hitler. They were called the ‘German Christians’ They wore
Nazi uniforms and gave the German greeting ‘Heil Hitler’
 All the Protestant Church groups were forced to unite under the ‘National Reich Church’
 The Bible, cross and other religious objects were removed from the alter and replaced
with a copy of Mein Kampf and a sword.
 Church schools were abolished and the Nazis aimed to influence young people by
promoting the Hitler Youth rather than the Church youth groups.