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Nazi Domestic Policy – How Hitler maintained control in Germany Memory Word = OY JEW O = Opposition Y = Youth J = Jobs E = Economy W = Women Opposition -30th January 1933 Hitler was Chancellor; -He was in a position to increase his power EVEN MORE. PERFECT OPPORTUNITY 28th February 1933 -Reichstag Fire enabled Hitler to scare-monger and convince Hindenburg it was a Communist plot against the country!!! – Emergency Decree was passed. 23rd March 1933 ENABLING ACT Hitler could pass laws INDEPENDEN TLY of the Reichstag for 4 years. 14th July 1933 The Law against the Formation of Parties – declared the Nazi Party the ONLY POLITICAL PARTY in Germany. ALL other political parties were BANNED and their leaders put in prison. Opposition -Using the powers granted to him after the Reichstag Fire, Hitler BANNED his greatest rivals – the COMMUNIST PARTY; -He had their 81 officials arrested and jailed; -All other political parties were banned or dissolved themselves; -LEGALLY no-one could challenge the Nazis, some chose to flee abroad to do so. -http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningz one/clips/hitler-becomeschancellor/2444.html One People One Nation One Leader Opposition -“People were too afraid to stand up to the Nazis” -“Speak through a flower” -Estimated 1.2 million Germans passed through concentration camps. Political prisoners could be held indefinitely in “protective custody” Nazi Storm Trooper – “Everyone is arresting everyone else. Everyone is threatening everyone else with Dachau…” Opponents of the regime would generally spend 1 brutal year in a concentration camp and be released. Opposition GESTAPO -In 1934 the Gestapo was brought under control of the SS and HIMMLER. -Gestapo had around 40,000 members but it has been estimated that there may have been around 160,000 agents and informers. TERROR The Cult of the Fuhrer Blomberg, the Minister of Defence used to say the a kind word from the Fuhrer would bring “tears to his eyes” and that a handshake from him could cure him of colds. GESTAPO •The Nazis took over local government and the police. •The Nazis started to replace anti-Nazi teachers and University professors. •Hitler set up the Gestapo (the secret police) and encouraged Germans to report opponents and 'grumblers'. •Tens of thousands of Jews, Communists, Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, gypsies, homosexuals, alcoholics and prostitutes were arrested and sent to concentration camps for 'crimes' as small as writing anti-Nazi graffiti, possessing a banned book, or saying that business was bad. The Nazi's used 'fear and horror' against anyone who disapproved of their regime: •Hitler banned all Trade Unions on 2 May 1933. Their offices were closed, their money confiscated, and their leaders put in prison. •Communists were put into concentration camps or killed. •Many Protestant pastors such as Dietrich Bonhoffer were persecuted and executed. •Each block of flats had a 'staircase ruler' who reported grumblers to the police - they were arrested and either murdered, or sent to concentration camps. •Children were encouraged to report their parents to the Gestapo if they criticized Hitler or the Nazi party. The Gestapo (German pronunciation: ; abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei, "Secret State Police The law stated that “as long as they were carrying out the will of the Party, they were acting legally”. -Hitler could not have ensured control of his opponents and potential opponents with fear of arrest alone. -It was the treatment following arrest that persuaded many to swallow their morals and accept Nazi rule... A typical arrest... Those arrested by either the police or the Gestapo had less than three minutes to pack clothing and say their goodbyes. Once arrested, they were sent to the nearest police cell. Those in custody were told to sign Form D11; this was an "Order For Protective Custody". By signing this, you agreed to go to prison. Those who did not sign it were beaten until they did or officers simply forged their signature. Once a D-11 was signed, you were sent to a concentration camp. How long you stayed here depended on the authorities. The usual rule of thumb was whether it was felt that you had learned your lesson (even if there had not been one to learn) and would behave in an acceptable manner once outside of prison. http://www.n ationalarchiv es.gov.uk/edu cation/world war2/theatre s-ofwar/westerneurope/invest igation/occup ation/sources /docs/3/enlar ge.htm OPPOSITION... IMPORTANT NOTE... There were SOME individuals and groups that stood up to the Nazis. ETERNAL WAR ON THE HITLER YOUTH. Methods included anti-Nazi graffiti, beating up Hitler Youth, listening to foreign music. Edelweiss Pirates Nazi reaction was typically brutal, public hangings and beheading. The “White Rose” led by Sophie Scholl and her brother, operated out of Munich University – methods included handing out leaflets urging resistance to the Nazis. NAME: Sophia Magdalena Scholl DOB: 9 May 1921 DIED: 22 February 1943 AGE OF DEATH: 21 CRIME: Handing out antiNazi leaflets at Munich University PUNISHMENT: Beheaded by guillotine. 'When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side', I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already'. A NAZI EDUCATION • The Nazis replaced anti-Nazi teachers and University professors; • School lessons included hidden indoctrination e.g. requiring children to calculate how much mentally disabled people cost the state, or to criticize the racial features of Jewish people; • German boys were required to attend the Hitler Youth, which mixed exciting activities, war-games and Nazi indoctrination; • German girls went to the BDM and learned how to be good mothers, and to love Hitler. Click pic for Disney Anti-Nazi Education video - All teachers were examined by Nazis; - Any teacher considered disloyal was sacked. - Many attended classes during school holidays in which the Nazi curriculum was spelled out; - 97% of all teachers joined the Nazi Teachers' Association; - All teachers had to be careful about what they said as children were encouraged to inform the authorities if a teacher said something that did not fit in with the Nazi's curriculum for schools. Subjects underwent a major change in schools. Some of the most affected were History and Biology. • History was based on the glory of Germany - a nationalistic approach was compulsory; • The German defeat in 1918 was explained as the work of Jewish and Marxist spies who had weakened the system from within; • The Treaty of Versailles was the work of nations jealous of Germany's might and power; • Hyperinflation of 1923 was the work of Jewish saboteurs; • The national resurgence which started was all the work of Hitler. HITLER YOUTH Click pic for Hitler Youth flick - 1933 its membership stood at 100,000; - After Hitler came to power, all other youth movements were abolished and as a result the Hitler Youth grew quickly. - 1936, the figure stood at 4 million members; - 1936, it became all but compulsory to join the Hitler Youth. HITLER YOUTH FOR GIRLS • The Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM) taught young girls of their future roles in society: to mother more Germans; • They emphasized values of obedience, self-control, and discipline. • They taught women how to be “good” Nazi wives and mothers and how to raise children that will also embody these ideals. Jobs The Nazi ‘Economic Miracle’ -When Hitler took power in 1933 unemployment stood at 6million; almost half the total German workforce; -The Nazi propaganda machine under Goebbels led Germany and the world to believe that Hitler had accomplished an unparalleled miracle of economic recovery… Unemployment in Germany Total January 1933 6 million January 1934 3.3 million January 1935 2.9 million January 1936 2.5 million January 1937 1.8 million January 1938 1.0 million January 1939 302,000 Jobs The Nazi ‘Economic Miracle’ Women were not included in the statistics. So any women unemployed during Nazi rule did not exist as far as the statistics were concerned. All was not as it seemed… After the 1935 Nuremburg Laws, Jews lost their citizenship and were not included in the statistics. EVEN THOUGH many lost their jobs when Hitler came to power. The unemployed were given a simple choice – do any work the government gave to you OR be classed as workshy and put in a concentration camp Getting unemployment figures to be so low was viewed by many as a Nazi book-keeping trick… BUT THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT THAT JOBS WERE CREATED…!!! Economy •Hitler banned all Trade Unions on 2 May 1933. •Their offices were closed, their money confiscated, and their leaders put in prison. Robert Ley, PROFILE -WWI Pilot who spent 2 years as a prisoner of war after being shot down in France; -Chemist after WWI but sacked because of a serious drink problem; -Joined the NSDAP in 1925; -1933 was given the task of forming the GERMAN LABOUR FRONT which replaced the outlawed Trade Unions; -He confiscated union funds to pay for the “Strength Through Joy” programme; -Charged with war crimes he hanged himself in his cell 25th October 1945. The New Plan, 1934-6 • Dr Hjalmar Schacht • President of Reichsbank • Minister of the Economy • Imports limited • Trade agreements • Unemployment reduced • Mefo bills Four-Year Plan, 1936-9 • Hermann Goering • WWI fighter pilot • Head of German airforce (Luftwaffe) • Self-sufficiency • Synthetic raw materials (ersatz) • Reduce imports • Tighten control on wages The War Years • The economy was set up to fight a short (blitzkrieg) war. • Albert Speer was put in charge of the economy in 1942. • Germany was running out of resources. -Set up to ‘protect’ those in work; -Contracts drawn up under the Weimar Republic were ripped up and rewritten; -Employers could demand more of their workers… -…but workers enjoyed increased security at work and benefits; -Membership was voluntary in theory, but anyone not a member would struggle to find a job without being a member. •In a bid for full employment government spending rose, 1932–38 from about 5 billion to 30 billion marks. •The GLF increased the number of hours worked from 60 to 72 per week (including overtime) by 1939. •Strikes were outlawed. •The average factory worker was earning 10 times more than those on dole money and few complained… •…though, as always, to do would put you at risk. Autarky …to be self-sufficient - In WWI Germany was crippled by the British Naval Blockade; -Hitler was determined that this would not happen again… Autarky means economic self sufficiency. This means that a country produces enough goods of its own so that it doesn’t have to import goods (especially raw materials – coal, oil, iron ore) from other countries. Hitler wanted to achieve autarky so that if war came Germany would not be dependent on imports. •The New Plan of 1934 stopped imports and subsidised industry; •Production rose, especially of oil, steel, coal and explosives. •In 1936, Goering was put in charge. His Four Year Plan proposed to get the army and industry ready for war in four years. •Employers were happy when workers were well disciplined. •BUT businesses were strictly controlled; they could be told to make something different/ were not allowed to raise wages/ workers could be sent to other factories. •Goering said: ‘Iron makes an empire strong; butter only makes people fat’. Kraft durch Freude (KDF) -A large, state controlled leisure organisation in Nazi Germany -Wages were decided by the GERMAN LABOUR FRONT; -Compulsory deductions were made for tax and for the Strength Through Joy Programme; -Aimed to provide affordable concerts, plays, libraries, daytrips, holidays to the masses; -Aimed to make middle-class activities affordable to the masses. •In 1938 an estimated 180,000 people went on cruises to places such as Maderia and the Norweigian fjords; •Others were given free holidays in Germany; •By 1934, over two million Germans had participated on a KdF trip; •by 1939 the reported numbers lay around 25 million people. Sports Stadiums were built Holiday complexes were built (e.g. Prora) Cruise Liners were built to take people to Maderia & Norwegian Fjords The Volkswagon (KDF Wagon / People’s Car) was subsidised by the programme) Jobs / Economy, What life was like under the Nazis For ordinary people, life was good: •full employment (work programmes/ Strength through Joy) gave prosperity and financial security - many observers stated that there seemed to be no poverty in Germany, •law and order (few people locked their doors), •autobahns improved transport, •frequent ceremonies, rallies, colour and excitement, •Nazi propaganda gave people hope, •Nazi racial philosophy gave people self-belief •Trust in Adolf Hitler gave a sense of security (one German woman told the American reporter Nora Wall: 'He is my mother and my father. He keeps me safe from all harm.') There were few drawbacks: Wages fell, and strikers could be shot - the Nazis worked closely with the businessmen to make sure that the workforce were as controlled as possible. Loss of personal freedoms (eg freedom of speech). All culture had to be German - eg music had to be Beethoven or Wagner or German folk songs or Nazi - eg all actors had to be members of the Nazi party/ only books by approved authors could be read.