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Nazi Control of Germany
1933-1945
Objectives
• Review how Hitler consolidated power
• Understand how Germany changed once
Hitler became dictator
– Discuss how Nazi ideology was put in to practice &
changed the lives of youth, women, workers, and
Jews
– Empathize with life under Nazi control, both for
those favored and those unfavored
Vocabulary
• Trade union: organization of workers to demand
rights for workers
• Self-sufficient: having everything that is needed,
not requiring any imports.
• Rearmament: building up your armed forced,
constructing materials needed for war.
• Untermenschen: sub-human (Jews, slavs)
• Indoctrinate: getting people (especially the
impressionable or young) to believe in a set of
ideas
How did he keep power?
1) One-party state:
• Enabling Act (March 1933) made Hitler all-powerful
Fuhrer
• The Law against the Formation of Parties (July 1933)
declared the Nazi Party the only political party in
Germany.
– Was an offence to belong to another Party. All other
parties were banned, and their leaders were put in
prison.
– Nazi Party members, however, got the best jobs, better
houses and special privileges. Many businessmen
joined the Nazi Party purely to get orders.
How did he keep power?
2) Terror
• Set up the Gestapo (the secret police)
• Controlled the SS, police, and courts
• Economic fears (“keeping your head
down”)
• Encouraged Germans to report
opponents
– Went to great lengths to find out what
people were saying about the regime
– Sent to concentration camps
“The average worker is
primarily interested in
work and not in
democracy. People who
previously supported
democracy now showed
no interest at all in
politics. One must be
clear about the fact that
in the first instance men
are fathers of families
and have jobs, and that
for them politics takes
second place and even
then only when they
expect to get something
out of it.” – German
activist, 1936
How did he keep power?
3) Propaganda
• Minister for Enlightenment & Propaganda = Dr.
Joseph Goebbels
• Believed Hitler = savior, mission to convince
others
• Focus: Bring excitement & a sense of belonging,
prove the power of the state, emphasize order,
point out scapegoats/enemies
• Nazi propaganda also branded Jews as dirty,
deceitful, dangerous people of whom Germany
should be free
Propaganda
Nuremberg Rallies
– Huge, torch lit processions w/ bands, flying
displays
– Took place each summer
– Hitler speeches
Propaganda
• Nuremberg Rallies
Propaganda
1936 Olympics in Berlin
– International propaganda opportunity
• Showcase their doctrine that Aryan race superior
• Prove that Germany was a modern, civilized, successful nation
– Visitors amazed at scale, facilities & organization
• Those used to it noticed its strength, efficiency, achievement
– To others, propaganda effort backfired
• Appalled by the fanatical devotion of people to Hitler & the
overt presence of army and SS
– Jesse Owns – 4 gold medals, 11 world records (10 black
members of the American team won 13 medals) 
destroyed idea of Aryan superiority
Propaganda
1936 -38 Boxing Championship: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling
• Hitler will use Max Schmeling as an overseas mouthpiece
• After
“When you go to the US, you’re going to obviously be interviewed by
people who are thinking that very bad things are going on in Germany at
first
fight, Schmeling
became
a heroisn’t as bleak as they think
this moment.
You’ll tell them
that the situation
it is.” – Hitler to Schmeling
“Schmeling knocks out the Negro. Wonderful… the white man defeats the
black man,
andbecame
the white man
was German!”
– Goebbels
second
fight
a spectacle
that
came to embody
• The
the broader political and social conflict of the times; Louis was
a focus point for African Am pride in the 1930s, representing
the entire United States against Nazi Germany. The fight
came to symbolize the struggle between democracy and
fascism.
• These two fights are among the most talked about in all of
boxing history.
Propaganda
The Media
• Stark contrast to free expression of Weimar Germany
– (had support of SS & Gestapo to control)
• Nazi’s controlled it very strictly
– Books – Goebbels had to permit. Organized “book-burnings”
– Newspapers – no anti-Nazi ideas, very dull
– Art – only Nazi approved painters (images = Aryan, heroic
looking military figures or ideal Aryan family)
– Movies – ALL had to carry a pro-Nazi message
– Posters – proclaimed success of Hitler and attacks on
opponents
– Music – no Jazz
– Radio – Goebbels made cheap so all could hear Nazi
message; placed loudspeakers in streets & bars;
“That, too, is an affirmation of
the Führer: that one becomes a
radio listener and can thereby
always be connected to the
Führer, and to the life of his
people.”
“The time is yours. What
happens with it depends on
you.”
“The Jew is our misfortune”
“Each German boy and each
German girl must be filled
with the sense of holy duty
to represent our people.”
“Germany. We all stand
under the great command:
Do your duty to serve your
people!” Adolf Hitler.
“Each sin against
racial purity is a sin
against God’s will
and the created
order.”
Nazi propaganda gave people hope. Nazi racial
philosophy gave people self-belief. Trust in
Adolf Hitler gave a sense of security.
“He is my mother and my father. He keeps me
safe from all harm.” one German woman told
the American reporter Nora Wall
Food for Thought
• In partners, discuss which of the following
statements you most agree with:
a)Goebbels’ work was more important to Nazi
success than that of Himmler (head of SS)
b)Himmler’s work was more important to Nazi
success than Goebbels’
c) The techniques of repression and propaganda
go hand in hand – neither would work without
the other
How did he keep power?
4) Education
“Our state is an educational state… It does not let a
man go free from the cradle to the grave. WE begin
with the child when he is three years old. As soon as
he begins to think, he is made to carry a little flag.
Then follows school, the Hitler Youth, the storm
troops and military training. We don’t let him go;
and when all that is done, comes the Labour Front,
which takes possession of him again, and does not
let him go till he dies, even if he does not like it.” –
Dr. Robert Ley, in charge of making “good citizens”
out of German people
How did he keep power?
4) Education
• Hitler wanted to control the daily life of people. He
reorganized schools to make children loyal to him. Placed
great importance on the young people because they were the
future of Nazi policies.
“It is my great educative work I am beginning with the young. WE older ones are
used up.. We are bearing the burden of a humiliating past… But my magnificent
youngsters! Are there finer ones in the world? Look at these young men and boys!
What material! With them I can make a new world!” – Hitler, speaking in 1939
• Would learn:
– Only German history (stabbed in the back; hardships of 1920s
caused by Jews; history would make you confident that loyalty to
Fuhrer was right & good)
– biology lessons would have informed you that Aryan race superior
in intelligence and strength to untermenschen (sub-human)
– Math would reinforce pro-Nazi, anti-semitic views
How did he keep power?
The Jews are aliens in
4) Education
Germany. In 1933 there
• Textbooks were rewritten
were 66 million inhabitants
the German Reich of
• Wanted young men to believe in inwhom
499, 862 were Jews.
values of discipline, sacrifice, and What is the percentage of
aliens in Germany? –
obedience
Question in a math book
• All Germans were taught to see him1933
as a father figure
• Subjects distorted to indoctrinate
pupils
• All teachers had to belong to the
“All subjects – German language, History, Geography, Chemistry & Mathematics –
German
Teachers
League
must concentrate on military subjects, the glorifications of military service and of
German heroes & leaders and the strength of a rebuilt Germany. Chemistry will
develop a knowledge of chemical warfare, explosives, etc, while Mathematics will
help the young to understand artillery, calculations and ballistics.” – German
newspaper approving of Curriculum
• “'When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your
side', I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already’.” - Hitler
• The Nazis replaced anti-Nazi teachers and University
professors, and school lessons included hidden
indoctrination - 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.
Nazi effect on: Youth
•
•
Many young people were happy. Nazi culture was youth-oriented.
Outside of school, young people had to belong to youth organizations (compulsory)
– Taught them loyalty to Hitler and trained them in military skills
•
Provided exciting activities for young boys and treated them as though they were
special
– physical training (sports & gymnastics)
– very harsh
•
Had Performance Books with marks for athletics, fighting, and camping skills. Could
move on to Adolf Hitler Schools for boys and Order Castles were they tested them to
the very limit of endurance. Those not injured or killed by training graduated at models
of Hitler’s youth.
“The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can
suffer pain. A young German must be a swift as a greyhound, as tough as
leather and as hard as steel.” – Hitler about the HJ
Nazi effect on: Youth
• Not all young people were happy with the Nazi regime
– Towards the end of the war, youth gang rejected the HJ and
enjoyed drinking, dancing, and American jazz & swing
music. In Cologne in 1944, they sheltered army deserters
and even attacked the Gestapo. Those caught, were hung
– Many young girls were unhappy with the emphasis on
three Cs (church, children, cook)
• Young people were encouraged to notify the Gestapo if
their parents or teachers said anything against the
regime.
Nazi effect on: Workforce
• For many, life before 1939 would be considered as “happy”
• Focused on becoming self-sufficient
• Created RAD (Reichsarbeitsdienst): men working on public
projects – these programs gave full employment and pride to
many Germans (most work was manual)
• Began re-armament:
– 1935 started compulsory military service (100,000 to over a
million)
– Thousands given work for creating tools of war
• Drop in unemployment was published – however, it did not
include Jews & women that had been forced out of their jobs
(figures didn’t tell the whole story)
• Controlled free-time & wanted to make sure that those who
supported the Nazi’s got all the benefits

• Created Strength through joy program (sports, opera)
Impact of Hitler’s Policies on
Unemployment
7000000
6000000
5000000
4000000
3000000
2000000
1000000
0
Series1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
3,773,000
2,974,000
2,520,000
1,853,000
1,052,000
302,000
Series2 6,014,000
How did Hitler put Germany back to work?
Nazi effect on: Women
•
•
•
•
“Kinder, Kirche, and Kuche.”
The Nazis were very male-dominated and antifeminist. Nazi philosophy idealized the role of
women as child-bearer and creators of the family.
Law for the Encouragement of Marriage: more
money for more children
Women were not allowed to work and were never
allowed to serve in the armed forces
Only thing actively encouraged to was have
children.
– August 12, Motherhood Cross
– Lebensborn “Spring of Life” homes created
• Make-up, trousers, hair-dye was not allowed
Nazi effect on: Women
“Kinder, Kirche, and Kuche.”
• The key here is to understand that the Nazi
state affected different people in different
ways. For the majority of people, in fact, life
was good - that is why they turned a blind eye
to the fact that - for groups which were not
accepted by the Nazi state - life was horrific.