Nazis 1933-45 Flashcards
(43 cards)
What was Hitler’s first speech as Chancellor like?
Very reassuring and moderate. Vague about how they’ll achieve national unity but believes that they will. Hard to disagree with
Who was blamed for burning down the Reichstag?
Marinus van der Lubbe, a communist
Who was alleged later to have began the Reichstag fire?
- General Franz Halder claimed that Goering allegedly boasted ‘I set fire to it’ at a bday lunch for Hitler
- This was completely denied in the Nuremberg trials
What decree happened after the Reichstag fire? What was the effect of this decree?
- A decree “For the protection of the people and the state”
- Gave power to search, arrest, censor until further notice
What did you need in Weimar to be able to alter the constitution?
2/3 majority in Reichstag
What was Potsdam day?
- Ceremony for the reopening of the Reichstag after the Reichstag fire
- Hitler and Hindenburg shake hands
- Hitler does everything in his power to look like a respectable diplomat, not wearing army uniform and making a speech about great German traditions that he represented
How much was the Enabling Act passed by?
444 to 94
How did Hitler persuade Z to vote in the Enabling Act?
Hitler promised them better relations with the Vatican and to protect catholics
What law purged non-aryans from courts, schools, etc?
“Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service”
What happened on Labour day and the day after in 1933?
- Nazis declare a national holiday
- However, the next day trade unions are occupied by SA and dissolved
- Unions were replaced with the DAF
When was the concordat signed?
July 1933
What made Hitler choose the army over the SA?
- SA said a second national revolution was needed and claimed that Hitler was prepared to dilute his Nazism, with Rohm wanting to integrate the army into the SA. Hitler fears an SA coup
- The army is the only thing that could possibly lead to Hitler losing power if they’re unhappy, and SA demands would make army unhappy
- Army had more expertise and discipline
How many were killed in the Night of Long Knives? Who did this include?
- Around 400
- Included people like Schleicher and Rohm
- Papen also put under house arrest (lucky to have not been killed)
What is the “untermenschen” part of Nazi ideology?
What they might call those “below” the Aryan race, “sub-humans”
What’s a quote that Rohm said to undermine Hitler?
Claimed Hitler to be “getting matey with the East Prussian Generals”
What is cumulative radicalism?
It’s possible that policies became more and more extreme as leaders competed to impress Hitler and Bormann acted as a filter for only the most radical policies
When did minister meetings stop altogether?
1938
What is the Fuhrerbefehl?
“The Hitler Order”
What did intentionalists believe?
That Hitler’s policies were clear very early on and all his actions were carefully planned to ensure he held the most power possible (eg. deliberately setting up conflicting ministries to act as an arbiter). Ultimately says he was a “strong” dictator
What do structuralists believe?
Nazi policies simply stemmed from circumstance, with details arising haphazardly and power spread out everywhere
What are some examples of overlapping industries?
- Office of the Four Year Plan vs Economics Ministry
- Ministry of Public Enlightenment vs Reich Chamber of Culture
In what ways may it be argued that the public endorsed the Nazi regime?
- Some thought those who were repressed deserved what came to them
- Thousands assisted the Gestapo. It wouldn’t have been able to operate on the scale it did without informers, and was mainly bureaucratic as an organisation (employing only 30,000)
- Denunciations became so frequent that malicious denunciators had to be threatened with prison in order to stop the Gestapo being so overwhelmed. People often did it for purely personal annoyances
What low level defiance counted as opposition in peacetime?
General grumbling, anti-Nazi jokes, listening to foreign news broadcasts, reading banned literature, listening to Jazz, etc
What were underground SPD opposition movements called?
- Berlin Red Patrol
- Hannover Socialist Front
