Opposition and Repression in Nazi Germany

Question 1

Who set up the Gestapo, when, and for what purpose?

Answer 1

• 1933 by Göring
• It was originally the Prussian secret police, but eventually covered all of the states

Question 2

When was the SS set up, and why?

Answer 2

• The Schutzstaffel was a body set up in 1925 by the party to act as Hitler’s personal bodyguard
• It was also a political police

Question 3

Who was in charge of the SS and the Gestapo, and from when?

Answer 3

• The SS was controlled by Himmler since 1929
• In 1936, he also took over the Gestapo

Question 4

List 3 roles of the Gestapo.

Answer 4

• Arrested ‘enemies of the state’ (even those telling jokes about Nazis could be perceived as a threat) outside of the law
• Ran concentration camps
• Did not wear uniform

Question 5

How many SS members were there by 1936?

Answer 5

• 240,000

Question 6

How did the role of the SS and the Gestapo change?

Answer 6

• From 1933 to 1936 they mostly dealt with political opposition to the Nazis
• From 1936 to 1939 they persecuted people who did not fit in with the Nazi ideal of society, such as gay men, Jews or people who continued to have personal relationships with Jews
• From 1939 to 1945 they were part of the Final Solution and targeted people who they believed were undermining the war effort

Question 7

How did the SS and Gestapo get most of their information? Give 2 figures.

Answer 7

• Mostly from tip-offs from German citizens
• 90% of Gestapo work came from public denunciations
• 64% of Gestapo action against ‘Aryans’ suspected of having sexual relationships with Jews came from tip-offs

Question 8

How else did the Nazis monitor the population?

Answer 8

• There were 400,000 block leaders in Germany
• Each of these block leaders were responsible for reporting any suspicious behaviour from the 30 to 40 houses/ flats to their party leader

Question 9

How can opposition to the Nazis be classified?

Answer 9

• Active resistance (wanting to overthrow the regime)
• Protest (wanting to change certain aspects of the regime)
• Non-conformity (not fitting the standard set by the Nazis)

Question 10

Give 4 examples of acts of non-conformity.

Answer 10

• Telling anti-Nazi jokes
• Listening to American jazz
• Not giving the Nazi salute
• Complaining about Nazi rule

Question 11

What did the Nazis think of acts of non-conformity, and why?

Answer 11

• They saw them as political opposition as they tried to control all aspects of life

Question 12

What were 2 groups that did not conform?

Answer 12

• The Edelweiss Pirates
• Swing Youth

Question 13

Who were the Edelweiss Pirates, and what did they do?

Answer 13

• They were groups of young, working-class men and women that wore their own uniform as a way of stating that they were not part of the Hitler Youth
• Some ran their own sport activities, but some even tried to resist the regime through spreading anti-Nazi leaflets

Question 14

Who were the Swing Youth, what did they do, and why was it dangerous?

Answer 14

• Group of middle-class young people
• They listened to jazz music
• In 1935 jazz was banned from German radio, in 1939 listening to foreign broadcasts was banned and the SS would take action against people for listening to jazz

Question 15

Give 3 examples of protest.

Answer 15

• The KPD printed anti-Nazi leaflets until 1935, when it became clear that the Gestapo had the capabilities to easily find and therefore arrest them
• The Catholic Church spoke out against some Nazi policies
• Sabotage

Question 16

In what 2 ways did the Catholic Church oppose the Nazis, and what outcomes did this have?

Answer 16

• They protested against the T4 programme, which made the government publicly back down (although it continued in secret)
• They kept the right for Catholic schools to have crucifixes in classrooms in 1935, although the Nazis had originally banned them

Question 17

Describe 4 ways in which workers sabotaged the Nazis.

Answer 17

• They held lightning strikes that lasted a few hours
• They worked slowly
• They damaged machinery
• During the war they helped the Allies in ways such as blowing up bridges or railway lines

Question 18

How did the Nazis respond to sabotage, and why?

Answer 18

• Workers were in high demand, especially when the war broke out so they ignored small actions
• However, if groups became too organised or successful, they dealt with them

Question 19

How did the Nazis respond to protests? Give an example.

Answer 19

• If there were spontaneous protests over an issue, they did pay attention to them
• In 1934 they imprisoned 2 bishops for speaking against the Nazis, but when this led to a public outcry and protests, they released them

Question 20

How did active resistance to the Nazis usually manifest?

Answer 20

• It usually led to attempts to assassinate Hitler

Question 21

How many attempts were there on Hitler’s life between 1921 and 1944, and how many of these were the army responsible for, and when?

Answer 21

• 15 known attempts
• They were responsible for the 7 after 1939

Question 22

When were the army first concerned about the Nazis, and why?

Answer 22

• In 1933 and 1934
• Due to the influence of the SA and radical Nazis

Question 23

What had the army been planning to do, and what changed their mind?

Answer 23

• They were discussing having a new government with von Papen in charge
• The Night of the Long Knives

Question 24

What led senior figures in the army to become concerned about the direction of the government later on in the Nazi regime?

Answer 24

• The Hossbach Conference in 1937
• Hitler told them of his plans to seize Lebensraum in Eastern Europe

Question 25

What was the most serious plot against Hitler, and when did it happen?

Answer 25

• The Stauffenberg bomb plot
• July 1944

Question 26

Give 5 details about the Stauffenberg bomb plot.

Answer 26

• Stauffenberg was a senior officer
• He was horrified by the defeats Germany was facing and the atrocities committed by the SS
• He attended a meeting with Hitler and planted a bomb in the room
• The bomb detonated but Hitler survived
• He and hundreds of other suspected conspirators were executed

Question 27

What were 3 ways in which the Nazis increased their control over the population during the war?

Answer 27

• On the first day of the war, the authorities were given the power to execute anyone they thought was obstructing the war effort
• The personal lives of government officials was monitored very carefully
• Non-conformity was punished more severely