Terror Flashcards
What is considered a ‘police state’?
Totalitarian state in which citizens are controlled or closely supervised by a political force- single party has complete control over mass communications, armed forces and economy- demands total support from the people
Nazi Police force SS
Led by Himmler- rewarded for its role in NOLK by being given status of an independent organisation within the Nazi party- 1933-34 Himmler gained control of all regional police forces- including that of Prussia - power consolidated on 17th June 1936 when Hitler issued a decree merging police and SS- made Himmler chief of German police
Himmler vs Frick
Reich Ministry of interior was contested by its head Frick- insisted on Himmler’s title being ‘Reichsfuhrer SS and Chief of German Police within the Reich Ministry of Interior’- - therefore Himmler= responsible to Frick- but meaningless as Himmler being head of SS made him only answerable to Hitler- Aug 1943- Himmler took over ministry of interior
Why ‘Police State’ is misleading in Nazi Germany
Hitler and Himmler aimed to achieve a decree to remove police by 1936- instrument or enforcement of the law- by merging police w/SS- instrument of Fuhrer’s authority- can act outside law- ensured police was controlled by him personally
Gestapo
Even before 1936- Reichstag fire decree gave Gestapo great power-could take suspects into ‘protective custody’- hold them indefinitely without right to trial or appeal
Gestapo p2
Gestapo became increasingly independent of the courts- eg torture- officially sanctioned by Hitler- If court aqcuitted someone they considered to be guilty or gave what they deemed too short a sentence- could rearrest immediately, hold them in custody or send to a concentration camp
Preventative policing
Increased emphasis on this- imprisoning someone considered likely to commit a crime- police forces encouraged to see selves as fighting against enemies of state- Jews, Communists, Freemasons, Jehovas witnesses, homosexuals, gypsies and work shy
Punishable offences
Increasing no. activities became offences - penalty harshness also increased- death penalty for more crimes- after Reichstag Fire- included arson- Second decree announced same day as Reichstag fire- ‘Against Treason to the German Nation and against Treasonable Activities’- enlarged treason- wider scope for arrests- Malicious Practices Act- 21st March 1933- banned critical or offensive remarks about state or its leaders- essentially no freedom of speech
Gestapo- appearance
Gestapo revelled in its reputation for utter ruthelessness- to hide structural and beuracratic weaknesses- insert statistic-but many Germans impressed w/ regimes apparent achievements- emphasized by propaganda eg ending unemployment and curbing inflation
Denunciations
In actuality- very few Gestapo members in relation to amount of Germans- depended on support of ordinary Germans with denunciations- so many of these regime became concerned abt Gestapo’s increased workload/ Hitler was worried about national unity being undermined
Persecution of the Jews
Gellately studied records on denunciations of Jews in lower Franconia- even before there were official race laws Nazi’s/ non Nazis began to denounce people for ‘race defilement’, ‘befriending Jews’ and criticising anti- semitic policies- found total cases based on denunciations made up 70% of Gestapo’s cases in lower Franconia- reactive
Motivations of denouncers
Richard Mann- studied Gestapo cases in Dusseldorf- only 25% of cases started with denunciation were motivated b y patriotism, loyalty to the regime or hatred of ‘national enemies’- most had primarily selfish reasons eg annoyance with neighbour, business rivalry or family dispute- yet Mann argues the citizens awareness of what would happen to those denounced indicates a degree of support for the regime
Foreign radio and denunciations
rich source of denunciations from- Goebbels propaganda campaign- encouragement of widespread radio ownership- many radio sets too weak to receive foreign station- most at some point listened to foreign radio to find out what was really going on- especially during WW2- listening to foreign radio became illegal on 1st Sept 1939
More about the Gestapo
in lower Franconia there were only 28 Gestapo officers and 22 were assigned to the town of Wurzburg- Reed Purvis writes that most towns of 10,000 never saw a Gestapo officer- Purvis refuted another myth that all Gestapo were fanatical Nazis- in Saarbrucken- only 10% SS and 50% Nazi party members- most police remained in their posts when the Nazi regime began but were able to be off the leash
Statistics-SS
SS-Main instrument of terror. Had 240,000 members across various organisations by 1939.
-Waffen SS grew to rival the Wehrmacht.
-Death’s Head units ran concentration camps and Panzer units.
-Organised extermination camps and controlled much of Germany’s conquered territories in the Second World War.
Legal system- statistics
Judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler and were expected to act always in the interests of the Nazi state.
All lawyers had to join the Nazi Lawyers’ Association, which meant they could be controlled.
The role of defence lawyers in criminal trials was weakened.
Standard punishment for crimes were abolished and so local prosecutors could decide what penalties to impose on those found guilty.
These changes more than halved the number of criminal offences between 1933 and 1939, whilst the number of crimes that carried the death penalty increased from three to 46. Many convicted criminals were not released at the end of their sentences but instead were moved to the growing number of concentration camps being established by the SS.
