TERROR STATE

Question 1

NAZIS AND LAW

Answer 1

• Hitler did not want to be bound by the law
• Authority based on leadership principle- Hitler’s word was law
• New courts and police organisations introduced
• Judges not permitted to operate independently, individuals could be arrested and imprisoned without trial and evidence

Question 2

POLICE SYSTEM

Answer 2

• System of party controlled, political police forces answerable to Hitler created
• Caused confusion and competition
• SS- Himmler
• SD- Heydrich (under Himmler)
• Gestapo- secret State Police force in Prussia (under Göring), extended nationally in 1933
• SA until 1933

Question 3

SS

Answer 3

• Under Himmler- key values were loyalty and honour
• Hitler’s bodyguard, chosen for Aryan features
• Became main organisation that identified and arrested police officers after Night of Long Knives
• 1936- Himmler became chief of German Police; SS controlled entire Police system and concentration camps
• Systematic, controlled, disciplined violence
• SS concentration camp guards brutalised to remove feelings of humanity for prisoners

Question 4

CONCENTRATION CAMPS

Answer 4

• Different from death camps post 1942
• First: Dachau set up in March 1933- forced inmates to work
• By May 1934- a quarter as many prisoners than the year before due to brutality and torture- ceased to resist
• Under SS control post 1934
• Post 1936- political opposition had been crushed, focused on undesirables
• Guards had immunity from prosecution

Question 5

SD

Answer 5

• Established 1931 as internal security service, derived from SS
• Led by Heydrich, intelligence gathering
• Monitored public opinion, identifying those who said no to plebiscites
• 1939- 50,000 officers in SD
• Worked independently to Gestapo- caused overlapping and confusion
  > SD were not professional, but committed Nazis

Question 6

GESTAPO

Answer 6

• Secret State police, initially set up in Prussia alone but extended nationally
• fearsome, reputation of being all-knowing
• Reality was different- small organisation with 20,000 officers by 1939
• Generally not Nazis but professional police officers- dependent on information supplied by informers
• Nazi Party activists spied on neighbours and workmates
• Blocks had “block leaders” who reported suspicious behaviour
• despite being small- incredibly effective at instilling fear and suspicion; political debate and criticism stifled

Question 7

COURTS AND JUSTICE SYSTEM

Answer 7

• Judges and lawyers conservative- but few belonged to Nazi party in January 1933
• tradition of political independence posed a problem- many prosecutions against SA were begun by lawyers
• League of National Socialist Lawyers April 1933- careers dependent on following regime
• People’s Court 1934- had 3 nazi judges along two normal ones- no right to appeal; 1934-39, 3400 people tried (mainly communists/ socialists- many given death penalty)
• Use of terror by SA and SS made judges fall into line

Question 8

EFFECTIVENESS OF TERROR

Answer 8

• Propaganda and Terror extremely effective
• Gestapo could not have had instilled fear to such an extent without cooperation of citizens
• Little opposition, evidence of Hitler’s popularity

Question 9

OPPOSITION- effectiveness

Answer 9

• Complaints about economic hardship common- non-political but could lead to arrest
• No basis for organized and sustained resistance
• opposition fragmented and hampered; Nazi regime did restore order and national pride

Question 10

PROPAGANDA- aims

Answer 10

• Led by Joseph Goebbels
• coordination between government and people- “spiritual mobilisation”

Question 11

Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda

Answer 11

• March 1933
• Led by Joseph Goebbels
• Coordinated all media; movies, education, literature, press, broadcasting

Question 12

PROPAGANDA control

Answer 12

• Goebbels controlled, directed, and censored media
• Controlled press, radio, film, literature, theatre, music, fine arts
• Enormous power over cultural life- all politically unreliable purged

Question 13

PROPAGANDA methods

Answer 13

• Newspapers: Reichstag fire closed all socialist and communist newspapers, all news agencies merged into state-controlled organisation
• Radio: Hitler made 50 radio speeches in 1933 alone, loudspeakers set up in town squares and factories, cheap radios mass produced- 70% of households had one by 1939 (highest in world), 1934- Reich Radio Company had control of all radio stations
• Film: Goebbels big fan, used subliminal messaging and reinforced prejudices, Goebbels personally approved all films made after 1933, foreign films carefully selected and approved, 1933-1945 1,000 films produced in Germany (only 14% had overtly political tone but all had some political messages), “blood and soil”, demonisation of Jews and communists were common themes
• Parades: theatrical, uniforms and medals, banners, display of discipline, households swung swastika flags out windows- compliance monitored by block leaders, annual rallies at Nuremberg in September were state managed to achieve maximum effect- 1937, 10,000 people involved
• Books were burnt that were un-German: 1933 huge fire in Berlin burnt 20,000
• Arts that were common in Weimar were banned- only Aryan produced allowed
• Weekly poster with Nazi ideas in every office and public building

Question 14

PROPAGANDA effectiveness

Answer 14

• Difficult to gauge despite skill of propaganda
• Occasional plebiscites carried out- but not free, fear of terror
• Gestapo reports suggest some scepticism towards some policies
• Most successful when aimed at youth and when overlapping with traditional values (anti semitism, communism, resentment to ToV)
• Less successful at challenging other deeply held beliefs like religion

Question 15

HITLER MYTH

Answer 15

• 1941- Goebbels claimed it was his greatest achievement
• pre 1933, people remained unconvinced- post 1934 a “Hitler cult” had taken over, seen as symbol of nation
• “man of the people”- symbolized unity
• presented as hard working, tough- yet in reality others did his work for him; officials competed for his attention
• responsible for awakening of nation- predicted economic crisis
• Dynamic, forceful, competent- in reality he rarely got involved in detailed discussions on policy or read official documents, subordinates had difficulty in getting him to make decisions
• lived a simple life of sacrifice- yet his luxurious lifestyle and house proved otherwise

Question 16

Gleichschaltung and extent of totalitarianism

Answer 16

• “getting into line”- Nazi party coordinated all aspects of individual and family life
• control over flow of information through propaganda
• Police, courts, prison system- surveillance and control
• Regular contact with party at some level was unavoidable for average citizen
• fear of punishment deterred any open defiance