weimar + nazi germany Flashcards

Question

Explain hitlers legal system

Answer 1

Hitler controlled the legal system by controlling the judges and the law courts All judges had to belong to the National Socialist League for the Maintenance of Law and favour the Nazi party in any decision Abolished trial by jury - only judges could decide whether someone was innocent or guilty Set up a People’s Court to hear all treason cases which were held in secret and judges were hand-picked by the NSDAP

Answer 2

The first camp was built at Dachau in 1933 to house the growing number of people being arrested Camps were built in isolation out of the view of the majority of people couldn’t see the actions within it Initially used for political rivals to the NSDAP like the communists and undesirable people like prostitutes, homosexuals and minority groups like Jews

Answer 3

The catholic church: Hitler worries that the Catholic church would oppose him because: Catholics were loyal to the pope Usually supported the Catholic Centre Party Sent their children to Catholic schools and Catholic youth organisations The protestant churches: The reich church founded in 1933 Made of around 2000 protestant churches Supported by the Nazis Led by Ludwig Muller The confessing churches: Founded in 1934 Made of around 6000 protestant churches Opposed the Nazis Led by Martin Niemoller

Answer 4

In july 1933, Hitler agreed with the Pope that the catholics were free to worship and run their own schools in return for staying out of politics However, Hitler broke this and: The priests opposing Hitler were harassed and some were sent to concentration camps Catholic schools had to remove christian symbols and were later closed down Catholic youth organisations were banned By 1937, the Pope spoke out against Hitler in a statement which criticised Nazi policies most well known as “With Burning Anxiety”

Answer 5

Public burning of books by anyone who opposed the Nazis especially Jews Radio producers, playwrights, filmmakers and newspapers were all told what to say Newspapers that still opposed the Nazis were shut down Only radios that couldn’t receive foreign stations were made

Answer 6

Posters highlighting Nazi ideologies were shown everywhere Huge rallies and parades were held - demonstrated the power, strength either making the german population proud of their country of fearful Cinema showed propaganda films, but mainly entertainment films with a subtle Nazi message with a 10-20 minute propaganda newsreel before every movie Hiter’s speeches were played through radios almost everywhere with a sound system - repeating the Nazi ideologies so that people became more accustomed to them Only art which fit the Nazi ideologies was allowed and ‘degenerate’ art such as modern art and jazz music was banned (jazz was considered black music) Olympic games were held in 1936 in Berlin was the ideal event to display the Nazi ideologies by presenting the Aryan race as the physically superior race however the black athlete like Jesse Owens opposed this by winning the majority of sprinting events

Answer 7

Set up by Goebbels in 1933 Used to monitor all aspects of culture and made sure they were consistent with Nazi ideas They wanted grand and classical architecture by artists like Albert Speer who they also wanted to be in the chamber

Answer 8

One of the main church opponents of Hitler didn’t always be against him He voted for them in the 1924 and 1933 elections as he felt that Germany needed a strong leader Didn’t oppose Nazi restrictions on Jews He wanted to fight on the side of the Nazis in WW2 but he was imprisoned HOWEVER He didn’t like Nazi interference with the Protestant church He opposed the restrictions which didn’t allow Jews to turn to Christianity Set up the confession church in 1934 He was arrested many times for speaking out against Hitler between 1934-1937 He was sent to a concentration camp in 1938 where he lived until the end of the war

Answer 9

A famous sermon he preached focused on speaking out against the Nazi policies since he didn’t speak out for the rest of the people that the Nazi’s persecuted for their own ideologies and when they came for him there was no one left since no one stuck up for the different ideologies

Answer 10

Edelweiss pirates: Mainly working class boys who copied American clothing, read and listened to banned music and literature Anti-nazi graffiti Formed in the late 1930s possible as a consequence of Nazi policies enforcing Hitler Youth Taunted and attacked the hitler youth Swing youth: Similar to the pirates except there were a lot more of them and they were mainly from the upper classes They listened to american music, wore american clothes, watched american films They gathered to drink alcohol, smoke and dance (illegally gathered thousands at a time) How effective was youth opposition up to 1939: Limited to: writing anti-Nazi graffiti, attacking Hitler youth, listening to banned music and wearing American style clothing Their numbers were limited and they were more focussed on cultural motives rather than political ones

Answer 11

Natural appearance with their hair tied back and no makeup Wear traditional clothes Aryan No smoking/drinking Marry and have children Believe in the Nazi idea of the KKK (Kinder, Kuche, Kirche which translates to children, kitchen, church) To stay at home and not go to work or to university

Answer 12

Women should not work, especially those of whom were married (many women were replaced by men losing their jobs in the process → 1933-1936 the number of employed married women fell Women should get married. The Marriage Law of 1933 gave a newly married couple vouchers or marriage loans if the woman agreed to stop working → number of marriages did increase but whether or not it was due to the monetary incentive or the fact that the economy was stronger so they had less pressure on making their own income Women should have at least 4 children (each child took 25% off of their marriage loan) → birth rate did increases but the majority didn’t have more than 2 kids German women’s enterprise gave women medals for having children, and ran classes and radio programmes based on homely matters → the enterprise had more than 6m members, which suggests that many women welcomed the Nazi policies

Answer 13

To be proud germans who supported a strong and independent Germany Girls to be strong and healthy to be strong wives and fertile mothers Boys to be strong and healthy in order to work for the German economy and flight in the German forces To be loyal supporters of the Nazi Party and to believe in Nazi policies

Answer 14

Example of youth group activities that both genders did: Hiking and camping Learning about racial superiority Sport and competitions Taking part in Nazi marches and rallies Boys only: Shooting Military drills Helping fire brigade during the war Formed military brigades to defend Berlin in 1945 Girls only: Cookery Housework Needlework and craft Learning about babies and childcare

Answer 15

Children had to attend state school until they were 14 Separate schools for boys and girls Optional schools post 14 years old: National Political Educational Institutes and Hitler Schools All schools followed a set curriculum (different depending on gender) Teachers: Compulsory for teachers to be Nazis - those who weren’t were dismissed Teachers’ camps taught them how to use Nazi ideas in their teachings Forced to attend courses learning about Nazi ideas Subjects: 15% of time was spent on PE ensuring the population was healthy and strong Girls taught domestic skills Boys taught science and military skills Both were taught: german, history, geography, maths, race studies and Nazi eugenics

Answer 16

Propaganda: All lessons started and ended with the Hitler salute Nazi flags and posters in classrooms From 1935 - all textbooks had to be approved by the Nazis Racial ideas and anti-semitism were embedded within subjects Ultimate aim of the Nazi education policy: Girls - prepare girls to be good wives and mothers; create loyal Nazis; glorify german and the nazi party Boys - turn boys into strong soldiers who would fight for germany; teach nazi beliefs about race; put across key nazi ideals

Answer 17

Why hitler wanted to increase the employment rate: The unemployed were dangerous politically - if they were poor and hungry they might turn to other political parties for help Nazis believed them to be a burden on society and a waste of valuable resources National labour service (RAD): July 1935 - compulsory for all men aged 18-25 to serve 6 months on the scheme doing: creation schemes and other public works such as draining marshes Many hated RAD because of the low pay, the long hours and the boring work Job creation schemes: Nazis reduced the unemployment by putting money into large projects including: 7000km of autobahns connecting the country - jobs created through physically making the roads and making germany more connected Public buildings Sports facilities (e.g. the stadia for the Berlin olympics) Rearmament: Another way that the nazis provided jobs was through building up their stockpile of arms, even though the ToV limited this - provided many jobs Invisible unemployment: Jews being forced out of jobs Women being dismissed or leaving their jobs Unmarried men under 25 doing national labour service Opponents of the regime who were sent to concentration camps Unemployment dropped from 4.8m to 0.3m in 1939 - the Nazis covered up those who were imprisoned and layed off

Answer 18

Needs to make sure that the population are satisfied with their work German Labour Front - replaced trade unions, workers had to be members and it ran several schemes Strength through Joy - aimed to increase productivity by making workers happy, provided low-cost or free activities (concerts, holidays, leisure activities) for hard workers Beauty of Labour - aimed to improve conditions by reducing noise in workplaces, providing canteens, building swimming pools - workers had to build them themselves so it wasn’t very popular The Volkswagen - one of the Strength through Joy schemes to promote car ownership - Ferdinand Porsche was asked to make a family car and the VW Beetle was invented. Workers opted to pay 5 marks/week to buy the car but by 1939, no one had paid in enough money so instead the money went to rearmament

Answer 19

Better off: More jobs with most men in work Average wages rose by 20% compared to 1933 Strength through Joy provided leisure activities and holidays and beauty of labour improved working conditions Car ownership tripled Worse off: ‘Invisible unemployment’ meant that many were still unemployed The cost of food also rose by around 20% cancelling out the wage rise After banning trade unions, workers had few rights and worked longer hours - 43h in 1933 and 49h in 1939 Only high earners could afford cars, lower earners had to spend their money on essentials

Answer 20

Translates to ‘inferior people’ 1935 - Nuremberg laws banned Aryans from marrying gypsies, black people or Jews Mixed race children were sterilised After 1933 many gypsies were arrested and sent to concentration camps After 1938 they were banned from travelling and in 1939 they were told that they’d be deported Slavs were reminded that they weren’t as superior as Aryan, but they were still persecuted less

Answer 21

Suspicious of a different religion Blamed for Germany’s defeat in WW1 and the ToV Blamed for Germany’s problems after the war (e.g. hyperinflation) Many jews were successful professionals and businessmen - many were jealous of them Associated with communism - Karl Marx was jewish

Answer 22

Long standing distrust was a common belief across Europe Influence of Nazi anti-semetic propaganda Fear of the gestapo and the SS if they did speak out

Answer 23

1933 - SA organised a one-day boycott of jewish shops where they painted a yellow star on doors and discouraged people from going inside 1937 - jewish businesses were taken over by Aryans 1938 - jews had to register their property and jewish shops were set on fire or vandalised (Kristallnacht) 1939 - jews were barred from owning businesses

Answer 24

1933 - jewish: actors and musicians were banned from performing, civil servants were sacked, no longer allowed to join the army, banned from inheriting land and there was an SA one-day boycott of jewish lawyers and doctors 1934 - some jews were banned from public places like parks and swimming pools and benches were painted yellow especially for jewish people 1935 - nuremberg laws placed jews under tighter restrictions 1936 - banned or restricted from working as vets, accountants, teachers, dentists and nurses 1938 - jewish passports had to be stamped with a J 1939 - the reich office for jewish emigration was set up with the purpose of deporting jewish people permanently

Answer 25

Reich law on citizenship: Only those of german blood can be citizens Jews must become subjects not citizens Jews cannot vote or work for the government Jews must wear a yellow star-shaped path sewn on clothes for easier identification The reich law for the protection of german blood and honour: New jew must marry a german New jew is allowed to have sexual relations with a german citizen

Answer 26

7th november 1938 - 17 year old jew entered the german embassy in paris and shot a german 8th november 1938 - goebbels used the event stir up resentment against jews by attacking homes and synagogues in Hanover 9th november 1938 - goebbels and hitler decided to increase the violence to a nationwide attack 9-10th november 1938 - group of uniformed gangs ran amok (violently raging, wild, or uncontrolled manner) amongst jewish communities, destroying and burning homes, businesses and synagogues 100 jews were killed 814 shops were destroyed 171 homes were destroyed 191 synagogues were destroyed Consequences: Goebbels blamed the jews for starting Kristallnacht and ordered them to pay damages - jews were fined 1 billion marks

weimar + nazi germany Flashcards

(50 cards)