Was Hitler Popular?

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  • Created by: Catherine
  • Created on: 30-05-14 23:05

Was Hitler Popular?

Advantages

  • Wasn't Popualar
  • Some civil servants tried to resist Nazi initiative and generals tried to prevent complete Nazi control of the military - Martin Broszart
  • Working class discontent about declining living standards in the late 1930's pushed Hitler into a war earlier than he planned- Tim Mason
  • The regime's terror apparatus made it impossible for people to express for people to express their dissatisfaction- Karl Dietrich Bacher & Richard J Evans
  • Any act of non-conformity is an act of resistance, such as not giving the Nazi salute or listening to Jazz music. This is because the Nazi regime attempted to control all aspects of life and didn't fit in with the nazi ideology -  Broszat
  • There was a state of terror which inflicted the German state. The SA broke up SPD  and KPD meetings
  • In 1933, 150,000 - 200,000 were detained in concentration camps
  • The Gestpo could hold people in custody for any reason or none whatsoever. The 1933 law made seeking constitutional change within the Nazi regime a treasonable offence
  • Between 1936 and 1939, the number of people detained in a concentration camp rose from 7,500 to 21,000

Disadvantages

  • Was Popular
  • There was little opposition, evidence of this is that there wasn't any significant attempts to overthrow the government. Plots mostly come from lone individuals such as Georg Elser who cannot represent the German population.
  • The terror ntework wasn't as extensive, it mostly relied on the support of the German people. This is suppported by the fact their was only 21 Gestapo officers that covered the entire Wurzburg area
  • The last few years of chaos within the Weimar republic characterised their reign in power. The German people were more likely to support Nazi regime was legitimate and was stable
  • Some of the regimes policies were popular and helped improve Germany.Unemployment reduced, it fell to 1 million by January 1935. The Strength through Joy allowed for the working class to take part in leisure activities. Many German could go on a holiday because of this rule. Pregnant "Aryan" women were given free healthcare.
  • Nazi propaganda was successful in helping putting across Hitler's message for the German people and many believed it. Hitler was presented as a Teutonic knight.

Evaluation

It is hard to say whether the Nazi regime received genuine support due to the fact it was a dictatorship and freedom of speech was abolished and their was the use of a terror network. There was however some real support given to the Nazi regime as it gave Germany, stability and a legitimacy which the previous Weimar republic never gave.  Therefore it is a reasonable argument to state that the Nazi regime had a certain degree of popularity but it was mostly due to the large extensive terror network.  

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