Control in Nazi Germany 1933-39

• Terror - Nazis developed methods to create a 'police state' in which force was used to mandate obedience.

• Propaganda - Nazis knew they would not be able to force its population to submit to the Nazi regime, so they used propaganda and censorship to persuade Germans that life under the Nazis would be good

• Run by a branch of the ** known as the Death's Head Unit.
• Inmates included political opponents, criminals, communists, and Jewish people.
• Conditions were hard and death rate was high.
• Originally only labour camps, but towards the end of WW2 (under the 'Final Solution') they were extermination camps.

After the Night of the Long Knives the SA were replaced by the ** -Schutzstaffel. They were the organisation (paramilitary) responsible for party security.

The Gestapo were a 'secret police' branch of the ** responsible for arresting political opponents. They tapped telephones, opened mail, and encouraged people to 'spy' on their neighbours.

Judges were gradually indoctrinated by the Nazi regime and - under Hitler's control - enforced the regime through the courts.

These judges were called 'People's Judges' and were known to be very unforgiving when it came to prosecuting political opponents.

By 1939, it is believed that nearly 1/4 million Germans were found guilty of political crimes.

Joseph Goebbels was in charge of persuading the German people that life under the Nazi regime was good.

He was the head of the Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda. Goebbels also set up the the Reich Chamber of Culture to control different aspects of culture such as radio and newspapers.

Rallies were the most successful way of gaining the support of the German population. Thousands of people would gather to watch troops parade and listen to Hitler gives speeches.

The most famous were the annual Nuremburg Rallies.

• Most newspapers were bought by the Nazis - by 1939 they owned 69% of all newspapers.
• The Editors' Law meant that newspaper editors were held responsible and could be arrested for the content of their newspapers if articles were critical of the Nazis.
• If a journalist wanted to work, they had to be on a government approved list.
• The People's Receiver was a cheap radio that most families could afford to buy and broadcasted Nazi speeches.

Cinema, theater, music, and literature were all censored i.e. they had to support Nazi ideology.

• In 1933, 20,000 books were publically burned in Berlin.
• In 1934, a law was introduced that outlawed anti-Nazi gossip and jokes.
• Jazz music was seen as 'degenerate', having originated with black musicians in America.
• Propaganda films were made such as 'The Eternal Jew', which showed Jews in a bad light.