History nazi Germany

Over view of the whole nazi Germany text book

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  • Created by: emma
  • Created on: 03-01-13 10:48

What I am including

Nazi consolidation of power 1933-1934

Nazi propaganda and mass indoctrination

Nazi organisations and the coordination of german society

The impact of war on the german people 1939-1945

Conclusion

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Hitler and the nazis

  • 30th January 1933, Hitler was the leader of the national socialist party, whereby he was summoned to office.

this was when he was asked to lead the new governement called 'governement of the national concentration' this made him chancellor. hindenburg and papen allocated him as chancellor as they believed that he coud be easiy manipulated as he isnt as experienced as the others.

after being called office, he held his first cabinet meeting whereby there was only 3 nazi posts out of 12. this made papen even more sure that there was no real threat from the cabinet.

later that same day, hitler stood onthe balcony of reich chancellery, which he reviewed a tourch light precession which consisted of 100,000 nazi members. this was to show people that his appointment as chancellor wasn't going to be normal. Hitler thought this was to mark historical brake with the past and create a 'national revelution'.

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ideology 1933

  • speeches a interviews, this gave the people the chance to understand Hitlers views.
  • mein kampf, this was his book on his beliefs and aims
  • his beliefs were based on other peoples writings at that time
  • he would also change his ideas depending on what audience he was going to be addressing.
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ideology 1933

power of the will
his speeches and writings consisted on trying to make Germany change.
the nazis believed in power, strength and determination.
his parades showed the image of discipline, unity and coordination
struggle, violence and war.
this was the main aspect of the Nazis.
war would help to reconstruct the german society
struggle was the natural order of things
so propaganda helped to glorify the military with the values of courage and loyalty
social darwinism and the master race
hotlersview was that humanity consited of a hierarchy of races.
inferior races included; jews, slaves, black people
master race included; the aryan race. toachieve this race they needed to create racial puriety, which ment there couldnt be any intermarriages.

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ideology 1933

people's community
this was a type of volksgemeinschaft, which was a key part in nazi ideology

  • this meant that only aryans could be citizens of the state
    real community of the people
  • this meant that there would be no social classes
  • all German s would have equal chances to find their level in society
  • they would commit to german values
    in return, they would ave access to employment and have welfare benefits.

nazis aim was to achieve a cultural and social revolution in Germany.
objective; was to create a new man and new women, who would know the importance of race and soil and would work for the common good.
volksgemeinschaft was based on blood and soil, which focused on German peasants whiich retained their racial purity and traditional values.

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ideology 1993

a national socialism

  • this is where nazis adopted the title 'national socialist German workers party'. this was to gain working class support and distance themselves from the communist party.

anti-democracy and a belief in dictatorship

  • hitler set out to destroy the Weimar Republic as he felt this system was weak and ineffective.
  • the parliamentary encouraged more communists which is an even moe greater evil.
  • they would replace this by a one-party state, run on the principle of leadership.

aggressive nationalism
there were 3 basic aims;

  • reverse the treaty of versailles and restore the land that was taken from Germany
  • establish a greater German reich, all germans living within their boarders.
  • secure german's lebensraum, to provide Germany with raw materials and food.
    restore and expand the reich, this will lead to war, which is in hitlers main beliefs of ideology.
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ideology 1933

-positive and negative stereotypes
ideology was based on stereotypes.
these were determined on how a certain group acts and if these groups deserve to be part of the people's community
-there are 3 main criteria whereby they would fall into
ideological- these were people who would create a threat to the people's community for example communists
biological- any group which threatens racial purity and health of the nation for example jews
social- any groups behaviour which conflicts with the nazi social norms for example criminals.

-positive stereotypes.
racially pure aryans, physical characteristics were important
german farmers, people's community existed in rural areas retained by their traditional values to soil. they have also retained racial purity and seen as a key part of volksgemeinschaft in the future.
german workers, hey appealed to this group to achieve votes. this included the whole of the lower working middle class which were seen as useful members in society.
women, they were the home makers and child bearers.they needed to be physically fit, wide hips and aryan characteristics.

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ideology 1933

negative stereotypes.

  • jews and communists, they were seen as greedy, cunning and selfish. they were seen as responsible for the defeat in ww1 and for the social and economic problems
  • gypsies, they were different from German people, due to their way of life. they way they dress, behave, and the lack of regular employment.
  • intellectuals, propaganda promoted physical strength and courage, there was no importance for brains.
  • homosexuals, his was against the law of nature, threatened the aryan race nd racial purity
  • prostitutes and vagrants, people's community was a privilege not a right, working for the good of the people was the main part of this.
  • physical and mental unfit, healthy and pure race was essential for racial dominance.
  • feminists, not their place in society.
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how the nazis consolidated their power 1933-34.

he became chancellor at the end of january 1933.
by the end of 1934 hitler had established and changed the dictatorship.

  • non-nazi political parties have been banned, or voluntarily disbanded.
  • opponents to the nazis were either divided or arrested and put into prison.
  • August 1934 Hindenburg died which makes hitler the president and chancellor creating fuhrer.
  • trade unions were taken under nazi control.
  • the army had sworn allegiance to hitler.

these actions were achieved;

  • use of terror
  • compromise
  • new laws
    propaganda
  • new policies.
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the use of terror

  • stormtroopers had a key role in hitler's rise to power
  • once he had established power, he could now use violence and terror to eliminate opposition.
  • january 1933, SA was the main group the nazis used to reinforce terror. this group expanded when hitler came to power from 500,000 to 3,000,000.
  • February 1933, e SA was part of the auxiliary police whereby the police would and could not interfere with the SA
  • this allowed the SA to attack on their opponents, which were communists.
  • his meant that by July 1933 26,789 political prisoners where arrested by the SA. this lead to election meetings being broken up and their newspapers being suppressed.
  • after the Reichstag fire, intimidation intensified towards the left.
    during the election campaign in march 1933, the communists got 18%, socialists got 12%, showing that terror didn't totally work on its own.
    hitler knew he needed to eliminate the opposition further by;
  • the enabling act, this allowed hitler to pass any law for four years without consulting the Reichstag(march1933)
  • they achieved this by the use of terror and intimidation.
  • hitler knew he needed to eliminate other political parties.
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use of terror

  • trade unions were banned, SA officers would raid offices and arrest officials. trade unions were dissolved on the 2nd may 1933
  • town hall politicians were being replaced by nazi party officials
  • however the violence from the sa became uncontrolled between february-june 1933.
    the head of the SA, rohm, wanted the SA to keep expanding and eventually include the army creating the largest group of violence.
  • however there was only one party, there was less need for their intimidation and their violence, they we'rebecoming more and more rebellious.
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night of the long knives

  • the army was the only institution which could over through hitler.
  • the army was seeing that the SA where beginning to be a threat, in 1934 the SA started to take weapons off the army
  • by the 30th june 1934, a purge was launched against the SA, by the **.
  • after this night, hitler addressed the Reichstag on 13th july, where by he accepted all the responsibility for his actions.
  • this helped him to secure the army's support which became very useful in august when he became fuhre.
    compromise
  • january 1933, when hitler got into power, there were three forces that were anti-democratic, but didn't truly believe in all the nazi ideas. these includes;
  • the army
    the leaders of big business
    the professional civil service.
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the army

  • this was the one area where they could remove hitler from office. either by force or by the leaders appealing to Hindenburg to dismiss him.
  • 3rd february hitler attended a dinner, to outline to the army officials about his plans for rearmament. this reasured the army that he wouldn't undermine their role in the state.
  • in return the army gave hitler a free hand in establishing a dictatorship.
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big business and the civil service

big business

  • 20th february 1933, hitler met with the leading industrialists to ask for financial support, this was for the nazis campaign for the elections.
  • he also appointed schnitt as manager director to the largest insurance company.
    he civil service.
  • they welcomed the appointment of hitler in 1933
  • once they saw that the nazi were taking over the running of the local and state government, in march 1933, they realised that the nazis were revolutionising a different state that they wanted.

conclusion.

  • 1933, he knew he needed to compromise with the powerful conservative forces
  • his anti-communist and anti-democratic views were shared with the army, big business and the civil service
    rearmament offered benefits for big business and the army.
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legal power

  • legal basis of nazis dictatorship was based on;
  • the decree for the protection of state and the people, 28th february 1933. this gave the police the power to arrest someone who is a threat to the security of the state. it also allowed them to enter and search privet properties.
    the enabling act,24th march 1933, which was to remove the distress of the people and state. this gave hitler the power to issue decrees without the approval of the Reichstag for 4 years.
    after 1933 the Reichstag hardly met.
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use of propaganda.

  • the chief of propaganda was gobbles.

on 13th march 1933, hitler set up new reich ministry of popular enlightenment and propaganda, which gobbles was in control.

radio broadcasting

  • this had more impacts as hitler could reach out to the people in their homes. in 1933 there was a total of 50 broadcasts.
  • the people working on the radio, 13% of staff were dismissed from their jobs as they were either politically or racially unreliable.
  • april 1934, all radio stations were brought together under the conrol of the popular enlightenment and propaganda ministry.
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use of propaganda

the press

  • january 1933, 4700 privetly owned newspapers, this was hard for the nazis to take cntroll, so gobbles used a step by step stragigy
    firstly he closed the sociaist and the communists newspapers by using the decree for the protection of the people and state..
  • then the nzis began to buy up the newspapers, by the end of 1933, there were now 27 privetly owned newspapers
  • news agences which supplied the press with information, were murged into a state conrolled organisation, this allowed the information to be censored.
  • daily briefing was held by gobbles for journalists on what they could and couldn't print.
  • october 1933, editor's law this meant that the editor was responsible or the content of newspapers, the ditors had to follow the instructions of the propaganda ministry.
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use of policies

the nazis attracted support from;

  • shopkeepers
  • artisans
  • white collar workers
  • farmers.
  • working class voter, who were mostly unemployed.
    they promised to;
  • boost employment
  • protect those in dept
  • control prices
  • control imports.
    in may 1933, there was a law for protection of the retail trade. this banned further development of large department stores
    in july 1933, department stores weren't allowed to offer baking, hairdressing and shoe repairing stores. this was to protect the small shopkeepers from competition. which led to boycotts from department stores.
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use of policies

  • june 1933, there was a law to reduce unemployment.
    they created work schemes, and provided construction projects
    they also offered tax rebates and loans to companies do they could increase production.
    they influenced all businesses to carry out their work with manual labour.
    they publicised that women should leave their jobs when they get married, so the males can get the jobs.

september 1933, the reich entailed farm laws.

  • all farms that were between 7.5-125 hackers couldn't be sold, and declared hereditary estates, only aryan german citizens could own farms.
  • 1933, the nazis protected the farmers against competition and controlled the market in food.
    the reich food estate, this controlled the distribution of agriculture produce.
  • this controlled the imports, causing the price to increase on commodities.
  • it also controlled the distribution of food, this made the prices paid to farmers lower.
  • many of their policies were unpopular, and resulted in an increase in hostility towards the regime.
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aims and methods of nazi propaganda

  • propaganda and indoctrination was a vital role in establishing the their Reich.
  • by 1937, the ministry of public enlightenment and propaganda had 14,000 employees.
  • they used propaganda and indoctrination to strengthen their grip on the people's community, also to convert them to their way of thinking.
  • gobbles was the organiser of propaganda. he was the president of a Reich chamber of culture.
  • he job was involved in the; radio, press, literature, theatre, music and fine arts.
    this gave him power over cultural life of the nation. he could control who could and couldn't be employed; they were based on racial impurity, and being politically unreliable. if you fell into these categories, your were purged.
    there were other people who wanted control of propaganda, however gobbles had based in the Reich and party, so he was the regime's chief propagandist. however they couldn't take hitlers support for granted.
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methods of propaganda

use of parades and public spectacle.
1920-30, they used parades to raise the nazi profile, to undermine opponents and to create the impression of a large disciplined and well-supported organisation.
1930s, they wanted to show discipline, and to show that the nazis were a force of order and discipline, which could be part of the society.
they heightened the passive effect by wearing uniforms, and medals which singing party songs, waving banners. .
on 30th january 1933, was the first march when hitler came to power.
spectators held salutes at the SA and ** units as they marched passed. they had to hang swastika flags from their windows. they would be monitored by the nazis called 'block leaders'. if the people didn't follow this then they would be reported and be seen as politically unreliable.
the waving of the flags shows that the german people are behind the regime, even though gobbles was manipulating this.

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methods of propaganda

newspapers.

  • 1933-39 there was an extended control. the Reich press chamber was created and all the of people that were involved in the newspaper, had to be members.
    applications were vetted, and a total of 1,300 jews in 1935 were dismissed
    the state controlled the news agencies, and controlled what could and couldn't be printed.
    control over official advertising and printing increased pressure on independent press to fall on time.
    control over newspapers were tightened between 1933-39,
  • socialist and communists houses were closed down.
  • newspapers became bland, conformists and boring.
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methods of propaganda

radio

  • this was hitler's main and most useful tool of propaganda as it could reach the people in their own homes. gobbles agreed with this so he moved quickly to get control over the air waves as well as making radios more available.
    the radio was no on mass production and shelling them at a cheep price.
    1933, 50 speeches in total were made by hitler. they also played gamed shows and plays on the radio which were based on race, blood and soil. he made sure that the entertainment wasn't too political so only hitler could make speeches on the radio as he wanted to concentrate on light entertainment and music.

popular culture

  • hitler believed the weimar period was a time for struggle and a weakened position n the post-war years. he wanted to establish mass volkisch culture. he believed art was an expression of race so he believed only aryans could produce art.
    the nazi policy was to promote arts which glorified healthy, strong and heroic people.
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methods of propaganda

music

  • the Weimar period was the time of struggle and diversity, or classical and popular music.
  • american jazz was very popular however the nazis believed this originated from african americans so they banned foreign influences.
    nazis found this the hardest type of propaganda to control.
    the reich music chamber was setup by Strauss, this was to control music production and to promote music the nazis approved of.
    experimental music was banned from being performed. people would play and sing music within their homes making it nearly impossible to regulate control over this

cinema
lm could work on a subconscious level, delivering subliminal messages and reinforce prejudice. he disapproved of political films as they could become boring and too serious for the audience.
reich film chamber was established in july 1933, this was to regulate the content of film's the employment industry wanted.
foreign films weren't banned but were checked. american films were banned apart from disney
1933-45, over 1,000 feature films were produced, they were mostly comedies, musicals and historical dramas.
political messages included; leadership, blood and soil and viewing jews and communists as evil or in a negative light.

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methods of propaganda

manipulation of education
this allowed the nazis to indoctrinated the german youth

  • the their reich vetted all of the schools texted books and checked the correctness of the education ministry.
    national socialist teachers league was setup in 1927 and by 1933 there was a rapid increase in members as teachers wanted to protect their careers.
    by 1936, 97% of teachers were members, this was to politically indoctrinate them into teaching the nazis ways.
    if teachers spoke badly about the nazis, then they would be reported to the gestapo by either the pupils, parents or members of staff.
    april 1933, many jewish, and politically unreliable members of staff were dismissed from their posts
    political indoctrination permitted;
  • nazis to promote racial health to increase the emphasis on physical education, military drill was used in pe lessons.
  • german lessons aimed to inoculate a consciousness of being german through stories
  • biology made the children aware of race and heredity, they also measured skulls and classified other rces.
    girls had to study needle work and home craft.
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methods of propaganda

censorship,

  • free expression was seen as a threat the co ordination of the people's community
  • they created a cultural autarky, this was to shelter people from the outside influences, whereby the nazis version of events would only be herd
    censorship of the arts and music
  • bans were placed on communist and socialist parties, this stopped the publishing of newspapers and books.
    purging went on within employment, jews communists and socialists were dismissed.
    Gobbles controlled what was included in the newspapers.
    other groups that were involved in censorship was
    criminal police, the SD intelligence agency. they were able to search bookshops and confiscate banned publications
    interior ministry and the justice system
  • local authorities
    by 1935-36, their was a tightening of control, as censorship had become more effective.
    those who opposed hitler were dismissed and many non-nazis would either; concentrate on themes which would be approved, or would move to another country and live in exile.
    censorship worked, however the creativity was dampened and it imposed a dull conformity on cultural life.
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effectiveness of propaganda and indoctrination

nazis would hold plebiscites to view the amount of support, however there was no free elections so they couldn't base this as evidence for support.
many gestapo reports shows that public opinion was that many people didn't show scepticism towards nazi policies.
attitudes towards the nazis depended on their age, gender, class, occupation and religion. over time their attitude may change.
it is hard to judge how successful the nazis were as their compliance might be due to fear and repression
it was more successful when aimed at the young as their opinions weren't formed yet.
propaganda and indoctrination was the most effective when they built on existing beliefs and values.

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hitler myth and the content of propaganda

1941, Gobbles believed that this was his greatest achievement
1933, the majority of the german population was hostile to the nazis leader.
1934, the hitler cult had taken hold of the national consciousness. hitler was shown as the symbol of the nation and the leader for whom the nation had been waiting for.

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hitler myth and reality

-myth
he was presented as a man of the people, a peoples chancellor
seen as tough, uncompromising, and ruthless in fighting and defeating the nations army.
hard working man who worked long into the night.
a political genius
a dynamic, energetic, forceful man in contrast to the Weimar politicians.
he lived a simple life but would happily sacrifice this for the good of his people.
he was a man of peace.
-reality
he would only provide the vision and his ministers and officials would then turn that into a policy
hitler stayed up watching films, and stayed lying in bed till after midday he would spend his day eating, walking around the gardens and delivering long speeches.
he hated reading official documents and wasn't involved in decision in policies.
he couldn't make decisions unless he was under pressure.

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development of the hitler myth 1933-39

gobbles has to use all his power to promote the fuhre by; putting up posters, radio, and news.
he was shown to have strength in films his suppression of the SA reinforced his image of being strong, determined and ruthless leader.
by 1924, support spread to all regions of Germany
when hitler achieved in over throwing the treaty of versailles, the german people believed him to be the man of peace and a statesman.
when there was the out brake of work hitler was perceived as a military genius france was defeated quickly in 1940.

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ideology success of the regime

nazis economic policy
aims
short term;
economic recovery from depression
reduction of unemployment
this would boost the regimes popularity and help the nazis to consolidate their power.
long term.
create an economy able to sustain a major rearmament programme
gear to the needs of future war, like self sufficient production in food and raw materials.

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recovery

schache was the key figure in nazis economic policy. this policy involved pumping money into the economy to build;

  • homes and autobahns
    giving tax concessions and grants to groups
    giving subsidies to privet firms to encourage them to take on workers.
    controls on wages and prices to control inflation.
    1934, there was a new plan- this controlled foreign trade and improved the countries balance of payments
    this allowed them to take steps towards rearmament
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rearmament and a war economy

Schache did succeed in reviving the economy and reducing unemployment
1935-36, this created some problems, food shortages, rising prices, and lower living standards
as Schache was taking too long to carry out the plan, he was marginalised.
goring took his place with a new four year plan;
creating a managed economy introducing controls on labour, supplies, prices and raw materials
setting production targets for companies
creating state owned industrial plans
increase production of key commodities like iron
encourage research and investment into production so they don't have to rely on imports.

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the nazi economic miracle

Gobbles protected the image of the nazis economic policies being a success through propaganda.
nazis claimed that the battle of work was achieved by 1936, as was shown through propaganda.
living standards were perceived to be improving by publicising the peoples car, holidays and cruse ships.
military parades showed the latest equipment

  • the reduction of unemployment
    by 1934, there was a dramatic decrease in the number of people unemployed, which continued to fall after this
    they claimed that is was happening due to the nazis economic policies
    however, economic recovery started before 1933, before the nazis took power. policies to reduce unemployment was based on Brunings ideas.
    this was also achieved by persuading women to leave their jobs, in return they would receive a marriage loan.
    conscription in 1933 took a huge majority of 18-25 year olds out of the unemployment
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the nazi economic miracle

rising the living standers
the german people had to make sacrifices by working harder for longer hours with lower wages.
propaganda was stressing that the working conditions were improving
during 1933-39, many wages did increase, some employers would pay bonuses at attract more skilled workers
as they had to pay into the german labour front, meaning its hard to generalise on how much living standards actually improved.
during the 1930s the price raised and there was shortages on key commodities
they had enough money for food, but not for luxuries, this meant that more people were buying the cheaper priced food
propaganda helped a lot with the living conditions.
autarky- self sufficiency
this was to produce raw materials and food in Germany to get ready for the war.
propaganda helped to persuade people only to buy goods from Germany, and to save more money
in 1937, there was a campaign to collect scrap metal from homes and gardens, this was for the shortages of raw materials
the plan had not yet finished. by 1939, 3% of Germany's raw materials were imported.

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Olympic games 1936

the nazis wanted to present a positive image of the third Reich o the rest of the world
the Olympic and swastika flag were flowed on the opening ceremony by airplanes.
the anti-semitic propaganda was put on hold
there was no jewish athletes in the german Olympic team.
german got 89 medals
the black african american was the star of the Olympics as Jesse received 4 gold medals.

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impact of war on propaganda

overview of war
started on 1st september 1939, when Germany invaded poland
two days later war became more wide-spread. Britain and france declared war on Germany
the first two years, Germany was now occupying the northern western and Southern Europe
in the sumer 1940, Britain was the only country t war with Germany
june 1941, he ordered to invade the Soviet Union, however once they reached masco, the soviet unions red army succeeded in halting the germans by december 1941.
he USA entered the war with Germany
hitler decided to invade the south and eastwards in 1942, they were soon halted in Stalingrad which led to them declaring total war.

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impact of total war on propaganda.

during the 1930s, the aim was to install military spirit
in september 1939, there was no cheering crowds to welcome the out brake of war
there was flag waving which was enforced by the nazi party officials when they won in poland.
n the early part of the war their aim was to retain public morale, and t get the commitment off the german people
the quick victories helped t maintain morale.
they publicised that they were fighting a war of defence, so they couldn't avoid participating
the invasion of the soviet union didn't change the morale as the people had confidence. by december gobbles ordered propaganda to become more realistic.
morale was dampened by the air-raids and food rations, Gobbles knew he needed to prepare the people for a long drawn out struggle. they decided to concentrate on
anti-semitism, which had always been around but now it was more important, after the defeat at Stalingrad
strengthening resolve, Gobbles thought that the air-raids and a high number of casualties will lead to the people giving up on Germany
retaliation, this was major in the last two years of war, they wanted to reinsure the people of Germany's position and will strike back. as they had a secret weapon of mass destruction, which was a bomb that was setoff to London in 1944.

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impact of total war on propaganda

in the final two years gobbles had to sustain morale.
this failed to prevent war-weariness
the people began to have suspicions against the hitler myth, especially after the defeat at Stalingrad
after Stalingrad, hitler was rarely seen or heard of.
by 1945, the hitler myth had been seen as over, to some historians
no one openly criticised about hitler as it was still dangerous to do so, however it was very unlikely that people would morn over the death of hitler in april 1945.

propaganda had failed under the pressure of the war and defeat.

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nazi organisation and the coordination of german s

the process of Gleichschaltung.
this meant forcing into line.
hitler wante to create a society where there wouldn't have time to think or act independently of the regime.
he wanted; mento have fighting sprit and women to be child bearers.
youth
schools; rust was the education minister who was in control of the coordination of education.
low re-establishment of a professional civil service 1933, this meant that teachers would be dismissed form their jobs if they were jewish or communist.
teachers had to join the national socialist teachers league. by 1937, 97% of teachers had joined, and the majority of these were sent on training courses to be indoctrinated.
nazi officials kept an eye on the schools. they vetted text books for 1933, by 1935 there were directives who decided what would be taught
head teachers were appointed from the outside of schools.
a Napola school was created for boys aged 10-18, this was based on military. by 1936 in was under control of the **, by 1938 there were 21 schools that had been established.

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religion

how nazis felt about religion,

it was very strong among the Germany society this was problem for the nazis as they needed to include them in their process of gleichschaltung.

their faith was deep rooted so it would be very difficult for germans with a strong faith to see hitler as their focus.

hitler realised early on that if he wanted to weaken the influence of the church, he needed to do it carefully and in stages

he tried to reassured the church that nazism posed no threat. there was an inconsistency within the party with regards to religion.

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how did the protestants feel about the nazis

the main protestant church was divided into 28 separate churches in Germany. s wanted to unify into a single church. within that church there was a tradition of co-operating with the state. many protestants were anti-Semitic and anti-communist meaning there were high results in areas of support for nazis.

in the early months of the regime saw pastors stage mass SA weddings. the nazis turned the 450th anniversary of martin luther into a national holiday.

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who were the german christains

pressure group of nazi supporters who operated within the german evangelical church
it was established in may 1933, which had 60,000 supporters by mid 1933.
they described themselves as the SA of the church
paster would carryout services wearing SA or ** uniform
fused racist ideology with their own religious faith
a militant, aggressive form of christianity
there was swastika flags in their churches.

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what was the reich church

summer of 1933, the regime began to coordinate the 28 separate churches into a single centralised reich church under nazi control.
church elections of 1933, the german christians wins the elections, this gives the nazis the chance to nazify the church .
all elected bodies within the church were abolished and the church was reorganised under the leadership principle.
any pastors had to swear allegiance to the regime, and they would be dismissed if they were racially or politically unreliable.

by the end of the 1939, it appeared the regime was successful in coordinating the church into its volksgemeinschaft.

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what was the confessional church

a group of unhappy pastors, led by niemoller and bunhoeffer, who established the pastors emergency league which turned into the confessional church. which 5000 pastors joined
their aim was to resist the states interference.
in effect the confessional church was in opposition to the reich church and the nazis attempts to coordinate religion. the fact that this church was set up shows that the process of gleichschaltung didn't work.
the regime tried to weaken the church through repression.
the 1930s saw the abolition of church schools and the pressure for the youth to join the hitler youth.
the regime encouraged its members to renounce their church membership.

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what was the relationship like between the RCC

this church presented a greater obstacle to the regime. due to it; being a international religion, being led by the pope and was less susceptible to the nazi ideology.

nazis viewed the fact that catholics were led by the pope as being bad for Germany

in the early 1930s catholics wanted to be seen as part of the german nation and so when hitler came to power, they were wiling to compromise with the regime.

catholics saw communism as a greater evil, and some were anti-Semetic.

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what was agreed in the 1933 concordat.

vatican recognised the nazi regime and promised not to interfere in politics
the regime promised not to interfere in the church affairs that the church could control the youth groups and schools.
not long before the nazis started to brake the concordat. the gestapo and the ** put catholic priests under surveillance. some catholics were killed during the knight of the long knives
despite their actions, the church didn't protest as they believe that continuing to support the regime was the best way to protecting the church
some priests did speak out, but this led to more restrictions being placed on the church.

what was the papel encyclical 1937?
pope decided he couldn't remain silent on the regime's repression.
issued a letter which commanded the nazis hatred towards the church , which was read out by the priests across Germany.
in response the regime placed eve more restrictions upon the church.

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what was the position of the RCC by end of 1939

by the summer of 1939, the Roman Catholic church's power and influence had been severely weakened. although the concordat had not officially stopped, it had been broken.
catholic youth were denied the chance to attend their youth groups
many older catholics were torn because they wanted to keep their faith but be seen as good germans.
many catholics still attended church services.
many were careful not to be out-right opposed. although individuals opposed the regime, the church itself didn't offer any organised resistance.

what was the german faith movement
some nazis believed that the way to undermine religion was to create an alternative religion.
Robert Darre was key in creating the movement which was a rejection of christianity and based on paganism.
his was a small cult which had 4,000 members at its hight.

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an overview of the regimes relationship

by 1939, the nazis had out links with organised religion

the german faith movement didn't really takeoff.

the nazis failed to create a single unified protestant church based on the german christian movement

by 1939, the concordat was effectively dead.

hitler continued with his facade of working with the church whilst trying to weaken it.

overall its clear that the nazis failed to coordinate the church into their volksgemeinschaft and that organised religion remained powerful in Germany.

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successful in gaining control of the church?

no
german churches remained quite independent
anti-church propaganda didn't really work.
church had a lot of support
over time the good relationship with the regime had with the protestant church deteriorated.
nazis didn't have a lot of support in catholic areas
people like niemoller founded the confessional church
bishop galen escaped punishment when he publicly protested against euthanasia
in 1943, a synod of prussian confessional church criticised the extermination of people on racial and healthy grounds
yes
many clergymen supported some of the nazis ideology like race, women's rights
church welcomed the nazis stance on anti-communism
churches created few obstacles to nazi policies and where seen as compliant

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repression, conformity and resistance

the police state.
-Nazism and the law
they introduced new laws to deal with political offences, they used the police, courts, an the legal professionto bend them to their ways.
to ensure political opponents were dealt with, they introduced new police organisations and new courts.
-the courts
nazis created new courts running along side the original which dealt with political offences
april 1934, the peoples court was established, this included two professional judges and three non professional judges who were chosen by the nazis
new special courts were crated in every party of Germany, this had no jury and defendants
between 1934-1939, there were 3,400 people tried at this type of court, they were mostly communists and wee mostly sentanced to the death penalty.
-criminality
this was someone who was outside the people's community.
racially, non-aryans were excluded
ideologically, Marxists and social democrats are considered beyond he nazi coordination
moral, ordinary criminals (homosexuals) were against social norms.

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The police system in the third reich

the police had the responsibility for enforcing the laws

hitler created a political separate police forces, who answered to hitler.

this created confusion on how powerful each force was;

**, controlled by himmler

SA, controlled by rohm

SD, intelligence gathering offshoot from the **

Gestapo, secrete state of police, goring

there was a lot of rivalry between 1933-36, himmler's power was strengthened by the night of the long knives

1939, himmler was placed under control of the reich security department headquarters (RHSA). this placed all party and state police under one organisation, which was surprised by the **.

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the **

created in 1926, as hitlers personal body guard
1929, himmler took control
by 1934, the party's main organisation
1936, ** controlled the police system
they were the ones that ran the concentration camps roles.
ideological, role models for racial based; people's community. they ran their own schools.
military, training before they could become guards. this created the waffen-** units, which was for the elite forces
economic, ** owned companies and employed slave labour in concentration camps.
conquest, after 1939 they administrated conquered territories
himmler wanted the ** to be strictly disciplined, racially pure and obedient. members had to be loyal, have honer and colourle** personality
himmler wanted to control the men who were joining the ** in 1938 and he dismi**ed 60,000 men as they were; alcoholics, homosexuals or opportunists
after 1936, himmler tightened control and there was an increase in repre**ion shown by the increase in inmates in concentration camps. they had become ruthle** by using murder and violence as state power

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the SD

the SD
stablished in 1931, this was the internal security service
after 1933, the SD gathered intelligence, they had no police powers to arrest.
they mostly manicured public opinion and then reported it to hitler.
by 1939, it had 50,000 officers shows how important the role was.
as this was independent to the gestapo, it created confusion. their main job was to identify who voted no in the plebiscites

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the gestapo

secrete police originally just in prussia, but later extended to cover the whole country.
this was headed by muller, he was an anti-communist, non-nazi member. he was tolerated by the regime as he was efficient and his dedication to state. they were seen as all seeing and all knowing
the public believed they were everywhere; work place pub and neighbourhood.
however this was not true as it was an small organisation, only had 20,000 members by 1939. most of these members were office workers not field agents. they depended on info from informers, the nazi party activists were the important source of info. most people that informed em had grudges with people.
the law on malicious gossip in 1933, this allowed them to prosecute people who said anything that was critical to the regime.
as it was such a small organisation, they succeeded in installing fear and suspicion to the german population.

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the extent of state terror in nazi Germany

through propaganda, gleichschaltung, and demonise political opponents helped them to gain acceptance from the public
the ** were used to prevent the minorities from influencing the majority
it was overall the police stem which kept the society under surveillance and removed the threats
by 1935, opposition from the left had been crushed
nazi terror became more institutionalised and more systematic. their main targets were; jews, homosexuals and criminals
-the extent of conformity and resistance by 1939
very little active opposition
Germany became depoliticised, there was no free debate there was no outlets for complaints or criticism
widespread of acceptance, historians believe however they find it hard to access the extent of opposition
the problem of sources
no free elections and no opinion poll, so they can't access public opinion
elections to Reichstag in 1934, 36, 38. nazis as the only party to put candidates up for elections so the 99% of the vote n't be a real source of evidence
the gestapo reports were very subjective
historians based their judgments on a wide range of sources.

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the problems of definition

historians have focused in different parts of the constituted resistance in nazi Germany
heroic individuals
organised
religous convictions
the cruel and oppressive polices of the regimen

political resistance
as hitler made Germany a one party state, he thought there would be resistance from the left wing including the SPD and the KPD. this threat wasn't strong towards the nazi party.
SPD

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SPD

january 1933, they weren't ready for the nazi takeover
they had no means to organise resistance to the regime that didn't respect the law
they continued to organise the election campaign in march 1933, however this made the ** use violence and repression on them.
once the nazis established dictatorship they crushed the SPD who were unprepared.
by the end of 1933, SPD activists were murdered and the leader fled into exile.

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KPD

these were ready/prepared for underground activity
this was the first party to be banned
they did however succeed in creating an underground network. revolutionary unions were established, these reueted members and published newspapers, these were broken up by the gestapo by 1935.
the SPD or the KPD had no success in attracting the working class germans as they would be risking their own lives and their families as the nazis had decreased unemployment.

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resistance by workers

before 1933, the working class as the largest unionised work force, which were linked to the SPD.
after 1933, union resistance crumbled. the trade unions was turned to the DAF which nazi propaganda emphasised national solidarity.
the working class became depoliticised, the working class organisations were broken up
the workers were not totally convinced that their will be protected by the DAF, however there was no were to express their view.
the main express to workers could do was to withdraw their labour, however this was risky but did occur in 1935 which was the autobahn workers. this happened due to poor working conditions or low wages
strikes were dangerous for participants as they could be found/identified.
another way was absenteeism, which was a reaction to longer hours
this was high in 1938, so the nazis brought in new labour regulations which allowed them to punish slackers.
overall there was a wide spread unwillingness to tolerate low wages, long hours and poor working conditions. this was only passive resistance
german workers resisted nazis attempts to coordinate the workers.

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impact of war on the german people

the home front in Germany 1939-43
changes in attitudes and daily lives 1939-41
the morale of the german people.
out brake ww1-flag waving, cheering crowds, end defeatism and war-weariness
ww2- want to recreate the enthusiasm and avoid the despair in 1918.
start of the war; no cheering in the cities even though loyalty to the fuhrer was strong
the reaction didn't meet hitlers expectations, his aim in the early years of the war was to sustain the morale at home and destroy any weaknesses in the public mood.
on the first 21 months of war, propaganda was not very active in lifting the morale. the quick victories showed celebration among the people, but under lying this was optimism.
they knew the war would drag on as Britain didn't sue for peace. due to this hitler needed to be the morale-booster. hitler delivered speech on 8th November 1940, this lifted the morale sprits.
this was short lived as harsh winters nd wartime conditions dampened the morale even before the attack from the Soviet Union.

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rationing

availability of food was a main factor in improving the morale
ww1- shortages, created an increase in war-weariness
so they established a rationing system before the war, 28th august 1939.
this led to people panic buying meaning they had to put a inclusion of clothing on rationing by november 1939.
amount rationing was determined on; race, age, gender and occupation.
manual labourers received more than sedentary
jews received smaller rations
at the beginning of the war they were reluctant to reduce consumption as it may provide anti-war feelings.

overall the rationing system worked, there were no serious food shortages; there was some shortages in soap, washing powder and shoes which did cause a slight amount of discontent.

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workers

increase in men who were conscripted when war broke out , they needed to increase production of armaments. they need to use labour force in most affective way, and use foreign labour.

limited amount of workers in consumer goods industries. this led to a rise in the number of people employed in industries

hitler on the 3rd september 1939, 'decree on the conversion of the whole German economy onto a war footing' wage reductions and a ban on a payment of bonuses for; overtime, sunday shift and night shifts. this created discontent among the labour force, which increased absenteeism

october 1939, wages were restored and bonuses were reintroduced due to the absenteeism.

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women

they were seen as housewives, and become married women. their jobs was to queue for supplies, and having the task of child bearers du to fathers being away.
the nazis believed women were child bearers. during 1936-39 there was a labour shortage which threatened rearmament programme.
september 1939, there was more women in paid employment, 27% of the labour force were women.
in the summer 1940, the industry needed more workers, however hitler refused to allow this to happen
by june 1940, only 25,000women were conscripted who would be transferred into war work.
as they provided benefits for families who had soldiers, there was no incentive for women to work. this decreased in women workers during 1939-41.

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youth

membership became compulsory for the hitler youth and the BDM. this was a high priority to indoctrinate the youth. in the early years of war, the youth weren't conscripted into helping with war work or military service.
they concentrated on preparing the boys to become soldiers, and they wanted them to help with harvests and to collect money for winter aid.
in september 1940 evacuation out of cities for the youth began.
camps were set up to receive the evacuees, they were also evacuated to gust houses and some were sent to foster families. this was meant to be voluntary, however it was hard to say 'no' as a whole schools were being evacuated together.

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summery

in the first 21 months of war the nazis wanted to sustain production and morale. this was very confusing, inconsistent and sometimes contradictory.
the quick victories lulled the regime in a false sense of security as the germans perceived themselves as unstoppable.
with the invasion of the Soviet Union, the preparedness of war became apparent, leading to a radical change of direction.

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the impact of the invasion of the USSR

the morale of the german people
as the germans failed to achieve another quick and decisive victory, it led to realisation among the german public that the war will drag on, which will put more stain on Germany.
in the winter of 1941-42, the whole of Germany's problems became apparent. announcements were made that the red army was broken and victory would follow later. this added optimism among the population.
the set backs changed public mood, 5th december 1941 the red army had forced german troops to fall back onto defensive osition. on 11th december 1941, hitler declared war with USA after the attack on pearl harbour.
letters received form the soldiers made the realities of the war apparent among the population.
summer 1942, news about progress, victories for german and italian forces against british in North Africa. in autumn 1942, news was bad, italian and german forces defeated and began retreating.
the german people were beginning to demoralised. after defeat at Stalingrad, everything began to fall apart, hitler myth lost its potential and criticism of propaganda emanating from the regime.
however there was the willingness of hardship and sacrifice.

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workers

they needed to take workers from labour, to focus more on rearmament production, however Gauleiters wanted to keep employment within their own areas. hitler opposed women working, so the shortage of labour posed threat to increase production of war materials.
june 1940-spring1942 foreign workers were mainly used.
october 1941, russian prisoners of war were used as stave labour.
march 1942, 'plenipotentiary general for labour allocation' this organised foreign labour, this headed by Savackel.
13th january 1943, a decree for the comprehensive deployment of men and women for reich defence tasks.
this was to organised which over saw the running of labour which involved; men aged 16-65 and women aged 17-45. this made sure that small businesses who didn't provide for the war effort to be shut down.

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women

nazis objected married women to work

june 1941, goring issued a decree that all female workers who were getting family allowance and given up paid employment but not produce any children, were forced to register for work or lose the allowance. this didn't apply to women who haven't worked.

this created class resentment, as women who have worked before would be the working class, and those who haven't would be the middle class.

january 1934, a decree that all women aged 17-45 should work, this shows that hitler's ideological objection wasn't as important as the threat from the Soviet Union

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youth

before 1942, conscription into military age had been reduced.
1940, the age was 19.
1941, the age was 18
1943, the age was 17
this put an increase in demands on teenagers.

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the start of total war

invation from the Soviet Union placed Germany under server strain
december 1941, Germany was in a long struggle
january 1943, it became a struggle for survival
february 1943, gobbles announced total war in a speech. this was generally welcomed, and seen as a positive response.

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the collapse of hitler's reich

morale
spring 1944, morale declined due to news that Germany was retreating and failed in the u-boat campaign.
end of august 1944, defeat was beginning to be inevitable
the final months of war led to; the collapse of the hitler myth and the growing of cynicism about nazi propaganda..
impact of bombing on morale
end of march 1942, RAF carried out bombing rallies.
in 1943, bombing became very regular
1942, many children and women were being evacuated from cities and towns, which caused friction and tension between the working and middle class
working women moaned about taking in children, living in overcrowded conditions.
middle class women were given preferential treatment
there was also religious tension as protestant children were lodged with catholic families, and visa versa
men were left in cities to work by themselves, which threatened the production in the factories, creating tension as women who returned to their husbands would have their ration book taken away.

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bombing on morale continued

there was an increase in repression, they also tried to maintain morale by dealing with practice problems cause by air raids

they provided food and drinks when they were called.

survivors got composition payments to replace lost belongings.

there was a lack in housing

creating an overall war-weariness due to the lack of sleep as the increase of air raids increasing the amount of people that are exhausted

even though war-weariness was increasing among the german people, they were still turning up for work and maintaining production.

one reason for this was that the workers needed something stable in their lives as everything was being disrupted.

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workers

august 1944, there was a total ban on holidays, working hours increased to 60hours per week, and overtime payments were abolished.
this had a rise in absenteeism, however the employers could reserve status, resulting in conscription.
however this changed, and they were getting paid on how much they produced, not how long they worked for.

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women

1944, there was an increase in conscription of female labourers, even though the regime were reluctant.
1945, 60% of the labour force was women
1934, women took over doing servicing anti-aircraft guns
1944, women operated searchlights 1945, started to do more roles like secretary.
by the later years of war, the women were being trained for combat roles.

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youth

1945, a 16 year old could conscript
september 1944, volkssturm was created, this was were 16-60 year olds who were not active for service, would dig anti-tank trenches
at the end of the war, 12 year olds were being conscripted.

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resistance

communists
1941, they had a underground network
1943, 22 cells had been destroyed by the gestapo.
the churches
the Roman Catholic Church in 1939 supported the german's aims
1941, supported the invasion of the USSR protestant confessional church of prussia was the only church to openly protest about their treatment of the jews.

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resistance

youth
main groups were
the edelweiss pirates
this was mainly the working class, aged between 14-18. they were anti-hitler and tried to avoid conscription. the gestapo and the hitler youth used their power to crush them, they tried arrests, shaving heads and labour camps, but these didn't work.
7th december 1942, the gestapo captured the leader who was hung in november 1944.
the swing youth
this was the middle class, who listened to jazz and swing music and wore english style clothing. they weren't political and didn't try to over through the regime. the regime sent them to concentration camps for 2-3 years.
the white rose group
this was a political movement which consisted of educated middle class, from catholic origins. they emphasised on the importance of freedom and personal responsibility. the nazis were attacked by this group for their treatment of the jews and slaves people.
1943, they became even more rebellious so the gestapo caught them an executed them.
this shows the nazis were losing its grip on the german society.

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resistance- the elites

1938, plots to over through hitler by members of the high army started. they opposed the regime. this was either due to; deep morale conviction that the nazis were evil, and some out of patriotism, that hitler was leading them to destruction.
those involved all acted against the regime. they tried to persuade the army general to arrest hitler, nd negotiate with the british for peace if hitler was removed. however this was not effective, in 1934 they thought their only option was to assassinate hitler.
in march 1934, they placed a bomb under hitlers plane which failed to explode, they tried again in july 1944 which was placed in hitler's headquarters. this went off however hitler survived with minor injuries.

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the state of Germany in 1945

on New Year's Eve a radio broad cast 1944, whereby hitler said that victory was near which raised morale.
12th january 1945, the soviet forces began their offensive against Germany
20th april the soviet forces entered berlin.
30th april hitler and gobbles committed suicide
2nd may the soviet union captured Germany.
as the soviet force reached closer people fled their homes. due to the mass bombing, most of the population was homeless, transport systems didnt function and disease was beginning to spread.
morale collapsed as well as authority of the nazi party.
hitler ordered all military equipment, transport and industrial plants to be destroyed so they didn't fall into the hands of the allies. however Speer countermanded this as they wanted to build on this when restoring.
the nazis wanted to make sure no defeatist attitudes arrives, so the police, ** and armed forces still intensified the terror among the people.
1945, morale finally collapsed as well as the armed forces desertions happened, however these were found by the ** and shot.

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Veronica

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Thanks so much , by far one of the most useful flashcards on here.

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