Nazi Germany 19233-39

Method of Nazi Control

Nazi Terror - government uses police to control the population.
- German law was whatever the Nazi party said. Germans were arrested and imprisoned without trial.
- The ** was responsible for identifying and arresting political prisoners and running concentration camps.
- The Gestapo was responsible for state security - they often handed suspects to the ** to be tortured
Censorship
- Newspapers and Radios were strictly controlled & anything that opposed Nazis were shut down
- Ministry of Propaganda: list of unacceptable literature. Gestapo had power to search libraries and seize publications.
- The Arts - all writers, actors & musicians had to join the Reich Chamber of Commerce. Some music was banned like Jazz as it was 'black music' and unsuitable for Aryans etc.
Propaganda - To spread posative messages about Nazi Party Key Messages:
- Supremacy of Aryan race and inferiority of Jews and other races
- Great work being done by Nazis to deal with evils of communism
- Different roles of men and women in society and importance of family
Goebbels believed it was more effective if the people didn't realize they were being manipulated so it was embedded into newspapers and radios etc

1 of 5

Young People & education - (the future)
- The Nazis wanted to persuade all of the children to unquestionably obey them.
- The school curriculum was changed to reflect Nazi beliefs (1933)
- 1936, Nazi Youth introduced. 1939 - compulsory to attend.
Women - Nazis wanted women to stop working and breed as birth rates were decreasing
- 1933: Law for Encouragement of marriage provided loans if the woman gave up work
- Kinder, Kirche & Kuche = children, church, cooking. The ideal of female activity
- Medals were earned through amounts of children brought up.
- Contraception and abortion banned
Churches - Hitler wanted to take over religion with Nazism
- Catholics - Hitler wanted to be seen as supreme being, not the Pope
- Protestants - 'German Christians' - referred to as SA of Church (followed Hitler)
- Reich Church - (Protestant) assigned Nazi supporter (Muller) as the bishop
- Confessional Church - Against the Reich Church and Nazis taking power. Many members were sent to camps and the founder was hung.

2 of 5

When Hitler took control, he took measures against Jews. From 1933, their lives grew worse...
April 1933 - Nationwide Boycott of Jewish shops and businesses. The ** stood outside Jewish shops to prevent people entering.
1935 - Jews were banned in public places like parks, cinemas and swimming pools
Sept 1935 - Nuremberg laws: 1) Jews and Aryans could not marry. 2) Only people of German blood were German citizens. Jews could no longer vote or hold a German passport.
From 1938:
- All possessions had to be registered with Government so they could take what they want from Jews
- Jews made to carry identity cards at all times to present to Nazi officials
- Jewish professionals (e.g. doctors) weren't allowed to take on work from non-jews
Jan 1939 - Reich office for Jewish emigration set up - to speed up the emigration of Jews. 2/3 had fled Germany until it was banned in 1941
Night of the Broken Glass - November 1938
German official was killed by a Jewish man. This gave the Nazis an excuse to aim for Jews
- Over 800 Jewish shops and 191 synagogues were destroyed. Many homes were attacked and property was stolen
- 91 Jews were killed and 30k were arrested!

3 of 5

Nazis promised to reduce unemployment after Great Depression. Hitler's plan was to make Germany self-sufficient and not rely on other countries.
Unorthodox Economics
- Pump government money into schemes that would provide employment
- Develop autarky (self-sufficiency) so they wouldn't have to rely on imports
- Create trading zone with countries who could produce the goods Germany couldn't
Defence Economy
- Base the economy around needs of war to avoid a repeat of WW1 when the economy was unfit to sustain a lengthy war
New Plan - to reduce unemployment and imports. They made agreements with other countries to guarantee Germany's supply of raw materials. He created work such as road building to reduce unemployment
The 4 Year plan - From 1936, Goering was responsible to prepare Germany for war; it involved making Germany self-sufficient and finding substitutes for raw materials. The propaganda campaign to persuade Germans to buy and eat German products.
Unemployment was reduced from 6million (1933) to 0.5million (1939). However figures did not include women or Jews
It also counted people with temporary employment as full employment

4 of 5

Labour Front (DAF)
- After Nazi's banned Trade Unions, they set up the German Labour Front to ensure the efficient running of industry
- Employers and employees were in the DAF but it soon became clear that the main aims were to get workers to work harder and control wages. They wanted more work without more pay so they ran these programmes to do so:
Strength Through Joy (KDF)
- To run activities for workers in their leisure time so it created satisfied workers who would work harder and become more productive. It offered rewards for those who worked the hardest.
Beauty of Labour (SDA)
- Responsible for improving working conditions. Encouraged employers to provide canteens serving hot meals, and sport leisure facilities.

5 of 5