Organisations and co-ordination of German society

Fundamental structure of school remained the same although the cirruculum was radically changed, education was a key tool in imprinting Nazi beliefs of Weltanschauung

Teachers - expected to join National Socialist Teachers League by 37' 97% enrolled, many had to attend ideological training courses, by 38' 66% attended, closely monitored, joined Nazi party more than other proffessions

Cirruculum - 15% allocated to P.E. or 2 hrs per day, German-Biology-History given special priority, R.E was phased out, 35 all textbooks had to be approved, girls recieved gender role education such as cooking, most school leavers guarenteed work

Specialist schools - specialist schools for boys aged 10-18 controlled by ** and run like military academies, , Adolf Hitler Schools establish - these were special leadership schools providing free boarding school education to 12-18 Aryan and ideal characteristic boys, Order Castles for the elite of the elite which were future politica/military leaders (25-30 yr olds)

Uni - academic learnings deemed inferior to practical instruction, no. of students halves from 33-39 although females increased, Lar for the Restoration of the Civil Service purged 1200 lecturers on racial/political grounds, Lecturers had to join Nazi Lecturers Association, Students expected to join German Students League, eugenic/racial ideas promoted in remodelled curicculum, standards in academic subjects fell 

Co-ordination of youth was vital to guarentee 1000 year reich, boys were prepared for war

Hitler Youth/Hitler Jugend - HJ for boys agred 10-18, formed in 1926, 1933 other youth groups were banned/co-ordinated, memebership compulsory by 1939, HJ offered leisure practices such as camping, sports, military training, leadership roles

League of German Maids/BDM - founded in 1930 for girls aged 10-18, used summer camps for 'boyish' activities and to train them for their wife/mother/homemaker role, travelling without parents the BDM game girls greater freedom

Changes of HJ - initially met by enthusiams esp with rural boys, teenage kids could challenge traditional authority like parents, becoming compulsory led to a decline of its attractiveness

BDM - it was popular, outbreak of the war meant BDMs role changed, girls focused on helping the war effort, older girls volunteered for work in hospitals after Total War speech, 

Opposition - thousands of youth turned away from HJ/BDM and forming their own gangs, Edelweiss Pirates and Swing Youths emerged, EP emerged from working class communities and adopted American style gang names and they sung anti Nazi songs and fighting with HJ, Swing Youth were middle classes and apolitical and they preferred English dance music such as swing and Jazz, Nazis regarded them as degenerates

Group least likeliest to favour the Nazis as they wre traditionally left wing, Nazis alienated workers by removing their political representation and independant unions but needed them for Autarky and rearnament

German Labour Front (DAF) - set up to represent workers, biggest organisation of the reich, memebership was 22 mil in 1939, DAF wanted to reconcile the workers to Nazi Party, promoted concept of Volksgemeinschaft

Strength through joy (KDF) - created to organise workers leisure time, offered packaged holidays, Volkswagen car scheme launched in 38, propaganda was to persaude  workers not only to work for wages but also for the nation

Beauty of work - set up to improve working conditions in factories, provide more amenties such as sports ground

Reich Labour Service (RAD) - men aged 18-25 had to do 6 months labour such as agriculture, women included in 39, purpose was so people appreaciate manual labour and raise status of workers 

Work Creation Programmes - legislation passed to reduce unemployment, work creation programmes, network of autobahns, subsidies so large companies employ more workers, shortage of labour after rearmament boom 

Working class still critical of Nazis, wages rose by only 1%, working hours increased, RAD was a source of cheap labour, NONETHELESS unemployment reduces drastically

Farmers felt alienated during the Weimar Republic, whose governments favours the urban classes, the Nazi however florified farmers

'Blood and Soil' ideology idolised farmers as the life spring of the nation, the upholder of traditional moral values, Nazis believed in self suffieciency in food production

Set up Reich Food Estate to regulate agriculture, control prices/wages and set production quotas

Launched 'Battle for Production' in 34, farmer incomes increased by 41% from 33-36

Introduced protective tariffs on imported food, financial inducements to stay on land, recued interest on mortgage payment, reduced NI payments for agricultural workers, generous grants -> interests of farmers were undermined by Autarky/rearmament, Nazis had to prepare for a war that only a industrial society could manage

Criticisms - Reich Food Estate to the resentment of farmer introduced petty rules such as control of sale of produce and limitations imposed on farmers choice of crops, money allocated to clear farmers debts was most given to larger farms, wage controls led to a gap between rural & urban wages with many labourers moving to cities, older farmers resents the regimes interference, preparations for war held priority over farmers interests

Churches never offered outright support, but welcomes Nazis to power

Hitler promoted the Party as Christian force against athestic Communism, and anti-semitism appealed to the Churches

Protestant Church - more easily co-ordinated as it had a tradition o conservative nationalism, German Christians embraced Nazism forming Reich Church in 33, in opposition to the Reich Church some Protestant pastors set up Pastors Emergency League in 34, regime intimidated/imprisoned outspoken Protestants, some individual resistance existed

Catholic Church - stronger and more united opponent but sought comprimise, mutually satisfied Concordat (Church stays out of politics in return of freedom of worship and control of schools), Catholic minister murdered in Night of the Long Knives, cruifixes banned in schools 35, Catholic youth groups banned 36, von Galen condemned the regime

Concordat - in return for Catholic Centre Party supporting the Enabling Act, Hitler promised concordat with Vatican, Catholic church was too strong to co-ordinate, Catholic church wanted to protect organisational independance, they both opposed communism, valued traditional morals of Nazism e.g. role of women and  was traditionally anti-semitic

Nazis ran extensive network of terror and repression, from 36 Himler was in charge of huge security network 

** - most ideologically exteme, members were supposedly pure Aryans, swore oath of loyalty to Hitler, ** oversaw the Gestapo and Criminal police, enforced ideological conformity through repression, took over concentration camp networks

SD - intelligence service of the **, observed public opinion and detected/rooted out potential enemies of Nazism

Gestapo - secret police, secretly monitored behavior, potential threats to Nazi values arrested,unlimited powers of repression, few members of Gestapo, networks of informant made it hard for people to speak out, Block Wardens watched their local area for signs of deviancy, controlled by ** from 36

Nazis used existing organisations too such as courts to amintain repression, political prisoners and high treason executions increased

Established concentration camps to house opponents, people lacked civil rights/freedom, Reichstag Fire Decree removed basic rights

Abscence of widespread opposition, series of plebiscites held by Nazis and they obtained more than 90% support for measures such as remilitarisation of the Rhineland, secret reports by SD or Gestapo on public opinion sometimes show widepread support for foreign policy and Hitler, regime was 'consensus dictatorship'

Reasons for conformity? chaos of Weimar Republic, unemployment fell considerably, Nazi social policies improved standard of living for certain demographics, propaganda may have been effective

Non conformity and resistance... civil disobedience such as failiure to give Nazi salute were common, SD reports cinidcate people wernt always supportive of the regime, people of Germany  were shackled due to Reichstag Fire Decree, lack of opposition and huge apparatus of terror

Underground networks of resistance formed e.g. SOPADE, occasional Church opposition, young people such as Edelweiss Pirates who attack HJ, General Beck plotted to remove Hitler in 38, occasional assassination attempts on Hitler

Most people conformed and collborated with the regime, although small scale resistance existed... Terror networks and destruction of Nazi opponents made it harder