11. How did the Nazis keep control of Germany?

A) Through TERROR!!

How did Hitler keep control of

Germany?
The Terror State
Secret police called the
Gestapo would spy on
and arrest enemies of
the state.
SS were responsible
for running the
concentration camps.
Everyone was scared of
being arrested by the
Gestapo and being put in
a concentration camp.

Propaganda
Mass Rallies, Posters
and Propaganda films.

Keeping
Control of
Germany

The Nazis controlled

and censored the radio
& newspapers.

Popularity

School children were

indoctrinated with Nazi
ideas at school.

Ripping up the
Treaty of Versailles.
Creating Jobs

Hitler Youth & the

Young Maidens.

How did the Terror State Work?

You are imprisoned
for up to six months
doing hard physical
labour.
You are handed
over to the SS who
run the
concentration
camps.
By signing this form
you are giving your
consent to be put into
a concentration camp.

When you are

released you tell
everybody what has
happened to you

Fear
Days or maybe weeks
later you are
interviewed and
asked to sign form
D11

Gestapo Spies
inform on you

You are woken up by

the Gestapo at 1 am in
the morning and told
that you have 5 minutes
to pack your bags.
You are arrested
and thrown into a
cell at the police
station

Through a system of propaganda and indoctrination.

What is Propaganda?
What is the meaning of propaganda? Strictly speaking, it comes from the word propagate,
which means to spread. The Nazis had very specific ideas which they wanted to spread.
In Mein Kampf Hitler set out the best way of doing this (source B). Putting across a limited
range of ideas is known as indoctrination, especially when the intention is to squeeze out
other ideas.
Source B Adolf
Kampf, 1925

Hitler,

Mein

Propaganda must confine itself to a

very few points, and repeat them
endlessly. Here, as with so many
things in this world, persistence is
the first and foremost condition of
success.
Source D a speech by Goebbles
to a press conference, March
1933.
I view the task of the new
Ministry as being to establish coordination
between
the
Government
and
the
whole
people It is not enough for
people to be more or less
reconciled to our regime, to be
persuaded to adopt a neutral
attitude towards us. Rather we
want to work on the people until
they have capitulated (given in) to
us.
The new Ministry has no
other aim than to unite the nation
behind the ideal of the national
revolution.

Source C Albert Speers final speech at his

trial at Nuremberg, 1946
His (Hitlers) was the first dictatorship in the
present period of technical development, a
dictatorship which made complete use of all
technical means for the domination of its own
country. Through technical devices like the radio
and the loud speaker, 80 million people were
deprived of independent thought. It was thereby
possible to subject them all to the will of one man.
Goebbels first act as Minister of Propaganda was
to set about ridding German cultural life of books,
ideas an people that did not accept Nazi philosophy.
On 10 May 1933, libraries and bookshops were
plundered for any titles the Nazis disliked. These
were then burned in huge bonfires in the middle of
universities.

Reich Chamber of Culture

In September 1933, Goebbels established the Reich Chamber of Culture, with departments
for literature, press, radio, theatre, music and the creative arts. Membership was
compulsory for anyone wanting to work in any of these fields. Hundreds of talented
musicians, artists, film makers and actors, many of them Jewish, left Germany because
they were unacceptable to the Chamber of Culture.

7. PRACTICE PAST PAPER QUESTION: 12 marks

The Nazis were able to stay in power in Germany after 1933 mainly because
the German people feared them Do you agree?
You could include the following in your answer and any other information of your
own:

The first concentration camp was opened at Dachau in 1933.

In 1933 Goebbels became Minister of Popular Enlightenment and

Propaganda.

In 1933 there were 6 million unemployed in Germany. By 1939

there were 300,000 unemployed

Level 1

Mark Scheme
Simple statements supported by some knowledge

1-3

Level 2

Developed statements supported by relevant knowledge

4-6

Level 3

Developed explanation supported by selected knowledge

supporting or opposing the view, e.g. The Nazis used

7-10

Sustained argument supported by precisely selected

knowledge assess the view and comparing it with alternative
views, e.g. Many people were better off under the Nazis,

11-12

e.g. People were too scared (copies the information from the
above box)
e.g. The Nazis put people in concentration camps if they
opposed them

sophisticated propaganda methods to indoctrinate the

people into supporting them.
Level 4

things were much worse for them during the Weimar

Republic, rather than feared them, they supported them.
1st

2nd

3rd

You write: 'In some ways, it could be

argued that the <statement is true>', then
you think up a number of points which promote
this idea, supporting them with facts and
explanations. A very good essay here would also
point out weaknesses in this argument.

You write: 'HOWEVER, it might be argued

that the <statement is false>', then you think
up a number of points which promote that idea,

supporting them with facts and explanations. A

very good essay here would also point out
weaknesses in this argument.

Finally,
you
write:
'In
conclusion,
therefore, I would say that...' and you
come to some conclusion (whatever you like)
weighing the things you have said for and
against the proposition, assessing the reliability
and utility of the facts and sources you have
cited, and explaining how you came to your
conclusion.

MK 2008

PLAN!

The Nazis were able to stay in power in Germany after 1933 mainly because
the Germany people feared them Do you agree?
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MK 2008