Nazi Germany Revision

How did life change under the Nazis?

Economic Policy
Hitler came to power during the Great Depression. What did he promise voters? Work and Bread

What were Hitlers 3 aims for the German economy?

Rearmament (build up army) Make Germany selfsufficient (make own goods so they didnt have to rely on other countries) Reduce unemployment

What was the German Labour Front (DAF?) [4]

Organisation

Robert Ley Workers HAD to join All other trade unions were banned this was the only one. They decided wages. Made them work building new motorways, schools, hospitals etc

to control workers set up by Dr

What was Strength Through Joy? [4]

Part

of DAF Organised leisure time of workers e.g. cheap theatre trips, cruises, holidays etc. (Jews obviously not welcome) Used for propaganda for the Nazis All workers encouraged to save for a Volkswagen

What was the RAD? [4]

All

18-25 year old men had to do 6 months work service. Unpopular because it was hard, manual labour and poorly paid. Nazis tried to use the RAD to indoctrinate young adults. Some liked it because it gave them a uniform and a sense of purpose.

How did Hitler deal with Trade Unions? [4]

He He

did want any potential opposition could control workers via the DAF instead

German

labour front took away the right to strike and reduced workers pay trade unionists imprisoned in concentration camps

Many

Was life better for workers?

Small businesses benefited.
Big businesses benefited from rearmament RAD: unpopular because of low People worked longer hours Trade unions banned. Many Jews and women sacked from their jobs Communists etc couldnt claim unemployment benefit

DAF: For many, this was a lifeline. Strength through Joy

What did the Nazis think women should concentrate on?

K, K, K Kinder, Kuche, Kirche

Children, Cooking and Church

How did they encourage women to have children?

Propaganda Financial rewards for brides who did not work and for giving birth

Motherhood Cross medals to women who had more than 4 children

How did they encourage women to have children?

15% of all teachers, women doctors and civil servants were sacked. Public pressure. and poster campaigns encouraged to stop women smoking and to encourage them to do sport (to increase their fertility)

What was the name of the main organisation for Nazi children?

Dont forget Hitlers attitude towards children!

I believe that children are the future!

What organisation did girls join?

BDM

Name 3 activities of the Hitler Youth

Camping Hiking War Games Sports

Military training

Why was education so important to the Nazis?

Wanted a future generation that were blindly loyal to Hitler and the Nazis.

Needed to prepare boys for the army (to fulfil the Lebensraum plan)

Used schools for propaganda.

How did Nazi policy affect education?

All teachers vetted by local Nazi officials. Any teacher considered disloyal was sacked.

97% of all teachers joined the Nazi Teachers' Association.

Subjects changed i.e. History was based on the glory of Germany. Jewish children ridiculed and humiliated Girls taught to focus on Children, Cooking, Church Big emphasis on PE.

What was the Concordat?

The Pope signed a Concordat with Hitler. He agreed not to interfere in Nazi politics if the Church was left alone.

How did the Nazis change the Church?

Church

posed a threat to the Nazis. They didnt want people being loyal to any other organisation. Concordat signed with Pope. Many Jehovahs Witnesses were sent to concentration camps. In 1936, the Reich Church was created. This did not have the Christian cross as its symbol but the swastika. The Bible was replaced by "Mein Kampf" which was placed on the altar. By it was a sword. Only invited Nazis were allowed to give sermons in a Reich Church.

How did Church resist the Nazi policies?

Many Church leaders went along with the Nazi policies Martin Niemoller started Confessional Church Sent to concentration camp.

The Nazis and the Jews

Remember,

the Jews were NOT sent to concentration camps immediately!!!

Who were the untermensch?

People the Nazis thought were subhuman Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, mentally ill people

Jews persecuted, then sent to ghettoes, then concentration camps % of Germany's gypsies were killed. Black people were sterilised and killed.

Remember!
1933 Nazis come to power 1935 Nuremburg Laws 1938 Kristallnacht 1939-Final Solution

How were the Jews treated when the Nazis first came to power?

SA stopped people buying from Jewish shops. They were marked with yellow star or had Juden written on them Propaganda against Jews. Children at schools taught anti-Semitic ideas On buses, trains and park benches, Jews had to sit on seats marked for them.

The Nazis and the Jews

Remember,

the Jews were NOT sent to concentration camps immediately!!!

What were the Nuremburg Laws?

Jews no longer German citizens Could not vote Forbidden to have relationships with non-Jews

Violence against Jews intensified after this

The Nazi Power Structure

The SS The most powerful organisation

Originally Hitlers private bodyguards SchutzStaffel protection squad Until even filling in a At first only 1936 500 men, thena built into an elite force oftooth 50,000 tall blonde, blue-eyed Aryan was enough supermen to keep a strict man out Physical standards very Fiercely loyal to Hitler of the SS! Helped crush SA in Night of Long Knives (became Led by blackshirts)

Himmler

What did the SS do?

Terrorised

and intimidated Germans into obedience Unlimited power could arrest people without trial, search houses and confiscate property. Ran concentration camps (first ones trade unionists/communists sent for re-education) When the war began, they had their own fighting units the Waffen SS

By 1939, they had built up a massive business using their prisoners as slave labour, extracting raw materials and manufacturing weapons.

Remember, they did not become death camps until the later years

Police, court and prisons

The Nazis did not get rid of the existing police and prison services; they simply took control of them.
Police came under the command of the SS. The Gestapo (secret police) were feared by everyone. There was said to be a Gestapo officer on every street corner, on every bus and in every place of work.

Informers
Each town was divided into small units called blocks, which included only a handful of homes. The Block Warden (local Nazi) visited them weekly, collecting donations and checking up on them. e.g. check they are flying party flag Wrote reports could be reported to Gestapo

Essay Question Was life better under the Nazis? (Remember NOW YOU!)

Nazi Party members happy.

power.

Best houses, preferential treatment, good jobs and

Ordinary people life was good.

Many Germans even look back today and

remember the 30s as happy times. Economic policies had put many people back to work Strength through Joy programme gave some people fun and holidays Law and order had improved New motorways, schools and hospitals had been built Nazi propaganda gave people hope

Some negative points lack of freedom of speech etc but many people thought this was necessary to keep law and order.

Women some liked Nazi policies.

Financial rewards for mothers and those who got

married. Some women resented having to stay at homes and have children Many women sacked from their jobs.

Essay Question Was life better under the Nazis? (Remember NOW YOU!)
Young people many enjoyed Hitler Youth. Fun, exciting, made friends. Children treated like they were special and important.

Some children didnt want to join but had to. Swing Kids etc. Some girls unhappy with emphasis on cooking, church and children.
Opponents to the Nazis life was terrible. Trade unionists, Communists, killed or sent to concentration camps. Anyone who spoke out against Nazis reported to Gestapo. Undesirables Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, mentally ill all persecuted.