Transcript terror state walsh
The Nazi Terror State
Learning Objective: To understand how the Nazis dealt with opposition and the key features of the terror state.
The Nazi terror state
• • • • The vast majority of the German people supported the Nazi’s in the 1930s At least the majority of people agreed with what went on or at least went along with it Why did they do this?
One of the answers is the terror state
How did the Terror State Work?
You are imprisoned for up to six months doing hard physical labour.
When you are released you tell everybody what has happened to you Gestapo Spies inform on you You are handed over to the SS who run the concentration camps.
Fear You are woken up by the Gestapo at 1 am in the morning and told that you have 5 minutes to pack your bags.
By signing this form you are giving your consent to be put into a concentration camp.
Days or maybe weeks later you are interviewed and asked to sign form D11 You are arrested and thrown into a cell at the police station
The SS Concentration Camps The Gestapo The police and the Law courts
The SS
Methods: Controlled by: Duties: How it helped Hitler to secure his position: Page 276-277
The police and the courts
Methods: Controlled by: Duties: How it helped Hitler to secure his position:
The Gestapo
Methods: Controlled by: Duties: How it helped Hitler to secure his position:
Concentration camps
Methods: Controlled by: Duties: How it helped Hitler to secure his position:
How far does this source explain the methods used by the Nazi’s to control the German people?
Support for the Nazis (p.278)
• Fear was very powerful but there were other reasons too for explaining Nazi support. What were the other motives why people supported the Nazis. Use the notes to complete the spider diagram Why was there so little opposition?
Economic fears Nazi successes
How effectively did the Nazi’s deal with their opponents?
• Using pp. 274—79 complete the following table
Opponent Reasons for opposing the Nazis How the Nazi’s reacted to the opponents Was the Nazi action effective?
Trade Unionists Political Opponents Church leaders Army officers
Oppone nt
Trade Unionist s Political Opponen ts
Reasons for opposing the Nazis
They represented the workers rights and disliked Nazi control Communists and Socialists who disagreed with the values of the Nazi’s. Anyone that didn’t agree or conform
How the Nazi’s reacted to the opponents
They closed down the Trade Unions on 2 May 1933. all German workers were forced to join the German Labour Front (DAF) Gestapo was used to spy on them and root out opposition. Many were sent to concentration camps like Dachau where they were over worked or starved to death. Others were executed.
Was the Nazi action effective?
The workers had no one to represent them- they were under the control of the Nazis and won support of employers Created fear so that society in general went along with the regime.
Regime had very few opponents. No one really spoke out. There was no opposition.
Church leaders Moral grounds, fears of Nazi control over the church, disliked the Nazi Pagan religion Made a deal with the Catholic church Concordat 1933 ( they would not interfere with the other) Tried to form all the Protestant churches together called the Reich church- however, many Germans were still loyal to their churches Army officers Suspicious of the Nazis and in particular the SA.
The Nazi’s won their loyalty in the Night of the Long Knives when they purged the SA and bought them under control. They then made an oath of loyalty to Hitler A big social group remained uncontrolled by the Nazi’s which in some ways limited their control. People were loyal to their churches and the Nazi’s couldn’t replace this loyalty. Several church leaders rebelled on specific issues such as Bishop Galen and Deitrich Bonhoeffer The army agreed to be loyal to Hitler and serve him and to stay out of politics. A powerful group in Germany had been won over they would not oppose him.