Paper 1 : Development of dictatorship : Germany , 1918-1945 : Life in Nazi Germany

• Setting up the Nazi dictatorship through the Reichstag Fire, Enabling Act, Night of the Long Knives, the police state, censorship and propaganda.

Reichstag Fire

• 27 February 1933
• The Reichstag burned down.
• Dutch communist "Van Der Lubbe" was caught with matches and flammables.
• Hitler manipulated the Reichstag Fire to eliminate his opponents, the Communists.
• The SA rounded up 4000 communists that night.
• The next day, Hitler gained the power to have police put Communists in indefinite custody without charge and suspended rights.
• Hitler used Article 48 to suppress the Communists and other opponents.

March Elections

• 5 March 1933
• Nazis only secured 288 seats and the communists secured 81 seats.
• Nazis only secured 44% of the votes, which was not the majority.
• Hitler arrested all 81 communist deputies and murdered 70 of them. 
• Hitler then used the decree to ban Communists from taking up seats.
• Thus, renders Hitler having the majority of the vote as he eliminated his opponents.
• Goering quotes the elections to be a "masterpiece of propaganda".

Enabling Act

• 24 March 1933
• This helped Hitler centralise and consolidate power and enabled Hitler to avoid the majority by bypassing the Reichstag to pass laws.
• Hitler did not have the majority of German support, therefore, passing the Enabling Act solves the issue.
• He needed 75% of the votes in the Reichstag beforehand to pass the law of the Enabling Act.
• He basically needed the majority to pass the law of not having the majority to pass laws.
• SA went threatening and beating up politicians to agree to the change in Weimar Constitution.
• Effectively, the Enabling Act gave Hitler dictatorial powers as he is allowed to pass any law at any time.

Local Government 

• 26 April 1933
• The Nazi took over local government and the police.
• The Nazis started to replace anti-Nazi teachers and University professors to indoctrinate youth in schools to be loyal Nazis.
• Hitler set up the Gestapo (secret police) and encouraged Germans to report on anyone who did not fit with the Nazi criteria.
• As a result, tens of thousands of gypsies, homosexuals, Jews, prostitutes, Communists, Protestants were arrested.

Trade Unions Banned

• 2 May 1933
• Trade Union offices were closed down.
• Money was confiscated
• Leaders were put to prison.
• Replacement for the Trade Unions was called German Labour Front which reduced workers' pay and took away striking rights.
• This made the working class unable to retaliate.
• The abolishment of the Trade Union helped the Nazi eliminate opposition as the working class supported the Communists.

Political Parties Banned

• 14 July 1933
• The law against Formation of parties declared the Nazi Party the only political party in Germany.
• All other parties were banned and their leaders were put to prison.
• Germany became a one party state.

Kristallnacht (night of the broken glass)

• 9 and 10th November 1938.
• A polish Jew shot a German in the German embassy in Paris as he was angry about the way Jews were treated in Germany.
• This was the cause of Kristallnacht.
• A wave of pogroms ensued in Germany.
• Nazi newspaper encourages almost like a "purge" situation by stating that any German could attack any Jew and bear no consequences. 
• 100 Jews murdered, 20,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps.
• 267 synagogues were desecrated and destroyed.
• 7500 Jewish homes were burnt.
• Jews were forced to pay 1 billion marks for reparation costs.
• They were banned from running shops or businesses as well as attending schools.

Night of the Long Knives

• 30th June 1933
• Hitler feared Rohm as the SA had grown loyalty to him whilst Hitler was in prison.
• 3 million SA was loyal to Rohm.
• 30th June, Hitler arranged for Rohm and senior officers of the SA to be arrested, imprisoned and shot.
• Rohm was brought to Stadelheim on the 1st of July and was shot after 15 minutes.
• Over 4 days, 400 people were shot, 150 senior officers were dead.
• Night of the Long Knives was Hitler murdering legally which he claimed was the "best interests" of Germany. 

Death of Hindenburg

• The only opposition left was Hindenburg as Hitler already eliminated most of them.
• 2nd August 1934, President Hindenburg died.
• Hitler then merged the role of the President and Chancellor and renamed it the Fuhrer.
• He declared himself Fuhrer and took over supreme power.
• All sanctions of the army were to be forced an oath to pledge their loyalty to Hitler.
• Bombarded by Nazi propaganda, 90% of voters were in favour of Hitler.
• The Third Reich had begun.
      
• Nazi policies towards women, young, the Churches and the Jews.

Women

• Nazis encouraged women to leave work and concentrate the 3Ks (Children, Kitchen and Church)
• All women in high-status professions like doctors or lawyers were required to leave their jobs.
• This gave jobs to men who were unemployed, thus lowering the unemployment rate.
• The Law for Encouragement of Marriage (1933)
• Loans of 1,000 marks were provided to young couples who marry.
• For every 4 children, the couple could keep a quarter of the loan.
• Mother's Cross
• An award given out to mothers who had more than 8 children.
• This encouraged women to have more children as they want to be recognised for something special that gave them a sense of belonging.
• Lebensborn Programme
• Provided nurseries and financial aid to women who had children with SS men.
• This created genetically "pure" children.
• Since only Aryans could be SS men, thus, their children would be deemed Aryan.
• In one home alone, 540 women gave birth in 1938.

Young

• Volksgemeinschaft
• This means people community
• Hitler envisioned the ideal German community to be racially unified and hierarchically organised body.
• It is only opened to Aryans.
    
• Hitler Youth
• Over 1 million membership in 1932.
• Membership doubled to 2 million in 1933.
• By 1934, membership was nearly 6 million.
• Was made compulsory in 1937, 76% of all youths joined.
• Boys were taught military skills, shooting, and map reading.
• Boys had bravery tests, jumping out of 3 storey buildings.
• Extreme fitness and cross country running.
• They were rewarded with Nazi badges and knives.
    
• League of German Maidens
• Girls were taught to sew and wash clothes.
• They were taught domestic science, and racial science whereby they learn to choose the right Aryan partner.
• Taught advanced cooking and child development training.
    
• Education
• Jewish teachers were sacked.
• Having good Nazi teachers ensure the youth was taught "correctly"
• Nazis tailored subjects taught :
• Only "Aryan" history was taught.
• Geography focused on areas Hitler wants to invade.
• Swastika was placed in classes as a constant reminder of Nazism.
• Youth organisations were promoted in a way that if any schools passed above 90% subscription, they obtained a special manner. This was an incentives for schools to look "prestigious".

Indoctrination of youths is achieved by obedience and discipline to prepare them as loyal soldiers for WW2.

They are designed to break down individuality of each child to encourage unity.

Churches

• Concordat
• June 1933
• An agreement between Hitler and the Pope.
• Allowed Catholic church and its schools remain in Nazi Germany.
• In return, the Pope must not preach against the Nazis and the Vaticans' will stay out of politics.
    
• Reich Church
• Integration of all Protestant Churches into one official Reich Church.
• Spearheaded by pro-Nazi Bishop, Muller.
• Members were called German Christians.
• Priests and Bishops wore Nazi uniforms.
• Hitler used biblical language to convey Nazi ideas by referring himself as Jesus.
• The Swastika replaced the cross.
• Most Germans still felt that their allegiance lie with the original Churches rather than the state-approved Church.

Jews

• Nuremberg Laws (1935)
• Jews were banned from public parks, swimming pools and public transport.
• Placards saying "Jews not admitted" or "Jews enter at their own risk" began appearing all over Germany.
• Jews cannot be German citizens or marry German citizens.
• Jews lost the right to vote, hold government office or have German passports.
• As a result, emigration of Jews increased.
• Night of the Long Knives (1938) 
  

  • 9 and 10th November 1938.
  • A polish Jew shot a German in the German embassy in Paris as he was angry about the way Jews were treated in Germany.
  • This was the cause of Kristallnacht.
  • A wave of pogroms ensued in Germany.
  • Nazi newspaper encourages almost like a "purge" situation by stating that any German could attack any Jew and bear no consequences. 
  • 100 Jews murdered, 20,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps.
  • 267 synagogues were desecrated and destroyed.
  • 7500 Jewish homes were burnt.
  • Jews were forced to pay 1 billion marks for reparation costs.
  • They were banned from running shops or businesses as well as attending schools.

• Policies to reduce unemployment
• The Labour Service, the Labour Front, and Strength Through Joy
• DAF (Deustche Arbeitfront)
• Replacement of trade unions to establish an authoritarian dictatorship.
• Building autobahns (motorways), hospitals, schools.
• Employers and employees belonged to DAF settles disputes among them.
• Beauty of Labour
• Persuade employers to improve working conditions in factories.
• Good ventilation in working place.
• Strength Through Joy
• Organised paid leisure time for workers.
• RAD
• Reich Labour Service.
• 18-25 year old men had to do 6 months work service.
• Unpopular because it was hard labour and low wages.
• Indoctrinates young adults.
• The number of unemployed people decreased after 1933.
• 1933, 6 million were unemployed.
• 1934, 3.8 million were unemployed.
• 0.3 milion in 1939.
• Rules of DAF
• Bosses could no longer sack workers.
• Workers could not leave job without governments permission.
• Workers could no longer bargain for higher wages.
• Strikes were made illegal.
• Limitations on the hours a person could work was abolished.
• By 1939, German were working 72 hours a week.