How did Nazi crush the opposition in

Germany?
The Gestapo
- The Gestapo was the secret state police. It was commanded by
Reinhard Heydrich.

- Gestapo agents had sweeping powers. They could arrest citizens

and send them to concentration camps without trial or even
explanation.

- They were believed to have a network of ‘informers’ listening in

on people’s conversations.

- It seems that the Gestapo was the organization most feared by

ordinary citizens. However, recent research has shown that
Germans believed the Gestapo was much more powerful than it
actually was. As a result, ordinary Germans informed on each
other because they thought the Gestapo would find out anyway.

The SS
- After virtually destroying the SA in 1934, the SS grew into a huge
organization with many different responsibilities. It had 1 million
staff by 1944. It was led by Heinrich Himmler.

- SS men were Aryans, very highly trained and totally loyal to

Hitler.

- Under Himmler, the SS had the main responsibility for crushing

opposition and carrying out Nazi racial policies.
 - There were three particularly important sub divisions:

The SD - was the SS's own internal security service. The SD would
investigate potential disloyalty within the armed forces or politically
sensitive cases (e.g., a crime committed by a Senior Nazi).

The Death's Head units - were responsible for the concentration camps
and the transportation and murder of the Jews.

The Waffen-SS - armored regiments that fought alongside the regular

army.

- As its power grew the SS set up its own courts. Around 200,000
Germans were sent to concentration camps by these courts.

Concentration camps
- Concentration camps were the Nazis ultimate sanction against their
own people.

- The first camps were set up as soon as Hitler took power in 1933.
They were makeshift prisons in disused factories and warehouses.
Purpose - built camps were soon built, usually in isolated rural
areas.

- Jews, socialists, communists, trade unionists, churchmen and

anyone else brave enough to criticize the Nazis ended up in these
camps. Historians estimate that around 1.3 million Germans spent
at least some time in a concentration camp between 1933 and
1939.

- These camps were run by SS Death's Head units.

- Prisoners were forced to do hard labor. Food was limited and
prisoners suffered harsh discipline, beatings and random
executions.

- The aim was to ‘correct’ opponents of the regime. However, by the

late 1930s, deaths in the camps were increasingly common and
very few people came out alive.

The police and the courts

- Top jobs in local police forces were given to high-ranking Nazis
reporting to Himmler.

- As a result, the police added political ‘snooping’ to their normal

law - and - order role. They were, of course, under strict
instructions to ignore crimes committed by Nazi agents.

- Similarly, the Nazis controlled magistrates, judges and the

courts. They appointed all the judges and sacked those they
disapproved of.

- This led to self - imposed control - magistrates knew what they

were expected to do and did it. They knew they would not last
long if they did not. This meant that opponents of Nazism rarely
received a fair trial.