Nazi Germany

Consolidationg power
1933-1934
 Start of the Nazi rule
• Problems
• Adolf Hitler and two Nazis in
the gvt
• No majority in the Reichstag
• Hindenburg disliked Hitler
• Advantages
• Largest party
• Others in important positions
• Propaganda
• Hitler called for new elections to be
held in March 1933
Reichstag fire Feb 1933
• Violent election campaign
• Hitler to Germans: ”Give us four years
and then judge us…”
• Reichstag fire
• Blamed on communist
Decree for the Protection of the
People and the State
Most pol. and civil rights
suspended
Power of the central gvt
strengthened
Arrests of pol. opponents
 Enabling act March 1933

• 1933 elections: Nazis 288 seats

with Nationalists single majority
• Enabling Act
• Full powers to the chancellor and gvt
for four years
• Method
• Communists denied admittance
• SA (Sturmabteilung) intimidated other
deputies
• Political deals with e.g. Centre Party
ENABLING ACT passed 444-94
 Way to dictatorship open
 Gleichschaltung
• SA in locally and Nazi leadership in
Berlin
• Nazification
• Also roots for conflict
• Centralisation
• Reich governors
• Landtage abolished
• Ministry of Public Enlightenment and
Propaganda
• Control over media
• Trade unions banned
May 1933 DAF (German Labour
Front) established for all workers
• Other parties either dissolved or joined
Nazis
14.7.1933 all political opposition illegal
 Night of the long knives: Reasons
• July 1933 Hitler concerned with
actions of some party members
• SA problematic
• Radical, even left wing views
• Röhm wanted more power to SA
• Army did not like the growing
role of paramilitary SA
• Hindenburg’s health declined
 Important for Hitler to ensure support
of the army
 Night of the long knives
• 30.6.1934 AH order: elimination of SA
as political and military force
• Röhm and other leaders of the SA
shot by the SS
• Also other opponents of the past
killed
• Approx. 400 people killed
• Consequences
• SA’s role diminished
• SS rose in importance
• Army promised to support AH, oath
• 1.8.1934 Hindenburg died
Hitler combined offices of
chancellor and president
 FÜHRER
 The Fuhrer Oath
"I swear to God this sacred oath
that I shall render unconditional obedience
to the Leader of the German Reich and people,
Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces,
and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared
to give my life for this oath."
Nazi state
Maintaining power
• Party and state
• 1933 one party state
• Clash btw party and state
machinery
• Party structure difficult
To gain power, not to rule
Not very unified

• Role of Hitler
• ’Führer-power’ (Führerprinzip)
• Combines all the power in the
state
• Dependency on the
subordinates anyhow
• Hitler not very interested in gvt
Led to chaos easily
• Also commander-in-chief
Police state
• Idea of racially pure organisation
• SS had central role
• Himmler leader
• By 1933 52000 members
• Purge of the party 1934 by SS
• By 1936 control over police force
• Also concentration camps
• By 1939 ’state within the state’
• But: by 1939 level of terror still limited
• During WWII
• Waffen-SS
• Responsibility of the Eastern areas
 Propaganda
• Joseph Goebbels
• Minister of Popular Enlightenment and
Propaganda
• Radio and press most important
• Control of Reich Radio Company
• By 1939 70% of households had radio
• Broadcasting in public places
• Symbols
• E.g. Horst Wessel –lied
• Control over the press
• Nazi publishing company took over
newspapers
• News agencies merged
• Editors law 1933: sole responsibility of
content to editors
• Also control over film, music, literature, art
 Nazi culture
 Hitler German League of League of Total Total
youth (14- young German young girls population
18) people (10- girls (14- (10-14) of 10-18
14) 18) year olds

1932 55 365 28 691 19 244 4 656 107 956

1933 568 288 1 130 521 243 750 349 482 2 292 041 7 529 000
1934 786 000 1 457 304 471 944 862 317 3 577 565 7 682 000
1935 829 361 1 498 209 569 599 1 046 134 3 943 303 8 172 000
1936 1 168 734 1 785 424 873 127 1 610 316 5 437 601 8 656 000
1937 1 237 078 1 884 883 1 035 804 1 722 190 5 879 955 9 060 000
1938 1 663 305 2 064 538 1 448 264 1 855 119 7 031 226 9 109 000
1939 1 723 886 2 137 594 1 502 571 1 923 419 7 287 470 8 870 000
Assignment: New Germany
• Watch the documentary New Germany which is part of
the series World at War.
• While you watch the documentary, ponder the following
questions.
1. What actions the Nazis did after getting in the power
to control society?
2. What sort of foreign policy goals Hitler had accroding
to documentary?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b4g4ZZNC1E&t=2
749s
 NAZI SOCIETY
’volksgemeinschaft’
 Effect on everyday life
• Workers
• Kraft durch Freude –organisation
• Free time activities and cheap holidays
• DAF  Limited role
• Rearmament provided good source of living
• National Labour Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst
or RAD)
• Average working week increased form 60h to
72h
• Peasants
• ’Blood and soil’ and concept of ’Volk’
important
• In reality dislike toward gvt regulations on
agricultural production
• The Hereditary Farm Law of 1933 prevented
farms from being repossessed from their
owners
• Mittelstand’ did not benefit much
• Most benefits went to big business
”When somebody says ’I
am not on your side’, I
calmly say ’Your child
belongs to us already…
What are you? You will
pass on. Your descendants,
however, stand in the new
camp.”
-Adolf Hitler, 1933-
 Social policy
• Social darwinism
In principle nazis were againts social policy
• However nazis established social policy organisations to
help people
• Worked on racial ethos
Only racially pure could receive help
• National Socialist People's Welfare
• Supposed to work on donations but funded also by
state
• Run kindergardens
• Gave food relief etc.
• Role expanded during the WW2
• Winter Relief of the German People (Winterhilfswerk)
• Help during the winter months
• During the Second World War social policy's had
expanded to include for example
• Old peoples homes, youth relief, help for disabled,
alcoholics, interest free loans to married couples,
rent supplements, other social benefits etc.
Education and youth
• Aim: indoctrination
• 1934 changes into educational system
• Unreliable individuals removed
• Courses for teachers
• New syllabus
Emphasis on PE, Bio, Hi and German culture and
language
• Elite schools
• Youth movements
• E.g. Hitler jugend
• Boys: paramilitary activities
• Girls: domestic and maternal issues
• Huge growth caused problems with inadequate
leadership
• Difficult to assess impact
• Decline in academic levels
• Also Nazi science
Rules For Marriage

1. Remember that you are a German.

2. If you are genetically healthy you should not remain unmarried.
3. Keep your body pure.
4. You should keep your mind and spirit pure.
5. As a German choose only a spouse of the same or Nordic blood.
6. In choosing a spouse, ask about his ancestors.
7. Health is also a precondition for physical beauty.
8. Marry only for love.
9. Don't look for a playmate but for a companion for marriage.
10.You should want to have as many children as possible.

Ten Commandments For The Choice Of A Spouse' (1934)

 Religion
• 1933 Concordat with Catholic church
• Promises not kept
• However, pope did not openly
criticise Nazis
• Protestant church divided
• German Christians
• Confessing Church
• Toward the end of 1930s attacks on
religious opposition grew
• Also dissidents
• Dieter Bonhöffer
• Nazis created ’German Faith
Movement’
• Based on racial Teutonic paganism
• Only ~5% of Germans supported
Nazi Economy
 Nazi economy before 1933
• No specific programme before 1933
• Some ideas developed during 1932
• Autarky:
• Trading or economic community
under dominating German
influence
• Deficit financing:
• Money on public works
Creates jobs
Stimulus to demand
(J.M.Keynes)
Defence economy:
• peace-time economy geared to
demands of total war
• AH had little interest in economics, for him
only means to an end
 Hjalmar Schacht
• 1933-37 Hjalmar Schacht Minister of
Economics
• Respected role
Appeal to big business
• Public works, subsidies
• Increasing expenditure on armaments
• Decline in unemployment
• However:
• Fear of inflation
Control of prices and wages
• Deficit on current account:
Germany imported more raw
materials without increasing exports
Remained problem since 1934
Shortage of foreign money
• July 1934 dictatorial powers over
economy
• “New Plan” gvt control over trade
and exchange of currency
• Bilateral trade treaties: barter etc.
by 1935 trade surplus
 Unemployment falling
Industrial production
increased 1933-35 49,5%
• 1936 insisted to cut spending on
armaments
Four year plan 1936-1940
• Four Year Plan by Göring
• Aim: German economy and armed forces ready for war in
four years
• Priorities:
• Increase in agricultural production
• Retraining of key sectors of labour force
• Gvt regulation on imports and exports
• Self-sufficiency in raw materials (oil, rubber and
metals)
• Schacht resigned 1937
• Gradually tighter control over big business
• By the end of 1938 105% increase in economy since 1933
• Economy not prepared for war
Effect on strategy
• If war had started 1943-45
Outcome?
• Benefits for big business
 Did nazis provide economic miracle?
• Unemployment
• Re-armament and public construction provided work
• Unemployed had to accept whatever work was offered
 ”Work shy” would be put on concerntration camps
• Women were not counted in the statistics anymore
• After 1935 jews were not included in the statistics
• Conscription (army strength 1,4 million in 1939)
• National debt
• Rearmament etc. financed parly by scheme called MEFO (Etallurgische
FOrschungsgesellschaft m.b.H)
• German companies would by paid by MEFO bills wich were due 1938
• Between 1933-1939 total gvt revenue was 62 billion and expenditure over 100 billion!
• Standard of living
• Real earnings similar to 1928 levels
• Food consumption only increased in rye bread, cheese and potatoes
• Financial goals
• By 1939 nazis still imported over 30% of their raw materials
• Curbing big business
 Controlled over 70% of German production by 1939

So did nazis provide economic miracle?

NO!
Anti-Semitism
Racism and antisemitism
• Background
• Jews had been persecuted in Europe since middle
ages
• 19th century saw new rise in antisemitism (not only
in Germany!)
• Eugenics, Darwin (social darwinism,
evolution), Gobineau, Nietzsche
• Nazis continued long series of persecution
• Antisemitism was major part of Nazi ideology
• Racial hierachy: Aryans at the top, jews at the
bottom
• Jews were blamed for e.g WW1 defeat, economic
depression, decay of culture and for global
conspiracies

Racist cartoon from 19th century

First attacks on Jews April 1933
• Hitler's government institutes an
official boycott of Jewish businesses
in Germany
• Civil service purged
• Admission to public schools and
universities restricted
• Nuremburg laws of 1935
• Reich citizenship Act
• ‘A citizen of the Reich is
that subject only who is
of German or kindred
blood
• Law for the Protection of
German Blood and German
Honour
• Marriages btw Jews and
German citizens
forbidden
• Extra-marital relations
btw Jews and German
citizens forbidden
• Growing popularity of
eugenics at the same time
Eugenics
• Decline in anti-semitic campaign during the
Olympic games
• In 1937 Aryanisation campaign in commerce
and professions
• Kristallnacht 9-10 Nov 1938
• During the Kristallnacht (Night of Broken
glass), SA stormtroopers
• Burn 300 synagogues
• Loot and vandalize hundreds of
Jewish shops
• Kill 100 Jews
• Was meant to look like spontaneues burst
of anger towards Jews
• After Kristallnacht
• 20 000 Jews sent to concentration
camps
• Jewish community have to pay
fine
• Jewish valuables confiscated
• Jews excluded from German
society e.g. schools
• Part of Germans accepted the
persecution
• Own self benefit
• Resistance led to the re-education
camp
• One goal of the persecution was to
drive Jews to emigrate
• 150 000 between 1933 - 1938
• The worst was yet to come…
During the war
• 1940 Nazi policy of forced
emigration of German Jews
• Deported to the East
Concentrated in ghettos
• 1941 Einsatzgruppen of SS to
Russia to round up and kill Jews
• 1.9.1941 all Jews forced to wear
yellow Star of David
• Network of camps in occupated
zones
Ghettos

• Jews were segregated in ghettos

• Harsh living conditions
• Forced labour
• Used as assebly areas for
traspotation to camps
• Final stages of German retreat the
death ghettos
• Largest in Warsaw 0,5m peole in 3,4
km2 zone
• Jews inside the Warsaw ghetto
resist deportation
• Feb 1943 ghetto destroyed
• Summer 1943 transportation of Jews
from all over German occupied areas
 ”Final solution” aka ”Endlösung”
• ”Manual” killing was inefficient and draining
(Einsatzgruppen)
• Planned extermination of jews started during
WW2
• Jan 1942 Wannsee Conference agrees on
the ‘Final Solution’ of the Jewish
Question
• Extermination facilities established
during spring
• Summer 1942 mass deportations of
WesternEuropean Jews to Auschwitz
Holocaust
• ”Death or extermination camps”
• Industrial techiques: Zyklon B,
krematoriums etc.
• Advanced logistics: Railroads,
population information system
 Extermination camps
• Largest camps were in Poland
• Auschwitz and Treblika
• People were divided to workers and to
immediately terminated (old, children,
handicapped, pregnant women etc.)
• Forced labour wore people down
Exterminated
• Bodies were often gased
• Burned in pits or krematoriums
• Cruel medical testing
• Mengele
• Twins and heritage
• Endurance of human body
Conclusion
• Approx. Six million Jews were killed
• Approx. six million other people were
killed (Romanis, slavic people, disabled,
POW’s, opposition)

Industrial destruction of human beigns

Auschwitz was in operation 1689 days. 1,1 – 1,5

million people were destroyed during that time.