Embedded Files
Maintaining Control
Maintaining Control
Terror and Repression is key in limiting and restricting opposition to the party and the Nazi dictatorship.
The acts of terror and repression are primarily targeting three groups.
Political Opponents.
Racial Aliens (Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Communists etc.)
Anyone considered "deviant"
While the Nazi propaganda was extremely effective in reinforcing the acceptance of the regime and creating a mass following, any opposition must be dealt with quickly, efficiently and harshly as it is a threat to the regime itself.
The instruments they used to achieve this are infamous...
Gestapo:secret state police
Gestapo:secret state police
Set up in November 1933 and was under the directive of Heinrich Himmler.
In charge of internal security, they conducted surveillance, looked for State adversaries, and dealt with them. Thanks to the Decree for the Protection of People and the State, the Gestapo was able to operate without interference from the courts.
In a nation of 69 million Germans, the Gestapo had a maximum of only 45,000 personnel. Essen, which had 65 000 residents but only 45 Gestapo agents.
Thus they relied very heavily on fear and denunciations by informants.
Every apartment building had a block warden who was in charge of giving the Gestapo information on their neighbours.
Hundreds of thousands of Germans became "enemies of the state" and were arrested by the Gestapo. They made no attempt at discretion in sending people to concentration camps without trials and this effectively acted as a deterrent, which frightened the German People into conformity.
They were extremely effective in eliminating opposition to the Nazi Party, most anti Nazi groups either fled the country, disbanded or operated underground.
concentration camps
concentration camps
The very first concentration camps were temporary prisons set up by the SA and SS in disused factories or warehouses or in hastily erected barbed wire enclosures in the countryside.
Dachau and Oranienburg are widely accepted as the first established concentration camps. They originally held political prisoners, however, evolved over time to include social undesirables.
There is no external control over what takes place in these camps and as such most of the prisoners are abused, starved or worked to death.
After 1939, new camps were created so that the prisoners could be used for slave labour for the war effort, and eventual extermination camps.
If someone was killed at a concentration camp, family members would receive a letter saying that the victim had died from pneumonia or another disease, or that he had been shot while trying to escape.
Between 1934 and 1939 over 200 000 prisoners went through the concentration camp system.
sa:STORMABTEILUNG
sa:STORMABTEILUNG
The SA was the Nazi party's military wing. It was founded in the early 1920s and consisted of a gang of street bullies and thugs, many of whom were former members of the Freikorps.
The SA were responsible for Nazi street clashes against political opponents (mostly the communists) and effectively ran the first concentration camps from 1933-1934.
Their use of violence and intimidation aided the Nazis in gaining power by eliminating political opposition.
The group was disbanded on June 30, 1934, on the Night of the Long Knives – Ernst Rohm, the leader of the SA, was framed as a threat to Hitler and his position.
Over 100 SA leaders and other political opponents were killed.
Later, a law was created that made the murders legal.
ss:SCHUTZSTAFFEL
ss:SCHUTZSTAFFEL
The SS was founded in 1925 with the intention of serving as Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially, under Goering's command, Himmler took over in 1929, effectively giving him control of all police institutions.
They were an elite, highly disciplined military wing who were personally loyal to Hitler and his officials.
There were a number of different sections of the SS, the main ones are:
State Security or the SD – run by the Gestapo and led by Reinhard Heydrich– The intelligence agency of the SS.
Waffen SS– the military branch of the SS. By 1944 over 200 000 Waffen soldiers were fighting in the war. They were the best soldiers in Germany and 12 of their divisions were made up of Hitler Youth recruits.
Deaths Head Units– Responsible for the running of concentration camps.
Activity 9
Activity 9
You've looked at how the Nazis used and maintain power. Why do you think this speech in "The Dictator" is so ironic/funny?
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