Terror & RePression
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If trying to convince Germany that Hitler was almost a god-like figure failed, the Nazis were not above terrorising and repressing any opposition. The Nazis built their first concentration camp at Dachau in March 1933. Originally, it was designed to hold political opposition, mostly communists. Dachau became a model for hundreds of other camps. Over 100,000 people would be imprisoned by the end of 1933. Over the early years of the Nazi regime, concentration camps would begin to hold undesirables other than political opponents such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and Roma (gypsies). Later, as persecution of Jews increased the camps would hold and eventually murder millions of Jews during the Holocaust.
Further reading on Dachau
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/dachau
Source 1
From the early days of the Nazi Party, they had relied on their own paramilitary force, the SA (Sturmabteilung) to defend themselves during the violent street battles that were common in the Weimar Republic. Also known as Stormtroopers, or brownshirts, they were also used to break up Communist meetings and marches. Formed in 1921 and led by Ernst Rohm, they were a visible sign of the terror and repression used by the Nazis. Once in power the Nazis used the SA as an unofficial police force to terrorise any opposition and use violence to encourage conformity. The 46 SA were street thugs but grew into a large force during the early 1930’s until the Night of Long Knives limited their influence. They were responsible for the early concentration camps.
Source 2- Hitler stands in the middle of the SA
The SS (Schutzstaffel) were formed in 1925 as Hitler’s bodyguard. They replaced the SA as the Nazi’s visible force of terror after the Night of the Long Knives and were responsible for state security, intelligence gathering, and running the concentration camps. Under their leader, the failed chicken farmer Heinrich Himmler, they grew from a few thousand, to a quarter of a million members by 1939. Their Hugo Boss produced uniform was a distinct black with a death’s head insignia (the skull). Himmler envisioned them as an elite force who were to set an example of Aryan perfection. Members were required to go through racial background checks to ensure they had no Jewish ancestry. The SS were eventually responsible for enforcing the “Final Solution” and the majority of deaths during the Holocaust.
Source 3
Himmler in 1937 explaining the selection of men for the SS
We accept young men of 18 years of age. We know them already from the Hitler Youth, have studied them already a few years, so that we are sure to get only the best. At 18 years they come to us as candidates. They are thoroughly examined and checked. Of 100 men we can use on the average 10 or 15, no more. We ask for the political record of his parents, brothers and sisters, the record of his ancestry as far back as 1750, naturally the physical examination, and his records of the Hitler Youth. Further, we ask for a record of hereditary health, showing that no hereditary diseases exist in his parents and in his family. Last, but perhaps most important, is a certification of the race commission, composed of SS leaders, anthropologists and physicians.
"This is the way we determine whether to accept the man or not. I am a strong believer in the doctrine that, in the end, only good blood can achieve the greatest, enduring things in the world.”
The Gestapo
The Gestapo
The operation of the Geheime Staats Polize ('Gestapo') was influential in propagating terror in Germany, and subsequently maintaining Nazi Power.
Established in 1933 and governed by Heinrich Himmler from 1934, The Gestapo was primarily responsible for the internal security of the Reich. It quickly gained a reputation for ruthlessness and efficiency while carrying out mass surveillance.
The Gestapo collected information on possible domestic threats to the Nazis and were responsible for sending many to concentration camps, or simply executing suspects. They used the new technology of wire-tapping (listening to phone calls, as well as reading mail to gather gather intelligence. Small in number, by far the greatest source of intelligence for the Gestapo was the public who were encouraged to inform on anyone suspicious. Often this led to neighbours denouncing Jews or even simply people who were disliked. Children were encouraged to spy on their parents and make reports.
The Gestapo as an instrument of terror was effective in maintaining public adherence to Nazism by inducing a notion of fear within the population.
Source 4- Gestapo leader, Heinrich Himmler inspects prisoners at a concentration camp
Source 5- Nazi deputy leader Hermann Goering accounting for the creation of the Gestapo.
“…it was my personal decision to create the Secret State Police Office. This instrument, so much feared by our enemies, is the principal reason why in Germany and Prussia there is today no Marxist or Communist menace. Ignoring seniority, I put the most able men into the Secret State Police Office and put it under one of the most able young officials. Daily I am again and again convinced that I chose the right men. The job that the Office Chief, Rudolf Diels and his men did will always remain one of the principal achievements of the first year of German recovery.
We have had to proceed against the enemies of the state with total ruthlessness. It must not be forgotten that when we took over the government over 6 million people still supported the Communists… The greater part were good Germans led astray by this insane worldview, but also by the spinelessness and weakness of the middle-class parties. All the greater was the need to rescue these people from error and to lead them back into the national community. But it was just as necessary to proceed mercilessly against the deceivers, the agitators, and the leaders themselves. Thus concentration camps were established, in which we had first to intern thousands of officials of the Communist and Social Democratic Parties.”
Concentration Camps
Concentration Camps
The use of concentration camps from 1933, further extended aspects of terror in Nazi Germany. Initially established to detain political opponents including Communists and socialists, the camps were expanded into a centralized system to remove further undesirables from threatening the state, thereby cementing Nazi rule. The operation of the camps was passed onto the SS after the purge of the SA in 1934. Between 1934 and 1939, 200,000 people passed through the camps. This number continued to rise as the list of opponents was expanded to include homosexuals, gypsies and other minority groups.
Furthermore, the experiences of individuals detained within the camps were allowed to leak out into the public sphere. Stories of brutality and horrific conditions added to the growing terror in society, and this was often enough to ensure citizens pledged loyalty to the state, regardless of their political stance.
The intent of the camps can be seen in the words of Hitler himself, naming them the 'the most effective instrument' which must remain ruthless to support the regime. Hence concentration camps were influential in deterring any opponents to Nazism and by fostering fear in the public.
The Railway leading to Auschwitz
Source 6- Raymond Geist, quoted in Trial of Major War Criminals, vol. 2, HMSO, London, 1946, p.194
The German people were well-acquainted with what was happening in concentration camps, and it was well known that the fate of anyone too actively opposed to any part of the Nazi programme was likely to be one of the great suffering. Indeed, before the Hitler regime was many months old, almost every family in Germany had received first- hand accounts of the brutalities inflicted in the concentration camps.... and consequently the fear of such camps was a very effective brake on any possible opposition.
Activity
Activity
1) Discuss the development and use of the Stumabteilung (SA), then the Schutzstaffel (SS) and Geheime Staatspoolizei (Gestapo). In what ways were they similar? How were they different?
2) Using Sources 1,2 & 5 and your own knowledge, account for the use of terror and repression as a way of controlling Germans and maintaining power.
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