Hitler's Germany

Hitler's objectives: 

• Restore Germany as major power

• Racial purity

• Authoritarian rule

Hitler's impact:

• Political

  • Hitler used his powers to wipe out democracy (he felt that was what crippled Germany)

  • Called for election in 1933 hoping to win majority in Reichstag

  • Reichstag fire in 1927 blamed Communists

    • Hitler took advantage to persuade president to give him greater power

    • Argued that the country was in grave danger and wanted to arrest Communists

  • Enabling law (March 1933)

    • Allowed Hitler to govern for 4 years without Reichstag

    • April 1933, laws were made to remove political parties with Nazis

    • May 1933, all trade unions were banned and turned into German Labour Front

    • July 1933, all opposition parties were banned

    • 1934 --> Became Fuhrer

      • Started to transform Germany into a country built on Hitler's philosophy

  • Main ideas: 

    • Racially pure state of the Aryan race

    • Key physical features - blue eyes blonde fair skinned, if not racial minority = discriminated against

    • Nazis were encouraged to be ruthless to win (Germany has to be strong to win land)

  • State:

    • Obedient state; Hitler did not believe in democracy (Fuhrer Prinzip)

    • Controlled state: No right for people. Only rights for Germans was to be part of the German state. Violence was allowed 

    • When Hitler came to power, he made Germany into totalitarian state

      • Violence and intimidation to crush opposition (Used the SA)

      • Once he came to power, didn't want to associate himself with SA (manipulative, once he doesn't need them he turns his back)

        • Didn't want his image to be spoiled

      • Fell out with Ernst Rohm (felt that he was ambitious)

      • Buddies to sworn enemies (Hitler was suspecting, fickle)

      • Started the SS as an elite section of SA

        • Used the SS to wipe out SA (Night of Long Knives - Ernst Rohm and much of SA along with political opponents such as Communists were targeted executed)

• Social

  • Little freedom

    • Use of emergency laws (suspend political and civil rights)

    • People who spoke out in opposition of Hitler were just executed

    • SS took lead in enforcing Hitler's policies

      • Given control of police and Gestapo

      • Killed many people, but not accountable (they deemed it "justified")

    • Concentration camps

      • Set up locked opposition to stop them from influencing people

      • Could be locked up based on mere suspicion

        • >200000 Germans were sent 

        • Poor living conditions, lack of food, violation of basic human rights (What does it say about Hitler's rule?)

      • Informers: 

        • Towns were divided into quarters, each had its own warden (gather information on everyone)

        • Families were encouraged to report close ones who did not support Hitler

        • Consolidation of power, absolute rule

      • Education:

        • Geared as propaganda

          • Biased view on TOV, Jews, History (heroism of Germans)

          • Indoctrinating school syllabus

          • Race studies in core subjects like History and Geography = further brainwashing

          • Gifted boys were sent to Adolf Hitler schools to be future leaders 

          • Teachers would be sacked if they did not have the politically correct opinion

      • Brainwashing of youth

        • Indoctrinated with Nazi ideas

        • Expected to join youth organisations in their spare time

        • Men were trained to join military 

      • Propaganda

        • Joseph Goebbels

        • Radios were controlled to churn out propaganda

        • Rallies used to showcase Hitler's popularity

        • Helped to motivate rank and files Nazis to encourage loyalty

        • Books were burned if having politically unsound ideas

      • Women

        • Trained to have large families and prepared for motherhood

        • Incentives to have more children

      • Cruel treatment of Jews

        • Racial discrimination, seen as threats (Night of Broken Glass - Nazis used violence against Jews)

        • Jews and Germans could not be married

        • 1939, Jews were rounded up to concentration camps (Holocaust)

      • Control of churches

        • Religious control used to curb opposition

        • 1933, churches not allowed to criticise Nazis

        • However, churches still continued criticism

        • Pastors that spoke against Hitler were arrested

      • Working conditions

        • Improved; Used German Labour Front to keep support of workers (government-run union)

        • Served to represent them and protect their rights

        • Control salaries

        • Strength Through Joy to organise social activities to keep workers happy

        • Programme to enable workers to have their own car (Volkswagen)

        • New jobs were created to reduce unemployment

        • National Labour Service to provide work for jobless

        • Reduced unemployment by defying TOV

          • Increased size of arm to 1.4 million men

          • Needed more weapons - Allowed more jobs in factories to build weapons

      • Big business

        • Rearmament proved profitable for big businesses (Weapons manufacturers)