A-LEVEL HISTORY NOTES

CAMBRIDGE 9489/4
Hitler‟s Nazi Germany
NAZI IDEOLOGY
Nazism or Nazi Socialism was the ideology and practice of Nazi Party and Nazi Germany. It is a
unique variety of fascism that incorporates biological racism and anti-Semitism. Nazism was
founded by elements of the far right racist Germany Nationalist. The ideology was developed by
Anton Drexler and then Hitler adopted it as a means to draw workers away from communism to
nationalism. Initially Nazi political strategy focused on anti-big business, anti-bourgeoisie and
anti-capitalist policies though other aspects were later played in the 1930s to gain support from
the industrial owners of the Nazis.
Nazism promoted political violence. It conceived politics being a battle and Nazis utilised their
paramilitary organizations the Storm Troopers for violent attacks upon their opponents such as the
communist, Jews, Social democracy as said by Richard Bessel. It promoted territorial expansion
in the Eastern Europe to be the lebensraum (Living space) for Germany settlers and assimilations
for men Germans into German which would result into the creation of a greater Germany.
It supported the supremacy of the Aryan Race and Jews considered as a threat to this group.
According to Bendesky (2000) he said that the Nazi considered the Jews as a parasitic infection
that attached itself to various ideologies and movements to secure itself, preservations such as
capitalism, liberalism, Marxism, democracy and trade communism. It also sought to maintain the
Nazi race, the Nazi sought to exterminate the Jews the physically and mentally disabled,
homosexuals, blacks, Jehovah‟s Witness and political opponents.
The economic system of the Nazi was based on the cruelty. This was a belief that the Germans
should be economically sufficient. The Nazi supported a society with stratified classes based on
merit and talent whilst rejecting universal equality. It promoted the ownership of private property
and the creation of national solidarity which would supersede class divisions.
The Nazi criminalised strikes by employs for being the contrast to National unity. The state took
over the process of setting wage and salary levels. It is important to note that the economic policy
of Nazism was anti-communism. Communism was regarded as dangerous because of the
principle to dissolve private property, it support of class conflict, its aggression to middle class,
its hostility to small business men and its atheism.
Nazism rejected class conflict, socialism and economic egalitarianism but favoured a stratified
economy with social classes based on merit and talent and retaining private property. Private
ownership was believed to create competition and technical innovation whilst it has to conform to
national interest.
In 1930 Hitler said, “Our adopted term socialist has nothing to do with Marxism socialism
Marxism is anti-property and socialism is not. It can be noted that Nazism was anti-capitalism
The Nazis argued that capitalisms damages nations due to international finance, the economic
dominance of big business and Jewish influence.”
Bend sky notes Hitler publicly and privately showed his strong disdain against capitalism, he
accused modern capitalism as holding the nation‟s ransom, modern capitalism as holding the
nations in the interest of parasitic cosmopolitans. (Rentier class)

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 WEAKNESSES OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
The parliamentary system laid down in the new Weimar Constitution had weaknesses:
I. There was the tendency of proportional representation to encourage the
proliferation of many political parties, hence no single party could win overall
majority. A succession of coalition governments was inevitable with the Social
Democrats, having to rely on co-operation and other parties hence no party was able to
carry out its programmes. The most important of these radical anti-Republican parties
were the Communists on the left and the National Socialists (Nazis) on the right. Most of
the 22 Weimar government coalitions were made up of members of the Catholic Centre
Party, Social Democratic, National Democratic and People‟s parties.

II. In addition the political parties had very little experience to operate a democratic
parliamentary system because in 1919, the Reichstag had no controlled policy as the
chancellor was the final authority. The chancellor however failed to give fair lead
because the parties refused to compromise. According to Lowe, “Disagreements became
so bitter, that almost every party organised its own private army increasing the threat of
civil war.”

III. The combination of these weaknesses led on to more general outbreak of violence. The
Weimar republic had also accepted the humiliating Versailles Treaty with its arms
limitations, reparations and war guilt clause. Indeed the Germany nationalist hated the
Weimar as a result of this.

Article Description
number
1-26: The Covenant of the League of Nations - Germany was not allowed to join.
42: The Rhineland was demilitarised - the German army was not allowed to go there.
45: The Saar, with its rich coalfields, given to France for 15 years.
51: Alsace-Lorraine returned to France.
80: Germany forbidden to unite with Austria.
87: Lands in eastern Germany - the rich farmlands of Posen and the Polish corridor
between Germany and East Prussia - given to Poland.
100: Danzig made a free city under League of Nations control.
119: All Germany's colonies taken and given to France and Britain as 'mandates'.
160: The German army restricted to 100,000 men.
181: The German navy restricted to six battleships and no submarines.
198: Germany not allowed to have an air force.

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 IV. There was also traditional lack of respect for democratic government and great
admiration for the army and the officer class as the rightful leaders of Germany. In
1919 the view was widespread that the army had been defeated because it was betrayed,
“stabbed in the back” by the Democrats who had needlessly agreed with the Versailles
treaty. Then Weimar govt was incapable of preventing outbreaks of violence between,
1919 to 1924.

V. In 1919, the Spartacist rising occurred in which the communist inspired by the
success of the Russian revolution and led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.
They occupied every major city in Germany. The government managed to defeat the
Communist only because it accepted the help of the Freikorps (independent volunteers
raise by anti-communist, ex-army officers. N. Lowe explains that, “it was a sign of the
government that it had to depend on forces which it didn‟t itself control.”

VI. The Weimar Republic was plagued by the Kapp Putsch of 1920. This was an attempt
to seize power by the right wing elements when the government tried to dissolve the
Freikorps. [ex- German soldiers] They refused to dissolve and declared Dr Wolfgang
Kapp as the Chancellor of Berlin (led by Freikorps regiment and the cabinet fled to
Dresden) The German army took no action against the Putsch an in the end the workers
in Berlin came to the aid of the Social democratic government by calling a general strike
which paralyzed the capital. Kapp resigned and the government regained control. The
government took two months to dissolve the freirkops but afterwards the members
remained hostile to the public and the majority of them later joined Hitler‟s private army.

VII. In addition a series of political assassinations took place mainly by ex-Freikorps

members. The people murdered included Walter Rathanau (Jewish Prime Minister and
Gustav Ezberger (the leader of the Versailles delegates). When the government
attempted to put strong measures against these acts of terrorism it was greatly opposed
by right wing parties which sympathised with criminals. The courts also allowed the
right wing offenders out of their cases freely.

VIII. The government failed to have a support base at the low strata of society. The
government was to intervene on this. N. Lowe reports that “the legal teaching professions
and the civil service tended to be anti-Weimar and this was a crippling handicap for the
Republic.”

IX. The Nazi beerhall putsch also threatened the Weimar in 1923. This occurred in Bavaria
when the people reacted against the French occupation of the Ruhr and the fall of the
German mark. Hitler was helped by General Ludendorff in trying to take control of the
Bavarian State government. However, the police easily suppressed the revolt and Hitler
was arrested and imprisoned for five years but only served nine months.

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 ECONOMIC FAULTS OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
I. The Weimar Republic faced Economic problems which it failed to solve permanently.
To make matters worse attempts to pay reparations added to growing criticism. By 1921, she
requested permission to suspend payment until her economy recovered, France refused and
occupied the Ruhr in 1923 in an attempt to seize goods from factories and mines. In response
the Germany government encouraged workers to follow the policy of passive resistance. This
further affected the Germany economy and the mark collapsed. The financial disaster had
profound effects on the German society. The working class greatly suffered since their wages
failed to keep pace with inflation. The middle classes and the small capitalist classes lost their
savings and many of them began to look for the improvements. On the other hand land
owners and industrialist came out of the crisis well, as they still owned their material wealth.
This strengthened the control of the big business over the German economy notably by the
wealthy and industrialists hence the economic situation improved dramatically in the years
after 1924 due to the American loans under the Dawes and Young plans. The currency was
also stabilised. There was a boom in such industries, iron, steel, coal, chemical and electrical.
Germany was even able to pay her reparations in instalments up until the fateful time of the
Great Depression.

II. However, behind this success there was a fatal weakness. The prosperity was much more
depended than most people realised on American loans. Following the Wall Street Crush in
October 1929, U.S.A stopped giving loans to the Weimar government she began to call in
many short term loans already made to Germany. This shook the currency and caused many
banks to close and this had a ripple effect on the German economy. The most catastrophic
economic effect that haunted the Weimar republic was unemployment. German exports were
severely harmed, factories closed and the middle of 1931 unemployment was reaching four
million.

III. Worse still, the Chancellor Stresemann who had dealt successfully with the post Germany
crisis also died, unemployment was now reaching four million. His successor Bruning
worsened the situation by reducing social services, unemployment benefits, salaries and
pensions of government, officials and stopped over reoperations payments. These motives
heightened unemployment woes. The government came under criticism from almost all
groups in society especially industrialists and the working class who then demanded more
decisive action to address this disparity. N. Lowe notes that the loss of working class support
because of increasing unemployment and the reduction of the unemployment benefit was a
serious blow to the public.

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NAZI GERMANY
THE REASONS FOR THE RISE OF THE NAZI REGIME
1. PROPAGANDA
This brought the Weimar republic to the verge of collapse by the end of 1930. Hitler and the Nazi
offered what seemed to be an attractive alternative to the incompetent Weimar Republic. The
success of the Nazi party is inevitably linked associated with the highly skilled use of propaganda
and the development of efficient organization.
The importance to which Hitler attached to propaganda and organization can be seen in several
extracts from the Mein Kampf in which he said “the function of Propaganda is to attract support,
the functions of organization is to win members. Propaganda works on the general public from
the standpoint of an idea and makes them rise for the victory of this idea.”
The manifestations of propaganda were numerous. Albert Speer asserted that “Hitler was one of
the first to avail himself on the modern means of technology.” Hitler used loud speakers,
provocative posters and music bands. Above all he depended on the power of the spoken word
which he always considered more important than the written record. Hitler had charismatic
leadership and almost demonic will power.
Hough Trevor Roper maintains that “his own firm belief in his messianic mission was perhaps the
most important element in the extra ordinary power of his personality.”
Hitler also possessed according to Bullock “a sense of opportunity and timing.”

2. THE WEAKNESSES OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC

This was the right combination of characteristic to take advantage of the trouble of the Weimar
republic since Hitler was at best system by exploiting its crisis. In developing a broad appeal for
the Nazi movement. Hitler relied on the projection of general issues for the consumption of the
population as a whole and specific issues for the different classes Taking advantage of the
unpopularity of the Weimer Republic and Versailles, Hitler was able to depend upon national
consciousness terms like “November Criminals and Stab in the back.”
Hitler thus promised to obvert how the Versailles treaty and to build Germany into a great power
again. Hitler made effective use of the deep undercurrent of anti-Semitism in Germany, making
the Jews scape goats for all of the Germany evil whether in the form of capitalisation or
revolutionary communism

3. RACISM
S.J.Lee adds that, “above all he made a permanent and international damaging between the
regime and the detested minority, developing the concept of the Jewish Republic.”

4. NAZI POLICIES
There was a general and wide-spread support for Hitler. The middle class made up the largest and
single proportion of the Nazi party.
The older section of the middle class comprising artisans, small retailers and peasant farmers
formed the core of the support. The main reason for the support was that they were disillusioned
by the structure and policies of the republic. The new middle class comprising civil servants
aligned themselves with Nazism as a direct result of the depression. The attitudes of the upper
class to the Nazi party were largely pragmatic.

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Wealthy landowners and industrialists encouraged the Nazis because they feared a communist
revolution hence they approved the Nazi policy of hostility to communism.
German Marxist historians claim that from the 1920s the Nazis were financed by the industrialists
as an anti-communist force, Hitler was in fact a tool of the capitalists. To some extent, the appeal
of Nazism transcended class barriers altogether. The three general categories usually considered
most important were religious denomination, gender and age.
The Protestants were more likely than Catholics to vote for Hitler they had no existing party. By
1933 many women became convinced that Hitler was the best prospect for the bolstering the
institution of the family in the troubled times.
The Nazi movement had a powerful general impact. It appealed directly to youth, partly through
its dynamism and attacks on the traditional ideas institution, party through the over-simplified
solutions to the problem of unemployment.
According to S.J.Lee “Young men more any other section of the community were prepared to
submerge and to respond to Hitler‟s appeal to the crowd instinct.”

5. THE ROLE OF THE S.A [BROWNSHIRTS]

Hitler also had a private army, the S.A which was attractive to young people who were
unemployed. They were given small wage and uniforms (brown shirts). It echoed a sense of order
at a time when social structures were undermined by the chaos of poverty. The nation had been
disillusioned by the Great War, which was coupled by a poor economy which made delinquency
prominent. They acted as a kind of people force preventing strikes and breaking up meetings of
communists. In the 1932 elections their use of intimidation led the Nazi to become popular in
1933 election.

6. THE INCOMPETENCE OF THE WEIMAR LEADERSHIP

The channel to power was provided by the conservative right Von Papen, Von Schleizhe and
Von Hindenburg. These politicians brought Hitler into a coalition government due to numerous
reasons.They were afraid of the Nazi to seize power by a putsch. They believed they could control
Hitler better inside the government than if he remained outside it. The Nazi vote in the Reichstag
would give them a majority. It was possible to keep the Nazi out as they were losing ground and
were nowhere near and overall majority vote. Instead uniting with other parties to exclude the
Nazi, the conservative made the fatal mistake of inviting Hitler into power. In the general election
of 1932, with unemployment heading towards six million, the Nazis became the largest party in
the Reichstag, polling more than 13 million votes. The Weimar Constitution stipulated that the
leader of the largest party was to be Chancellor but President Hindenburg had no intention of
appointing a man he privately described as “ the vulgar little corporal” Franz von Papen,
leader of the Centre party was invited to form a government. He found out that it was impossible
to form a stable coalition and von Schleicher, a former army General, became Chancellor in early
December. At this point, von Papen began to play the part of power broker in order to displace
von Schleicher and return to the position of political influence. There was a complicated
manoeuvring involving Papen and Schleicher who persuaded Hindenburg to dismiss the
chancellor. In January 1933 Hindenburg invited Hitler in this sense Hitler was able to come to
power legally because all the other parties including the army failed to recognise the danger from
the Nazi and therefore failed to unite in opposition. Towards the end of January 1933, von Papen
managed to persuade Hindenburg to agree to a political deal whereby Hitler would become
Chancellor with von Papen as Vice Chancellor. Hitler was to be offered just three Cabinet
positions in a total of 12 ministers. The calculation was that without a majority in either the
Reichstag or the government, any extreme Nazi policies would be resisted.

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 According to Walsh, “ Both Hindenburg and von Papen were sure that they could control Hitler
but they were wrong.” Hitler between 1933 and 1934 became the supreme dictator through a
combination of methods, some legal and many others, dubious.

7. THE PERSONAL SKILLS OF HITLER

The Nazis began as the German Workers Party, led by Anton Drexler. In 1919, Adolf Hitler
joined the party. Drexler soon realised that Hitler had the talent as a prolific speaker who attracted
attention and within months, he had put him in charge of propaganda. In 1920, the party announced its
Twenty Five Point programme and renamed itself the National Socialist German Workers‟ Party
or Nazis for short. The 25 Point programme included the following policy aims:
 The union of all Germans in a Greater Germany.
 Destruction of the Treaty of Versailles and Saint Germain.
 German citizenship to be reserved for those of German blood, Aryan race.
 anti-semitism.
 All citizens to have equal rights and obligations.
 Nationalisation of public industries.
 Profit sharing in heavy industries.
 Improved welfare for the elderly.
 Lebensraum.
 Formation of a strong central government.
 Encouragement of physical fitness, sport and gymnastics for the young.
 Special state provision for the education of gifted children.
 No more immigration of non Germans and recent immigrants to be expelled from Germany.
In 1921, Hitler removed Drexler as leader. Hitler had a clear and simple appeal. He stirred
nationalist passions in his audiences. He gave them scapegoats to blame for Germany‟s
problems: the Allies, the Versailles Treaty, the „November criminals,‟ the Communists and
the Jews. His meetings were so successful that his opponents tried to disrupt them. To counter
them, he set up the SA (Storm troopers or brownshirts) in 1921. Their role was to protect
Hitler‟s meetings and also to disrupt meetings of opponents. Candidates must quote their
role during the Munich putsch. In 1925, Hitler enlarged the SA. About 55 per cent of the
SA came from the ranks of the unemployed. Many were ex-servicemen from the war. He also
set up a new group called the SS. The SS were similar to the SA but were fanatically loyal to
Hitler personally. Membership of the party rose to over 100 000 by 1928.

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 NAZI TACTICS, 1924-29
Nazi policies underwent a number of changes during the middle years of the Weimar Republic.
Propaganda, in the form of posters, pamphlets and slogans was used to promote issues that were
important to audiences. It was very much a case of finding out what potential supporters wanted and
devising policies that suited them. When the Nazis discovered that they were picking up support
among farmers, for example, they began to devise policies that addressed their fears and needs. Hitler
appointed Joseph Goebbels to take charge of Nazi propaganda. Goebbels was highly efficient at
spreading the Nazi message. Goebbels produced posters, leaflets, films and radio broadcasts. He also
organised rallies and set up „photo opportunities.‟

Emphasis was placed on expanding party membership, which increased from 3 000 to over 100 000
and improving the professionalism of the party machine. Party activists were given coaching and
training in public speaking, and propaganda methods were refined and improved. Hitler created a
network of local Nazi parties which in turn set up the Hitler Youth, the Nazi Student‟s League among
other similar organisations. By 1929, the Nazi party was well prepared to take advantage of any
change in circumstances that might favour its cause. The Wall Street crash and the Depression
provided just such an opportunity.

Hitler participated in national elections. However, despite their progress in organisation, membership
and finances during the 1920s, it made little impact in the elections up to 1930. This was because of
the prosperity of the Stresemann years and Stresemann‟s success in foreign policy that made Germans
uninterested in extreme politics. As B. Walsh explains, “ The Nazis were in the wilderness…” They
fought the Reichstag elections for the first time in May 1924 and won a paltry 32 seats. In the 1928
elections, the Nazis gained only 12 seats hence they had to look elsewhere for support.
The Nazis found that they gained more support from groups such as the peasant farmers in Northern
Germany and middle class shopkeepers and small businesses in the country side. In the 1930
elections, the Nazis got 107 seats. In 1932, they got nearly 200. They did not have the overall majority
but they were the biggest single party.

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THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE RISE OF THE NAZIS
In 1929, the American stock market crashed and sent the USA into a disastrous economic depression.
The depression was a worldwide problem but the problems in Germany were more acute. Germany
was badly affected as American bankers and businessmen lost huge amounts of money in the crash.
To pay off their debts they asked German banks to repay the money they had borrowed. The result
was economic collapse in Germany as businesses went bankrupt, banks insolvent, workers were laid
off, unemployment became commonplace and inflation skyrocketed.
The depression transformed the fortunes of the Nazis. Nazi campaigns in the 1930s became more
modern and effective. The Nazis greatest asset was Hitler owing to his gift of speech. He was years
ahead of his time as a communicator. Using films, radio and records he brought his message to
millions. He travelled by plane on a hectic tour of rallies all over Germany. Nazi posters and
pamphlets were found everywhere. The rallies impressed people with their energy, enthusiasm and
sheer size. Nazis relied on generalised slogans rather than detailed policies ie „uniting the people of
Germany behind one leader or going back to traditional values.‟ The Nazis repeated at every
opportunity that they believed Jews, Communists, Weimar politicians and the Treaty of Versailles
were the causes of Germany problems.

At this time, there were frequent street battles between Communist gangs and the police. In contrast,
the SA and SS gave an impression of discipline and order. Many people felt the country needed that
kind of order and discipline. The Nazis also organised soup kitchens and provided shelter in hostels
for the unemployed. Nazi support rocketed. For example, in Neidenburg in East Prussia Nazi support
rose from 2,3 per cent in 1928 to over 25 per cent in 1931, even though the town had no local Nazi
party and Hitler never went there.
TASK: FACTORS OR REASONS FOR THE RISE OF ADOLF HITLER
KEY QUESTION: How did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933?
NAZI STRENGTHS
 Hitler‟s speaking.
 Propaganda campaigns.
 Criticism of the Weimar system of government.
 Nazi policies.
 Support from big business.
 role of the SA and SS.
OPPONENTS WEAKNESSES
 Failure to deal with the depression.
 Failure to co-operate with one another.
 Attitudes of Germans to the democratic parties.

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 OTHER FACTORS
 Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic, notably political and economic malaise.
 Scheming of Hindenburg and von Papen.
 The impact of the Depression.
 The Treaty of Versailles.

CONSOLIDATION OF POWER, 1933-34

INTRODUCTION

Consolidation of power aims at removing opposition, gain mass support and emergence of a ruler
as a dictator (one man/woman rule) hence it is important to note the Nazi (Hitler) used legal
means, terror and propaganda to achieve this end.

Reichstag Fire, February 1933

The fire heightened the climax elections when the Reichstag was badly damaged on the night 27
February 1933. The fire was started by a young witted Dutch anarchist Von De Lube, who was
arrested and executed for his pain. Hitler used the fire to stir up violence against the fear of
communism as a pretext for banning the communist party. However in spite of all the Nazis
efforts, the Nazi failed to win an overall majority.
The Reichstag fire (German: Reichstagsbrand, About this sound listen (help·info)) was an arson
attack on the Reichstag building (home of the German parliament) in Berlin on 27 February 1933,
just one month after Adolf Hitler had been sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. The Nazis stated
that Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch council communist, was found near the building. The Nazis
publicly blamed the fire on communist agitators in general, although in a German court in 1933, it
was decided that Van Der Lubbe had acted alone, as he claimed to have done. After the fire, the
Reichstag Fire Decree was passed. The fire was used as evidence by the Nazi Party that
communists were plotting against the German government. The event is seen as pivotal in the
establishment of Nazi Germany.
N.Lowe reports that “almost 90% of the electorate voting, the Nazis won 288 and the nationalist
52 out of 647 seats, almost 40 seats short for overall majority.”

The March 1933 Elections

Hitler participated in the 1933 elections in March. The election campaign involved the use of
violence. The Nazis now in power were able to use all the apparatus of the state including press
and radius to try and whip up the majority. Senior officers were replaced with reliable Nazis and
50 000 SA.
N. Lowe notes that meetings of all parties except Nazis and nationalist were wrecked and
speakers beaten up while the police looked to the other side.

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Enabling Law/ Act/ Bill, 1933

This was the legal basis of Hitler‟s rise to power, the title was passed through the Reichstag on 23
March 1933. This stated that Hitler could pass laws without the approval of the Parliament for the
next four years he could also ignore the constitution and sign agreements with foreign countries.
All laws would be drafted by the Chancellor and come to the operation the day they were
published.
This Law means that Hitler was to be a complete dictator for the next 4 years. He was no longer
needed the support of Papen and Hindenburg as the Weimar constitution had been abandoned.
The bill was voted amidst intimidation of both the SA and SS which were chanting, “We want the
bill or fire and murder.”

Banning of Trade Unions, 1933

Trade Unions were banned on 2 May 1933. Their leaders were arrested and beaten up, offices
were looted and also their funds were confiscated, Instead Hitler established the Germany
Labour Front which all the workers and employers were forced to join.
As one Historian noted, “It was a means of stopping Germany workers to organise themselves to
fight for their own interests and rights.”
The German Labour Front (German: Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF) was the National Socialist
trade union organization which replaced the various independent trade unions of the Weimar
Republic after Adolf Hitler's rise to power. After the Nazi-organized 1933 May Day labour
celebrations, the Third Reich not only nationalized all trade unions, but decreed union
membership as a mandatory duty, forcing every worker to join the state-operated union.

Its leader was Robert Ley, who stated its aim was 'to create a true social and productive
community.‟ Theoretically, DAF existed to act as a medium through which workers and owners
could mutually represent their interests. Wages were set by the 12 DAF trustees. The employees
were given relatively high set wages and security of employment, and dismissal was increasingly
made difficult. Social security and leisure programmes were started, canteens, breaks, and regular
working times were established, and German workers were generally satisfied by what the DAF
gave them in repayment for their absolute loyalty.

Banning of Political Parties

All political parties were banned. The Social Democratic party, the Communist party and the
Catholic Centre Party were all banned in July 1933. A penalty for breaking this law was 3 years
imprisonment or life long stay in the concentration camps.

Night of the Long Knives, 1934

The night of the long knives of 30 June 1934 impressed the army leaders. The SA under the
leadership of Rohm who was becoming an embarrassment to the new Chancellor. Rohm wanted
his brown shirts to be merged with the army and himself made the general. The army general
however considered SA as more than a bunch of gangsters while Rohm himself was known to be
homosexual and had criticised the generals in public. Rohm persisted in his demands forcing
Hitler to choose between the SA and the army. Hitler‟s solution to the dilemma was typical of the
Nazis methods, ruthless but effective. Rohm and other SA leaders were murdered by SS troops.
Hitler seized the opportunity to have number of other enemies and critics to be killed. The people
killed included Von Kahr, Von Schleicher and Edgar Papen was put under house arrest. N.

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 Lowe notes, “It is thought that at least 400 people were murdered during the one night soon
afterwards. And 400 others arrested”

The Death of Hindenburg, 1934

This purge has important and results in that the army was pleased that Hitler had gotten rid the
SA. President Hindenburg died only a month later and the army agreed that Hitler should become
both the President and Chancellor. Hitler took the title Fuhrer and the army took an oath of
allegiance to Hitler.

NAZI DOMESTIC POLICIES

Key Question and Outline

 WHAT WERE HITLER‟S DOMESTIC AIMS UP TO 1941?

 HITLER‟S AIMS IN GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION .
 THE F UHRER P RINCIPLE.
 ECONOMIC AIMS .
 P OLICIES TOWARDS OPPOSITION, JEWS AND MINORITIES .

POLITICAL POLICIES

By the end of 1934 Hitler had destroyed the Weimar Republic. S.J.LEE NOTES “DEMOCRACY
HAD BEEN SUPERSEDED BY DICTATORSHIP AND INSTITUTIONALISED TERROR.”

There existed in the Third Reich two competing trends. One was revolutionary activism of the
Nazi movement. The other was the resistance of traditional institutions and structures.
S.J.LEE ASSERTS THAT “THE RESULTS WAS A DUPLICATION, OVERLAPPING AND CONFLICT,
EVIDENCE OF WHICH CAN BE SEEN AT THE LEVELS OF BOTH CENTRAL AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT.”
The Nazi central government experienced a surprising degree of continuity. All the former
ministries and their powers were even increased by the enabling law. The Civil Service continued
to function. In words of NOCKS AND PARHAM, “IT IS A BUREAUCRACY OF HIGH COMPETENCY
AND LONG TRADITIONS.”

I. The Structure of government. [Fuhrer principle]

Hitler was interested with the idea of undiluted party rule and he preferred to develop parallel
institutions which generally competed with each other. Todd as general inspector for German roads
had functions that overlapped with that of the minister of transport. Hitler deliberately set his
institutions and officials against each other in order to maintain his own position as the only one who
could manoeuvre between them.

BRACHER MAINTAINS THAT, “THE ANTAGONISMS OF POWER WERE ONLY RESOLVED IN THE
POSITION OF THE OMNIPOTENT FUHRER.”

Hitler held a key position precisely because of the concession of conflicting power groups. This
confusion made it necessary and possible for Hitler to take decisions in every case of dispute and

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 can be regarded as a foundation of his power. Kershaw maintains that Hitler was also the unifier
activator and enabler in the Third Reich. In these ways he provided an impetus between racial
policies.

II. The judiciary system

The legal system was profoundly altered in theory and practise. Hitler disliked the liberal and
formalistic elements of legal theory. The institutions collectively known as the SS. Hitler insisted that
the law should express the will of Fuhrer. Judges were appointed in the basis of loyalty and by 1914,
the whole judicial system was under control of the SS. The Third Reich was a police state
characterized by arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of political and ideological opponents in
concentration camps.

With the reinterpretation of "protective custody" (Schutzhaft) in 1933, police power became
independent of judicial controls. In Nazi terminology, protective custody meant the arrest without
judicial review of real and potential opponents of the regime. "Protective custody" prisoners were not
confined within the normal prison system but in concentration camps under the exclusive authority of
the SS (Schutzstaffel; the elite guard of the Nazi state).

III. The S.S [Stormtroopers]

The two main constituent groups were the Allgemeine SS (General SS) and Waffen-SS (Armed SS).
The Allgemeine SS was responsible for enforcing the racial policy of Nazi Germany and general
policing, whereas the Waffen-SS consisted of combat units of troops within Nazi Germany's military.
A third component of the SS, the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV), ran the concentration camps and
extermination camps. Additional subdivisions of the SS included the Gestapo and the
Sicherheitsdienst (SD) organizations. They were tasked with the detection of actual or potential
enemies of the Nazi state, the neutralization of any opposition, policing the German people for their
commitment to Nazi ideology, and providing domestic and foreign intelligence.

The SS also took over the organisation of the Concentration camps manning them with the Death
Head formations, while genocide programs from 1941 came under control of the SS. The genocide
targeted anti-social elements such as Jews, gypsies, Russians, Ukrainians, Poles. The practise of the
SS led historians to the point that the 1941, the Nazi state had been transformed into an SS state.

IV. Propaganda
Joseph Goebbels became the Minister of Propaganda in 1933. The ministry comprised a series of
chambers for press, radio, theatre, music, creative arts and films. In theory the regime now had the
power to apply negative censorship in development of culture at all levels. Indoctrination was a
process carried out largely in education the youth movement, the work force and the armed forces.
The use of Propaganda

Propaganda was a political element used by Hitler it made more direct use of channels such as radio,
cinema and the press. There were posters always in, the revolutionary colour.

There was the Swastika and the flag with its black swastika in a while a white circle the background, a
design which Hitler devoted with utmost care, the salute, the uniform and the hierarchy of names.
Mass meetings and demonstrations were another devise which Hitler adopted from the Austrian social
democrats as Belford note‟ “the essential part of such meetings was to create a sense of power of
belonging to a movement whose success was irresistible.”

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Hitler here hit upon psychological fact that violence and terror have their own propaganda value and
that the display of physical force attracts as many as it repels.

V. Indoctrination of the Hitler Youth

Indoctrination was also attempted by means of mobilisation within the youth. All young people were
to be trained for a future role. In the case of boys they had military service while girls the emphasis
was on perpetration for marriage and other mother hood stuff. The members of the Hitler Youth were
viewed as ensuring the future of Nazi Germany and were indoctrinated in Nazi ideology, including
racism. The Hitler Youth appropriated many of its activities of the Boy Scout movement (which was
banned in 1935), including camping and hiking. However, over time it changed in content and
intention. For example, many activities closely resembled military training, with weapons training,
assault course circuits and basic tactics.
The aim was to instill the motivation that would enable its members to fight faithfully for Nazi
Germany as soldiers. There was great emphasis on physical fitness and hardness and military training
than on academic study. Sacrifice for the cause was inculcated into their training. Former Hitler
Youth, Franz Hageman claimed for instance that the notion "Germany must live" even if they
(members of the HJ) had to die was "hammered" into them.

The Hitler Youth were used to break up Church youth groups, and in anti-Church indoctrination, used
to spy on religious classes and Bible studies and interfere with church attendance. Education and
training programs for the Hitler Youth were designed to undermine the values of the traditional elitist
structures of German society along with their privileges; their training also aimed at an obliteration of
social and intellectual distinctions between the classes, so as to be replaced and dominated by the
political goals of Hitler's totalitarian dictatorship. Besides promoting a doctrine of classlessness,
additional training was provided that linked state-identified enemies such as Jews with Germany's
previous defeat in the First World War, and societal decline. As historian Richard Evans observes,
"The songs they sang were Nazi songs. The books they read were Nazi books."

NAZI SOCIAL POLICIES

Hitler and the Church

The relationship between the Nazi and the Church was complicated. In the early stage of the Regime
there was some co-operation between the Nazis and the Church. Hitler signed the Concordat with the
Catholic Church in 1933. Hitler agreed to leave the Catholic Church alone and allowed it to keep
control of its schools. In return the Church agreed to stay out of politics.

Hitler tied to get all of the protestant churches to come together in one Official Reich Church. The
Reich Church was headed by the Protestant Bishop Ludwig Muller. However, many Germans still
felt that their true loyalties lay with their original churches in their local areas rather than his state
approved Church. Many churches goers either supported the Nazi or did little to oppose them.

However there were some very important expectations. The Catholic Bishop Galen criticized the
Nazis throughout the 1930s. In 1933 he led a popular protest against the Nazi policies of killing
mentally ill and physical disadvantaged people forcing the Nazi to stop. (Euthanasia Program)

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Protestant minsters also resisted, the Nazi Pastor Martin Muller was one of the high profile critics of
the regime in the 1930s. He formed an alternative protestant church to the official Reich Church.

He spent the years 1938-42 in concentration camps, for resisting the Nazis, he had helped the Jews to
escape from Germany. He also contacted the allied commanders about peace terms and he was
hanged shortly before the end of the war in 1945.

Hitler and Education

i. The main intention was to indoctrinate and to implant fixed ideas and doctrines. The
subject primarily affected was history which emphasised Nordic, Nazi race theory and
literature which was ardently anti-Semitic. The school curriculum also received addition
of race study and eugenics, the study of how to produce perfect off-springs”, used as a
vehicle of the Nazi ideology.

ii. Teachers were recruited and kept for their ideological conformity to guarantee this degree
of loyalty membership of the NAZI Teachers Association was compulsory. S.J.LEE
NOTES THAT, “THE IMPACT OF THESE MEASURES WERE CONSIDERED, CREATING
AMONG THE YOUNG EMOTIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE REGION WHICH WAS OFTEN
ABSENT IN THE ADULT POPULATION.

iii. The universities were also the target of the regime which despised and feared the
academic world. Again the emphasis was on ideological conformity. To enforce this new
approach to higher learning the government, deprived university senators of their
authority and assumed control by appointing rectors.

Because of indoctrination, there was a serious decline in educational standards, vocational and
technical schools. There was also problems in higher education. Nazi policies led inevitably to a
decline in the standard of scientific research, especially with the abolishment of the Jewish
physics of Albert Einstein.
AS S.J.LEE POINTS OUT “GERMANY ULTIMATELY PAID A HEAVY PENALTY FOR THIS
STRATIFIED ACADEMIC FREEDMAN, LOSING AGAINST THE WESTERN ALLIES THE RACE TO
DEVELOP AND ATOMIC BOMB.”

Hitler and Use of rallies and other processions

Goebbels organised huge rallies, marches and torch processions and meetings. The best was the
Nuremburg rally which took place in the summer of each year. There were bands, marches, flying
displays and Hitler‟s brilliant speeches. The rallies brought some colour and excitement into people‟s
lives. They gave them a series of belonging to a great movement. B.Walsh explains the rallies also
showed the German people they had power and convinced them that every other German should fully
supported the Nazis

Hitler and Sport: The 1936 Olympics

Goebbels convinced Hitler that the 1936 Olympics was a great propaganda opportunity within
Germany and internationally. B.WALSH ALSO MAINTAINS THAT. “GOEBBELS AND HITLER
THOUGHT THAT THE OLYMPICS COULD BE A SHOWCASE FOR THEIR DOCTRINE THAT THE ARYAN
RACE WAS SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHER RACES.”

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Goebbels built a brand new stadium to hold 100 000 people. It was lit by modern electrical lighting.
He brought in television cameras for their first time. The most sophisticated German electronic timing
device installed.

B.WALSH POINTS OUT THAT WHEN THE GAMES OPENED, THE VISITORS WERE FULLY AMAZED
AT THE OUTLOOK OF THE STADIUM, THE WONDERFUL FACILITIES AND THE EFFICIENCY OF THE
ORGANISATION.
To the delight of Hitler and Goebbels,, Germany came top of the medal table, however, to their
dismay a black athlete Jesse Owews became the star of the games he won four medals and broke two
world records in one process. To the majority of German people who had grown used to the Nazi
propaganda machine, the games appealed to present all the qualities the Germans valued in the Nazis,
a grand vision of sufficiency, power, strength and achievement. However to many foreign visitors
who were not used to such blatant propaganda it backfired on the Nazi regime.

Hitler and the Control of the Media

Spectacular than rallies but possibly more important was Goebbels control of the media. No books
could be published without Goebbels‟ permission.
AS B.WALSH NOTES, “NOT SURPRISINGLY THE BEST SELLER IN THE NAZI GERMANY WAS MEIN
KAMPF.” In 1933 he organised a high profile book burning. Nazi students came together publicly to
burn any books that were unacceptable to the Nazis.

Press censorship thus created a contemporary vacuum in literature. Goebbels also controlled the
newspapers closely. They were not allowed to print anti-Nazi ideas. Within months after the Nazi take
over, the Jewish editors found themselves out of work and anti-Nazi newspapers were closed down.
B.WALSH POINTS OUT THOSE GERMAN NEWSPAPERS BECAME VERY DULL, READING AND
GERMANS BOUGHT FEWER NEWSPAPERS AND AS A RESULT CIRCULATION FELL BY 10%

The cinema was closely controlled. All firms factual or fictional, thrillers or comedies had to carry a
pro-Nazi message. They showcased the greatness of Hitler and the massive achievements of Nazi
Germany. In addition Goebbels censored all foreign films coming into Germany. The eternal Jew
B.WALSH POINTS OUT THAT, “GOEBBELS PLASTERED GERMANY WITH POSTERS PROCLAIMING
THE SUCCESS OF HITLER AND NAZI AND ATTACKING THEIR OPPONENTS”

Goebbels banned jazz music which was popular in Germany and elsewhere around Europe. He
banned it because it was Black music and black people were regarded as an inferior race.
S.J.LEE NOTES THAT, “THE NAZI REGIME ENDED THE PERIOD OF MUSICAL
EXPERIMENTATION WHICH HAD BEEN A MAJOR FEATURE OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC.”

Goebbels loved new technology and quickly saw the potential of radio broadcasting for spreading the
Nazi message. He made cheap radios available and controlled the radio stations.
AS B.WALSH POINTS OUT LISTENING TO BROADCAST FROM THE BBC WAS PUNISHABLE BY
DEATH.

Hitler and Arts

In addition artisans suffered the same kind of restrictions as writers. Only Nazi painters could show
their work. These were usually paintings of heroic Aryan military figures and images of Aryan
families. Nazi Germany was a male dominated organisation. Hitler had a very traditional role of the

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German women as wife and mother. Many women agreed with him as they lived in traditional rural
areas and small towns hence they felt that the proper role of a woman was to support her husband.

Hitler and the German Women

Hitler supported temporary financial incentives for married couples to have at least 4 children. A gold
cross, for having 8 children and a privilege place at Nazi meetings. Posters, radios, broadcasts and
newsletters all celebrated the idea of motherhood and home keeping. The German Maidens‟ league
reinforced their ideas focussing on physical health and housekeeping skills.
B.Walsh, “asserts that with all their encouragement the birth rate increased from
15% per thousand in 1933 to 20% per thousand in 1939.”
However, opportunities for women were limited married professional women were forced to give up
their jobs and stay at home with their families. Discrimination against women who applied jobs was
encouraged. There was no chance for German women to serve in the armed forces.

Hitler and Minority races

Fundamental to all Hitler‟s policies were his absolute beliefs in the superiority of the Aryan race and
the need to prepare the German people for their role as the masters of Europe.
Hitler categorised human kind into 3 separate groups. Which were, founders of culture, bearers of
culture and destroyers of culture. According to Nazi race theories, “the essential characteristics of
the typical Aryan are tall and slim built, a narrow face and nose, a prominent chin, fair complexion
and gold blonde hair,

Hitler gradually aimed to purify the German race so that the majority of the people would eventually
confirm to this ideal appearance.
As S.J.Lee explains, “this would be achieved by special breeding programmes undertaken by the
SS.” Aryan race became a vital part of all indoctrination. The main obstacle to this is what Hitler
called the “sub-human who threatened to pollute the Aryan race, “the sub man” were the external
enemy of the German people off the Jews.
B.Walsh notes that “Jews were blamed for death of Christ.”

Nazi measures against the Jews unfolded in three main stages each radical than the last, the first
started in 1933. In this time Jews excluded from Civil service, from working in the hospitalised and
removed from the judiciary.

The Nuremburg laws of 1935 deprived Jews of Germany citizenship and banned marriage or sexual
relations between Germans and Jews. At this stage, however there were still some constraints on Nazi
actions on the occasion of the Olympic Games. Hitler ordered the removal from Berlin of all anti-
Jewish notices.

From 1938 anti-Semitism became more violent and all remaining constraints on persecution were
swept aside. In July 1936 the Jews were banned from participating in Commerce. The SS also, were
involved in the smashing of the windows of the Jewish shops known as the Night of Broken Glass.
When Jews were killed, hundreds of synagogues were burnt, twenty thousand Jews were murdered
and Jews were taken to concentration camps.

In January 1942 senior Nazi officials held a conference to discuss what they called the Final Solution
to the Jews. (Wansee Conference) The Final Solution involved the extermination of Jews in

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concentration camps the conference was held over by Heldrich. Between 1941 and 1942 new
concentration camps were opened at Burkenau, Auschwitz, Treblinka and they were fitted with gas
chambers.

According to B.Walsh the Nazi kept the killing programme a secret so that they were relatively few
documents.

The mass deportation of German Jews began in October 1941. They were transported to areas such as
France, Belgium and Netherlands. S.J.Lee notes that the Nazi regime also applied pressure to German
allies, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Italy to co-operate with the extermination programme.
Historians had debated intensely why Holocaust occurred and who was involved. The camp involved
the Intentionalists, Structuralists and among others.

HITLER‟S ECONOMIC POLICIES

According to Brancher, “at no time did the National Socialism develop a constant economic and
social theory.”
S.J.Lee notes that it is the true that Hitler was in no sense an economist. It is said that in contrast to
Marxism the ideology of racism had no underlying economic component. However, it can be noted
that Hitler had ideas which influenced the economic policy. This was expressed in the Mein Kampf.
S.J.Lee observed that the conception of Hitler was as follows.

He aimed at creating an autarky system (protecting infant industries system which would enable
Germany to stage a broader hegemony within Europe, and also intend to take control of the east. The
economic structure was intended to accommodate a considerable increase in military expenditure.
Lastly, he needed the support of the Germany people and he was very cautious of pursuing a foreign
policy which would depress the living standards of the people.

The emergency of an Economic Policy

Hitler‟s economic policies were connected between territorial expansion and self-sufficiency that is
lebensraum and autocracy.
S.J.LEE SAYS THAT “THESE BECAME THE TWIN PILLARS OF HITLER‟S ECONOMIC POLICY.” In the
Mein Kampf Hitler maintained that Germany should her former pursuit of economic power through
colonies or through attention to dominate Western Europe.

Instead he advocated “turning our eyes towards the land of the east” this meant finally putting stop to
the colonial policy of pre-war period and passing over the territorial policy of the future. Hitler hoped
to create new territories in Poland with the need to access raw materials, food as well as guarantee
outlets for her manufactured goods. The development of Hitler‟s economic policy 1933-45. During
this period Hitler is said to have implemented 4 main phases of economic recovery though they were
not logically organised.

The period of partial Fascism 1933-36

During this period the state of Germany moved into a period of job creation to reduce the levels of
unemployment, as well as seeking to control wages and eliminate trade unions powers. Trade
balances were ensured. This was done by means of a series of bilateral agreements with the
Balkans and South America states. These under-developed countries provided Germany with
essential raw material in return for Germany investment and credits for German industrial products.

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The complexity of foreign exchange were dealt with by the new plan in September in 1934. These
regulated imports and the allocation of foreign exchange to the key sectors of Germany economy.

The Four Year Plan

The plan of the year was to achieve self-sufficiency or autarky in both industry and agriculture,
through productivity and development of substitutes for oil and other military expenditure from 1,9
billion marks in 1936 to 5,9 billion in 1937.
S.J.LEE NOTED THAT IN HITLER‟S ECONOMIC POLICY HAD DECENCIES IN AS FAR AS THE ECONOMIC
POLICY IS CONCERNED. Although rubber and petrol was provided only 18% of the needs were
supplied hence it was still necessary for one third of all raw materials to be pumped in Industry.

Third Phase

The outbreak of war the implementation of all military strategy known as blitzkrieg or lightning
warfare. The intention was to secure victory as a rapidly as possible through preliminary aerial attacks
followed by advance of power divisions of tanks and armoured vehicles.
S.J.LEE NOTED THAT BLITZKRIEG WAS AN ECONOMIC STRATEGY
It was the means whereby Germany could achieve military victory over its neighbours without
mobilizing its economic resources to the full. This lasted the end of 1941 and saw the collapse and
absorbing of the economies of Poland, Denmark, Norway and France.

The impact of the Economic Policies

By 1939 Germany had completely recovered from the impact of depression and national income was
20% higher than the previous peak of 1920. These had also been, since 1932 arise in wages a
reduction in unemployment. There was an increase in food consumption and growth in turnover of
clothing and household goods. For the workers they benefited from the decreases in unemployment.
However, S.J.LEE NOTED THAT THE COLLECTIVE INFLUENCE OF WORKING CLASS
ORGANIZATION WAS STEADILY ERODED, TRADE UNION WERE BANNED FROM MAY 1933. THE GAP
WAS FILLED BY PRO-NAZI GERMANY LABOUR FRONT D.A.F UNDER ROBERT LEY.

They were two other organizations such as the Beauty of the Labour and Strength through Joy
which had an overall effect of regulating Leisure as well as working hours and increasing the
possibility of exploitation by employers
S.J.LEE NOTED THAT THE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS MADE VERY SUBSTANTIAL GAINS FROM THE
NAZI POLICIES, MANY OF THEM CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE POVERTY AND MIGRATED TO
TOWNS.

The wealthy landlords are said to be beneficiaries of the Nazi rule. They benefitted from the rapid
increase in land values which enabled them to return their economic dominance which partially set-
off the loss of some of their political influence.

On the business sector, the small business was firstly attracted at an early stage to Nazi promises to
protect the small man from the burden of the monopolies. They benefitted from the stringent control
of the labour force.

PREPARED BY K. MAWONENI FOR CAMBRIDGE 9489/4 CANDIDATES.

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