{

Life Under the Nazis

1933-1939

Fuhrerprinzip

The concept that there is only one leader, consolidated power

Outlined in Mein Kampf

Goebbels, Goering and Himmler

Blood Purge

By 1933 there are 2 million SA

Roehm wanted them to become a branch of Wehrmacht, wanted to continue socialist programs

Wehrmacht vs. Old Friend

SS is ordered to arrest and kill multiple leaders of SA on June 30, 1934

Night of 1,000 Knives

100-1,000 killed Roehm arrested

and later shot

Total Power

August 2, 1934 Hindenburg dies

Nationwide vote of 90% gives Hitler dictatorial powers

Economy

Unemployment went from 6 million to 1 million in 4 years

Production up 100% War

machine/infrastructure 1936: Four Year Plan

under Goering Meant to make GRE self-

sufficient Development of

substitute (ersatz) goods

Public Education

Education = Indoctrination Anti-intellectual Strong body > strong mind Obedience > critical

thinking Conformity > Individualism Bernhard Rust put in

charge of national education

Public Education

Mandatory Nazi membership to be a teacher (oath of obedience)

Teachers either conformed or left the profession.

Phys Ed top priority (5 hrs. per week!) Strong soldiers, healthy

mothers Aryan racial theories for

science

Geography lessons on lebensraum

History on awesomeness of Germanic tribes

Math problems about number of bullets required to kill GRE enemies

Hitler Jugend (Youth)

1936 all other youth organizations outlawed

Membership compulsory ages 6-19

6-10: Pimpfe 10-3: Jungfolk 13+: Jugend

Tested strength, courage

Acceptance not guaranteed

At 18, graduate and become SA or Nazi party member

Hitler Jugend-18+

Adolf Hitler Schulen (AH Schools) Racial background super

important Military ideals,

graduates went on to university

NAPOLAS (Nat’l-Political Training Institute) Training for future

official positions Nazi families given

preference

Ordensburgen (Order Castles) Highest

leadership school, usually alumni of AHS

Most graduates joined SS

Girls in Hitler Jugend

Bund Deutscher Maedel (Union of German Girls) Emphasis on motherhood,

cooking, home-skills Girls working was

severely discouraged University enrollment of

women dropped dramatically

HAVE BABIES!! (even out of wedlock)

Christian Churches

Hitler wanted to avoid a confrontation with the churches

Restricted some functions (youth organizations)

Freedom to teach some tenants restricted

Very limited resistance

Hitler and the Catholics

1933 Concordat with Pope Pius XI Guaranteed freedom of

GRE Catholics Catholics promised to

dismantle political & social groups

Hitler ultimately ignored the Concordat

Church protested euthanasia killings, successfully

Hitler and the Protestants

Many denominations made them trickier to control

Mostly harassed by SA members at services

Pastors and priests that spoke out would be arrested and jailed Rev. Martin Niemoeller,

Lutheran pastor leader of church resistance

Nazi Justice

Volksgemeinschaft (unity of GRE people) is most important

Old legal code was distorted to fit new policies, but lots of new laws

By 1945, 43 crimes punishable by execution Defilement of race

Torture acceptable

Juveniles tried as adults

Gestapo: Secret Police had thousands of informers

People’s Court: No verdict appeals.

{1933-1938

Jews in Germany

{ {

Theories of the Holocaust

Intentionalist The final

extermination of the Jews was the plan from the beginning, as outlined and formed in Mein Kampf

Functionalist Final

extermination was an evolved strategy, rather than a blue-print

Who is a Jew?

Jew had 3 or 4 Jewish

grandparentsMischling

was a half-Jew who had two Jewish grandparents, practiced Judaism, and/or was a child of a ¾ Jew

Mischling 1st degreehad two Jewish grandparents, but did not practice Judaism and was not married to a Jew

Mischling 2nd degreehad one Jewish grandparent

According to Nuremberg Laws 1935

Nuremberg Laws 1935

Stripped Jews of citizenship

Prohibited marriage and sexual relations with non-Jews Jews would be put to death

No Aryan woman under 45 could be employed in a Jewish house

Nuremberg Laws 1935

Not allowed to go to parks, zoos, etc.

Not allowed to sit on benches, ride public transport

Banned from public school

No radios, furs Smaller rations (when

given) to Jewish families

Zionism

A movement in reaction to growing anti-Semitism

Believed only a Jewish homeland would solve the “Jewish question”

Some Jews thought Zionism was counter-productive WHY?

Basic Premise1. Anti-Semitism will not go away2. Jews are like any other nation, but without a homeland3. Palestine should be their homeland

To Leave? Or Not to Leave?

Since 1933, Jews leaving Germany

Rich and famous—no problem, any country was open

Middle class to poor, very difficult

If you couldn’t support yourself w/o a job, didn’t want you US Consulate told to issue

visas sparingly

Judenraus (Jews Get Out)

25% tax on assets to leave

Foreign Jews expelled 1938 increased

persecution Males and females had

to add Israel and Sara to their names

Had to carry identification cards (Kennkarte) at all times

Judenraus

By 1938, only 1/3 of German Jews had left Nowhere to go

Forced sale of Jewish businesses and property to Aryans Money not given to sellers,

but distributed by a bank In case of emigration, all

money was confiscated Jewish households had to

itemize their possessions

Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)

Oct. 1938, Polish Jews living in Germany were rounded up, left in no-man’s land between Poland and Germany 7,000 people

Herschel Grynzpan, living in France, heard about his families plight , shot a German diplomat