{ Life Under the Nazis 1933-1939
Feb 21, 2016
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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