Nazi methods of control

Learning objectives; I will able to identify the main

aspects of the Nazi police state I should also be able to explain

censorship and propaganda under the Nazis.

I could also be able to describe Nazi policies towards the Church.

overview

There two main methods of controlling the German people once the Nazis were in power.

1. Fear and terror: making sure people were too scared to oppose the state.

2. Indoctrination: brainwashing people into accepting your ideas

BUT also remember there were people attracted to Hitler and his ideas.

How did Hitler keep control of Germany?

Keeping Control of Germany

Everyone was scared of being arrested by the

Gestapo and being put in a concentration camp.

Hitler Youth & the Young Maidens.

Propaganda

Mass Rallies, Posters and Propaganda films.

The Nazis controlled and censored the radio

& newspapers.

School children were indoctrinated with Nazi

ideas at school.

The Terror State

Secret police called the Gestapo would spy on and arrest enemies of

the state.

SS were responsible for running the

concentration camps.

Popularity

Creating Jobs

Ripping up the Treaty of Versailles.

Key Quote

“Terror is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death.”

Enemies of the State

• Communists• Social Democrats• Jews• Trade Unionists.• Work Shy• Homosexuals• Gypsies

• Germans who bought from Jews

• Pacifists• Radical Christian

Organisation• Anyone who

criticised Hitler or the Nazi Party.

Enemies of the State

• A list of German women who were still purchasing goods from Jewish shops.

• Printed to scare or terrorise other people into not buying from the Jews.

Fear: The Police State

• Both the Gestapo and the SS were run by Heinrich Himmler.

• The Gestapo employed an army of spies who would inform on people.

Fear: concentration camps

Any body who opposed the Nazi state would be put into a concentration camp.

How did the Terror State Work?

Gestapo Spies inform on you

You are woken up by the Gestapo at 1 am in the morning and told

that you have 5 minutes to pack your bags.

You are arrested and thrown into a cell at the police

station

Days or maybe weeks later you are

interviewed and asked to sign form

D11

By signing this form you are giving your

consent to be put into a concentration camp.

You are handed over to the SS who

run the concentration

camps.

You are imprisoned for up to six months doing hard physical

labour.

When you are released you tell

everybody what has happened to you

Fear

Nazi Propaganda and censorship.

• Nazi propaganda was used to glorify Adolf Hitler and crush opposing viewpoints.

• The dictatorship of Adolf Hitler suppressed completely the right to freedom of the press. Journalists were not allowed to say anything against Hitler and the Nazis or they would be risking imprisonment or even death.

• Propaganda was always used by the Nazis in their newspapers and other news media.

Keeping control: Propaganda and

Censorship

Joseph Goebbels:

Minister for Propaganda

radio

newspapers

Mass rallies

films

Books, theatre, Music

(book burning)

Reich Chamber of Culture

Why did the Nazis burn books?

Keeping control: Propaganda

• Write a definition of propaganda

Propaganda is a type of message that influencesthe opinions or behaviour of people. Instead of impartially providing information,propaganda is often deliberately misleading.

Propaganda

Why was the radio so important to the Nazis?

Propaganda: posters

How are Jews portrayed

here?

The Eternal Jew

The Eternal Jew was a Nazi propaganda film made in 1940 under the close supervision of Goebbals.It depicts Polish Jews as an evil sub species.

http://www.subcin.com/nazi.html click here for more info

Propaganda

Tasks: • Watch clip from the film the Triumph of the Will (1934).• Think about what is being portrayed and how.• How good a promotional video is it?• (This film was banned after WW2, can you think why?)

How does propaganda work?

• YouTube - More Nazi WW2 Propaganda

Watch the clip and note down what happens

and what you think the point

of it is?

The Churches

Hitler and the Nazis disagreed with the ideas of the Christian Church.

The Nazis believed in racial superiority.Belief in God also interfered with the ‘Hitler

myth’.In Germany about two thirds of people were

Protestant and a third were Roman Catholics.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/church_in_nazi_germany.htm

The Catholic Church

How did Nazis deal with the Catholic Church?What was the Concordat?

THE PROTESTANT CHURCH

Martin Niemoller

What was the attitude of the Protestant church towards the Nazis?

Key Quote: Martin Niemoller, 1945

• When the Nazis came for the Communists I was silent, I was not a Communist.

• When the Nazis came for the Social Democrats I was silent, I was not a Social Democrat.

• When the Nazis came for the Jews I was silent, I was not a Jew.

• When the Nazis came for me there was nobody left to protest.

Question time!In what ways were the Nazis able to control the Churches in Germany?You may use the following in your answer and any other information of your own.• 1933: the Reich Church was set up.• July 1933: The Concordat was signed.• 1937: Pastor Niemoller was sent to a concentration

camp

Note down the key points you think are relevant.

Make a plan to answer this question.

Remember:

PEE – BE RELEVANT – STICK TO FOCUS OF QUESTION

Summary

• The Nazis set up a police state to force people to support their regime. The main instruments of the police state were the SS and the Gestapo.

• The Nazis also used censorship to control what people saw and heard.

• Goebbels made use of propaganda methods, such as posters, the radio and film, to try to persuade people to support the Nazis.

• The Catholic and Protestant Churches were persecuted by the Nazis. Many priests and pastors resisted and were sent to concentration camps.