Gleichschaltung

Gleichschaltung

1. Churches

   • Protestants
     • Reich Church - united 28 state churches which enabled them to control the messages sent out making it an easier influence
     • Rebelion through creating the Confessional Church - No Nazi influences, so indoctrinated by religion closing it down would create more opposition
     • German Faith Movement created by Nazis - alternative pagen religion - Mein Kampf = Bible, Swadtika = Cross
       • Aims: influence younger children as they are the future of Germany and the Third Reich, elders could not be controlled as easily
     • German Christians - 600,000 supporters, pressure group of Nazi supporters, wore SS/SA uniforms during service
   • Catholics
     • Concordat - would not oppose the Regime as long as the regime did not interfere with the Church
       • The pope was a more threatening figure head who had strong powers over many German people as well as internationally so had to keep him on side
       • Concordat fell through so Pope issued the Papal Encryprical which was spread across the country and the world denouncing Hitler and the Nazis
         • Reactions
           • Italy controlled by Mussolini who had relations with Hitler
           • Britain had the policy of appeasement
           • Internationally Germany was a good trade industrial power so war was not appealing

2. Workers / Volksgemeinschaft

   • DAF: German Labour Front
   • Strength through Joy
   • Beauty of Labour
   • Reich Food Estate

3. Youth

   • Organisations
     • Hitler Youth - war games, indoctrinating with Nazi ideology, swear personal oath to Hitler - - Very popular to begin with as teenagers liked to go against their parents views but soon began to get boring and kids skipped meetings
       • Late 30's became beaurocratic and militarised
     • League of German Maidens - crafts and teaching how to be good ideological Aryan women, Kinde, Kuche, Kirche
     • Catholic Youth Organisations banned
   • Educations
     • Teachers - had to join Nazi teachers union, surveillance of lessons,
       • Under the reestablishment of proffesssional civil service '33 many teachers dismissed on the ground of political unreliability or because they were jewish
     • Subjects
       • P.E. was a focus point, train for army, also meant less educated and became stupid
       • Biology - about blood lines and racial purity
       • History - on the betrayal of November Criminals and the hatred of Treaty of Versailles
       • Maths
         • War calculations - on bombing and timings
         • How much it would cost to build a lunatic asylum compared to houses for working class
       • Reformed textbooks
     • Schools
       • NAPOLA
         • Aged 10-18, boarding school for military style education, heavy emphasis on physical education and drills, manual labour and political indoctrination, under SS control '36, 21 schools by '38
       • Adolf Hitler Schools
         • Set up after '37 by leaders of Hitler Youth, more elite, between 12-18
       • Oldensburgen
         • 1,000 students aged 25-30 - 'Finishing schools for the future leadership'
     • University
       • Students had to attend weekly political indoctrination and physical training sessions
       • 4 month Labour Service - 2 months in an SA camp
       • Not encouraged - those who were mentally aware were physically weak

4. Terror

   • Police State - legalised terror - incorporated political offences and 'show trialed' people in court - Non Aryans were targeted as shown in the Nuremburg Laws
   • SD - intelligence, SD reports
   • SS - Secret service - concentration camps - death units
     • 60,000 expelled from 33-35 as a result of alcoholism, homosexuality or opportunists
     • Himmler - 'merciless sword of jusitce'
   • SA - Hitlers personal army
     • Ran by Ernst Rohm
       • Killed in the Night of the Long Knives along with multiple senior officers

5. Women

   • Kinde, Kuche, Kirche
   • Traditional views - no make-up, no hair dye, no smoking and drinking, long dresses no trousers
   • Encouraged to give up their jobs for men
   • Medals/Money for having children - SS brothels for those nt married