14 History-Nazi methods of control

14 History-Nazi methods of control

1. Propaganda

   • Spreading particular ideas and veiws to try and control what people think
   • Nazi propaganda blamed the jews and communists for everything
   • Media
     • controlled radios and used films and posters
     • All artists, writers, journalists and musicians had to be registered to get there work approved.
   • Nazi's organised huge rallies of members to present an image of power and popularity.
   • Used the Berlin Olympics, 1936, as an opportunity for international publicity
     • The stadium was the largest in the world
     • News reports were controlled as was the filming
     • Anti-Jewish slogans were removed from the streets of Berlin
       • This gave a positive veiw of Germany

2. Censorship

   • Censored books, newspapers and other material.
   • Those who published anti-Nazi material were at risk of execution
   • Used to encourage nationalism and hatred of Jews
     • German composers were praised but Jewish composers were banned
   • Cheap radios were manufactured so that familes could afford them
   • Films Hitler liked were only shown in the cinema and books not approved of the Nazi's were burnt
     • May 1933, 20,000 books were burnt in a huge bonfire

3. SS and Gestapo

   • SS began as a bodyguard for Hitler
     • It massively expanded under the control of Himmler in the 30's
     • Became the most important military group after the night of the long knives
   • Gestapo was the secret police
     • Heydrich was the Gestapo leader
     • They searched out opponents for the Nazi's
     • Had the powers to arrest and imprison
     • Used torture to extract information
   • Local wardens were employed to report disloyalty and many were arrested by the Gestapo as a result

4. Concentration Camps

   • Anyone arrested by the Gestapo could be held in "protective custody" in a concentration camp
   • They held political prisoners and anybody else considered dangerous to the Nazi's
     • They were run by SS guards
       • They were trained to be ruthless and cruel
   • Some were later turned into death camps
   • Once the Nazi's had consolidated their power over the Germans there were less political prisoners.

5. Education

   • Controlled from the moment children started school so they learnt Nazi beliefs.
     • History-they were taught the Nazi version of the past
       • e.g. That Germans had been "stabbed in the back" at the end of ww1 by German politicians who were influenced by the Jews
   • Boys were taught military skills
     • In PE they sometimes played war games with live ammunition.
   • Girls were taught housekeeping, cooking and how to be good mothers.
   • Older children were introduced a new subject - Eugenics
     • This was how to improve the German race through selective breeding
   • Jews were banned from teaching
     • Most teachers joined the Nazi Teachers Association and were trained in Nazi methods
       • Children had to report teachers who didn't use Nazi methods

6. Catholic Church

   • Hitler had no respect for Christianity
   • He kept his veiws to himself because most of his supporters were catholic
     • He tried to appeal to both catholics and protestants
   • Hitler signed the Concordat with the pope but Hitler tried to unite the Protestant churches into one Reich Church
     • This caused some people to protest but they were sent to concentration camps