National Studies GERMANY 1918 – 1939 Nazism in Power Role of Terror and Repression By S. Angelo Head Teacher History East Hills Girls Technology High School 2009

Organs of State Terror Sturmabteilung Concentration Camps GestapoSchutzStaffel

Sturmabteilung – the SA Night of the Long Knives Ran concentration camps – Lager 3 million membership – 1934 Led by Rohm “ battering ram of the National Socialist Revolution” – Hitler

Schutzstaffel - SS Formed in 1920s Personal guard Headed by Himmler Organisation with factories, courts, army units Political police Ran concentration camps after SA Selective membership – Aryan, elites

SS State Defend Hitler Root out enemies Arbitrary arrests Special Courts Camps SD intelligence reports on public feelings Elite Military Force Waffen-SS grew to rival Werhmacht Suppressed Warsaw Uprising 1943 Creation of Master Race Ran much of the conquered lands Organised labour and extermination camps Einsatzgruppen Enacted Holocaust Ran elite schools 12 Lebensborn clinics – breed pure Aryan race Control of All Areas Forced labour Armaments Construction V-weapon production Over 150 firms – Stutthof

Geheimes Polizeiamt - Gestapo Established 1933 Initially headed by Goering, then Himmler (SS) Protect the Nazi state against enemies Byword of cruelty and brutality

AMT IV (Dept 4) GESTAPO Political Secret Police: Unquestioned powers of arrest : Sought out Opponents of the Regime IV Enemies Communists Counter- Sabotage Reactionaries Liberals Assassinations IV B Churches & Sects CatholicsProtestantsFreemasonsJews IV C Card Index Party Affairs IV D Occupied Territories Opponents Of the Regime Churches & Sects Records & Party Matters Western Territories Counter Espionage Aliens IV E Counter Intelligence In the Reich Policy formation In the WestIn ScandinaviaIn the EastIn the South

Concentration Camps - Lager Used for opponents of the Nazi regimeSocially “deviant” groupsIntimidating the population Sachenhausen Concentration Camp – Berlin Buchenwald Concentration Camp- Weimar Dachau Concentration Camp - Munich Loss of personal liberty Reichstag Fire Decree 28/2/1933

Source Study: Mason Read Sources A- E (Republic to Reich) What point is being made in Source A to explain how the Gestapo operated in Nazi Germany? In what ways are the sentiments expressed in Source A & Source B similar? What point is made in Source B that helps to explain why the SS was able to exercise such influence and terror in the 3 rd Reich? The letter in Source C not only sought to inform but it was intended to have another effect. What effect to you think a letter like this was intended to achieve? Explain what was Theodor Eicke’s main concern as he drafted the regulations for Dachau concentration camp in Nov 1933? What attitude and outlook is Eicke trying to build in his men (Source E)? Given the nature of the government system, why was this necessary?

Terror and Repression: Realities Fear as an effective weapon Gestapo lacked of manpower – Gellately (43 /650,000 in Essen) Reactive rather than proactiveCo-operation – traditional views on authorityDenunciation – acceptable/ revenge Gestapo mainly civil servants/bureaucrats with inherent internal rivalry

Terror and Repression: Historiography Evans: The Third Reich in Power Nazi control reached down to lowest levels Officials ensured compliance with even the smallest details (banners, bunting, flags, rallies) Overy: The Dictators Popular appeal of Nazi justice Shirer: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Sicherheitsdienst – Heydrich – intelligence gathering

HSC Questions To what extent can Nazism be seen as totalitarianism in the period 1933 – 1939? Were the instruments of terror and repression the reasons for the lack of effective opposition to the Nazi regime? How far did the Nazi regime rely on terror and repression to consolidate its hold on power in the years