What opposition was there to Nazi rule of Germany? Starter: Finish annotating your cartoons on Goebbels. What is the cartoonist saying about him? Use precise contextual knowledge to support the cartoonists representation. In this lesson, we will: Describe how the Church and young people opposed the Nazi Party. Assess how much of a threat they were to Nazi rule of Germany.

Source B: Cartoon from British satirical magazine “Punch” Source B: Cartoon from British satirical magazine “Punch”. It shows Joseph Goebbels and a woman representing Germany. The caption reads: Dr Goebbels: “This may not be the truth, but it’s what you’re going to get.” Source A: Cartoon drawn in 1935, it shows Joseph Goebbels with his hands over a singer. The caption of this cartoon was “The arts – silenced!”

Why was there little resistance? For the remainder of the 1930s there were high levels of conformity and acceptance of Hitler and Nazi policies. One reason was because of censorship and propaganda. Goebbels banned any criticism of the Nazis and used the media to spread positive messages about them so they stayed popular. Another reason was Hitler controlled the courts to bias in favour of the Nazis. The National Socialist League for the Maintenance of the Law was set up and all judges had to be members. Any judges who displeased the Nazis were denied membership so could not work. Hitler also abolished juries – judges (who were pawns of the Nazis) decided innocence

Learning Task One All Complete the worksheet to plan out an answer to a 12 mark explain question. You must pay careful attention to the right hand column (A02 – explaining how this would prevent any resistance against Nazi rule!)

How did the Protestant church resist? The Protestant Church opposed the Nazis interfering in the running of the Church. They rebranded it the Reich Church which was disliked by Church leaders. In 1933, a group of Protestant pastors, including Martin Niemoller set up the Pastors’ Emergency League (PEL). They opposed the setting up of one Reich Church and the ban on Jews becoming Christians. The PEL set up an alternative church called the Confessing Church which opposed any Nazi interference. About 2,000 pastors were part of the Reich Church, but 6,000 joined the Confessing Church. Some spoke out against the Nazis in sermons which resulted in 800 being arrested and sent to concentration camps.

How did the Catholic church resist? The Catholic Church in Nazi Germany resisted and opposed the strict controls imposed by the Nazis e.g. Catholic bishops had to swear allegiance to the Nazis and all Catholic schools were closed. The Nazis did not like the fact that Catholics were loyal to the Pope, rather than to Hitler. Some Catholic priests spoke out against Nazi policies – 400 of them were imprisoned at Dachau concentration camp. In 1931 Catholic bishops in Freiburg, Mainz and Rottenburg issued a statement forbidding Catholic priests being members of the Nazi Party. Overall the Church did not have a big impact on Germany – opposition amongst ordinary Christians remained muted. There were few Christians brave enough to oppose the Nazis in public.

How did young people rebel? In the 1930s, the Nazis expected all young people to conform to Nazi policies. They were expected to be part of either the Hitler Youth or the League of German Girls. Some young people hated the lack of freedom and choice under the Nazis. Some groups grew up in defiance. The Edelweiss Pirates emerged in the late 1930s and were made up of teenagers. They used the white edelweiss flower as their symbol. The pirates hated the military discipline of Hitler Youth and had long hair and copied American styles of clothing in protest. They would taunt Hitler Youth and beat them up. They sang songs making fun of them and told jokes about Hitler and the Nazis.

How important was this youth resistance? The Swing Youth were mostly from middle-class families. They admired American culture (clothing, films and music) They often played records imported from America (e.g. Glen Miller, Louis Armstrong etc.) they would drink, smoke and dance to express their freedom. Some illegal dances could attract over 6,000 young people. Overall youth resistance had a limited impact – they did little to actually oppose the Nazis. Their motives were largely cultural (music, clothes etc) rather then political. Their numbers were limited – by 1939 the Edelweiss Pirates had about 2,000 member whereas Hitler Youth numbered 8 million. They were largely in the minority.

Learning Task One All targets Cut out the paper boxes and arrange them into three piles: religious, youth and other opposition. Glue them into three separate pages in your book (one page per group). Arrange them in order of importance (most to least important) Underneath the hierarchy write a short paragraph explaining the overall impact of this group. Overall this group did not have that big an impact on Nazi Germany because…