1. Opposition to the Nazis
‘It was easier to just go along with the Nazis – there was no point trying to fight them’
Lesson starter:
Do you agree with the above statement? Write down your ideas.

2. Lesson - Opposition to the Nazis
National 5 History
Germany
Lesson - Opposition to the Nazis

3. Key Question: Why was there so little opposition to the Nazis?
"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. THEN THEY CAME for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. THEN THEY CAME for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. THEN THEY CAME for me and by that time no one was left to speak up."
Pastor Martin Niemoller, 1946

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

5. Why so little opposition?
Brainstorm
2. No united or effective political opposition.
Social Democratic Party and The communists failed to unit against Hitler. Dislike of each other went back to 1919 Spartacists revolt.
Popularity of Nazi Party
People got what they wanted – money, food, jobs
Life was good
The word for just accepting something even if you don’t like it is acquiescence. Germans who did not actively support Nazis just acquiesced. - went with the flow.
People didn’t actually know the full extent of what was happening. CENSORSHIP
PROPAGANDA – said state was doing well
Why so little opposition?
3. Fear and Intimidation
Network of spies and informers – slightest discontent could make it difficult to get a job or gain promotion.
Fear of concentration camps.
Even children were encouraged to tell on their teachers.
KEY WORDS:
FEAR/TERROR INDOCTRINATION ACQUIESCENCE

6. Opposition did exist in
The Church
The Youth
Opposition did exist in
Nazi Germany
Within the Party?
Reichsbanner

7. Feel free to carry on watching whole movie…
YOUTH
Edelweiss Pirates
The White Rose
The Swing Kids
Feel free to carry on watching whole movie…

8. Opposition – The Young Name of group Why did they oppose Hitler?
How did they express their opposition?
How successfully were they dealt with?
The Edelweiss Pirates
Led by Hans Steinbruck. They reacted against the regimentation of the Hitler’s Youth movement, which they had evaded by leaving school (allowed aged 14).
Slogan = “Eternal War on the Hitler Youth”
Specialised in attacking Hitler Youth hiking and camping groups. They helped army deserters and refugees. They stole armaments. One group even attacked the Gestapo.
Oct 1944, 11 or 12 of them were publicly hanged by Nazis in Cologne, the youngest being 16 years old..
Click to watch video clip
The Meuten
Anti-Nazi political aims. Main aim was to destroy Nazi control.
Similar to the Pirates but from more organised socialist/communist backgrounds. Based in cities like Leipzig where Communist support had been strong. There were complaints that many areas of Leipzig were 'no-go' areas for Nazis, due to the abuse and violence from the Meuten.
They faced more ruthless attacks by the Nazis than some of the other Youth groups.
The Swing Kids
Opposed Hitler because he banned Swing music.
Tried to wear the latest American-style clothes. They met to dance and play Jazz music. They also accepted Jews into their groups.
In 1942, clubs were raided and participants were hauled off to camps with beatings and forced Labour. Click to watch video clip - feel free to watch whole movie
The White Rose
Led by Hans and Sophie Scholl. Hated Hitler because of the crimes that he and the Nazis had committed.
They printed pamphlets about Nazis crimes – attacking the slaughter of the Jews and urging Germans not to help with the war effort.
Three of them were executed by guillotine. Just before his execution, Hans Scholl shouted out “Long live Freedom”.

9. Edelweiss Pirates Who were they?
Led by Hans Steinbruck. They reacted against the regimentation of the Hitler’s Youth movement, which they had evaded by leaving school (allowed aged 14).
Slogan = “Eternal War on the Hitler Youth”

10. Edelweiss Pirates How did they express their opposition?
Specialised in attacking Hitler Youth hiking and camping groups. They helped army deserters and refugees. They stole armaments. One group even attacked the Gestapo.

11. Edelweiss Pirates How were they dealt with?
Oct 1944, 11 or 12 of them were publicly hanged by Nazis in Cologne, the youngest being 16 years old..

13. Opposition – The Young Name of group Why did they oppose Hitler?
How did they express their opposition? (Successes)
How successfully were they dealt with? (Failures)
The Edelweiss Pirates
Led by Hans Steinbruck. They reacted against the regimentation of the Hitler’s Youth movement, which they had evaded by leaving school (allowed aged 14).
Slogan = “Eternal War on the Hitler Youth”
Specialised in attacking Hitler Youth hiking and camping groups. They helped army deserters and refugees. They stole armaments. One group even attacked the Gestapo.
Oct 1944, 11 or 12 of them were publicly hanged by Nazis in Cologne, the youngest being 16 years old..
Click to watch video clip
The Meuten
Anti-Nazi political aims. Main aim was to destroy Nazi control.
Similar to the Pirates but from more organised socialist/communist backgrounds. Based in cities like Leipzig where Communist support had been strong. There were complaints that many areas of Leipzig were 'no-go' areas for Nazis, due to the abuse and violence from the Meuten.
They faced more ruthless attacks by the Nazis than some of the other Youth groups because of their socialist beliefs.
The Swing Kids
Opposed Hitler because he banned Swing music.
Tried to wear the latest American-style clothes. They met to dance and play Jazz music. They also accepted Jews into their groups.
In 1942, clubs were raided and participants were hauled off to camps with beatings and forced Labour. Click to watch video clip - feel free to watch whole movie
The White Rose
Led by Hans and Sophie Scholl. Hated Hitler because of the crimes that he and the Nazis had committed.
They printed pamphlets about Nazis crimes – attacking the slaughter of the Jews and urging Germans not to help with the war effort.
Three of them were executed by guillotine. Just before his execution, Hans Scholl shouted out “Long live Freedom”.

14. Opposition Groups- Task
Create a mind map outlining three Nazi Opposition Groups
Swing Kids, Edelweiss Pirates and Meuten/White Rose.
Describe what each group did.
Give an example of their success.
Explain why they failed
Now do the same for Church opposition.
Look at the role of:
The Catholic Church
The Protestant Churches
The Jehovah Witnesses

16. Describe the activities of opposition groups (4)

18. The White Rose Which University did they distribute leaflets in?
How did they get access to the paper?
How were they caught?
What happened at the ‘trial’?
Why do you think they executed them so quickly?
In what ways was this opposition group more effective than the Edelweiss Pirates? Give detail.

19. The White Rose Formed by Students at the University of Munich
Distributed leaflets speaking out against the Nazi regime
Anti-Nazi graffiti
They believed the young people could overthrow Hitler
Leaders: Hans and Sophie Scholl

20. The Meuten
Anti-Nazi political aims. Main aim was to destroy Nazi control.
Similar to the Pirates but from more organised socialist/communist backgrounds.
Based in cities like Leipzig where Communist support had been strong.
They faced more ruthless attacks by the Nazis than some of the other Youth groups.

21. The Swing Kids Mainly male teenagers
Listened to ‘un-German’ swing music, blues or jazz
They also wore the latest American or British fashions they accepted Jewish children into their groups

24. Links for video clips on previous slide:
Edelweiss Pirates
The White Rose
The Swing Kids
Feel free to carry on watching whole movie…

25. Why did no resistance group succeed?
Watch the following clips and list as many reasons as you can why the resistance groups ALL failed top bring down the Nazi state.
(you’ve seen bits of this one before!)

26. Opposition – The Jews
HEALTH WARNING – Not for exam - Our time period ends in 1939 – this is beyond it!
Name of group
Why did they oppose Hitler?
How did they express their opposition?
How successfully were they dealt with?
Warsaw Ghetto
The Jews opposed Hitler because of his policy of persecuting Jews because they were not Aryan.
In January 1943, Jews fired upon Nazi troops as they rounded up another group of Ghetto inhabitants for deportation.
In May, the revolt ended. 56,000 Jews were captured were shot and the remainder were deported to killing centres.
Schlinder’s List
Oskar Schlinder opposed the Nazis because he thought it was wrong to kill the Jews.
He saved 1200 Jews by having them moved to his factory as workers and gave them food and protection.
He succeeded in saving the Jews on his list.

27. (5 marks)

28. The Churches

30. Religion in Nazi Germany
There were approximately 45 million Protestants and 22 million Catholic Christians in Germany in 1933.
Hitler saw Christianity as a threat and a potential source of opposition to Nazism because it emphasised peace.
The Nazis tried to control the Churches with policies and bargaining.

31. The Reich Church In 1936, the Reich Church was created.
This did not have the Christian cross as its symbol but the swastika.
The Bible was replaced by "Mein Kampf" which was placed on the altar. By it was a sword.
Only invited Nazis were allowed to give sermons in a Reich Church. 

32. Opposition – The Churches
Name of group
Why did they oppose Hitler?
How did they express their opposition? (Success)
How successfully were they dealt with?
(Failures)
Protestants – Bonhoeffer and Neimoller
The church opposed Hitler because he was trying to replace Christianity with Nazism – The Reich Church-
Numerous Protestant church groups had existed before Nazi Germany. But these were absorbed into the Nazi Reich Church. Some individuals refused to recognise this new church and the Nazis naturally saw them as a threat. 175 Protestant pastors were arrested; probably the two most famous were Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoffer.
Criticised Nazis in Sermons and in Poetry. In 1934, German Confessional Church was established by 200 pastors who believed it should not be controlled by political parties.
Bonhoeffer was sent to a concentration camp and was executed in 1945.
Niemoller was arrested and sent to a concentration camp with orders from Hitler that he was to be left alive and he survived the war.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Hitler had a particular hatred of Jehovah Witnesses because they refused to accept Nazi authority and did not believe in war.
Anti-military pacifism, for example they refused to do military service and resisted conscription.
Any Jehovah’s Witness caught by Nazis was sent to a concentration camp and forced to wear a purple triangle. About 10,000 were imprisoned and up to 5000 died there.
WATCH ME….

33. Opposition – The Churches
Name of group
Why did they oppose Hitler?
How did they express their opposition?
How successfully were they dealt with?
Catholics –
Cardinal Galen
For the same reason as the Protestant Churches, but on 8 July 1933 Hitler and Pope signed the Concordat. This stated that the Nazis would not interfere with the running of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany if the Church did not criticise the Nazis.
Both sides broke this agreement.
An attempt was made to ban the crucifix in schools. From 1936 on, parents were pressured to withdraw their children from Catholic schools and place them in Nazi-approved schools. By 1939, most Catholic-based schools had disappeared in Nazi Germany.
“With the Concordat we are hanged, without the Concordat we are hung, drawn and quartered”
Some priests did speak out. By and between 1939 and 1943, 693 Catholic priests were arrested and tried for “oppositional activity”. The Pope also spoke out; “With Burning Concern” was read in every Catholic church. It attacked Hitler as a “mad prophet with repulsive arrogance”
Cardinal Galen campaigned strongly against Hitler and the Nazis – particularly euthanasia of mentally disabled people.
Nazis soon broke their part of the Concordat - Catholic schools were closed and priest who spoke out against Nazis sent to concentration camps.
Catholic magazines, at first censored then banned. All Catholic youth organisations had disappeared by 1938.
Galen had his home attacked but campaigned relentlessly until his natural death.

35. Tasks Can you suggest another word for Concordat?
Why was Hitler worried about the influence of the Christian Churches in Germany?
Describe the methods used by the Nazis to control the Churches (4)
Explain the reasons why there was a lack of effective opposition in Nazi Germany between 1933 and (6)
(Gestapo, SS, pick two opposition groups, refer to the difficulties the Church faced, no political opposition – refer to Article 48 also.)
5. Explain the reasons why there was little opposition to the Nazi government after (6)

37. Opposition – The Party HEALTH WARNING – Interesting but not for exam!
Name of group
Why did they oppose Hitler?
How did they express their opposition?
How successfully were they dealt with?
Kreisau Circle
Some soldiers always thought Hitler to be reckless but it was the failure in Russia after 1941 (especially Stalingrad) that led to growing opposition.
In 1944, a group of officers and intellectuals tried to assassinate Hitler. Von Stauffenberg placed a briefcase with a bomb inside it in Hitler’s headquarters.
Stauffenberg was shot by a firing squad at midnight. Implicated was Erwin Rommel (“The Desert Fox”) who was given poison.
5000 people were killed in retaliation.
Hitler examines the damaged caused by the 1944 Bomb plot.

38. And…
A paramilitary wing of the Social Democratic Party, called the Reichsbanner, sabotaged railway lines and acted as spies.

39. National 5
Explain the reasons why there was little opposition to the Nazi government after 1933.
(6 Marks)