The Nazi Terror State

The Nazi Terror beginsAfter Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933, he moved quickly to turn Germany into a one-party dictatorship and to organize the police power necessary to enforce Nazi policies. He persuaded his Cabinet to declare a state of emergency and end individual freedoms, including freedom of press, speech, and assembly. Individuals lost the right to privacy, which meant that officials could read people's mail, listen in on telephone conversations, and search private homes without a warrant.

Hitler also relied on terror to achieve his goals. Lured by the wages, a feeling of comradeship, and the striking uniforms, tens of thousands of young jobless men put on the brown shirts and high leather boots of the Nazi Storm Troopers (Sturmabteilungen). Called the SA, these auxiliary policemen took to the streets to beat up and kill some opponents of the Nazi regime. Mere fear of the SA pressured into silence other Germans who did not support the Nazis

SS Police StateAn important tool of Nazi terror was the Protective Squad (Schutzstaffel), or SS, which began as a special guard for Adolf Hitler and other party leaders. The black-shirted SS members formed a smaller, elite group whose members also served as auxiliary policemen and, later, as concentration camp guards. Eventually overshadowing the Storm Troopers (SA) in importance, the SS became, after 1934, the private army of the Nazi party.SS chief Heinrich Himmler also turned the regular (nonparty) police forces into an instrument of terror. He helped forge the powerful Secret State Police (Geheime Staatspolizei), or Gestapo; these non-uniformed police used ruthless and cruel methods throughout Germany to identify and arrest political opponents and others who refused to obey laws and policies of the Nazi regime.

In the months after Hitler took power, the SA and Gestapo agents went from door to door looking for Hitler's enemies. Socialists, Communists, trade union leaders, and others who had spoken out against the Nazi party were arrested, and some were killed. By the middle of 1933, the Nazi party was the only political party, and nearly all organized opposition to the regime had been eliminated. Democracy was dead in Germany.

Many different groups, including the SA and SS, set up hundreds of makeshift "camps" in empty warehouses, factories, and other locations all over Germany where they held political opponents without trial and under conditions of great cruelty. One of these camps was set up on March 20, 1933, at Dachau, in an abandoned munitions factory from World War I. Located near Munich in southwestern Germany, Dachau would become the "model" concentration camp for a vast system of SS camps.

What is a ‘Terror State’?

– The Nazis never had more than 40 per cent of the vote from the German people, so they never really had support from the majority of Germany

– This means that the Nazis hold on power was very weak as most people in Germany (over 60 per cent) did not support them

– The Nazis then always feared the rest of Germany turning against them and removing them from power so they created a ‘Terror State’

– This was designed to make sure the Nazis had no opposition at all as no-one could vote against them, speak out or act against them

– It also meant that there was to be no other political parties or discussions of different methods to those used by the Nazis

– A ‘Terror State’ is a state (or country) which is ruled by fear, violence and terror! The people in it are not free to do, or think as they please as they are constantly reminded that if they speak out against the government (Hitler) they will be punished with violence or terror

How did the Nazis create this ‘Terror State’?

– The Nazis used a number of means to make sure their ‘Terror State’ worked, it was not just one part it was a mixture that was combined to make sure no-one spoke out against the Nazis

– The Nazis used and created the:

The SA The SS The Gestapo (Secrete Police) The ‘Terror State’ The police and law courts Concentration camps

The SA (Sturmabteilung) - In 1920 the newly formed German Workers’ Party needed its own

militia group to protect party members from opponents - Some Freikorps members took on this role- Hitler’s Stormtroopers wore a uniform of khaki brown shirts with swastika armband on

left arm, They were often called by the nickname Brownshirts- Following the failed Munich Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923 the SA

were banned from April 1924 to February 1925. - In 1931 Hitler asked Ernst Röhm, a former critic, to lead the SA. Röhm

agreed and quickly increased the membership of the SA. - After the Nazis came to power in 1933 Röhm began to make moves

towards merging the SA with the German army. It was his intention to become the head of the military forces in Germany.

- In January 1934 Röhm sent a message to the Minister of Defense demanding that the SA replace the Reichswehr.

- Blomberg, who was already concerned about the growing power of Röhm and the SA joined forces with Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Goering against Ernst Röhm.

- A dossier was compiled that offered evidence that Ernst Röhm was secretly plotting to over throw the Nazis and take power for himself and the SA.

- Presented with the ‘evidence’, Hitler had no choice but to take action and on 30th June 1934 the Night of the Long Knives saw the murder of leading members of the SA. The action, which saw the deaths of leading SA members was legalized by Hitler when he made a speechstating that the Night of the Long Knives was an act of self-defense against the state.

- After the Night of the Long Knives, the SA continued in existence but with a much reduced membership as young men chose to join the regular army rather than the SA. The rise of the SS, Schutzstaffel, led by Heinrich Himmler saw the elimination of the SA’s power.

The Police State

By August 1934 Hitler was a dictator with absolute power. In order to maintain this power he needed organizations that could control the population to ensure absolute loyalty to the Führer. After the demise of the SA on the Night of the Long Knives, there were three main interlinked organizations (in addition to the regular German police force) involved in controlling the German people through spying, intimidation and if necessary, imprisonment:

Schutzstaffel (SS) - led by Heinrich Himmler, the SS was the most important of these organizations and oversaw the others. Initially set up as Hitler’s personal bodyguard service, the SS was fanatically loyal to the Führer. It later set up concentration camps where ‘enemies of the state’ were sent.

Gestapo - this was the Nazis’ secret police force. Its job was to monitor the German population for signs of opposition or resistance to Nazi rule. It was greatly helped by ordinary German people informing on their fellow citizens.

Sicherheitsdienst (SD) - this was the intelligence gathering agency of the SS. It was responsible for the security of Hitler and other top Nazis and was led by Himmler’s right hand man, Reinhard Heydrich.

The SS (Schutzstaffel)

– The SS formed in 1925 and were loyal to Hitler acting as his

personal bodyguard

– They destroyed the SA in the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 so people knew how

ruthless they were

– It was led by Heinrich Himmler

– The main function of the SS was to destroy all opposition to

Hitler and Nazism and would search out and mercilessly remove

anyone or thing which opposed Hitler and their beliefs

– The SS also had two other groups within it

– The Death’s Head units were responsible for the Concentration camps and extermination

of the Jews

– The Waffen-SS were special armored regiments of soldiers

which fought alongside the regular German army

– These were the troops that went into villages and searched

out and destroyed everyone who disagreed with the Nazis

– The SS acted as Hitler’s own private army large enough and

powerful enough to remove any opposition to Hitler and the Nazis

– Every German knew of the SS and their power and strength and how ruthless they were in

preventing any opposition challenging Hitler and the Nazis

The Gestapo

– The Gestapo were the secret police in Nazi Germany – The Gestapo was the force which was feared the most by German people

– The Gestapo were all around Germany acting as spies and were a constant reminder that Hitler found out about all opposition no matter how small

– If anyone was found or even suspected of opposing the Nazis the Gestapo had powers above the law and could arrest and imprison without trial

– Once taken by the Gestapo it was not often that the person would be seen again – the message went out that to oppose the Nazis meant death!

– Some were released from concentration camps to go back to their family and friends to tell them just how harsh the Gestapo were – again to spread the news that opposition to the Nazis is not tolerated at all

– Most Germans were so scared of the Gestapo that they simply informed of some-one that was opposing the Nazis because they were scared that they would become a target if they did not

– Each block of flats or housing estate in Germany had an informant so everyone ended up informing on each other or simply not criticizing or speaking out about the Nazis

– The Gestapo were the eyes and ears of the Nazis ‘Terror State’ and made sure non-one knew who to trust as the person you were talking to could be a Gestapo spy or just someone that would inform to the Gestapo about you

Nazi control of the legal system

The Nazis quickly swept away many of the freedoms that Germans had enjoyed under the Weimar constitution. The party’s control of the legal system made opposition to the regime very difficult indeed:

Judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler and were expected to act always in the interests of the Nazi state.

All lawyers had to join the Nazi Lawyers' Association, which meant they could be controlled.

The role of defense lawyers in criminal trials was weakened. Standard punishment for crimes were abolished and so local prosecutors could decide

what penalties to impose on those found guilty.

These changes more than halved the number of criminal offences between 1933 and 1939, whilst the number of crimes that carried the death penalty increased from three to 46. Many convicted criminals were not released at the end of their sentences but instead were moved to the growing number of concentration camps being established by the SS.

How did the police and law courts create terror?

– It would be easy to imagine a world that the police and law courts decided on what was right or wrong in a country – but this was not the case in Nazis Germany

– In Nazi Germany the police and law courts were used to simply ‘back-up’ what the SS and Gestapo did – they simply made it all appear legal and right!

– The police and law courts created by as they were controlled by the Nazis and if a person went into a court charged with opposing the Nazis then it was guaranteed that they were found guilty

– All the top jobs in the police and law courts were given to Nazis and they reported to Heinrich Himmler

– The police were also encouraged to spy and snoop on ordinary Germans and inform the Gestapo of any opposition

– But importantly, the police and law courts were given strict instructions not to convict any Nazis that were ‘keeping the peace’ or were ‘restricting’ opposition to them such as communists or Social Democrats

– All the law courts were controlled by the Nazis and so it was difficult to get a fair trial so many people simply avoided getting into trouble at all as they knew they would be treated unfairly and violently and there was nothing anyone could do about it!

How did the Concentrations camps create terror?

– Concentration camps acted as the ultimate weapon against opposition. This was because they were a very harsh form of prisons where discipline and conditions were very hard

– Hitler and the Nazis started to build these as soon as he was in power in 1933

– They were often in isolated places and rural areas so they were away from the general population

– They were run by the SS Death’s Head units who showed no mercy to the people sent there

– Prisoners suffered littler food, random beatings and random executions

– In the early days of the concentration camps many were sent home following ‘re-education’ to tell their family and friends about the conditions

– By the late 1930s very few people came back from the camps once they had been sent

– Anyone brave enough to oppose the Nazis, such as, churchmen, trade unionists, Jews and communists were sent there

– Concentration camps worked as they were cheap and effective and the punishment that they served was harsh and word soon got around that any opposition to the Nazis and you would wind up in a camp

Undoubtedly, the state possessed a massive repressive machine and it did ruthlessly suppress opponents, but you also need to consider the following points:

– Most Germans supported the regime– Many Germans did not encounter repression and believed that which did occur was

generally justified– Thousands of Germans assisted the Gestapo and the repressive agents in their work– Repression was somewhat random– Some people did protest and escaped punishment

Exam Style Questions4 mark questions

a) What part did informers play in helping the Nazis to maintain control over the German people?

b) What role did the SS play in controlling the Nazi state? c) Describe the Night of the Long Knives. d) What was a Nazi ‘concentration camp’? e) What part did the secret police play in the running of Nazi Germany?

6 mark questionsf) Why did Hitler consider Röhm a threat? g) Why was the SA important to Hitler? h) Why was there little open opposition to the Nazis during their twelve years in

power? i) Why was the Gestapo important to the Nazis?

10 mark questionsj) ‘The Nazi police state was more effective than propaganda in controlling the

German people.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10]

k) ‘The Nazis controlled the German people through the police state.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

l) ‘The most effective method used by the Nazis to control the German people was repression.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [8]