Hitlers Germany

Social Impact

Social Impact
1. Propaganda
2. Censorship
3. Rise of the secret police
4. Persecution of minority groups
5. Persecution of Jew & The
Holocaust
6. Role of Women
7. Hitler Youth

Propaganda

Aims: To convince
the German people
to support them &
to win them over
Reich Ministry of
Public
Enlightenment &
Propaganda set up
with Joseph
Goebbels as the
head

Think of the press as a great

keyboard
on which the government can play.
Joseph Goebbels
'If you repeat a lie often enough, it
becomes the truth.
- Joseph Goebbels

Propaganda
Also made sure people were
loyal to Nazi rule and beliefs
Posters and portraits of Hitler
were spread all over Germany to
brainwash the people
Racist, especially anti-Semitic
and anti-communist feelings
were stirred

Propaganda Nuremburg rallies

Huge rallies, marches,
processions and public meetings
Designed to showcase
Germanys might and give
Germans a sense of belonging
Posters glorifying Nazi
achievements were put up all
over Germany

Propaganda

What feelings do these posters evoke?

Propaganda
Result:
- Increase in German nationalistic
sentiments among Germans
- Increase in popularity of Nazis
both of Germans from Germany
and other countries

Censorship
Kept away hostile information
about the Nazi Party
Nazis censored everything the
Germans could read, watch or
listen to
More important than propaganda
to control the people
Book burning event organised to
burn books that were
unacceptable

Censorship
Radios were made affordable so
that people could hear Nazi
opinions and Hitlers speeches
on air
Listening to foreign stations was
punishable by death

Censorship
How would you feel if you
were a German living in
these times?

Censorship
Result:
- Lack of freedom of expression
and ideas among Germans
- However, it was easy for the
Nazis to control the people

Rise of the Secret Police

Nazis wanted a totalitarian state
with no opposition
They did so by using the SS and
Gestapo
SS and Gestapo to hunt down
opponents

Rise of the Secret Police - SS

SS was Hitlers personal
bodyguard and Himmler was the
leader
Responsible for destroying Nazi
enemies and carrying out their
racial policies
2 important sections:
Deaths Head Units:
- responsible for concentration
camps; the Nazis weapon

Rise of the Secret Police - SS

Deaths Head Units:
- Beatings common, food scarce
and prisoners were forced to
work 11 hours a day
- Also responsible for mass
extermination of the Jews

Rise of the Secret Police Gestapo

Gestapo:
- The Nazis secret police force
- Himmler took over leadership as
well
- Responsible for finding and
removing threats
- They didnt have to answer to
anyone and could detain people
without trial
- People could be arrested just

Rise of the Secret Police

Result:
- Fear among the people and they
could be arrested for no reason
- They also hated that the secret
police had so much power and
need not be accountable
- Loss of freedom as they felt they
were constantly being watched

Persecution of Jews
Hitler blamed Jews for all of
Germanys ills and encouraged
the SA and SS to bully them
1933 national boycott of Jewish
businesses
1934 All Jewish shops marked
with the Star of David or Juden
and Germans not allowed to
enter
Jews only allowed to sit on park

Persecution of Jews
Jews not allowed to practise
their professions
1935 Nuremburg Laws passed:
- Jews not allowed to be German
citizens
- Not allowed to marry non-Jews
- Passports restricted or removed
so they cannot leave Germany

Storm Troopers outside a Berlin store posting signs with the words
"Germans! Defend yourselves! Do not buy from Jews"

A group of SA hold hands on the steps of the University of Vienna in an

attempt to prevent Jews from entering the building.

The Night of the Broken Glass

Nov 1938, a Nazi diplomat shot
dead by a Jewish boy
Hitler used this as an excuse to
unleash a campaign of terror on
the Jews
Jewish shops looted and
destroyed
Homes and synagogues burned
Jews beaten and killed
More than 20,000 arrested and

The Night of the Broken Glass

At these camps/ghettos, it was
overcrowded and lacked basic
amenities
People died of illnesses and
starvation
Mass murder of Jews also carried
out

The Holocaust
Final Solution whereby all Jews
will be killed
Throughout Germany and
occupied Europe, all Jews forced
to wear the Star of David
Sent to ghettos where they
would be gassed to death
Sometimes cruel medical
experiments used
Many were worked to death or

The Holocaust
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l
BDh1Rl9OXo&bpctr=1366124741

Watch the video and answer the

following questions:
1. What was life for the Jews
before the Holocaust? (pay
attention to their clothes,
possessions, etc)
2. List down how the Jews suffered

Persecution of the Jews

Result:
- Jews were discriminated against
and suffered tremendously under
Hitlers rule
- Many were humiliated, tortured
and killed
- By the end of WWII, an estimate
of one-third of the worlds Jewish
population was dead

Gypsies, homosexuals,
handicapped and disabled
These people were also
persecuted
They were seen as inferior and
threatened the purity of the
Aryan race
Laws passed to control, arrest
and even sterilize them
Many sent to concentration
camps where they were gassed

Gypsies, homosexuals,
handicapped and disabled
This poster reads:
"This genetically
ill person will cost
our people's
community
60,000 marks
over his lifetime.
Citizens, that is
your money.
What is it

Persecution of minority groups

Result:
- Hitlers idea of Eugenics to
improve the quality of the Aryan
race meant that those who were
not of the Aryan race were
arrested or executed
- Hence, these people also
suffered under Hitlers rule

Role of Women
Under Weimar:
Women given right to vote and
equality in marriage and civic
matters
Women could hold political
positions and bureaucratic roles

Role of Women
Under Nazi Germany:
Women confined to roles of
motherhood and spouse
Excluded in politics and
academics
Discouraged to pursue university
studies, womens associations
banned
Young girls had to undergo
training in domestic tasks (e.g.

Popular Rhyme during Nazi Germany

"Take hold of kettle, broom and pan,

Then youll surely get a man!
Shop and office leave alone, Your true life work lies
at home."

Role of Women
Comparing the role of
women under the Weimar
and the Nazi party, how
has it changed?
Why?

Role of Women
Result:
- Some found it oppressive
- Others saw it as an opportunity
to establish an identity for
themselves

Hitler Youth
Aimed to ensure the youths
would grow up to fight faithfully
for the Nazis and to groom these
youths to be the future leaders
of the SS and army
Youths 14 18 years old
1936 membership was
compulsory for all Aryan German
youths
Indoctrinated in anti-Semitism &

Hitler Youth
Result:
- Many found it the Hitler Youth
Programme oppressive as it
controlled the movement of the
Youths
- There were those who resisted
against it and joined other youth
groups that went against the
Hitler Youth programme