5.01 Authoritarian States, 3.09b Germany, 1918-1945

Opposition in Nazi Germany, 1933-1945

Materials

• Authoritarian States by Michael Lynch: p.85-90
• Oxford text: p.193-202
• [Reading] Resistance to the Nazi Regime, www.activehistory.co.uk
• [Graphic organizer] Opposition in Nazi Germany

Things to note

• ==NO consistent, organized resistance== movement in Hitler’s Germany
  • opposition to the Nazis might have been possible before they came to power, but not after – thanks to Instruments of Nazi Power
  • they were effective at ‘cleaning house’ of their opponents, and the Gestapo was formidable
  • influence and funds of any would-be rebels were limited, especially youth movements
• most Germans remained loyal to the regime
  • McDonough (historian) posited that less than 1% engaged in active opposition
• strength of opposition depended on how well Germany was doing
  • isolated cases of individual/group resistance usually coincided with times of uncertainty
    • 1939: some Germans doubted going to war
    • 1942-1945: when Germany suffered serious military reverses/defeats
  • 1939-1942: opposition was largely dormant while Hitler conquered Europe
• opposition was rarely a matter of moral objection to the Nazis and their methods

Support for Nazism

• Nazi propaganda promoted the image of Hitler as a Great German Leader
• many Germans regarded Hitler as a savior from the dark Weimar times
  • “Adolf Hitler – the living incarnation of the nation’s yearning” (effusive praise)
  • AJP Taylor: Hitler was the most popular leader of any European country in modern Europe, and it’s “silly to claim otherwise”
    • 1939-1942: Hitler’s expansionist conquests across Europe raised his prestige in Germany to unprecedented heights – links to foreign policy + maintenance of power

NOTES STOP HERE