However, the definitions of certain terms were not the only problems faced. There was also the matter of how much evidence could be relied upon. As Kershaw suggests, many historians did not know how true their sources were. Because the Nazi regime was so harsh and feared by many Germans, historians tended to believe that evidence which suggested support for Hitler, may have been forced through that fear. But this leads to another obvious problem; the historians were then ignoring the evidence that showed people genuinely supported Hitler and his policies.
Despite these problems and issues we know that there were certain groups who actively opposed the Nazis, the main ones being those mentioned above. The communists in theory should have been Hitler’s fiercest opponents, but in reality they were ineffective. This was partly due to them being the most persecuted victims of the regime and also because their popularity meant most Germans were terrified by the prospect of a communist revolution and therefore welcomed the Nazi repression of the KPD. They had also miscalculated the strength of the Nazis, which meant before and after the Nazi takeover, they fought a bitter ideological battle against the socialists, instead of concentrating their efforts on the Nazis. This was due to Stalin suggesting the German communists adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude towards the regime, not realising its true strength. This all meant it was easy for the Nazis to crush any opposition in the form of communism.
Another group that opposed the Nazis was the socialist party, the SPD. The SPD were just as ineffective as the communists at opposing Hitler. This was partially due to their fall in support before the Nazis came into power, when the depression in Germany had tempted many workers into the Nazi movement, whilst unemployment crippled the trade unions, rendering them useless. Because the Social Democrats had few contacts with the establishment, they were easily marginalized. Within weeks of Hitler coming to power the leaders of the socialist movement went into exile or were sent to concentration camps. Trade unions and the SPD were banned, leaving the socialists leaderless and powerless, they were unable to resist the regime.
In the early years of the Nazi regime the conservatives were in a stronger position to resist Hitler. Their contacts in the army, bureaucracy and with President Hindenburg, gave them their strength. In spite of that conservative opposition was minimal. As always, Hitler moved quickly to remove nonconformist conservatives in June 1934. The majority of conservatives were sympathetic to Hitler and his cause, who managed to eliminate most doubts. Also, the conservatives welcomed the suppression of the communists and the return of a more authoritarian form of government. The only doubts the conservatives had of Hitler were about the boldness of his foreign policy, which they never openly questioned. The conservatives who did resist did so in isolation or small groups, who were hardly a threat to the regime. However the Kreisau Circle had influential members and posed a significant threat, yet it suffered from the same problems that made all opposition groups ineffective. Uncertainty, internal divisions, the reluctance to use force against Hitler and mistrust of the Allies weakened the group.
The Protestant and Catholic churches both submitted easily to the Nazis, which was surprising due the apparent strength of the churches. The Catholic Church had good potential to stand independent of the regime, owing to its international base and thriving network of schools, clubs and youth groups. However, the churches never managed to seriously oppose the regime, mainly because their methods of resistance were insignificant in comparison to the strength of the Nazis. What's more, due to hundreds of priests, including Niemöller, being intimidated, arrested and executed, most were too scared to offer opposition. The churches were also naïve, believing they could reach understandings with the Nazi regime. However, it was not only due to naivety that meant the churches offered weak opposition. There were considerable sections of all churches that were sympathetic to certain policies of Nazism.
The army was the only group that possessed the means to overthrow Hitler. But most generals believed they could safely restrain Hitler, underestimating his strength and popularity. When General Ludwig Beck plotted to overthrow Hitler in 1938, his plans collapsed as a result of Chamberlain’s appeasement and a lack of support from other generals. Whilst many leading generals despised Hitler because he was not aristocratic like themselves, they only plotted seriously against him when the war began to go wrong. By this point, Hitler’s position was almost unassailable.
As you can see, Hitler did face a considerable amount of opposition, but these groups were the active resistors. Many German citizens showed their resistance to the regime through smaller actions which may seem insignificant at first glance, but show the regime’s true popularity. Actions such as listening to the BBC and telling anti-Hitler jokes show the non-conformity of thousands. Yet, even these seemingly ‘small’ deeds could cost a person their life if overheard by a Nazi. Therefore, it appears no act of defiance was insignificant. Due to the harshness of the Nazis, not many would risk their lives to actively resist the regime, making do with jokes in the privacy of their own homes. Nonetheless, it must be remembered that thousands of German citizens supported the Nazis, before they were forced to. It was the true popularity of Nazism, which helped them to come into power. Without support of the public, it would have been much more difficult for the Nazis to come into power and much easier for the opposing groups to resist Nazism.
In conclusion it seems that whilst some groups tried to resist Nazism, they didn’t try very hard and when certain people did oppose the regime actively, they were quickly purged and severely punished. As a result of these severe punishments, others who opposed the regime were too scared to do so publicly. Therefore, whilst a lot of evidence suggests support for Hitler, there is a huge possibility that this support was forced. Yet, we cannot forget that many German citizens genuinely supported the Nazi regime.
