Describe the Opposition to the Nazis in Germany.

by arsenal1997 (student)

Opposition to Nazis

Nazi party was once the most popular party in the whole of Germany and Hitler used this to their advantaged to form a dictatorship. The use of propaganda and with a hint of terror made his rule very successful but there were still oppositions around them. But they controlled the Nazi opposition very well through fear. They executed opposition leaders such as Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl.

The Nazis controlled the Germans through seduction (carrot) and supervision (stick). Nazis were very good at seduction at one point they had many firm believers of Nazi ideas. In the early years the very fact that they were not communist gained the much support amongst the middle classes. The swift reduction in unemployment was a further source of votes. The foreign policy achievements of the Nazis also pleased many Germans; even those who might be sceptical about other aspects of the Nazi regime often welcomed the strides Germany was making towards becoming a major power again.

There were always oppositions around whether it was the youth groups or the more political parties such as communists and the SPDs. But most of them were sent to concentration camps, they tried to work together but they were too suspicious of each other for it to work. The opposition for Nazis in the youth were through the Edelweiss pirates and the White rose group, they were eventually rounded up and murdered. Edelweiss pirates were a youth group who danced and listened to swing music which the Nazis had opposed to due to it originating from black people music.

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There were also more opposition from intellectuals. They despised the cultural barbarism of the Nazis and were forced to migrate and express their opposition from abroad. The most notable emigrants are of course Albert Einstein. Many landlords, lawyers and diplomats had disliked the Nazis from the off. The military were in favour of Hitler at first due to the desire he had to make Germany great again but started disliking them for the Nazi’s recklessness and policies. The Kreisau circle planned to restore a democratic government again. Many of them were arrested and executed for their participation in the July Plot.

The Nazis wanted to have a great relationship with the church as most Germans were Christians and opposition from the church would be difficult to counter. The church had wanted to work with the Nazis both through fear and through support for the Nazis. They supported Nazis policies because they were scared of communists, who were atheist, which could come into power. But when the irreligious nature of the Nazi regime many priests spoke out and against the regime. In 1941 the Roman catholic Archbishop of Munster, von Galen, led opposition against the Nazis for their euthanasia programme which killed over 70,000 mentally ill patients. The Jewish people had been taken to concentration camps or had been deported. In the concentration camps the Jewish community tried to oppose by doing little things such as singing and dancing.