The Nazis used the churches rather than destroyed them. Catholics were allowed to continue their religious work. Hitler united all protestant into a Reich church under Bishop Muller who was pro Nazi. They were known as the German Christians. Although many Christians sided with the Nazis there was some opposition manly by the Church leaders who openly criticized the Nazi dictatorship.
The S.S., an elite force who controlled the police, and the Gestapo, the state secret police, closely watched the German people for any opposition. Many German people did not oppose the Nazis because they were frightened of being arrested and punished. The S.S. had power to arrest without trial and the Gestapo had informers who could report opposition to them. The Nazis were very strict on any opposition because people could get the death penalty for doing stuff like having a sexual relationship with a Jew, telling anti Nazi jokes and stealing from air raid shelters. Despite this there were many anti nazi jokes being told circulating privately amongst people even though it was punishable by death. There was also a lot of private grumbling against the Nazis but because if the strict policies it nether became open opposition.
The Nazi formed a Hitler Youth Organization, which became compulsory to join. This involved physical activities and training for war to fight. It also convinced the youth about Nazi ideas such as opposition to the Jews and was very strict. There was also a League of German Maidens organization. The Youth formed opposition to this because the Hitler Youth organization became unattractive due to its strictness. Instead some youth formed gangs or groups. The two main ones were the ‘Edelweiss Pirates’, who went on hikes, camped, sang and talked, and the ‘Swing Youth’, for middle class who wanted to dance and listen to swing music. Some ‘Edelweiss Pirates’ became involved in direct opposition to the Nazis
Underground plotting was quite common for people who did not want to oppose the Nazis publicly. In 1936 The Gestapo broke up 1000 meetings of underground groups. There was a bomb plot in 1944 to destroy Hitler that he was lucky to escape and was the closest plot to succeeding.
The Nazis managed to effectively control Germany because they managed to get rid of and stop opposition. Most people came to fear the Nazis and were led to believe that what the Nazis were doing was right. The opposition was little but the bomb plot could have been effective
