How Far Did The Nazis Control Everyday Life In Germany After 1933

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How Far Did The Nazis Control Everyday Life In Germany After 1933?

In this project I intend to explain how the Nazis controlled everyday life in Germany from 1933 onwards. I shall look at how Youths, Women, Workers, Control and Propaganda and the Jews, were all either part of the control or a victim of it.

Adolf Hitler was born on the 20th of April 1889 at Braunau, on the Austro-Bavarian frontier. He was the son of a customs official, in the Austrian government. His family was middle class and in an extreme nationalist area, so he had learnt to distrust capitalists and the working class alike.

When he was 19 with both parents dead Hitler moved to Vienna looking to get into the arts college, they rejected him.

For 3 years he stayed in Vienna finding money from odd jobs and sleeping in hostels. During this time he learnt to hate Internationalism, pacifists and above all he learnt to hate the Jews.

When war broke out in 1914 Hitler joined the German army, he served 4 years on the western front, was wounded, temporarily blinded by Gas and was captured but released. He was awarded 4 military medals including the iron cross for bravery.

When the war ended in 1918 Hitler remained in the army and was posted in Munich. His orders were to report on the Fringe Political groups appearing at that time. The group that caught his eye was the German workers party. In September 1919 Hitler attended a meeting f the party and was so impressed he decided to join. In 1920 the German workers party changed their name to the Nationalist Socialist German workers party and in 1921 Hitler was elected its leader. On 8th November 1923 at the height of the Weimar republics economic and political crises with runaway inflation and foreign forces occupying Germany's main industrial region Hitler and his followers attempted to stage a putsch in Munich. They took over a beer hall and said they were forming a new government, from where a revolution would sweep the rest of Germany. Hitler had the backing of General Ludendorf and other Nationalists hostile to the current government. The next morning Hitler Ludendorf and about 2000 supporters set out for the public offices in the centre of Munich. They were confronted by a large force of armed Police who opened fire. The Nazi supporters fled. Hitler suffered a dislocated shoulder was arrested and was sent to prison. The judges gave him a minimum sentence of 5 years and recommended an early parole. The prison was the Lansberg fortress, from which he was released after 8 months. While in prison he started to write his famous book, Meine Kampf, which became the political bible of the Nazi party, within it Hitler, looked forwards to the creation of a third Reich. In succession to Charlemagne Holy Roman Empire, and Bismarck's second empire. It argued that Germany had been betrayed by signing the Treaty of Versailles, and forced into paying reparations to Jewish financiers and was surrounded by enemies. Also one of the main points was the belief that Germans were the Herrenvolk or master race, and should have living space in the east where they could expand and prosper.

When Hitler was released from jail in 1924 he could not involve himself in the politics of Germany because the government had banned the Nazi party, his immediate concern was to build up the party and give it and organisational structure. Under Captain Ernst Rohm semi military group called Sturmabtielung or S.A., rapidly expanded. In 1923 they acquired their famous uniform of dark brown shirts. They also adopted the emblem of a black swastika on a white disk imposed on a red armband. More frightening than the S.A were the S.S. original created as a paramilitary bodyguard group for Hitler. They wore a black shirted uniform with the emblem of a skull as their badge. They became ruthless efficient and elite and frequently their task was to eliminate all opposition to the Nazis. Until the summer of 1929 the Nazis had very little political power having only 12 seats. On the other hand the communists won 54 seats increasing the Nazi hatred and the opinion that Nazis were a fringe element in German politics.

In 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany the conservative classes had put Hitler into power in the belief they could control him. Within weeks Hitler demanded a new election, which took place on 5th march. 6 days before the election the Reichstag building was set on fire and a young Dutchman Marinus VanDerLubbe was blamed. He was also accused of being Communist; this gave Hitler the perfect excuse for destroying communist parties. The enabling act was passed in April with a staggering majority this law transferred power to make laws from the Reichstag to the cabinet, in practice this meant that Hitler was now responsible for making laws. With all opposition parties abolished Hitler tuned against the storm troopers. They were a possible threat to Hitler's power. During the night of 30th June 1934 between 150 and 200 members of the S.A. were shot.

Youth

During his reign Hitler was convinced the youth or the young of the nation must be brought up in Nazi style to ensure the success of the Nazi party. In schools, old textbooks were burnt or destroyed and new Nazi versions were published. Anti-Nazi teachers were sacked and all other teachers had to swear oaths to Hitler. To begin with Jews had separate desks then classrooms followed by schools and then Hitler outlawed all Jewish education. Lessons were taught on the Jewish enemy and Nazi race science (inferior and superior), how glorious it would be to fight for Germany, and how the government would not stab soldiers in the back. Also living space was taught, which involved the invasion of Poland, Russia and all German-speaking nations.
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Young boys were forced into the Hitler youth which was an organisation that taught boys basic military training, useful skills e.g. Fixing bikes, signalling etc. It also concentrated on sport, at Hitler youth boys were mixed both rich and poor and were told to play war games. This was where the entire camp was separated into 2 groups attacking and defending, and they had to act out battles, including actual fighting although without actual weapons. One of the main objectives of the Hitler youth was to channel aggression.

The girls were put into the German girls ...

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