Opposition to the Nazi Regime

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The Nazi regime: how effectively did the Nazis control Germany

1933-45?

1. How much opposition was there to the Nazi regime?

Though Hitler had opponents from different spheres of the society,

i.e., from political, social, religious groups, there was very little

organized opposition, as they mostly worked underground, failed to

observe [and strike on] the weaknesses of Hitler’s government [thanks

to the speed of his consolidation of power and his nature of

dictatorship.] Plus, his opposition had little unity amongst them and

didn’t have the support of a majority of the Germans like Hitler did

with his powerful speeches, ideas and propaganda. Powerful German Secret agencies like the Gestapo (German Police) and the SS secretly kept an eye on the entire German masses, with their informers all around Germany, spotting and naming people who were suspected to be anti-Nazi or communist sympathizers.

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Quite a few people showed their opposition through private grumbling,

amongst their friends, family or trusted colleagues, but they were

careful not to do so in the presence of people who would report them

to the Nazis. However, this grumbling didn’t become a collective open

opposition for several reasons. Firstly, people were afraid of the

Nazis, especially its aggressive divisions like the SS and Gestapo.

Most of the time, people didn’t know what was going on as censorship

and propaganda prevented them from getting the clear picture. Those

who knew about the harsh extremes of the Nazi policy were ...

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