In 1933, some of the people of Germany feared that a communist revolution might rise. The Nazis had destroyed communism and brought stability. Of course, people admired how the Nazi party did this and felt safe; comforted by the thought that communist would not take over. Hitler had built up the German army and reclaimed some of the land that was lost due to the Versailles. Under strong leadership, Germany was getting back its pride.
Posters created by the Nazi party indeed did what they were created to, encourage and give hope to the people of Germany. One poster contained the ‘perfect family’ of which were three children, a mother and father, a happy unit. Another poster also encouraged workers to work hard and get your own car, a Volkswagen, which was also known as a ‘peoples car’. This again encouraged people that under the Nazi Parties reign, they could have the ‘perfect’ party.
On the other hand, workers lost many of their rights under the Nazis. For example, working hours limit increased to 72 hours a week and wages were low. Some may argue that although they did lose their rights, they still had jobs. But it was still extremely hard for the workers.
Although some people benefited under the Nazi Party others didn’t. It wasn’t the fault of the German people that caused the years of difficulty; it was the Jews and the communists. Therefore if you didn’t fall under any of these categories, it was not surprising that many Germans considered that the benefits of Nazi rule outweighed the disadvantages.
During his rise to power he used a private army he called the Brown Shirts to intimidate opponents. He had to be careful in doing this because he wanted and needed public support. His Brown Shirts launched into a reign of terror, arresting, beating, even killing random people across Germany. Law could hold none to account. The purpose was to "re-educate" the population, to cow them into submission so they would not dare to stand up to the regime. It worked. Even after Hitler was elected the situation did not improve. The Secret Police were the Gestapo and their purpose was to capture Jews and bribe other German into telling them about a Jews whereabouts. Again, you were in danger if you were of the Jewish religion but also if you were targeted by the Brown Shirts.
A low of October 1933 forbade any newspaper from criticizing the government. Goebbels kept a careful eye on what was written in the papers. The Nazis made sure they controlled the radio; broadcasts portrayed a positive view of Nazism and Hitler as a great leader and condemning his opponents. Music and art were also judged unsuitable. But not only did it stop their, Nazis went to great lengths to ensure that the children were brought up with the correct views. History was rewritten to emphasize the part played by the Nazis in German’s history and ‘Race Study’ was introduced as a new subject. This brainwashed some of the public and controlled how many of the public lived their lives.
In conclusion, I think that some people of Germany were better off under the reign of the Nazi Party even though their ways were very harsh and manipulating. This is because many of the public found jobs, were rewarded for working hard, working conditions were improved, comforted by the fact that the Nazi Party ruled out communism and were encouraged to have a perfect family. Others, however, were not better off if you fell under the categories of being a Jew or communist. If you did, then you were victimised by the Secret Police and blamed for the difficulty of Germany.
Ellie Bird Year 9 History