How effectively did the Nazis control Germany between 1933

2. Briefly describe the work of Joseph Goebbels [4]

Joseph Goebbels was in charge of the Ministry for People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda. This controlled the mass media, radio, newspapers and films. Most families had a radio so the Nazi message could be sent to millions of homes at a time. Cheap TV’s were also made for the same purpose. Films, books and plays had to be kept to Nazi ideas and this made it impossible for non-Nazi views to be heard. All newspaper articles had to praise the good things Nazi’s were doing and any newspapers Goebbels did not see were closed down. Public book burnings occurred resulting in book written by communist and Jewish authors being destroyed. Rallies were held to celebrate Hitler and the Nazis and these included, music, singing and fireworks.

3. Explain why some young people opposed the Nazis [6]

The Nazis were keen to teach Nazi ideas to young people from a young age so that they would always be loyal to Hitler. The Hitler Youth movement was formed in 1926 and had 100,000 members when the Nazis took power. There were many reasons why some young people opposed the Nazis. One of the main reasons for this was because young people hated the way the Nazi’s controlled their lives. For example, girls found that they had little time for homework, which prevented them for having a career. One group who opposed he Nazis was called the “Edelweiss Pirates”. To start with they simply refused to be a good Nazi children. They would not join the Hitler Youth, cut their hair as required or stop listening to jazz music. They also gave out anti-Nazi leaflets. When war broke out they refused to join the army. By1944, the Nazis were becoming worried about the level of Edelweiss Pirate activity and they arrested hundreds of members.

The Navajos Gang and Edelweiss Pirates who carried out similar activities to the Hitler Youth such as singing however their songs criticized the Nazi regime. They also gave out anti-Nazi leaflets. The “White Rose” groups were young students from Munich led by Hans and Sophie Scholl. They opposed the Nazis because they disliked the idea of using war and violence to make Germany stronger. They believed Germany was going to win the war and so they felt that it was the duty of the German people to end the war to prevent more deaths. Like the “Edelweiss Pirates”, they also gave out anti-Nazi leaflets. The Nazi’s responded to their resistance by either hanging the ringleaders or breaking up meetings.