The Nazi State
How do you control a society?
After Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, the Nazi regime rapidly consolidated power and imposed totalitarian control over German society. By controlling law, culture, education, and the economy, the Nazis created a state where dissent was dangerous and Hitler was central to every aspect of life.
Key concepts:
Gleichschaltung (Coordination): All institutions (media, education, trade unions, churches) were brought under Nazi control or influence.
Propaganda and Censorship: Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda played a key role in controlling German public opinion and spreading Nazi ideology.
Youth groups: Hitler Youth and League of German Girls indoctrinated loyalty to Hitler and the state.
Terror and Policing: The Gestapo and SS eliminated dissent through surveillance, imprisonment, and execution.
Persecution of Jews and minorities: Through laws like the Nuremberg Laws (1935) and Kristallnacht (1938), Jews and other groups were increasingly excluded and persecuted.
Total war mobilisation: Society was militarised and economy directed towards war, especially after 1939.
1. Nazi Ideology
Background briefing: Ideology of the Nazi state
The government of Nazi Germany was a fascist, totalitarian state. Totalitarian regimes, in contrast to a dictatorship, establish complete political, social, and cultural control over their subjects, and are usually headed by a charismatic leader. Fascism is a form of right-wing totalitarianism which emphasizes the subordination of the individual to advance the interests of the state.
Nazi fascism’s ideology in 5 points
The supremacy of the Aryan (Germanic) race
Extreme nationalism and the unification of all German-speaking peoples
Glorification of violence and obedience
Totalitarianism and the centralisation of decision-making
Volkisch philosophy
To do: questions
Write a paragraph charecterising the ideology of the Nazi’s
2. Terror and Repression
When President Hindenburg died of old age, Hitler unified the offices of President and Chancellor and became head of the German Army. He took the title of Führer (Leader) with complete dictatorial powers. The Nazis created a terror state, achieved through intimidation and brutality. The enactment of the Enabling Law allowed the Gestapo and the SS to arrest anyone for any or no reason, and imprison them without trial. The Gestapo used informants to create fear and mistrust, making the expression of any form of discontent regarding the political situation extremely difficult.
To do: questions
Write an essay plan for the essay question: ' How did Nazi's use terror and repression to maintain order.' using he following information.
The SS (Schutzstaffel)
The SS played a crucial role in suppressing dissent and eliminating opposition to the Nazi regime. The SS promoted Nazi ideology and was deeply committed to the racial policies of the regime. They were responsible for the operation of concentration camps, where millions of people, including Jews, Romani people, disabled individuals, and political opponents, were imprisoned, exploited, and often murdered.
The SS had extensive control over the German police forces and established a pervasive surveillance system to monitor and suppress any perceived threats to Nazi rule.
To do: questions
List the key roles of the SS.
What were the reasons that the SS were so feared in German society?
Source 1. Anatomy of the SS State. Krausnick and Broszat. 1970
Werner Best, Chief of the SD (the intelligence agency of the SS) on the role of the SS
‘National Socialism's political principle of totalitarianism, does not tolerate within its sphere the development of any political ideas at variance with the will of the majority. To discover the enemies of the State, to watch them and render them harmless is the preventive police duty of the political police. In order to fulfil this duty the political police must be free to use every means suited to achieve the required end. It is correct to say that in the National Socialist Führer State, the institutions called upon to protect the state possess an authority, which is derived solely from the new conception of the State and one which requires no special legal legitimisation.’
1. How does the Chief of the SD charecterise the role of the SS? (2)
Source 2. Anatomy of the SS State. Krausnick and Broszat. 1970
Letter from the SS to a mother seeking information from the SS about her son, 1934.
To Frau Erna Habich, Stuttgart
Based on your letter of 19 November 1934 addressed to the Führer and handed in here, I am informing you that on the instructions of the Political Police Commander of the State, Reichsführer SS Himmler, that your son, Walther Habich was executed on 1 July 1934 as a consequence of the Röhm putsch. Since this execution took place in defence of the State, no further explanation is required.
Heil Hitler.
2. Refer to both sources to explain why ‘no further explanation is required’. (3)
The Gestapo
The Gestapo were the secret police of Nazi Germany, it operated under the jurisdiction of the SS and was tasked with suppressing dissent, enforcing Nazi policies, and eliminating perceived enemies of the state. Utilising fear, surveillance, and terror tactics, the Gestapo played a significant role in the Holocaust and the systematic repression of individuals and groups deemed threats to the Nazi regime (e.g. communists, Jews, dissidents). The gestapo relied heavily on informants (e.g. neighbours reporting neighbours) and used intimidation, torture, and secret imprisonment.
Questions.
What was the role of the Gestapo?
How did they differ from the SS?
Source 3. Knaves Fools and Heroes in Europe between the Wars. Wheeler-Bennett. 1974
Life in a totalitarian state.
‘The technique of conducting a successful system of terror is to terrorise the maximum number of people with the minimum amount of effort. It is impossible to listen in to every telephone call or to overhear every conversation, but the art lies in the use of the spot check thereby letting people know when they were not being monitored. This in itself was unnerving. One closed the door carefully and conducted conversations in a whisper. One looked over one's shoulder in a public place before speaking. One did not trust the mails. One chose with great care the rendezvous where one met one's friends. No one who has not experienced it can imagine the frighteningly oppressive atmosphere of a totalitarian regime.’
3. Use the source to describe the tactics of a ‘successful system of terror’. (2)
4. How does the author describe the impact on society of these tactics? (2)
The police force and people’s courts
In Nazi society, the police and courts enforced control, maintained fear, enforced Nazi values, and crushed resistance across society. Many traditional legal safeguards were abolished. Traditional courts were replaced or subverted to align with Nazi ideology, ensuring political conformity. Justice served the regime and targeted Jews, opponents, and “undesirables” with harsh, biased rulings.
Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, was also in charge of the police. As a result, crimes committed by the Nazis were not investigated. Special 'People's Courts' charged and found guilty opponents of the Nazis with treason, even if there was little or no evidence. Judges had to swear an oath of loyalty to the Nazis. This gave the Nazis greater power over the sentencing of political enemies and those deemed to be criminals.
Questions.
Describe the role of the police and courts in Nazi Germany?
Extra: Use the concept of Gleichschaltung to explain the action of Judges.
Concentration camps
The first camp to open was at Dachau, just outside Munich, in 1933. Soon there were others including Buchenwald, Mauthausen and Sachsenhausen. They were initially used to detain enemies of the state who were "concentrated" in one place for political re-education.
Prisoners wore a coloured triangle which identified their crime:
○ political opponents
○ criminals
○ gypsies
○ Jews
○ certain religious figures
Life in the concentration camps was extremely harsh. Prisoners were made to live and work in horrendous conditions. When reports of prisoners' experiences leaked out, it increased the fear of being arrested.
Questions
List some of the crimes that would lead to imprisonment in a concentration camp.
3.Social indoctrination
A culture of informing on the neighbours
In Nazi Germany, the SS and Gestapo encouraged ordinary citizens to spy on each other, making every citizen a potential agent of the regime, creating a climate of fear and control. This surveillance by society method helped the Nazis maintain tight control with limited resources.
Key Points:
Culture of informing: The Nazi regime encouraged Germans to report suspicious behaviour, disloyalty, or anti-Nazi views—even within families, workplaces, or neighbourhoods.
Gestapo reliance on public informants: Contrary to popular belief, the Gestapo had limited personnel and relied heavily on tips from neighbours, coworkers, and even children to identify "enemies of the state."
SS enforcement: The SS oversaw the broader security apparatus, including concentration camps and ideological policing, often acting on information gathered from informants.
Social pressure and fear: Knowing that anyone might report them, many Germans became cautious in speech and behaviour, leading to self-censorship and obedience.
Consequences of reporting: Accusations could lead to arrest, torture, or imprisonment in concentration camps—even if the claims were false or motivated by personal grudges.
To do: Describe the culture of informing
Use the five key points to describe the impact of the culture of informing on German society.
Controlling the message. Propaganda and censorship
Propaganda was central to Nazi control of society, shaping public opinion and promoting loyalty to Hitler. Goebbels and the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, used films, radio, newspapers, posters, and mass rallies to glorify the regime, spread anti-Semitic messages, and demonize enemies. Propaganda targeted all age groups, especially youth, fostering a cult of personality around Hitler. It portrayed the Nazis as Germany’s saviors, reinforcing ideals of nationalism, militarism, and racial purity. Vigorous censorship suppressed dissenting views, creating a one-sided narrative. Through repetition and emotional appeal, propaganda unified the population under Nazi ideology.
‘Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated believe that they are acting of their own free will. This is the secret of propaganda, those who are to be persuaded should be completely immersed in the ideas of the propaganda without realising that they are immersed in it.’ J Goebbels
To do: questions
How did propaganda portray the Nazi state?
How did the Nazi state manage alternative opinions and views?
Discuss: How have these ideas been adapted to life in 2025?
2. The 100 Flowers Campaign
Source 1. Law for the Protection of Heredity Health, 14 July 1933
Article 1. Anyone who suffers from an inheritable disease may be sterilised surgically if, in the judgement of medical science, it could be expected that descendants will suffer from serious inherited mental or physical defects.
Article 2. Anyone who suffers from one of the following is to be regarded as inheritably diseased within the meaning of this law. Congenital feeble mindedness, schizophrenia, manic depression, epilepsy, blindness, deafness, serious inheritable malformations.
Questions
What are two conclusions that can be drawn from the source about the Nazi concept of race? (2)
Who is the intended audience of the eugenics law?
Source 2. Hitlers 3rd Reich. A documentary history. Hayes. 1981
Law making the Hitler Youth a state organisation, 1 December 1936
The future of Germany is dependent on its youth. There fore all German youth must be prepared for their duties. The Reich government has therefore decreed the following law.
Article 1. All German youth in the German territory of the German Reich is brought together in the German youth.
Article 2. All German young people outside their homes and schools are to be educated in the Hitler youth, physically, spiritually and morally in the spirit of national socialism for service to the nation.
Questions
What is meant by the statement ‘all German youth must be prepared for its future duties’? (2)
What can you infer about German youth participation in the Hitler youth before December 1936? (2)
Source 3. Education in Nazi Germany. History Core, 2024
Watch the video from minute 1.35 to 2.43.
Questions
To what extent does the information in Source 3 support the information in Source 2? Justify your answer with evidence from each source. (4)
Source 4. Documents on Nazism. Cape. 1974
J. Goebbels on the aim of propaganda. March 1933
‘It is not enough to be more or less reconciled to our regime, to be persuaded to a neutral attitude towards us. Rather we will work on people until that have capitulated to us. the new propaganda ministry has no other aim than to unite the nation behind the ideal of the national revolution. … We are living in a n age when the masses must support policies, it is the task of state propaganda to simplify complicated ways of thinking so that even the smallest man in the street may understand.’
Questions
What are two conclusions that can be drawn from the source about the aim of propaganda in the Nazi state? (2)
Use an example from your studies to explain ‘the task of state propaganda’. (2)
Source 5. Radio and the Reich
A poster promoting the Peoples Radio (Volksempfanger).
The caption reads ‘All of Germany listens to the Fuhrer’.
Questions
Examine Sources 4 and 5. With reference to the origin and nature of these sources, assess the strengths and limitations of each source for historians investigating the aims of propaganda in Nazi society. (4)
Source 3. Education in Nazi Germany.