modern history

Blut und Boden = Blood and Soil

http://www.chgs.umn.edu/histories/documentary/naziLife/images/P35.jpg

“Die Nation braucht Dein Opfer = The Nation needs your Sacrifice”

You will recall that we studied the process of Gleichschaltung (coordination, sychronisation). Gleichschaltung was a word made up by the Nazis to describe their plans to establish totalitarian control over German political, economic and social life. By 1934, almost 1 million Germans gathered around the nation to declare a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler. For those who were not so enthusiastic, the Nazi reign of terror began almost immediately. Following their assumption of power, the Nazis used the state apparatus via propaganda, legal exclusion, intimidation, imprisonment and murder to eliminate any opposition to their revolution. After the Reichstag fire, socialists, communists and Democrats were taken to Dachau, one of the first Nazi concentration camps. The brutal reputation of Himmler’s secret police ensured that people who did not actively support the Nazis were too frightened to oppose them.

While Gleichschaltung was used to describe the legal measures taken by Hitler and the Nazis from 1933 to 1934, this process continued until all aspects of German society were under Nazi control. By 1937, the Nazis controlled Germans’ political, cultural and social lives to an unprecedented degree.

“The period from 1933 to around 1937 was characterized by the systematic elimination of non-Nazi organizations that could potentially influence people, such as trade unions and political parties. The regime also challenged the influence of the churches, for example by instituting the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs under Hanns Kerrl. Organizations that the administration could not eliminate, such as the schools, came under its direct control.” Source: http://www.germannotes.com/hist_ww2_gleichschaltung.shtml

Education under Nazi Germany

Impact of Nazism on Family Life

Questions

1. Why were the Nazis so concerned about families?
2. What incentives were used to encourage large families?
3. How were mothers particularly encouraged to produce large families?
4. Why did divorce rates increase in the years of the Third Reich?
5. What were two of the more tragic results on family life over the twelve years Hitler was in power?
6. Write a paragraph of about eight lines describing the effects of the totalitarian policies of the Third Reich on family life.

Impact of Nazism on Christian Churches