The document discusses opposition to the Nazi regime in Germany between 1933-1944. It describes the various forms of opposition, ranging from widespread grumbling over economic issues to political activism and assassination attempts on Hitler. However, it notes that during this time period, very little of the opposition truly threatened Nazi power. It then examines some of the key reasons for this, including that most Germans initially supported the regime due to restoring order and the economy, and the Nazis were extremely effective at controlling dissent through intimidation and eliminating political opponents early on. Furthermore, the different opposition groups had differing end goals, preventing them from coordinating effectively against the regime.

1. Opposition to the Nazi
regime
• Describe the opposition to the Nazis.
• Explain who opposed the Nazis and
why.
• Evaluate the extent and significance of
opposition to the Nazis.
Shipyard workers on June 13th 1936 at the launch of a new battleship giving the ‘Heil Hitler ‘salute.

2. Did You Hear the One About
Hitler?
“Hitler and Göering are
standing on top of Berlin's
radio tower. Hitler says he
wants to do something to
cheer up the people of
Berlin. "Why don't you just
jump?" suggests
Göering...”
What value do jokes
have for historians of
the period?

3. Opposition in Hitler’s Germany
Stop @ 11:30 (if you want to watch more you can but it is focused on WW2 which is not in the syllabus)

4. Opposition against the Nazi regime took a variety of
forms ranging from general discontent and
widespread grumbling over fairly small matters like
wages and consumer goods, to political activism,
open resistance and attempted coups. Between
1933 and 1944 there were at least a dozen
assassination attempts on Hitler’s life.
However during the Nazi regime very little of this
opposition posed a real threat to the power of Hitler.
Why was this the case?
Overview

5. • Most Germans supported the regime because of
the decisive leadership and economic success
after the Great Depression
• Initial policies between 1933-1934 sought to
eliminate the influence of trade unions, industrial
workers and political parties opposed to the regime
• Nazi methods of control were extremely effective in
dissuading anyone from opposing the regime
• Many of the different groups who opposed Hitler
had different ideas about what a post-Hitler form of
government would look like. This meant that they
failed to work together and therefore decreasing
their chance of success
WHY SO LITTLE OPPOSITION?

7. Types of Opposition
Look at the different types
of opposition (p.5)
How easy would these be to
implement in Nazi Germany?
Is it possible to categorise
them? If so, what categories
would you use?
Are there different levels of
opposition?

8. Below are some of the main groups
that opposed the Nazi regime:
• Left-wing groups e.g. Red Orchestra
• Youth groups e.g. The Edelweiss
Pirates, The Swing Kids, White Rose
Movement
• The churches
• The army e.g. Operation Valkyrie,
Kurt von Hammerstein, Franz Halder
& Henning von Tresckow
• Conservative elites e.g. Kreisau Circle
• Individuals e.g. Dietrich Bonoeffer &
Georg Elser
Who Opposed the Nazi’s?

9. • German Communist Party formed
underground organisations who
worked to print and distribute
anti-Nazi leaflets & newspapers
• Attempted to sway workers by
infiltrating the German Labour
Front in the hopes of secretly
sabotaging war production across
the country
• The Red Orchestra (Rote Kapelle)
participated in a range of activities
aimed at undermining the Nazi
regime
Left-wing groups
Here lived between the years 1939-1942
Libertas Schulze Boysen and Harro Schulze
Boysen. With many women and men they
were active in the group ‘Red Orchestra’ in
resistance against the National Socialists.
They were executed on 22/12/42 in Berlin
Plötzensee.

10. The People Are Troubled about Germany’s Future
Time and again, Minister Goebbels attempts in vain to
scatter new sand in our eyes. The acts speak a hard
and cautionary language. No one can deny any longer
that our situation is deteriorating month to month. No
one can close their eyes any longer to the monstrosity
of events, to the catastrophe of National Socialist
policy threatening us all.--------------------------------------
Treat the SS with contempt! Let them feel that the
people abhor murderers and spies from the depth of
their souls! Stop the nonsense of collecting winter aid
plaques! Every penny, every act of help for the ruling
regime, prolongs the war and leads us all even deeper
into despair! Put a stop to thoughtlessness and
sentimentality.
Send this letter out into the world as often as you can!
Pass it on to friends and workmates! You are not
alone! Start fighting of your own accord, then in
groups.
TOMORROW GERMANY WILL BE OURS!
Source: Bundesarchiv, R 58/4105
English translation: Katy Derbyshire; English editing: Ginger A. Diekmann;
Editing: Ute Stiepani
1st edition 2016

11. • There were several youth
groups who opposed the Nazi
regime for various reasons
and by different means.
• Most of the youths who
joined these groups did so
because they rejected the
pressure to join the
increasingly authoritative and
bureaucratic Hitler Youth.
Youth groups

12. ‘These adolescents, aged
between 12 and 17, hang
around late in the evening
with musical instruments
and young females. Since
this riff raff is in large part
outside the Hitler Youth
and adopts a hostile
attitude towards the
organization, they
represent a danger to
other young people.’
—Nazi Party Report,
Dusseldorf, Germany,
July 1943
Edelweiss Pirates

13. The Edelweiss Pirates
rejected the militarism of the
Hitler Youth and would often
engage in physical
confrontations with Hitler
Youth patrols. They
disobeyed restrictions on
movement by going hiking
and camping on the
weekend.
Edelweiss Pirates

14. “Swing Types”

15. • In 1942 Hans Scholl, a medical student at the University of
Munich, his sister Sophie Scholl, Christoph Probst, Willi Graf,
and Alexander Schmorell founded the “White Rose”
movement, one of the few German groups that spoke out
against Nazi genocidal policies.
• At great risk, “White Rose” members transported and
mailed mimeographed leaflets that denounced the regime.
• In their attempt to stop the war effort, they advocated the
sabotage of the armaments industry. “We will not be silent,”
they wrote to their fellow students. “We are your bad
conscience. The White Rose will not leave you in peace!"
Because the students were aware that only military force
could end Nazi domination, they limited their aims to
achieve “a renewal from within of the severely wounded
German spirit.”
White Rose

16. • Numerous Protestant church groups had existed before Nazi
Germany. But these were absorbed into the Nazi Reich
Church. Some individuals refused to recognise this new
church and the Nazis naturally saw them as a threat. 175
Protestant pastors were arrested; probably the two most
famous were Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoffer.
• The Catholic Church fared no better despite the July 1933
Concordat signed between the Papacy and Nazi Germany.
When it became clear that the Catholic Church was suffering
just as much as Protestant churches, Pius XI issued ‘With
Burning Anxiety’ (Mit brennender Sorge) and some Catholic
priests took a stand. This ended with 693 being arrested for
“oppositional activities”.
The Church

17. • Opposition from within the army didn’t really appear
until it was clear that Hitler was steering Germany
towards war.
• A group that included conservative military officers and
diplomats believed that Hitler's violent death should
signal a general anti-Nazi revolt. Military officers
attempted to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944, in his
East Prussian headquarters at Rastenburg. Colonel
Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg left a bomb in a
briefcase near Hitler during a military briefing about
the eastern front
The ARMY

18. Kurt von Hammerstein
1939
Franz Halder
1939
Henning von Tresckow
1939-1943

19. • The Kreisau Circle was the name given
to a group of men who came from
aristocratic families and who opposed
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (army
officers, academics, social
conservatives, Catholics and
Protestants).
• They believed that Hitler would be a
catastrophe for the nation.
• They also wanted to re-Christianize the
nation in a prelude to introduction a
series of reforms based around
humanisation.
• They believed that they needed to plan
for Germany’s future and this oriented
around the removal of Hitler from
power and the destruction of the Nazi
Party.
Conservative Elite

20. • Dietrich Bonoeffer – Lutheran pastor who resisted
the Nazi regime by distributing anti-Nazi leaflets &
resistance posters
• Georg Elser – a small-town carpenter from
Southern Germany who attempted to assassinate
Hitler, Goring and Goebbels by placing a bomb
where Hitler was due to give a speech to mark the
anniversary of the attempted putsch in 1923.
Individuals

21. • Using what you have learnt this lesson and your
own research complete the table on pp. 6- 8 of
your booklets.
Overview of those who opposed Hitler

22. What type of source questions are being asked?
- Describe
- Identify and account (perspective)
- Compare
- To what extent (judgement)
Source Questions

23. What type of source questions are being asked?
Look through sources a – g in your booklets
then answer the practice HSC exam questions.
Source Questions

24. Read through the BBC Bitesize website revision
points and complete the online test:
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z2p3k2p/re
vision/1
CONSOLIDATE