Nazi Censorship and Propaganda
History CH 8-9
The Police State
Nazi Censorship and Propaganda * The police state was one of the most important factors in Hitler’s establishment of a dictatorship after Hindenburg’s death, as it allowed him to persecute and get rid of his social, religious and political enemies that lived among the German people. * As in many cases, indoctrination (converting people to different ideals using education and propaganda) did not work, so Hitler had to used force and terror using the Nazi’s security and military organizations, such as the SS (Schutzstaffel), the SD (Sicherheitsdienst, security service) and the Gestapo. * In 1936, all of these organizations were brought under the control of Heinrich Himmler, who also organized the Night of the Long Knives. * The SS was formed in 1925 as a unit of personal security for Hitler, and was led by Himmler after 1929. Himmler kept building it up until it had a clear identity to the party and the general public, as all members of the SS wore black. They had shown total obedience to the Fuhrer, and the SS had grown to have over 50,000 members in 1934, and they were shown as an example for the German people. * After the Night of the Long Knives, the SS had taken the role of the SA, which was the removal of opposition and within the SS; the SD was responsible for party security, and eventually security in the country. * The Gestapo (Geheimestaatspolizei – secret state police) was the most important security organization in the Nazi Party, and it was formed by Hermann Goering in 1933, and came under the control of Heinrich Himmler in 1936. * The Gestapo had the ability to arrest any suspects of opposition against the party, and it would arrest those that would later be sent to concentration camps. * By 1939, the Gestapo had arrested about 160,000 political suspects of opposition against the Nazis, and who were sent to different concentration camps. * Although the Nazis controlled the Reichstag,
The Police State
Nazi Censorship and Propaganda * The police state was one of the most important factors in Hitler’s establishment of a dictatorship after Hindenburg’s death, as it allowed him to persecute and get rid of his social, religious and political enemies that lived among the German people. * As in many cases, indoctrination (converting people to different ideals using education and propaganda) did not work, so Hitler had to used force and terror using the Nazi’s security and military organizations, such as the SS (Schutzstaffel), the SD (Sicherheitsdienst, security service) and the Gestapo. * In 1936, all of these organizations were brought under the control of Heinrich Himmler, who also organized the Night of the Long Knives. * The SS was formed in 1925 as a unit of personal security for Hitler, and was led by Himmler after 1929. Himmler kept building it up until it had a clear identity to the party and the general public, as all members of the SS wore black. They had shown total obedience to the Fuhrer, and the SS had grown to have over 50,000 members in 1934, and they were shown as an example for the German people. * After the Night of the Long Knives, the SS had taken the role of the SA, which was the removal of opposition and within the SS; the SD was responsible for party security, and eventually security in the country. * The Gestapo (Geheimestaatspolizei – secret state police) was the most important security organization in the Nazi Party, and it was formed by Hermann Goering in 1933, and came under the control of Heinrich Himmler in 1936. * The Gestapo had the ability to arrest any suspects of opposition against the party, and it would arrest those that would later be sent to concentration camps. * By 1939, the Gestapo had arrested about 160,000 political suspects of opposition against the Nazis, and who were sent to different concentration camps. * Although the Nazis controlled the Reichstag,