What was the most important reason why there was little opposition in Germany towards the Nazis regime?

Answer 1

In a Dictatorship such as Nazi Germany, all news outlets were carefully controlled and censored by the Reich Press Chamber a sort of censorial think-tank . Nothing that was oppositional to the Movement was permitted,. one notices the heavy organized crowd presence of Goose-stepping, drumming martial music, this could be on pre-recorded tapes and could be Cut-in) one radio broadcasts to drown out dissenting crowds shouting say (Down with Hitler) and the audience would never know the difference, the big deal on uniformity and conformity= Sieg Heil! could also be drummed into action. Open-line talk programs, so common in the US (for example Open Forum on religious stations, etcf, talk shows) did not exist in Nazi Germany. a very tenuous release valve for (public opinion) was the so-called Wunschkonzert or request concert- but even this was limited to tame Classical Music and vocals that were (Table ready) for public consumption. on the other hand the lively martial music would drum up feellings of unity- but would muzzle dissent. read the Goebbels diaries for more information on how public opinion, which might be negatively defined as controlled response to the party line (the public is taking up Total War very well!) than Public Opinion (with all its faults) in the western sense . Such a cagy but neatly prefabricated structure existed. it was difficult to tell documented (fact) from wishful thinking from Dr. Goebbels Propaganda machine. and so it goes. The Goebbels book is instructive reading on what we woyld now call (manufactured consent) it went far beyond the massed martial music, but that was, of course, a component.

Answer 2

# Fear of being sent to a concentration camp and/or killed. # The Gestapo had extensive networks of informers and it was extremely difficult to organize opposition. As a result, individuals who opposed the regime were isolated. # Of course, many Germans found it convenient not to oppose the regime.

Answer 3

Arguably, there was much opposition. The opposition to Hitler was relatively widespread, coming from the youth, in particular students like Sophie Scholl. There was much passive resistance from the people, a smoking ban was proposed by the Nazis however during this period, smoking actually rose. There was opposition from the left wing and the communists. There was some oppostion from the churches, however this was limited to individuals as the church primarily concern was to keep their members rather than challenge the Nazi rule. The largest example of opposition came from the military with the famous Project Valkyrie taking the head which was conducted by Stauffenberg. So arguably, there was opposition from nearly all aspects of society.

Despite this, it was limited in that it tended to be individuals that opposed the regime, rather than groups as a whole. When groups did openly oppose policy like the T4 programme, Hitler did revoke this policy, suggesting that the situation in Germany could have been completely different if people as a whole spoke out.

Arguably, the terror aspect of the regime prevented this. The majority of those who did oppose the regime were executed or imprisoned. Sophie Scholl the student is an exmaple of this. Therefore, people were afraid of openly opposing as it is likely they would have been executed.

There is another argument that explains why there was so little opposition and this is that the regime was widely popular. Hitler solved many of the economic problems that were present in Germany and to a degree he was very popular with the people. Many of the cirmes in Germany were repoted or denounced by citizens rather than organisations like the Gestapo themselves, which to a degree would suggest popularity to the regime.

Overall, it is likely to be a combination of the two which explains why the opposition was limited to individuals. Those who did oppose the regime may have been afriad of the consequences so stuck to passive resistance and the other people may have supported the regime as they had a much better standard of living as a result of the Nazi regime.