History of Germany

1 One-Party State

The Enabling Act (23 March 1933) made Hitler was the all-powerful Fuhrer of Germany. The Law against the Formation of Parties (14 July 1933) declared the Nazi Party the only political party in Germany. It was an offence to belong to another Party. All other parties were banned, and their leaders were put in prison. Nazi Party members, however, got the best jobs, better houses and special privileges. Many businessmen joined the Nazi Party purely to get orders.

2 Terror

The Nazis took over local government and the police. On 26 April 1933, Hitler set up the Gestapo (the secret police) and the SS, and encouraged Germans to report opponents and 'grumblers'. Tens of thousands of Jews, Communists, gypsies, homosexuals, alcoholics and prostitutes were arrested and sent to concentration camps for 'crimes' as small as writing anti-Nazi graffiti, possessing a banned book, or saying that business was bad.

On the Night of the Long Knives (13 June 1934) Hitler used his legal power to assassinate all his opponents within the Nazi Party.

3 Propaganda

The German people were subjected to continual propaganda, under the control of Josef Goebbels. It was the cult of personality - everything was organised to make Germans permanently grateful to Adolf Hitler. Germans were made to feel part of a great and successful movement - in this respect the 1936 Olympic Games were a propaganda coup.

The Nazis used the most up-to-date technology to get their message across.

4 Youth

'When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side', I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already'. The Nazis replaced anti-Nazi teachers and University professors, and school lessons included hidden indoctrination - requiring children to calculate how much mentally disabled people cost the state, or to criticize the racial features of Jewish people.

German boys were required to attend the Hitler Youth, which mixed exciting activities, war-games and Nazi indoctrination. German girls went to the BDM and learned how to be good mothers, and to love Hitler.

5 Workforce

Hitler banned all Trade Unions on 2 May 1933. Their offices were closed, their money confiscated, and their leaders put in prison. In their place, Hitler put the German Labour Front which reduced workers' pay and took away the right to strike. The National Labour Service sent men on public works programmes.

To keep the workers happy, the Nazis set up the Strength through Joy movement, which offered good workers picnics, free trips to the cinema and (for the very few) free holidays.

6 Religion

Hitler signed a Concordat with the Pope, agreeing to leave the Roman Catholic Church alone if it stayed out of politics - so most Catholics were happy to accept the Nazi regime.

Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses - if they opposed the Nazis - were sent to concentration camps.

7 Racism

The Nazi regime was from the start based on anti-semitism. The Racial Purity Law (15 September 1935) took away German citizenship from the Jews, and forbade sex between Germans and Jews. Other key dates include Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938) and the Wansee Conference (January 1942).

Many Germans approved of this racism.

Much to the surprise of the Germans, the West responded by supplying West Berlin by air. It was a huge undertaking and a Western plane took off or landed every 30-40 seconds, round the clock. In the winter of 1948-49 conditions became very difficult as all coal for the electricity generating stations had to be flown in. (Please bear in mind that at the time military transport planes were much smaller than now). The blockade lasted till May 1949.

It's possible, if not likely. Although much of Gutenberg's life is still a mystery, it has been speculated that he may indeed have been Jewish because of a number of facts about his personal life and home:

• His name Gutenburg, is similar to Jutenberg, "Jute" being similar to "Jude", which is German for "Jew". He was also depicted with a beard in most paintings and statues in Europe, a common facial feature among the town's Jewish men;
• Historian John Man, author of The Gutenberg Revolution, points out that his home was located on "Judenberg," also known as the Jewish Hill;
• The city where he was born, spent most of his life, and died, was Mainz, Germany, and during his time it was the capital of European Jewry, with its own Jewish academy, established 300 years earlier;
• During this period, Mainz also had the largest Jewish community in Europe;
• According to Mainz's web site, Gutenberg's time was considered the "golden age" of trade and prosperity of its citizens, and area Bishops had "protected" its Jewish population;
• According to John Man, over a century earlier, dozens of Jewish homes were confiscated by the city's powerful rulers, and among them was the Gutenberg house. It was later reacquired by Gutenberg's ancestors and remained in his family through his lifetime.
• Religion author John V. Collyer, notes on his web site, Bible Topics, that Gutenberg was born of a wealthy Jewish family in 1397.

Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) was a government-sponsored outbreak of violence against the Jews in Germany - a pogrom. It began in the night of 9-10 November 1938 and lasted for some days.

During this night in November 1938 all German and Austrian synagogues were ordered burned by Goebbels in retaliation for the murder of a German by an angry Polish Jew.

Windows of Jewish owned businesses were smashed, homes were wrecked, 400 Jews were killled and about 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps. By Christmas 1938 two thousand of these Jews were dead.

The son of one of these unfortunate people assassinated a minor official at the German embassy in Paris.

The Nazi regime ordered the Jewish community to pay for the damage done to its own property and also imposed a collective fine on it!

The event is significant as it marked a major intensification of the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany. It was the first time that the Nazis used organized, widespread violence against Jews simply because they were Jews. It became clear that they were no longer safe in Germany. Those who were able to do so, left Germany after this.

Note. More recent research (in the 1980s) indicates a figure of 400 Jews killed during Kristallnacht and the next two days or so. The often quoted figure of 91 was that issued by the Nazis themselves and is completely unreliable.

The night of broken glass, a.k.a. Kristallnacht was a massive beating up of Jewish people throughout Germany on November 9th to 10th, 1938. Many Jewish homes were broken into and destroyed, leaving the streets lined with broken glass (hence its name). Jews were beaten to death; 30,000 Jewish men were taken to concentration camps. Throughout Germany, Austria, and part of Czechloslovakia, Jews were beaten, raped and murdered. Afterwards, protests began againast Kristallnacht in foreign countries, including in America. In New York, German goods were boycotted and swastika flags were burned in Chicago ...