To what extent did the Nazi Regime face serious opposition within Germany
between the years 1939-45?
Paragraph 1 – army
Arguably the most serious form of opposition.
They were the only groups with the sufficient physical force to topple the regime.
Hitler had written in Mein Kampf that he saw the army general staff as “the
mightiest thing the world has ever seen”.
They had easy access to Hitler as he had placed himself in such a prominent position in
foreign policy.
He headed the occupation of the Rhineland in 1936, and took a leadership role in
the war, such as taking the decision to attack the Soviet Union in the spring of
1941.
Hitler had enjoyed the support of the army for a large part of the war due to common
aims of colonial foreign policy and because they benefitted largely from the
rearmament programme of the 1930’s.
During the latter half of the war he realised they were not prepared to be an instrument
of his policy, due to failings in the war loss of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-3.
Stauffenberg Bomb Plot of July 1944 – the army general staff, led by Count von
stauffenberg, Ludwig beck and Henning von Tresckow, tried to make an attempt
on Hitler’s life with a bomb, and almost managed to succeed due to unfortunate
circumstances.
There was considerable opposition from the Abwehr, the German military
intelligence – from 1935 it was headed by admiral Canaris who tolerated
resistance activities and helped Jews escape during the war.
However, there were other attempts at opposition from the army that were a total
failure:
The failed coup in Berlin – due to technical glitches and disorganisation, the
orders of the coup were sent directly the wolf’s lair.
Moreover, the manner, speed and ease with which Hitler was able to quash the
rebellious general staff seems to provide sufficient evidence to support the claim that
the power of the army was meagre in comparison to that of the regime:
The consequent blood purge left 5000 dead including all of the main culprits.
Following this the remains of the army would compete to prove who was most
loyal to Hitler.
Thus is can be concluded that although the army posed a fairly serious threat to the
regime, it cannot be concluded that they were a serious threat, as they simply did not
possess the unity, leadership, mass support, organisational skills or luck required to
stop such a powerful and influential dictator.
Paragraph 2 – church
The church were another one of the few groups in Germany who openly opposed the
regime and even managed to cause a shift in Nazi policy.
They showed opposition to policy that aimed to undermine the influence of the church:
There was widespread resistance in the form of civil disobedience involving
petitions, protest letters, mass meetings and school strikes in response to an
attempt to remove the crucifix from the classroom.
Opposition also surfaced from the church in reaction to Nazi policy that was
fundamentally immoral by religious rules:
Hitler’s sterilisation and Aktion T4 euthanasia programme in 1939, whereby
mentally and physically handicapped people were killed, sparked protest
amongst powerful members of the church. Mainly mobilised by sermons, such as
that preached by cardinal von Galen 1941 printed thousands of copies of his
sermon.
between the years 1939-45?
Paragraph 1 – army
Arguably the most serious form of opposition.
They were the only groups with the sufficient physical force to topple the regime.
Hitler had written in Mein Kampf that he saw the army general staff as “the
mightiest thing the world has ever seen”.
They had easy access to Hitler as he had placed himself in such a prominent position in
foreign policy.
He headed the occupation of the Rhineland in 1936, and took a leadership role in
the war, such as taking the decision to attack the Soviet Union in the spring of
1941.
Hitler had enjoyed the support of the army for a large part of the war due to common
aims of colonial foreign policy and because they benefitted largely from the
rearmament programme of the 1930’s.
During the latter half of the war he realised they were not prepared to be an instrument
of his policy, due to failings in the war loss of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-3.
Stauffenberg Bomb Plot of July 1944 – the army general staff, led by Count von
stauffenberg, Ludwig beck and Henning von Tresckow, tried to make an attempt
on Hitler’s life with a bomb, and almost managed to succeed due to unfortunate
circumstances.
There was considerable opposition from the Abwehr, the German military
intelligence – from 1935 it was headed by admiral Canaris who tolerated
resistance activities and helped Jews escape during the war.
However, there were other attempts at opposition from the army that were a total
failure:
The failed coup in Berlin – due to technical glitches and disorganisation, the
orders of the coup were sent directly the wolf’s lair.
Moreover, the manner, speed and ease with which Hitler was able to quash the
rebellious general staff seems to provide sufficient evidence to support the claim that
the power of the army was meagre in comparison to that of the regime:
The consequent blood purge left 5000 dead including all of the main culprits.
Following this the remains of the army would compete to prove who was most
loyal to Hitler.
Thus is can be concluded that although the army posed a fairly serious threat to the
regime, it cannot be concluded that they were a serious threat, as they simply did not
possess the unity, leadership, mass support, organisational skills or luck required to
stop such a powerful and influential dictator.
Paragraph 2 – church
The church were another one of the few groups in Germany who openly opposed the
regime and even managed to cause a shift in Nazi policy.
They showed opposition to policy that aimed to undermine the influence of the church:
There was widespread resistance in the form of civil disobedience involving
petitions, protest letters, mass meetings and school strikes in response to an
attempt to remove the crucifix from the classroom.
Opposition also surfaced from the church in reaction to Nazi policy that was
fundamentally immoral by religious rules:
Hitler’s sterilisation and Aktion T4 euthanasia programme in 1939, whereby
mentally and physically handicapped people were killed, sparked protest
amongst powerful members of the church. Mainly mobilised by sermons, such as
that preached by cardinal von Galen 1941 printed thousands of copies of his
sermon.
