Through Fear and Political Coercion: Living in the Nazi Germany

The sudden rise of the Nazi Party and Germany’s descent into dictatorship was characterised by the creation of an environment crippled by paranoia and distrust, with the Nazis threatening social, economic, and political ruin if they were not given the power necessary to combat it. Because of this, fear and coercion were crucial for the Nazis to move up the political ladder, eventually forming a totalitarian state in 1933. However, once this had been accomplished and opposition was silenced, there was less need for such an approach. Persecution soon became a daily occurrence, and those who were not targeted by the Nazis had adopted a ‘live and let live,’ attitude, remaining silent as their former friends were targeted. Despite that, however, fear was a lingering aspect of Nazi Germany, and played a large part of keeping the population under control. Organisations such as the Sturmabteilung and the Gestapo were highly successful in their intimidation of the German people, and Hitler often warned of the dangers of Germany’s, ‘enemies,’ in his rhetoric, whether that be communists, Jews, or anybody else deemed ‘undesirable’. Because of this, the statement is true to a great extent, although other factors cannot be overlooked, particularly the favourable circumstances in which Hitler found himself in the late 1920s-early 1930s, in addition to effective utilisation of propaganda in German media which promoted the pure racial status of the ‘Aryan’ German.

Firstly, the existence of paramilitary and secret police organisations, such as the SA and the Gestapo, were successful in controlling the population and spreading fear throughout German society, creating an atmosphere of tension, and earning an infamous reputation. The Gestapo had the authority to investigate cases of treason, espionage, as well as anything that could indicate an attack on the Nazi Party, “The main thing was that each individual knew or at least suspected how brutally and ruthlessly the regime dealt with anyone who refused to be, ‘brought into line’”. The Gestapo immediately began challenging Nazi opponents in early 1933, beginning by targeting trade unions and known communists. These individuals were made an example of by the German government and were transported to prisons such as Dachau and Nohra. These, significantly, would become some of the first concentration camps of the Nazi regime. This, in turn, helped to suppress any dissenting individuals, as the actions of the Gestapo were intended to convey a clear message – that opposing the Nazis was dangerous, and anyone who did so would face severe repercussions. Perhaps to avoid suspicion that they may be linked with Nazi opposition, or maybe out of genuine support of the regime, many of those who were arrested by the Gestapo were handed in by those closest to them. Neighbours, colleagues, and friends turned on one another, and persecuted minorities, primarily the Jewish population, were suddenly and systematically phased out of German society, as a direct result of the fear organised groups such as the Gestapo inflicted upon communities. This was heightened through the actions of the SA, who engaged in intense street fights against communist groups, and otherwise intimidated people during elections. Many of those who were taken away by the Gestapo in the earlymid 1930s were criminalised because somebody else had decried them, and chances are it was somebody they knew. This was so effective, in fact, that camps such as Nohra were closed in the mid-1930s, “It made sense to close the camps because by 1935 the country was positively inclined toward Hitler’s relationship: Organised opposition was silent or as good as dead.” It was this heightened paranoia that rapidly intensified Anti-Semitic attitude in Germany. This view is echoed by German historian Frank Bajohr, who states that the Nazi presence alone was enough to persuade Germans to distance themselves from Jews in the early years of Nazi power, despite no Nazi policies specifically instructing them to do so, “The vague possibility that there may be negative consequences was enough to motivate non-Jewish …to give up contact with Jews. This smooth acceptance of the new anti-Jewish norm …contributed much more to the rapid exclusion of Jews from German society after 1933.” The Gestapo was essential in spreading mass fear and suspicion throughout Germany, leading neighbours to turn upon one another and subsequently causing the shunning of the Jews and other targeted minorities. They also sowed a deep-rooted fear in the punishments given to political opponents, leading to the majority of the general public being too afraid or wary to go against Hitler. This would only intensify as the decade progressed, especially as the Gestapo was turned over to Heinrich Himmler in 1934. In this regard, it was certainly a crucial aspect of Nazi rule.

Furthermore, the persuasive and hateful rhetoric of Adolf Hitler and his affiliates were vital in manipulating the population into believing that the Nazis where Germany’s last hope of restoring their former position as a major European power. Although his speeches were highly influential amongst the German people and are mostly attributed to the Nazi rise to power, they maintained their significance throughout the rest of the 1930s and were used by Hitler as a way to spread fear and coerce the German people into further supporting him. He warned, for instance, of the dangers of Jewish and communist conspiracies against the German state, and this caused panic to spread, as German politics was reduced to an issue of economics and religious identifications. Nazi politicians, such as propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, accentuated antisemitic views which further demonised the Jewish people, warning ordinary Germans of the danger and threat that these people caused, “That is the reason why as nationalists and socialists we are enemies of the Jew. He has tainted our race, spread moral rot, undermined our reality, and broken our strength.” This was sufficient in rising hate, anger, and fear amongst Germans. The Nazis also reached out to middleupper classes, causing further panic regarding the rise of communist ideals in Germany. This was a particularly pressing issue for upper echelons of German society, as not only did they give the millions of unemployed and disenfranchised a political platform, but they were also rapidly growing in numbers. Their national membership grew from 117,000 in 1929 to 360,000 in 1932, a statistic which only continued to rise with every upcoming election. Hitler was aware of this, and used the fears of the middleupper classes to his advantage, playing on their concerns and warning them of impending communist threats, “’Why must these Nazis always be so provocative and run about the place at night?’ Gentlemen, if everyone thought like that, then true enough, no one’s sleep will be disturbed, but then also the bourgeois would not be able to venture into the street.” When the Nazis attempted to silence their opposition through political means, the fear and constant threat of the communists and trade unions meant that such policies largely went unchallenged. Because of this, political coercion, and the sowing of fear in the early 1930s allowed the Nazis to intensify their persecution and solidify their authority.

Perhaps the greatest example of this was Hitler’s manipulation of the Reichstag Fire in February 1933, months before the Nazis claimed total control of the nation. Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was convicted and later executed for the act, and Hitler pounced upon the opportunity to scapegoat the radical left-wing communists as a danger to German society as a whole. This culminated in the introduction of an emergency decree the next day, which Hitler used to repress any political opponents. The Reichstag granted Hitler power through the passing of the Enabling Act in March 1933 in an overwhelming majority which he used to destroy any influential political opposition that may have remained. This not only succeeded in spreading fear and villainising the communist sects of German politics, but Hitler was able to portray himself as the man who had quelled any threatening revolution attempts, and stabilised a situation that had left the country on the brink of possible civil war, “From the ashes of the session chamber was lighted the torch of propaganda with which the Nazis blazed their way to a political majority, and thence to party dictatorship by stampeding the country against, ‘the communist menace.’” Hitler’s manipulation of the political chaos engulfing Germany in the late 1920searly 1930s succeeded in creating an environment of fear, which translated into silent support for the actions of the party. When Hitler passed the “Law Against the Formation of New Parties”, in July 1933, many supported the bill, under intense fear of what communist leadership could mean for the nation. In this regard, fear and political coercion were crucial factors in creating an environment of general compliance, which the Nazis were able to exploit and emerge as the only party remaining in Germany.

However, despite widespread fear and political coercion being essential to the Nazi rise to power and playing a crucial role in the running of the nation, they were not the only factors. Propaganda was vital to the Nazi political effort – not only the dehumanisation of ‘lesser,’ people, but the emphasis on Germanic strength and the potential of a united ‘Aryan,’ race. Hitler was often presented in media and on posters as the heroic saviour of the German people, and men such as the aforementioned Goebbels made sure that the party was being represented on film and on radio as positively as possible. The consequence of this, of course, was a sharp rise in Nazi support, “The Nazi regime had conditioned many Germans into believing they were a master race, destined to rule Europe.” Books containing undesirable or subversive views were publicly burned in large heaps, primarily those written by Jews, socialists, and pacifists. Censorship became commonplace, as freedom of the press was cast aside in favour of party-controlled newspapers such as Völkischer Beobachter and Julius Streicher’s Der Stürmer, which served only to spread Nazi ideology across the nation. The Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 were capitalised on by Hitler as a way of showing German might to the rest of the world, with the films of Leni Reifenstahl being broadcast around the globe. Indeed, propaganda played a massive role in Nazi Germany, and they could, for the most part, rely on the German population to be loyal and adhere to the messages that the Germans put forward. Despite this, the fear that the Nazis relied on to control the German population was perhaps much more important, as propaganda served both to boost German morale, as well as warn the German public of the anarchy that would befall the nation if the Nazis were denied power.

To conclude, Nazi Germany was a nation that was governed primarily through fear and political coercion, and this can be seen in the examples of secret organisations, primarily the Gestapo, as well as the manipulation of the dire situation that Germany found itself in the early 1930s by Hitler and his affiliates. Nazi German society was controlled by an ever-lingering sense of paranoia, and this helped the Nazis to control the general public, as well as contributing to the rapid alienation of certain minority groups, the Jews in particular. Furthermore, fear also prevented any political uprisings, as the threat of being sent to a concentration camp or being taken away by secret police deterred many from openly opposing the regime. Coercion also played a crucial role in the Nazis maintaining power, as they often warned of the threats caused by the ‘undesirables’ of whom Hitler liked to portray his party as the last line of defence against. As a result of this, Germans were prepared to support Nazi policies simply because they feared what the alternative may be. Of course, there were other factors, primarily the prevalence of Nazi propaganda in German media which spoke of the strength of the ‘pure’ German, (this was helped by the censorship of dissenting opinions as well as the widespread distribution of Nazi newspapers) but overall, the Nazis maintained their power through an overwhelming sense of fear and paranoia among the German populous, and because of that, the statement is true to a great extent.