This Week in Germany - The Leaders of the White Rose are Arrested

This Week's Historical Theme: Germany

 

18 January 1943

 

A significant event throughout the history of Germany that occurred in February was the arrest of the White Rose resistance leaders, Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie. They had left a suitcase filled with copies of anti-Nazi leaflets in their main university building. This leaflet stated that "the day of reckoning has come, the reckoning of our German youth with the most abominable tyranny our people has ever endured." The pair were, however, spotted by a janitor, who reported them to the Gestapo. Turned over to Hitler's 'People's Court', a kangaroo court for dispatching dissidents quickly, the Scholls, along with another White Rose member, were sentenced to death, and beheaded on February 23.

 

The White Rose was composed of university students who spoke out against Adolf Hitler's regime. Hans Scholl was the founder and was a former member of the Hitler Youth who grew disenchanted with Nazi ideology once its real aims were evident. During the summer of 1942, Scholl and a friend had composed four leaflets, which exposed and denounced Nazi and SS atrocities, including the extermination of Jews and Polish nobility. The risks involved were enormous, as the lives of average civilians were monitored for any deviation from loyalty to the state. Even a casual remark critical of Hitler or the Nazis could result in arrest by the Gestapo, yet the students of the White Rose risked all.

 

Want to find out more about the White Rose? Click here for more information, or here for a film about the resistance group.

November 20 - The Nuremberg Trials Begin

This Day in History: 20 November 2020

 

20 November 1945

 

75 years ago, today, the Nuremberg Trials began, as 24 high-ranking Nazis went on trial in Nuremberg, for atrocities committed during World War II. These trials were conducted by an international tribunal made up of representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, France and Great Britain. It was the first trial of its kind in history, and the defendants faced charges ranging from crimes against peace, to crimes of war, to crimes against humanity. Lord Justice Geoffrey Lawrence, the British member, presided over the proceedings, which tasted 10 months and consisted of 216 court sessions.

 

In October 1946, 12 architects of the Nazi policy were sentenced to death, and 7 others were sentenced to prison terms, ranging from 10 years to life. Three others were acquitted. Of the original 24 defendants, one, Robert Ley, committed suicide while in prison, and another, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, was deemed mentally and physically incompetent to stand trial. Among those condemned to death were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hermann Goering, Alfred Jodl, and Wilhelm Frick. Goering, however, committed suicide by poison on the eve of his scheduled execution. Trials of lesser war criminals continued in Germany during the 1950s and resulted in the conviction of 5,025 other defendants and the execution of 806.

 

Want to find out more about the Nuremberg Trials? Click here for more information, or here for more about the most wanted Nazis today.

November 16 - Joseph Goebbels Blames the Jews for World War II

This Day in History: 16 November 2020

 

16 November 1941

 

79 years ago, today, Joseph Goebbels published in the German magazine, 'Das Reich', that 'Jews wanted the war, and now they have it'. This referred to the Nazi propaganda scheme to shift the blame for the world war onto European Jews, thereby giving the Nazis a rationalisation for the so-called 'Final Solution'. Just two days prior, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had written a letter to the 'Jewish Chronicle' having read more than a dozen decoded messages from German police which revealed the atrocities to which European Jews were being subjected. He stated that the Jew 'has not allowed [the Nazis] to break his spirit: he has never lost the will to resist.'

 

Churchill was correct, as active Jewish resistance was increasing, especially in the Soviet union, where Jews were joining partisans in fighting the German incursions into Russian territory. However, it was proving to be too late, as Goebbels and the rest of Hitler's henchmen carried out the 'elimination of the Jews' by using propaganda and anti-Bolshevik rhetoric to infuse SS soldiers with enthusiasm for Hitler's work. As the war drew to a close in 1945, Hitler committed suicide. In accordance with Hitler's will, Goebbels succeeded him as Chancellor of Germany, but only served one day in this post. The following day, Goebbels and his wife committed suicide, after poisoning their six children with cyanide.

 

Want to find out more about Joseph Goebbels? Click here for more information, or here for more about the other most wanted Nazi war criminals.

November 9 - Kristallnacht

This Day in History: 9 November 2020

 

9 November 1938

 

82 years ago, today, the Nazis launched Kristallnacht, a campaign of terror against Jewish people and their homes and businesses in Germany and Austria. It was dubbed as 'Kristallnacht', meaning 'Night of Broken Glass' after the many smashed windows of Jewish-owned establishments. This event left around 100 Jews dead, 7,500 Jewish businesses damaged, and hundreds of synagogues, homes, schools and graveyards vandalised. It is estimated that 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, many of whom were subsequently sent to concentration camps and were released when they promised to leave Germany. The pogrom represented a dramatic escalation of the anti-Semitic campaign by Adolf Hitler.

 

In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, the Nazis blamed the Jews and fined them 1 billion marks for Ernst vom Rath's death, who was a German diplomat in Paris, killed by a Polish Jew. This was used as an excuse to carry out the attacks. In repayment, the government seized Jewish property and kept insurance money owed to Jewish people. Further discriminatory policies that excluded Jews from public life were enacted to create the master Aryan race. This led to the fleeing of 100,000 Jews from Germany, and outrage from other nations. Some countries broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, but the Nazis suffered no serious consequences, leading them to believe that they could get away with mass murder in the Holocaust.

 

Want to find out more about Kristallnacht? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Holocaust.

September 15 - The Nuremberg Race Laws Are Imposed in Nazi Germany

This Day in History: 15 September 2020

 

15 September 1935

 

85 years ago, today, the Nuremberg race laws were imposed in Nazi Germany, stripping German Jews of their citizenship, thus reducing them to 'subjects' of the state. These laws became embedded in the German culture by government legislation, and so were much more radical than other Jewish discriminatory practises that were already in place. Jews were forbidden to marry 'Aryans' or engage in extramarital relations with them. Female Aryan servants under the age of 35 could also not be employed by a Jew. Buying food was now difficult for Jewish customers, as groceries, bakeries and dairies would not admit them.

 

Within the first year of Hitler's dictatorship, German Jews were already excluded from a range of offices and locations, such as journalism, radio, theatre and film. 'Jews Not Welcome' signs were also frequently seen on shop and hotel windows, as well as other public arenas. Although the Nuremberg Laws had a crippling economic and social impact on the Jewish community, the average German felt renewed hope and pride in their economy. Even most foreign and political leaders were tricked into thinking this was merely just a phase, and that Hitler, in the words of British Prime Minister Lloyd George, was a 'great man'.

 

Want to find out more about the Nuremberg Laws? Click here for more information, or here for more about the life of Jews in pre-war Germany.

Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures

             Right. Hi. You can relax now, it's me again, ready to try and explain to you something that you almost definitely understand better than I do. But as long as we're both aware of that dynamic, we needn’t worry. Understand? Good. We can continue. I have to, of course, hope that you're all having a lovely Christmas, or whatever you chose to celebrate - I care about my readers!
 I also have to warn you that the festive season has made me even more scatterbrained than usual, so get ready for some absolutely obscure metaphors that make very little sense.
So here we are. You've sat through the required rambling, and you're hoping for the intelligence to appear. The point, the method to my madness. You have, of course, earned it. You see, it occurred to me the other day that a very definite pattern emerges if you look at the conditions in which radical parties have made their way into power. Now I don’t mean to teach you to suck eggs, but please humour me as I state the obvious: for a group to get into power it must have support. I'll tell you now, this confused little seven year old me more than the British Public if anyone with talent was the win the misleadingly named 'Britain’s Got Talent' (I really truly am sorry!). As a little, unbelievably cute girl, I couldn't quite understand how the Nazis or the Communists ever got into power. I mean, if they're so evil, why would anyone vote them in? I was, however, a little bit of a simple child, to put it nicely. Now, thankfully, after five years of studying history from teachers who actually know something, I have realised.
  Because both Russia and Germany were poor, and had their national pride singed. They both felt as if promises had not been kept, and let down by the government. I sincerely hope you're seeing a pattern, because if not you'll have to sit in the corner with the cast of Duck Dynasty and the safety scissors. When things get bad economically, people look for a quick fix. And normally that quick fix involves a fair bit of violence and oppression, but hey ho, lets ignore that shall we. And honestly, that's what most people are like in their personal lives. When things get tough, instead of having the patience to wait it out, we often look for something we can do, something quick. Which is exactly how the Russian and German public must have felt. So they supported the radical groups, and some of them soon came to regret it.
  But what exactly is the point of me coming on here and stating the obvious, probably insulting your intelligence. I may as well just stand here letting you all know that 'The Sun' isn't the most highbrow of newspapers. I feel, however, that it may just do some good to remember Russia and Germany, the real-life cautionary tales. Because economically, the world isn’t doing great. And soon, one of these 'miracle parties' might rear their ugly head. Look at this country, Britain. Before the recession, UKIP would never be as popular as they are now. In Greece, the 'Golden Dawn' party are gaining supporters. So I’m not being like one of those conspiracy theorists that stand on pavements with sandwich boards (though I can do that if you want), I’m being honest.
 Anyways, that cheery article over, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas or whatever you celebrate!

Hitler's Rise to Power

Today is the 80th Anniversary of Hitler's appointment of Chancellor of Germany in 1933. President Hindenburg finally agreed to do so to resolve Germany's political and economic deadlock. It of course marked the beginning of the process which led to Hitler becoming absolute dictator and dismantling the democratic Weimar Republic. The photos above show Hitler acknowledging the crowd on that day and being photographed with his cabinet (Fellow Nazi Herman Göring is on the left of Hitler, and Vice Chancellor von Papen is on his right)

A series of events will take place across Germany to mark the anniversary, and Chancellor Angela Merkel will give a speech to open the "Road to Dictatorship" exhibition at the former SS Headquarters in Berlin. You can read more about what happened on 30 January 1933 here at the History Place website which is also quite handy for its coverage of American History. More GCSE focused work on Hitler's rise to power can be seen here (Spartacus) and here (John D Clare).