CONSOLIDATING POWER OVERVIEW

MUSSOLINI’S METHODS OF CONSOLIDATING POWER

Domestic + foreign political policies

1. Reorganization of  Mussolini granted himself various titles - Minister of war, air and
government navy + Minister of the interior + Minister of foreign affairs (until
administration 1936) + Prime Minister
 Directly responsible and most powerful for all domestic and
governing affairs
2. Censorship and  Violent ban on political opponents
suppression of o All opposition parties including the Socialist Party were
opponents banned in 1926 and PNF was made the only legal party
o 1926: Secret Police (OVRA) was created to arrest
Effective in establishing
opponents
authoritarian control
o 1926: The Public Safety Law was passed, making
Ineffective/limitations in suspected subversives punishable by 5 years of internal
establishing exile.
authoritarian control o April 1926: Strikes and independent trade unions were
banned; only Fascist unions were permitted
Positive impacts (not on o Blackshirts (armed Fascist squads) were delegated to use
Nazi rule but in general) violence and intimidation to suppress the Socialists
of policies  Ban on anti-Fascist media
o Dec 1925: Censorship was increased by the Press Law. All
Negative impacts of journalists had to be registered by the Fascist authorities.
policies Prefects were empowered to dismiss editors or close
down newspapers
3. Use of  Glorified in photos and film footage: Media censored to ensure
propaganda (not rlly only flattering photos and film footage were released.
political..)  Theatres became required by law to show newsreels showcasing
the accomplishments of Mussolini’s government
 Mussuolini was glorified through songs and slogans e.g.
“Mussolini is always right”, and statues: Mussuolini was
sometimes cast upon a horse giving the Roman salute – a
powerful form of propaganda designed to show allegiance to
Mussolini and his new ‘Roman’ Empire  established continuity
between his regime and ancient Rome
 Posters that glorified Mussolini conquering other nations and
depicted triumphs of the Italian Army
 Promoted Italy as the heir to the Roman Empire

3. Foreign policy o1922 - The year Mussolini was apppointed as Prime

(1922-34) Minister
o 1934 - General Election, when the National Fascist Party
was still dominating the political scene (as a single party
state)
 Primarily - Opportunist, passive, x deliberate
o Meaning to take advantage of small incidents to gain
political influence and power
o E.g. (1920s) In response to the assassination of military
officers who were mapping Albania’s borders by shelling
 Corfu (a Greek island)  Italy accepted indemnity from
Greece
o Yugoslavia-Italy conflict over Fiume: Y gave it up to ITA

Sociocultural policies

1. Education reforms  All school textbooks were carefully reviewed, and many were
and youth groups banned and replaced with new government books that
emphasised the role of Mussolini and the fascists
 In 1929, it became compulsory for all teachers in state schools to
swear an oath of loyalty to the king and Mussolini’s fascist regime.
 Schools had politically ‘reliable’ instructors who ensured that
students were drilled in fascist ‘values’, including strict obedience
to authority, a spirit of sacrifice and heroism, and protection and
enhancement of the Italian ‘race’
 The oath was also extended to university lecturers 2 years later 
meaning ideological penetration of education persists throughout
the education of an Italian child
 Establishment of youth organisations: In 1926, all fascist youth
groups were made part of the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB).
While all groups followed physical fitness programmes and
attended summer camps that included pre-military training, older
children also received political indoctrination. Italian children
were in ONC were highly encouraged to join the Fascist regime
and maintain the Fascist ideals; By 1937, the ONB’s membership
had risen to over 7 million.
o In poorer parts of Italy, particularly the South and rural
areas, lack of resources limited the extent and
attractiveness of organized youth activities.
 The Fascist regime was highly successful in indoctrinating the
young generation. Total ideological cleansing and indoctrination of
the young generation ensured that there would not be any voice
of opposition in the future generation of Fascists; and that
everyone would adhere to Fascist ideals in the future; thus
ensuring the continuation of the Italian Fascist regime through
educating the next generation
2. Policies on  Incentivized marriage and birth
women, families, o Battle for Births offered generous maternity benefits and
and homosexuals; jobs to married fathers in preference over single men.
Aim: stress the They also gave prizes to those women in each of Italy’s 93
traditional provinces who had the most children during their lives
subservient role of o The number of births dropped from 29.9 per 1,000 in
women + reduce 1925 to 23.1 in 1940.
women in the  Taxation policies required bachelors to pay extra taxes, while
workforce i.e., couples with 6/more children paid none.
increase birth rate  In 1931, same-sex relations were outlawed and there were new
(demographic laws against abortion and divorce
growth) + justify  Decree against female employment: In 1933, it was announced
colonial expansion that only 10 per cent of state jobs could be held by women; in
1938, this was extended to many private firms.
 o Nearly 33% of Italy’s paid workforce was still female by
1940.
 The downturn in employment opportunities for women + Fascist
beliefs against women independence; women’s rights were largely
stripped of them during the Fascist regime; their statuses
deliberately and consistently downgraded; thus became unable to
support themselves on their own
 Policies restricted the ability for women to seek out alternative life
goals other than being a housewife
 Indoctrination of Fascist ideals made it so that women were only
accepted as housewives in Fascist Italian society → inhibited
female emancipation in Fascist Italy + in the sexual and family
sphere, Fascism reinforced traditional mores to the point of
oppressing individuals who did not conform
 Homosexuality was antithetical to the regime’s project of
transforming Italians into a race of virile warriors who would lead
the military expansion of the new Fascist empire, one of
Mussolini’s fundamental goals  The Fascist regime labelled
deviance from gender and sexual norms as something inherently
anti-Fascist; enable persecution of homosexuals
3. Policies on ethnic  In the Romanita Movement, Mussolini believed that the Italian
minorities (less ‘race’ was superior to those African ‘races’ in Libya and Abyssinia
significant than  “Manifesto of Race” (1938): a highly popularised manifesto that
Nazis); aim: instil denied the civil rights of Africans and Jews in Italy, and that they
racism to justify were inferior to the dominant “Aryan” race
colonialism and  Rome passed a decree in 1937 distinguishing the Eritreans and
marginalisation of Ethiopians from other subjects of the newly-founded colonial
non-Italian races to empire
maintain Italian  Under the Racial Laws, sexual relations and marriages between
prestige Italians, Jews, and Africans were forbidden
 Anti-Semitism: Issue of the ten-point Charter of Race (1938); a
series of racial laws and decrees. Ostracised and excluded Jewish
children and teachers from all state schools, banned Jews from
marrying non-Jews, prevented Jews from owning large companies
or landed estates and expelled foreign Jews, including those who
had been granted citizenship after 1919. Jews were banned from
professional positions in banking, government, and education, as
well as having their properties confiscated. (Until 1936, when
Mussolini joined Nazi Germany in the alliance known as the Rome
—Berlin Axis, (see below) anti-Semitism had not played a part in
fascist politics.)
 Failed to execute: at a local level, the anti-Semetic policies were
largely ignored by many Italians. Catholic leadership and some
senior Fascists were also opposed to the racial laws
 Social policies actively restricted the civil rights of Jewish people
and Africans + Fascist propaganda promoting the inferiority of
these races → persecution of ethnic minorities in Italy; inhibited
normal functioning of daily life for Jewish communities  The
stripping away rights of Jewish people ensured that they would
not be able to utilise their civil rights as a member of society +
racial laws ruling against them and Africans marginalised these
 ethnic groups and led to them being unable to voice out their
oppositionc
 Limitations: Mixed political response of the Italians towards racial
laws prevented them from being fully implemented + limited the
degree of severity of persecution of Jewish people in Italy as
compared to other authoritarian states at the time (e.g. Germany)
3. control over  There were attempts to develop a totalitarian aesthetic, through a
media and arts  confused combination of modernist concrete brutalism and
promote a new, attempts to revive classical glories in the Romanita movement e.g.
Fascist War memorial at Redipuglia: The overwhelming size and
sense of social being purposefully imposing style is intended to inspire awe and fear in
equal measure, conveying the message of the weakness of the
individual against the power of the authoritarian state
 The PNF generally relied on radio and short filmed documentaries
prepared by LUCE (the Union of Cinematographic Education) and
screened with feature films designed for entertainment. Fascist
newsreels and documentaries were screened at cinemas.
 Citizens were obliged to participate in state-organized spectacular
rituals (ceremonies, parades, etc.) which aimed to mould a
patriotic and martial spirit
 Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND 1925): a national recreational
club created by the Fascist party to increase acceptance of
Fascism by influencing the minds of Italy’s adult population by
controlling the population’s leisure activities. 40% of industrial
workers & 25% of peasants were members.
 In general, Italian society was less willing to accept the imposition
of state policy and did not share the other state’s traditions of
effective centralised governance. The PNF did not attempt to have
the content of literary texts, theatrical productions or commercial
films excessively ‘fascistized’ until the late 1930s, and the extent
of control was much less significant than that in Germany/Russia
 Fascist ideologies were not heavily promoted in adult cultural
circles.
 There was some control in the northern cities but little cultural
impact was made in the rural south
 The inseparable connection between youth leisure and young
organisations was apparent.
 State-organised rituals helped contribute to the construction of
strong Fascist-ideals in the country; strengthen social cohesion
and further marginalised opposition in Italy’s cultural sphere

Economic policies

Aim: autarky (self-  “Corporate state” → every industry part of Fascist led-corporation
sufficient in food and to sort out disputes between worker and management
raw materials in o Banning of trade unions and abolition of right to strike in
industry) 1925-6
Use of “economic  Use of ‘economic battles’
battles”:
unsuccessful
because fought
inconsistently

 Unsuccessful cuz fought inconsistently

 Use of an economic system where the state directly controls
economic production and allocation of resources
 Use of state intervention to reduce unemployment after
Depression (2 million in 1933)
o Encouraging the use of job-sharing schemes
o Public works schemes (building of motorways and
hydroelectric power plants)
o Use of public money to bail out banks and industries
(1931)
o Institute of Industrial Reconstruction (IRI) set up in 1933
→ temporary nationalisation of unprofitable industries
(iron and steel, merchant shipping, telephone system) →
becoming a massive state company by 1939.
o But parts were regularly sold off to industries under
private ownership → huge capitalist monopolies (chemical
industries: Montecatini, SINA Viscasa)
 Use of protectionism to pursue autarky (self-sufficiency in food
and raw materials in industry) in the 1930s
o More important as military actions in Ethiopia and Spain
increased
o League of Nations economic sanctions after invasion of
Ethiopia (1935)
o Encouraged heavy industries (steel, chemicals and
shipbuilding)
o State control was expanded such that 80% shipbuilding
and 50% steel production was directed by government
o Low priorities for exports

 By 1940, industrial production increased 9% (industry overtook

 agriculture)
 Huge spending worsened Italy’s financial difficulties →
government deficits
 Worsened living standards → declining real wages and
unemployment
 Imports of raw materials and industrial goods dropped
significantly (1928-1939)
 Did not result in significant modernisation of economy or
increased productivity
 Slower recovery from Depression than most other European
states
 HITLER’S METHODS OF CONSOLIDATING POWER

Domestic political policies

1. Use of legal  Hitler and his party was granted unlimited rights to passing laws
methods/ directly bypassing the Reichstag, eradicate political opponents, and
manipulation of legal establish total ruling control under the Enabling Act (24 March
systems + 1933)  provided Hitler with a legal means to control the political
government process/manipulate constitutional laws; use of constitutional
administration to
changes to justify dictatorship and persecution
treat/control
● The Law Against Formation of New Parties (14 July 1933) set
opposition
the NSDAP as the only legal party in power, dissolving all other
political parties along with the local state diets dissolved in 31
March under Gleischaltung  rendering voting and plebiscites
futile such that NSDAP could not be overturned democratically
● Law Concerning the Head of German State (August 1934):
Combined post of chancellor and president office (comparable to
Chinese gov’t structure)
● The government also had total control over the judicial system
○ Judges were chosen on loyalty to state and knowledge of
Nazi ideology / National Socialism
○ Hilter established a special court called People’s Court
which humiliated and ridiculed defendants. In trials,
execution and death sentence were given out for those
trying to assassinate Hitler
○ And under Nazi wartime criminal laws: anyone potentially
undermining war effort (e.g.: disobeying a blackout) can
be sentenced to death
○ Moreover, even those considered innocent will eventually
be rearrested by Gestapo

 These political policies were effective in treating opposition as

they formed a strong legal basis for eradicating opponents
(justified it), in which no official, local or central, could gather
sufficient support and power to threaten Hitler’s rule
 Yet, they were flawed in that the government administration did
not complement / abide with the legal changes well to establish
efficient authoritarian control – e.g. the Deputy Furher, Four-Year
Plan Office (with its independent ministries) and SS/Gestapo/SD
faction competed for power, increasing administrative inefficiency
 Subsequent action by Nazis never really abided to the laws (e.g.:
Article 48 was intended for presidential use to put down mass
activism, not to unleash it against selected constitutional targets)
 VS. Comparing importance of factors: Force and terror > legal cuz
manipulation of these laws were dependent on / achieved by
coercion methods (e.g.: Enabling Act was passed by imprisoning
communists and coercing SPD members with threats of force by
SA)

2. Use of force and ● The internal police force of the Nazi became the national police
terror to treat force as SA (Sturmabteilung), SS (Schutzstaffeln), SD
opposition (Sicherheitsdienst) and Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei meaning
Secret State Police), all recognized in 1936 under Hitler’s decree to
Establishment of a control national military, genocide and extermination programmes
police state: Hitler  detected almost all initiatives against the NSDAP and treated
gained total control them with brutal means, and German occupied land in Eastern
of the national
Europe (essential for the implementation of the radical policies by
military which was
Nazis)
delegated to monitor
● Suppression of Christian dissent: arrested clergy conducting
and suppress civilian
service for communist men/disagreeing with anti-semitism e.g.
dissent, e.g.
over 2700 clergy detained in Dachau alone (problem: view not
persecution of SPD, shared by many Germans)
KPD by the SS or ● Suppression of student dissent: destroying and executing thousands
Gestapo of leaders of student dissent organizations e.g.: White Rose, Swing
Youth, Oster Circle, in 1942-1943
● Suppression of media dissent: personnel associated with anti-Nazi
newspaper and media were all persecuted by the Gestapo and
terminated in 1938
● Suppression of homosexuals
● Suppression of SPD dissent: leaders of the underground remnants
of SPD were persecuted and imprisoned
● Suppression of KPD dissent: 150,000 Communists were detained
by the SS or Gestapo
 Directly eradicated opponents and created public fear
 Successful control of most dissent: no trace of communist
opposition uprisings within 1939-1941, all remained underground
with limited scale
 The SS and Gestapo managed to penetrate most underground
activities, which usually go unnoticed
 If question asks about the effectiveness of political policies in
establishing authoritarian control  rise of opposition since 1942
was largely due to Germany’s attack on USSR (hence was relevant
to the impact of foreign policies but not the flaws of the political
measures itself)
 The growing power of SS led to conflicts within ruling faction
o e.g. SS’s deportation of Poles and Jews into the Central
Government angered NSDAP officials, who wanted to
economically consolidate the occupied regions
 The use of force wasn’t totally effective in eliminating opposition:
spread of Anti-Nazi propaganda and leaflets (underground)
maintained in Berlin and Germany with over 1 million leaflets
annually
3. The use of ● Establishment of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment
propaganda and and Propaganda to regulate media and arts
censorship (overlaps ○ The Nazi government bought all of Germany’s media
with cultural; if only outlets to control the public’s media exposure, removing
ask about political anti-Nazi influence and propagating Nazi ideologies
focus more on the ■ Content of propaganda: antagonized Jews, unify
establishment of
propaganda- Aryan Germans by emphasizing the superiority of
producing offices the Aryan race and German culture, and
and the deification of Hitler
government’s ■ Government radio broadcasted Hitler’s speeches to
control of homes and factories
media/issuing of ■ Government played Nazi films, e.g. Triumph of
propaganda) to gain
the Will which conveyed how Nazism was the
political support
center of all elements of German society
■ The German News Agency controlled all activities
of journalists
○ Banned non-registered German artists from creating
artworks → limiting artworks to only spreading Reich-
approved ideals - support Aryanisation of German culture,
prohibit movements like Dadaism and impressionism 
Evacuation of non-Reich-approved artists: some 2,500
authors left Germany in 1939
○ Preventive censorship in arts: Successful use of arts to
instill Nazi’s “blood and soil” values, women (domestic)
and male (martial) stereotypes (see culture)
 Annual Nazi Party rallies were held in Nuremberg from 1933
to 1938 to convey the image of a unified and strong
Germany under Naxi control  reinforced party enthusiasm
and showcased the power of National Socialism to the rest of
Germany and the world
 The wide outreach of radios successfully created an imposing
impression of the Fuhrer among the general public and helped
propagate Nazi ideology
 Other forms of propaganda had limited and short-lasting
outreach, creaing only a shallow type of obedience in which no
real distinct form of Nazi culture was introduced (but it did
standardize ideology and culture and minimize influence of non-
Nazi media on people)
o Many attempts of using film as propaganda did not gain
desired effect (e.g. The Eternal Jew demanded by Hitler
repelled the audiences as it was too grotesque)
o More successful films of anti-Semitism and anti-Allied
powers came mainly in the stage of defeat in WWII and
had a limited effect on the population’s faith in the regime
o Nazi press control led to a decline in readership as only
the state-released information were seen
 VS. Comparing importance of factors: Force and terror >
propaganda and censorship: censorship was enforced through
coercion methods (journalists that voiced opposition to the Nazi
Regime were sent to concentration camps)
Conclusions Force and terror was the most important political means in establishing
authoritarian control
Sociocultural policies

1. The Nazi Party Education reforms

established  The school curriculum was reformed to be Nazi-oriented, with an
Education reforms emphasis on physical education (at least 5 hours per week, often 2
and youth groups to hours per day) to get boys fit for the Army and girls fit to be
indoctrinate Nazism mothers; History was taught in a way to show the greatness of the
among youth Nazis; biology taught eugenics which highlighted the superiority of
the Aryans; Geography became Geopolitics
 Textbooks were rewritten to emphasise militarism, as well as Nazi
political and racial beliefs
 All teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers’ Association, which
vetted them for political and racial suitability. By 1939, 97% of
teachers belonged to it.
 Anti-Nazi and Jewish teachers were sacked
 Specialist schools (Napolas) were set up for those destined to
become future leaders of Nazi Germany
 University students did not accept Nazi propaganda
 Decline of educational quality and breadth as well as the
educational opportunities of females, whose curriculum was
limited to home-making subjects.
 Very few women went to university by 1939
 Jewish children were persecuted at school and then excluded

Youth Groups
 In 1936, Hitler formally banned all youth organisations except for
those controlled by the state and made membership to Nazi Youth
Movements for all German youth mandatory;
 Most young people didn’t oppose the Nazis. By 1939, Seven
million joined the Hitler Youth (HJ) movement in which they were
brainwashed into Nazi ideas, creating a generation prepared to
sacrifice themselves for Nazi loyalty
 However, some youth escaped the compulsory memberships and
rival groups like the Edelweiss Pirates emerged in the late 1930s
as they were discontent with the lack of freedom. Yet by 1939 the
Nazis succeeded in ending most rival organizations
 The intensity and scope of Hitler Youth programs deteriorated as
WWII progressed
2. Women policies Discouraging employment
 Law for the Reduction of Unemployment: Gave women financial
incentives to stay at home  By 1934, 360,000 women had left
their jobs
 Not conscripting women until 1943
 Firing women working in civil service
 Barring women from being judges in 1936
 Many women from the workforce were fired
Promoting pregnancy
 Gave newlyweds a loan of 1,000 marks and allowed them to keep
250 marks for each child they had
 Awarding the “Cross of Honour of the German Mother” to
mothers who give birth to many children (gold for 8 children,
 silver for 6, bronze for 4)
 Making abortion illegal in 1933
 Taxing childless families heavily
 Increase in German children born under Hitler’s rule from 970,000
babies born in 1933 to 1.4 million born in 1939  enlarging
manpower and fostering children loyal to the Nazi party
Education
 Girls were taught to embrace the role of mother and obedient
wife in school and through compulsory membership in the Nazi
League of German Girls  German Women’s Enterprise
Movement (which educated adult women in cookery skills) had 6
million members by 1939
 University and college places for women were restricted to a firm
quota of 10 per cent
 With limited education opportunities, women could only stay at
home and take care of their children.
Overall
 Some women actively opposed the Nazi regime e.g. Sophie Scholl
leading the White Rose movement (however, the success of
opposition was limited since most political activists, including
Scholl who was convicted of treason, and persecuted in court →
maintained Hitler’s authority)
3. The  The introduction of family benefits and income tax scales
implementation of recognizing family burdens, the reintroduction of no-fault divorce,
family policies to the social and legal upgrading of single mothers, and an enormous
increase mass loyalty improvement of pre- and postnatal care
+ maintain racial  Germans who wanted to get married had to establish their so-
superiority + bolster called "hereditary health" with official records such as birth and
population marriage certificates + declare "racial purity"
 Public health brochure e.g. “But Who Are You”: spread ideas
about human society could be improved through selective
breeding → part of family planning policies
 Law for the Encouragement of Marriage (1933): Loans of 1000
Reichsmarks were available to those couples who married (3⁄4 of a
year’s salary) + each time a family had a child, there would be a
reduction of a quarter of the loan + divorce allowed if the women
refused to have children
 Lebensborn program (1935): encourage so-called "racially
valuable" women to have children even if they were unmarried,
selected women provided with medical care and comfortable
conditions for the time of their pregnancy and labour
 The Lebensborn was advocated privately → struggled to find
enough volunteers → only around 7,000 children were born into
the Lebensborn during 9 years of existence

 The Mother’s Cross (1938): Rewards were offered to mothers who

had had large numbers of children. If a mother had four or five
children she would receive a bronze medal, six or seven for silver
and and eight for gold

 Numerically, there was a huge increase in population especially

 compared to other countries, but at the same time, the results of
policies such as Lebensborn were limited
4. Nazi policies on  Sterilization program: affected people suffering from specified
treatment of diseases  by the end of the Nazi regime, over 200 Hereditary
minorities to garner Health Courts were created and under their rulings over 400,000
support + its persons were sterilized against their will
negative effects  The Nazis persecuted undesirably minority groups in Germany,
including homosexuals, Gypsies and the mentally ill
 The Euthanasia Programme from 1939-41 killed 5000 children and
71000 adults
 The Persecution of the Jews (+THE HOLOCAUST)
o Through propaganda, Hitler blamed the Jews for
Germany’s defeat in 1918; the inflation of 1923 and the
economic collapse of 1929-1932 was capitalized on to
target the Jews
o In schools, children were taught to hate the Jews.
Textbooks included anti-semetic ideas
o Nazi-controlled newspapers included anti-semitic articles
and cartoons
 The creation of a scapegoat and common enemy absolved the
Hitler Party from blame on Germany’s internal problems and
united the Germans; Hitler’s promise to eliminate the Jewish
people reinforced his image as a capable leader (dictator),
furthering public support (recognition) and consolidating his
power
o Implemented final solution (the holocaust): the genocide
of European Jews during World War II
o Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its
collaborators systematically murdered some six million
Jews across German-occupied Europe + around two-thirds
of Europe's Jewish population
o The murders were carried out in pogroms and mass
shootings; by a policy of extermination through labor in
concentration camps; and in gas chambers and gas vans in
German extermination camps
o Under the coordination of the SS, with directions from the
highest leadership of the Nazi Party, killings were
committed within Germany itself, throughout occupied
Europe, and within territories controlled by Germany's
allies
 Several religious and social protests against the inhumane actions
of the programmers
 Relatives would demand for an exact explanation of death cause
and doctors would refuse to participate
 Dissension among the people esp relatives of those killed
 With some protests (eg Catholic protest of the euthanasia
program) but overall still a success

Economic policies
1. Economic  The “New Plan” solved the economic recession by introducing
reconstruction, “Mefo” bills to prime heavy industry and production of
creation of a war armaments.
economy  focus on  Large numbers of Aryan men were enlisted work on construction
industrial/military projects for large scale public works such as the construction of
production to rearm the Autobahn (highway system), which created work for 80,000
Germany (create a men. Moreover, Policies barred minorities (Jews, professional
strong image?? women) from working white-collar jobs, creating more job
bolster national opportunities for German men. By 1939, all of the 6 mil
spirit?), solve unemployed in 1933 had jobs
unemployment  to  The “Four Year Plan” regulated agricultural produce, subsidized
both garner support food production,  helped achieved autarky: economic self-
and remove sufficiency, removing dependence on foreign trade  increase
opposition + its public support for Nazi rule?
positive and negative  and forced labour in concentration camps & by people
effects transported to Germany from German-occupied nations  served
as a means to control political opponents
 The Nazi labor organization the German Labor Front was formed
in 1933 to replace and ban independent German trade unions
o May 2, 1933: Arrested 60 trade union leaders, occupied
trade union headquarters, arrested functionaries,
confiscated their property and assets (to merge into the
German Labour Front)
o Ensured German workers’ support of Hitler and his
ideology instead of left-wing groups
 Successful economic reconstruction after Germany’s defeat in
WWI, Great Depression, and instability of Weimar Republic
appeased the general population and demonstrated the capability
of the Nazi party in solving Germany’s problems and restoring its
former glory, garnering public support
 Cuts in welfare spending and the ban on negotiating pay/working
conditions  more industrial accidents/diseases, long working
hours
 Large businesses now monopolized industry, controlling 70% of
production, such that small businesses became obsolete
 Women (esp married as they were expected to stay home and
care for children)) were banned from professions, limited to low-
paying manual jobs