Control and Resistance
How the Nazis kept control of Germany through propaganda and a police state, and how some Germans resisted, from youth subcultures to the White Rose group and the July 1944 bomb plot.
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Keeping control
The Nazis kept control of Germany in two main ways: by persuading people through propaganda, and by frightening them through a police state. Even so, some Germans found ways to oppose them. This module looks at how the Nazis controlled the country and how different people resisted.
Control and resistance terms
Learn these four terms before you study how the Nazis kept control.
Control and opposition
The Nazis worked to keep control, while some people pushed back.
Three kinds of opposition
To reach the top grades, keep the three kinds of opposition separate: young people who simply broke the rules, organised groups who campaigned against the Nazis, and army officers who plotted to kill Hitler. Always say which kind a group belongs to, not just that it opposed the Nazis.
Match the control method
- propaganda
- censorship
- the Gestapo
- concentration camps
- persuaded people to support Hitler
- banned ideas the Nazis disliked
- spied on people and made arrests
- held opponents as prisoners
Match the opposition group
- the Swing Youth
- the Edelweiss Pirates
- the White Rose
- the July 1944 plotters
- young people who listened to banned music
- working-class youth who rejected the Hitler Youth
- students who handed out anti-Nazi leaflets
- army officers who tried to kill Hitler
Name the kind of opposition
A group of students secretly prints and hands out leaflets against the Nazis. What kind of opposition is this?
- Organised resistance.
- A youth subculture just breaking the rules.
- An army plot to kill Hitler.
- Support for the Nazis.
How the Nazis kept control
Select the TWO ways the Nazis kept control of Germany.
- Using propaganda to win support.
- Using the secret police to spread fear.
- Holding free elections every year.
- Allowing a free and open press.
Silencing opposition
Put the way the police state dealt with an opponent in order, earliest first.
- The Nazis ban all opposition
- The Gestapo watch for opponents
- An informer reports a suspect
- The suspect is arrested
Complete the facts
Young people who met to listen to banned jazz were the _____ Youth. Working-class youth who rejected the Hitler Youth were the Edelweiss _____. The Munich students who spread anti-Nazi leaflets were the White _____. In 1944 army officers tried to kill Hitler with a _____. To win support, the Nazis spread _____ through posters and radio.
Count the years
Army officers tried to kill Hitler with a bomb in 1944. The war in Europe ended in 1945. How many years before the end of the war was the bomb plot?
Find the youth groups
Tap the TWO youth groups that opposed the Nazis.
- the Swing Youth
- the Gestapo
- the Edelweiss Pirates
- the SS
Which kind of opposition?
Read each act of opposition and choose which kind it is.
- Teenagers meet secretly to dance to banned swing music
- Students print and hand out leaflets criticising the Nazis
- Army officers plant a bomb to try to kill Hitler
Explain control and resistance
Explain how the Nazis kept control of Germany, and how some people resisted them. Use examples in your answer.
- Describe two ways the Nazis kept control
- Describe two different forms of resistance
- Explain why resisting the Nazis was so dangerous