Author: Mark Foley

Explain why there was so little resistance and opposition to Hitler and the Nazi’s in Germany in the years 1933-39. / You may use the following information in your answer: / Gestapo (I would include the police state in general) / Nazi propaganda ( I would include censorship as well) / You must also use information of your own. (A third paragraph could be control of the legal system and/or Church.) / Take notes on each paragraph, explaining how it led to little resistance. I have done the first one
Try an introduction, outlining Gleichschaltung and how it affected all areas of German life
Paragraph 1: Police-state: / The Gestapo were a non-uniformed secret police. / They identified anyone who criticised or opposed the Nazis / They arrested 160,000 people in 1939 / They had numerous informants. / They only had 30,000 officers / The SS had control over all the police forces and were fanatically committed to Himmler and Hitler / They did not have to act within the law / They were responsible for organising the concentration camps and the Holocaust / Political opponents were put in camps	How does it explain little resistance? (Purple phrases are linking the paragraph to the explanation focus required of the question). / Nobody knew who the Gestapo were, so you could never feel truly safe. People were aware of stories of critics who had mysteriously disappeared after criticising the govt. The massive number of arrests meant that there was constant fear, especially considering the vast network of informants the Gestapo had working for them. So even though they only had 80,000 members, they created an aura of fear. The SS also had a large amount of control. They were over the other police forces and concentration camps. As they could act outside of the law, people knew that if they offered any resistance they could be arrested and placed in a concentration camp. This can be seen in the large number of political opponents, especially communists, who were incarcerated. Due to this large police network, ordinary Germans were too afraid to offer any real resistance. / (A strong link at the end is important. It rounds your paragraph off and refers back to the question).
Paragraph 2: Propaganda and censorship	How does it explain little resistance?
Paragraph 3: Control of legal system	How does it explain little resistance?