Reading Summary: pg. 204-225
Zeena Amer
Relationship between the army and the regime 1933-8: years of consolidation
 Hitler proceeded cautiously with leading generals in which were able to have considerable influence, so he made the
defense machinery stronger with having foreign, interior, finance and propaganda ministers strengthen Germany, and SA
problem solved. He also adopted policy which would influence Nazi idea among officers, men, and Hitler’s Youth.
 Hitler needed the Reichswehr to be committed to the party, he did so with Bloomberg being sympathetic, and Rohm was
executed.
 Reichswehr were guilty of the “Night of Long-Knives” however it being carried out by SS
 Reichswehr were essential to Hitler’s rearmament program and reintroduction of conscription, was not co-ordinated during
process of Gleichschaltung and thought they gained mastery because of destruction of Hitler’s own SA
 Reichswehr committed to personal oath of loyalty to Hitler
 1934-7 the Nazi State and army remained co-operative and army increased to 550,000 after conscription, power of SS
growing fast, army appeared to be more open and democratic
The Hossbach Meeting, November 1937
 After Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles and Locarno, it is said by A.J.P Taylor that Hitler was at a loss of what to do next. It
is said there was a secret meeting with his Generals.
 Werner Von Fritsch (1880-1939)was Commander in Chief of the army until Feb. 1938, appointed by Hindenburg, he had
great influence, however, Goring and Himmler charged him with homosexuality, and Hitler removed him.
 Constantin Von Neurath (1873-1956) was Foreign Ministry and removed Feb. 1938 and succeeded by Ribbentrop and from
1939-1943 was the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, in which his power was ceremonial, 15 years at Nuremberg
 Walter Von Reichenau(1884-1942) was a professional soldier and advisor to Blomberg of a colonel, and promoted
acceptance by the Reichswehr and Nazi regime, and played role in supporting SS during Night of Long Knives, succeeded
Hindenburg in 1934, and held important commands on Western and Eastern Fronts.
 With Blomberg’s marriage to a woman found to have been a prostitute, and Fritsch’s homosexuality triggered chain of
events that Hitler carried out personnel and organization, this damaged army’s independence. This caused abolishment of
War Minister and he became Commander in Chief with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) headed by Keitel
 Majority of army still supported the Fuhrer and his policies, whether out of fear or sense of loyalty
Relationship of army and regime 1938-40
 Army wanted to avoid war, however with Hitler pushing at it, army’s ability to shape political developments within
Germany reduced, though with defeat of Allies in 1940, opposition collapsed for a while
Relationship of army and regime 1942-4: Years of Challenge
 By 1943, military situation changed, they were being defeated, and so they wanted to assassinate Hitler and replace him
 July Plot: Beck was chief of general staff, he was against attack on Czechoslovakia in 1938, and formed Kreisau Circle with
other Generals who supported him. They were important in the conclusion of war and negotiation an armistice with Allies
 All conspirators were hunted down by Gestapo and brought before People’s Court (Volksqericht), Beck committed suicide,
the estimates killed were 180-200 however its said to be higher at 5000, these were generals and whole families
 General staff though that they could control Fuhrer as they did with the Kaiser, and the army hadn’t been won over, but
Hitler’s dependence on them meant he had to tolerate them
Relationship between the army and regime 1944-5: Year of Submission
 Orders issued to give Hitler more power to himself and Himmler while the General Staff was killed
 Hitler thought all his generals were traitors, those who were still alive were demoralized and reassure Hitler of their loyalty
and obedience
Significance of Hitler’s policies on the army
 The party and Wehrmacht continued to conform to Blomberg’s scheme of non-infiltration, army insisted no members join
party, army had no major social changes until 1933, Pro-Nazi’s not promoted beyond rank of major until outbreak of war,
developments led to improvement, army found unity and opposition to regime, and shielded by political control, and finally
compared with the party, or their rivals, SS, they were more humane as occupiers except those of the East army
 Association with regime undermined the character of army, this corrupted the influence of regime, men intrigued for
promotions, rank and file volunteers found easily for execution squads and deserters. Military laws were harsh, 10,000
executions for desertion compared to 1 on Allied side, and on the East Army many looted, killed and destroyed Jewish
communities
SS Empire- The problem of a balanced perspective
 Schutzstaffel (SS) lived only for 20 years, were Hitler’s personal body guard, but later expansion in different branches, they
were controlled by Himmler, they wanted to eliminate enemies of National Socialism, Marxism, Freemasonry and
Christianity
Origins of SS
Reading Summary: pg. 204-225

Zeena Amer
Formed in 1925, 120 men picked to be reliable and to look after Hitler and given title Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, they did
special tasks. Himmler takes over in 1929 described as colorless personality of Nazi inner circle. He was a master at
amassing power in the administrative chaos of Third Reich. SS and Himmler believed in ‘blood and soil’.
 Himmler expected them to be racially elite, this was done by SS Marriage Order of 31 December 1931 when wives of SS
men should be racially pure , though 1932 and 1940 found that most failed to meet all requirements. By 1933, selection
procedures were systematized, cults and rituals made to replace those that were Christian-based.
 (1931)Sicherheitsdienst (SD), created to be Party’s own internal police force, and Himmler also took control of Gestapo
Organization of the SS
 By 1939 the SS had 250,000 members, and composed of three main branches, Intelligence (SD), military section, and police
 They dealt with race issues, authorized marriages, produced genealogical certificates, ran educated establishments, issued
passports, sanctioned oversea travel, SS also ran massive business
 By 1940, they were independence as far as administration and recruitment, after the war started they recruited unites
from, France, Dutch, Belgians, Dances, Russians, and Ukrainians even some English
The Power and role of the SS
 They role was important, their members dedicated, supreme virtues of Nazi ideology, loyalty and honor, they saw
themselves as protectors of German/Aryan way of life, and being responsible of suppress Jewish-Bolshevik threat, also the
supervision of the process of gaining Lebensraum
 Stated by Schoenbaume, the SS made foreign policy, military policy and agricultural policy, and maintained itself
economically with autonomous enterprises
 Himmler created ‘second army’, or the SS reserve troops, over time the SS grew and they got more power until the WaffenSS developed into separate army and composed of three divisions: the secret service (SD), SS Death’s Head, police force
 Army started to be controlled by the Waffen-SS, they were also put in charge of Jewish affairs, and Final Solution
 Himmler appointed Reich Commisar for the Consolidation of German Nationhood, which was responsible for “New Order”
 Himmler wanted SS to be economically independent they did so with Himmler’s close ties with industrialists and
businessmen and were given large sums of money and cheap loans
 Himmler set up the internal policy of the SS called Lebensborn “pure Aryans” which children were seized (blond and blue
eyed) and given up for adoption to Germans.
 Himmler knew as the SS grew, loyalty to the cause and him would be a problem, he feared they would start to separate, so
he transferred new SS leaders to new and different posts and integration of SS and police personnel
The limits on the Power of the SS
 Limits of power, which meant they had to compete with old and new leadership groups without Hitler’s backing, also
hampered goal of becoming new aristocracy, development of SS in 1938 created domestic infighting, and by 1944 there
were 900,000 SS the structure of the concentration camp and organization changed
 The camps resulted in the same, death. They wanted labor however, conditions were so bad, so many people were dying so
fast they had a hard time getting new people and keeping it constant