German Resistance to Hitler Essay Example

After the Great Depression in 1929, Germany was economically devastated and in need of new rule. This unfortunate series of the events led to the rise of the Nazi Party and the notorious absolute dictator Adolf Hitler. He used this time of crisis as a ploy to blame Jews for the effects of the depression. Many Germans tolerated anti-semitic policies put in place by the Nazi party because they believed it would restore their place as a world power after their defeat in World War 1. Not all Germans were in compliance with the persecution of Jews, but the few that weren’t did not want to suffer the consequences of their opinion.

Many people did not solely support the persecution of Jews, but they were fond of the benefits it brought them. Germans could get the homes or properties of Jews who had been deported. They could also receive the previously well-off businesses run by Jews before they were sent to concentration camps or prisons. The Nazi regime, working against the Jews, also created many job opportunities for unemployed Germans after the Great Depression. The Nazis created many work programs for new businesses and construction work to get the German people back into the workforce. While the German people supported the Nazis for creating work for them, the Nazis were creating false statistics based around employment to convince the Germans their efforts and anti-semitism were more beneficial than they actually were. 

After the German people were set in with the Nazi Party, many people began resisting against their harsh rule, discriminatory rules towards Jews, and the overall state of the people.

Oppositions started from the church in the beginning of Hitler’s rule when the Nazi Party attempted to coordinate religious life and persecute Jews in Germany. In 1933, when the German government regulated relations between the Reich and the Catholic church, the Nazis began to tear down the church through a series of show trials called the priest trials. Individual clergymen also sought out to protect Jews and put an end to euthanasia of handicapped individuals. In addition to the church, resistance groups were formed by various opposing political parties and even young people who refused mandatory participation in Hitler Youth. University students, Sophie Scholl and Hans Scholl, formed the infamous resistance group White Rose to go against the political and cultural regulations put in place by the Nazi Party. Resistance groups had become so popular that the Nazi Party created a term for the resistance groups against them. The most popular term was “The Red Orchestra,” where members were referred to as musical terms. The leader was known as the “conductor.” Although The Red Orchestra was not a unified group, it was a combination of individuals and other groups together whose sole purpose was to rid Adolf Hitler’s cruel rule.

Even if German people were against the treatment of Jews, many of them were afraid of the consequences to follow their discrepancies. In 1942, Plotzensee Prison, originally used for foreigners and German detainment, was turned into a central execution chamber for Germans wishing to defy the Nazi party. They were hung in the gallows. Over half of the people executed in Plotzensee were Germans committing acts of resistance. Some of the first members executed for this reason were actually members of The Red Orchestra.Very few people were actually brave enough to speak out and help the Jews, even if they strongly believed what Hitler was doing was wrong. 

Even if people wanted to speak out against Hitler, the environment he created within the German government made it very hard for them to do so. However, the few people who were against him made small victories that led to big impacts. Not all Germans supported Hitler’s persecution of the Jews, but they did not opt to suffer the effects of sharing their views.